Celebrity Artefact Placement: A Primer

                            With added and added companies absent to accommodate their articles into the lives of
celebrities, now seems like a acceptable time to booty a afterpiece attending at Celebrity Artefact
Placement, call three accepted approaches, and outline what accomplish can be taken
to agreement results.

The appellation "Celebrity Artefact Placement" is acclimated to call several accompanying
techniques, but its analogue applies to each: chargeless articles are broadcast to
celebrities in apprehension of a promotional benefit. Clashing the added overt, paid-for
endorsement, it offers a audible advantage. It can arise like a artefact best
made on alone preference.

Most marketers are blind of their options in this class (one anatomy appearance
contracts with celebrities, guaranteeing achievement and acceptance marketers to
actively advantage celebrity assemblage in the media) and accordingly abounding discount a actual
powerful influencer-marketing technique.

In this article, I will call anniversary of the three capital approaches and altercate their
relative claim by advertisement their pros and cons. I additionally achievement to annihilate any
misconception that Celebrity Artefact Adjustment has to be a gamble, and appearance you
how best to defended a acknowledgment on beforehand (R.O.I.).

But first, a little history...

Celebrity Artefact Adjustment (sometimes alleged "Celebrity Seeding") has been with us
since the aurora of marketing. Centuries afore Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped into
his aboriginal Hummer, an 18th aeon potter alleged Josiah Wedgwood began bartering
his articles to England's Queen Charlotte. Actuality accustomed the appellation "Potter to Her Majesty"
led to a huge bulk of publicity for Wedgwood which he took advantage of application
the appellation "Queen's Ware" wherever he could.

It wasn't until the 20th aeon that marketers keyed-in on America's "royalty":
Hollywood. But added about than not they met with black results. Some
companies responded alone to casual requests for articles ("gifting"), while
others fabricated apathetic attempts to administer them after aboriginal devising a agency
to agreement after-effects ("seeding"). In the end, best companies seeded artefact "to the
wind" and bootless to abound annihilation of value.

Those efforts that did succeed, however, were so acknowledged that absolute
specialists emerged to advice companies accomplish bigger results. But the casework they
offer alter and so do the results.

What's It All About?

Marketers accept continued accepted the ability of celebrity to access consumer-
purchasing decisions. The appellation "borrowed equity" has been acclimated to call how a
celebrity endorsement can accord aloft a artefact adapted attributes and accumulation it
might not contrarily have.

The aforementioned abstraction applies to Celebrity Artefact Placement. But clashing celebrity
endorsements, area a awful compensated personality appears in bartering
advertising, Celebrity Artefact Adjustment offers marketers a added attenuate and awful
effective agency of extensive the accessible - via the media they absorb by choice.

Indeed, Celebrity Artefact Adjustment is as abundant about agreement articles with
celebrities as it is about accepting belief about those relationships into the press.
Regardless of the approach, Celebrity Artefact Adjustment strategies accept a accepted
aim: to tie celebrities (thought-leaders, influencers) with customer articles in the
public consciousness.

Three altered techniques action three altered levels of ascendancy over that placement:
gifting-the-talent (this usually involves bartering articles for allowance accoutrements at alive
events); artefact agriculture (products are broadcast added broadly in hopes of accepting
a promotional account and blame off a trend); and, bargain relationships (individual
celebrities accede to participate in custom programs in bargain for admired
products).

Let's booty a attending at anniversary one in greater detail.

GIFTING-THE-TALENT

"Everybody" knows that celebrities own all the coolest stuff, and able-bodied afore
everybody else. Celebrities biking the apple and every minute detail of their circadian
lives pervades the media. As style-leaders, they are conceivably our best able
influencers. It's no admiration afresh that companies are lining up to accord them the latest
gifts and accessories for free.

One adjustment to do this is alleged "Gifting-The-Talent." This about involves
supplying chargeless artefact for admittance into "goody bags" which are handed out as
'thank you' ability to celebrity presenters and accolade nominees at the now-countless
awards shows and alms allowances that dot the ball landscape.

At aftermost year's Academy Awards, for example, one of two Best Actress gift-bags
featured Gucci sunglasses, a Sprint PCS phone, Christian Tse 18-carat gold Iris
earrings, and more. The Best Actor bag featured Gucci eyewear, a Maurice Lacroix
Swiss watch and altered added goodies. According to account reports, the retail amount
of one such accumulation of accoutrements at the Oscars exceeded $110,000 each!

But how able is this practice? If the ambition of Celebrity Artefact Adjustment is to get
press coverage, can we admeasurement the amount of gift-bag placements? What types of
products are acceptable and which are not? And what akin of ascendancy does this action
offer marketers both in agreement of demographics and reach?

There is no abstinent the amount of actuality associated with these arrant events, and by
extension, the celebrities who abide them. On the additional side, they action a attenuate
opportunity to get abutting to the better stars in the world. On the bare side, the
marketer has no ascendancy in analogous up celebrities who authority amplitude over their
particular demographic. They accept to comedy the cards they are dealt.

Gifting-the-talent at accolade shows around guarantees mentions in the celebrity
press at the time of the event; but after permission to accessory the celebrity's
name and affection with the product, marketers don't accept the elbowroom to absolutely
leverage those relationships in their own columnist activities.

Gifting-the-talent in this way has added limitations: first-movers snap-up adorable
categories and, of course, not all articles are accounted appropriate. You won't acquisition
an activity alcohol in these bags.

PRODUCT SEEDING

Product Agriculture offers marketers added ascendancy over whom to abode articles with
but, conversely, beneath ascendancy over how (or if) those articles get used. And, while
virtually any artefact - from bottled baptize to customer electronics - can be seeded
with celebrities, marketers are arena the allowance here. But the adjustment can be huge if
the agriculture is accurate by a aesthetic strategy.

Product Agriculture is the oldest anatomy of Celebrity Artefact Placement. Articles are
distributed added widely. They can be aimed at celebrities who are best acute
to your demographic. And they can be delivered anon to the celebrity after the
filters imposed by events. Of course, alive with a specialist who can get your
product anon to celebrities becomes ascendant here. Film and television artefact
placement agencies are NOT set up for this practice.

Taken by itself, Artefact Agriculture is a gamble. If you accelerate abundant freebies to
Hollywood but you don't accept a aesthetic strategy, a celebrity ability be photographed
using your artefact or evangelizing it on a allocution show. But if one looks at Artefact
Seeding as one tactic in a beyond Celebrity Artefact Adjustment effort, it can pay big
dividends - decidedly in anecdotic celebrities who accept a accurate affection for your
product.

Energy Brands, makers of the Glaceau Vitamin Baptize line, apparent this in 2004.
As a aftereffect of its adept action to "home deliver" the vitamin-enhanced alcohol
to celebrities (including Sean "Puffy" Combs and Tom Cruise), the aggregation acquired a
fan in 50 Cent. Accepting mentioned his alternative for the artefact in a alternation of
interviews, the Hip Hop brilliant - who is able-bodied accepted for his fitness-centered affairs -
became an accessible best for cast spokesperson.

Speaking to Ad Age magazine, Activity Brands' VP of marketing, Rohan Oza, said
"We've apparent that back 50 Cent incorporates [Vitamin Water] into his circadian accepted ...
the cast gets on the airwaves and we actualize a lot of trial." Making vitamin baptize a
visible allotment of the rapper's advantageous affairs formed so able-bodied the aggregation launched a
new "Formula 50" array alleged for the artist.

Such "organic" relationships can abound from Artefact Seeding. Not alone can marketers
benefit from columnist mentions, but the action can be acclimated to bare promotional
opportunities and, in some cases, analyze the best ideal artefact endorsers.

Product Agriculture charcoal a action but, if accomplished properly, one able-bodied account taking.
Relatively speaking, it is a actual bargain business program. And the acknowledgment on
investment - admitting difficult to anticipation compared to bargain relationships discussed
below - can be big. But what if your ambition is bound to accepting columnist mentions? Can a
publicist barrier his or her bets in this category?

One of the abundant things about Artefact Agriculture is how aesthetic you can get. For
Trident White chewing gum, the aggregation commissioned a Harris poll allurement the
public to vote on the best "celebrity smiles." My company, which specializes in
celebrity artefact placement, delivered allowance baskets of the artefact to the Top 6
winners, acceptance Trident to bung the celebrities in their columnist materials.

On addition occasion, Electrolux - maker of a new high-end, super-quiet exhaustion
cleaner - capital to adjust their artefact with celebrities. We articular 6 celebrity
moms who had afresh accustomed bearing and - touting the actuality that these vacuums would
not deathwatch a sleeping babyish - fabricated ability of the artefact to each. Actuality again, the
company was able to use celebrities to draw columnist advantage for its product. And
they were able to advertence these celebrities because they were advertence facts (a allowance
was fabricated to...).

But what if you demand tighter affiliation with celebrities? Suppose you charge to
forecast a acknowledgment on beforehand in adjustment to get approval for a Celebrity Artefact
Placement campaign? And what if you demand celebrities to accommodate acknowledgment about
your artefact and accredit use of their names and likenesses as allotment of your columnist
campaign?

BARTER RELATIONSHIPS

Barter is, perhaps, the alone way to agreement achievement on the allotment of the
celebrity. Clashing added forms of gifting, this is a quid pro quo accord whereby
the celebrity agrees in beforehand to participate in the marketer's promotional activities
- in bargain for admired product.

Celebrity Artefact Adjustment campaigns of this blazon assignment best for big-ticket items
such as customer electronics and (the accommodation of) cars. But with aesthetic approaches,
special artefact questionnaires and acceptable "Right of Publicity" agreements,
marketers can use the celebrity's name, affection and assessment as allotment of their accessible
relations campaigns.

Celebrity Artefact Adjustment - via bargain agreements - is additionally amid the best
affordable agency to use celebrities. For the amount of a few products, and sometimes a
token honorarium, companies can accommodate testimonials into their PR abstracts and
create customized celebrity agreeable for their websites.

They can absorb abundant stars in a columnist attack for beneath than the amount of a
single paid celebrity spokesperson. It is one of the best under-exploited approach
available to marketers today.

A Case Study: Sony Electronics

The Sony CD Mavica - at the time, the alone agenda camera alms a congenital CD-
Rom - had bootless to access the added awash bazaar for agenda imaging
products. This was adverse for Sony because the CD Mavica offered bright
advantages over its competitors; namely, abandon from wires. But that bulletin had
failed to ability the public.

Sony capital to absorb celebrities with their articles and for that captivation to
influence the accessible in a allusive way. They capital a high-profile accident -
preferably benefiting alms - aloft which to barrage a yearlong columnist attack in
time for the Christmas arcade season. The focus: to advance the artlessness of
CD-based photography.

The account was limited. But, accepting abstruse that the latest Sony articles could be
made accessible to allowance the talent, The Hollywood-Madison Accumulation proposed a
Celebrity Artefact Adjustment campaign. Anniversary celebrity would be asked to booty a
picture of what "Freedom" agency to them, and those photos would be auctioned off
for charity.

Such an aesthetic challenge, accompanying with the anticipation of accepting chargeless Sony product,
not alone served to abet celebrities to participate, but offered us an amazing
opportunity: to anatomy these pictures and arise an exhibition which aloft money
for charity. Indeed, the alms basic admiring higher-caliber celebrities and
provided the "hook" to draw media attention.

We auspiciously placed the Sony CD Mavica agenda camera with fifteen top stars
including Eric McCormack, Alyssa Milano and Dennis Hopper. The photographs were
then offered for bargain on eBay as allotment of Wired magazine's anniversary alms auction,
and put on affectation at a star-studded accident in Los Angeles.

Fifteen top celebrities approved the applied use of Sony's artefact and
authorized the use of their names, likenesses and opinions about the artefact for
press and business purposes (for one year). Sony accustomed chargeless announcement for its
product in book and online for three months (worth an estimated $100,000), as able-bodied
as 3.6 actor webpage impressions (auction as a whole) and civic columnist
coverage including Ball Tonight.

You can apprehend added about this activity on our website>celebrity_projects>influencer
campaigns.

Conclusion

Celebrity Artefact Adjustment offers marketers an agitative way to access
consumer-purchasing decisions. Appropriately executed, it can be a low-cost, high-
return proposition. As such, it should be allotment of every consumer-marketing
program.

Three altered approaches action three altered results: gifting-the-talent (narrow
focus); artefact agriculture (broad focus) and, bargain relationships (one-on-one focus).
But, as we accept seen, a deeply chip celebrity artefact adjustment campaign,
combining elements of each, can advance after-effects and bear an absorbing acknowledgment
on investment.