Celeb Endorsement Considerations

Securing an effective celebrity endorsement for a product is not as simple as getting the most famous celebrity the budget can afford. On the contrary, there are specific criteria that should be used to match the right celebrity with the right product. There are as many failures as successes among the products endorsed by uber-famous celebs and athletes, and the reason why can be broken down into three basic areas of ideal endorsement marketing: credibility, allure and appropriate product-celeb matching.

The viewers will need to trust the endorser about the product; in other words, the product must be something easily associated with the celeb, such as golf clubs and Tiger Woods. The key here is the viewer should want to be like the endorser relative to using the product, such as driving the ball like Tiger, wearing the same clothes and using the same club as in the ad. Lastly, while an endorser is not strictly limited to his exact field of expertise, the viewer has to make the connection between celeb and product easily and convincingly. As LiveScience points out, Tiger Woods-Buick, Lebron James-Microsoft and David Beckham/Pepsi are examples of less logical product-endorser match-ups.

Based on the science of mirror neurons, consumers relate better to celebs and athletes presented in their element. For example, seeing Lebron work an Excel spreadsheet or Beckham don ridiculous outfits while drinking Pepsi prompt disconnects, as these athletes are too far away from their source of credibility—shooting basketballs and bending soccer kicks.