Of celebrity endorsers and excuses

The brouhaha that hounded an e-commerce site on its decision to hire a controversial celebrity  associated with some political personalities has revived the interest on celebrity endorsements.

It was a cause celebre that prompted a few raised eyebrows, some howls of indignation, and online rants among consumers. Some called for boycotts, unsubscription of membership, and even threats to stage an exodus to a rival online shopping platform.

In an environment that is still reeling from a very divisive national election, a business decision to hire a celebrity appeared to have been mired by politics. Thus, when I was invited to be a guest in a national broadcast program and was asked whether politics comes into play in hiring celebrity endorsers, I needed to contextualize my response.

In choosing a celebrity endorser, the overall question that must always be asked is: Is this celebrity perfect for the brand?

There are several factors that need to be looked at in choosing the right endorser for a brand or product. Marketers have a long list, but we will endeavor to list a few.

Every marketer needs to look at the celebrity’s endorsement history. This requires extensive research to get a better idea of how the celebrity can serve as your brand spokesperson. This is also a way to figure out whether your brand will be well received by your audience and consumers. Look at the various brands, products, personalities, and causes that the celebrity has endorsed in the past. Most ideally, the celebrity should have endorsed brands that espouse the same principles you hold dear and sacred.

Marketers and reputation managers also need to look at shared interests. This ensures that the celebrity shares the same essence of the brand. Thus, every marketer needs to ask: Does this celebrity share the same passion as  my brand? Do we share the same interests and advocacies?  Does this celebrity’s offstage lifestyle align with our brand image? Asking these questions will guide the brand’s promotional direction, with the celebrity as the campaign’s main anchor.

Essentially, a perfect fit for your campaign can only be ensured when you look at the celebrity’s overall public brand. After all, the celebrity will be the extension of your brand; thus, the character of the celebrity becomes a major part of your brand identity.

Another area that needs to be reviewed is the celebrity’s reach and audience. You need to evaluate whether your demographics overlap with the character of your celebrity’s patrons and supporters. Is the celebrity supported by most, if not all, of your current and potential customers? Are they big enough to generate an impact on revenues to justify the cost of the endorsement?

Other scholars advise marketing professionals that in choosing celebrity endorsements they must consider several factors. These include credibility, expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, similarity, liking, familiarity, and the match-up congruence with the product. There are others who recommend that marketers should look at celebrity credibility, which is  dependent on expertise and trustworthiness, and celebrity attractiveness,  which is dependent on familiarity, liking, and similarity.

What marketers and reputation managers should not forget in hiring celebrities as brand ambassadors is the potential risk of such a business decision. Sometimes, the risk  assessment is glossed over and not performed by over eager executives who may have a different agenda other than finding the right and perfect fit for the brand. Or they simply are careless, but I am sure they are not clueless.

Given the enormous amounts involved in tapping celebrities, including potential reputational damages that may result with a wrong or unpopular choice, risk evaluation and risk management are key components in any decision that requires third party endorsers. Different scenarios must be planned and played out before a public pronouncement is made, because taking back the decision could be very costly (unless there is a morality clause in the contract that removes the brand or company from the partnership should a celebrity endorser’s image change). Thus, before any brand or company announces the chosen celebrity endorser, it is not uncommon to ask, “Do I have a crisis plan in place? What are our alternatives and courses of action if our plan does not materialize?”

Indeed, choosing a celebrity endorser is never a walk in the park as it is a very daunting task given costs and risks involved. The very essence of your brand is at stake. Thus, you should leave no stone unturned and cover all areas that may potentially impact the brand.

So, to the question on whether the celebrity endorser’s politics was considered in the decision to hire, I’d say, all must have been considered in deciding that the celebrity is the right and perfect fit for the brand, and contingencies must have been prepared for any eventuality.

No excuses.

Ron F. Jabal, APR is the chairman and CEO of PAGEONE Group (www.pageonegroup.ph) and the founder and president  of the Reputation Management Association of the Philippines (www.rmap.org.ph). Please correspond to [email protected] or [email protected]