IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: Celebrity Endorsements

  • A New Kind of Endorsement

    TGIF! Since it’s Friday, we wanted  to stray away from the scary world of molesters and gunmen to take a look at one of the newest corporate communication strategies that many e-commerce companies are using to contact their publics: “celebrity curators”.

    Different from the everyday endorsement, celebrity curators are a fusion of celebs, social media, and personalization. Ever seen or heard of ShoeDazzle, the Kim Kardashian-sponsored online store for $39.95 shoes and handbags?  This is one of the most popular examples of how companies are using celebrity curators. You take a quick quiz to determine your style, then shows you a custom selection of shoes and bags picked just for you! ShoeDazzle features this famous Kardashian as a celebrity stylist.  This strategy makes the customer feel like they’re not only buying a cool and hip product that a glamourous celebrity would wear, but it also creates a more personal shopping experience for them. Celebrity curators are seen as one of the main success drivers for these types of online companies, and it’s only going to be a matter of time before the rest of the e-commerce world catches on to this trend!

    -Claire Dillard & Liz LaPuasa

  • Justin Bieber wants YOU to adopt an animal.

    We all know that celebrities play a huge role in the commercial and marketing industry. We have all seen the Proactiv commercials featuring a long list of celebrities that struggle with acne or a commercial like the one featured in yesterday’s post with Pauly D. In fact, according to the International Journal of Advertising about 25% of all US advertisements use celebrity endorsements and whether we want to admit it or not (ahem…third person media effect), what celebrities do or buy does have an effect on us. But that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. What about when a celeb uses their influence and power for the greater good? When they help draw attention to a social problem?

    Oprah Winfrey is probably one of the most famous philanthropic celebrities of our time. She has used her show to shed light on many social issues and world issues as well raise millions of dollars for charities across the globe. Her influence is so high that economists at the University of Maryland stated that when she publicly endorsed Obama in the 2008 election, she may have brought in up to one million votes with her. That’s a lot of power. Other celebrities have also started to take a public stance on social issues in order to gain public interest. Jennifer Aniston along with many  other celebrities do commercials for St. Jude’s or in support of animal adoption.  Or as seen in the picture, Justin Bieber has joined with PETA in an effort to get people to adopt animals from their local shelters. The list could go on and on.

    So there’s some food for thought. Although we usually discuss celebrity endorsements with an air of negativity, we should also look at how they help organizations and causes that we, as the general public, might not have noticed without them.

    -Alaethea Hensley, Jessica Kingman, & Lauren Phelps