Have you ever bought chewing gum because Ben Fogle told you to? Maybe your decision to treat yourself to a coffee machine was influenced by George Clooney? Or perhaps Kerry Katona and Jason Donovan lured you away from your usual supermarket to join the other mums going to Iceland?
Celebrity endorsement is an ever-present part of brand marketing these days but though the face may fit the brand at the start of the relationship, there can be any number of reasons why a parting of the ways becomes inevitable.
Gatorade, AT&T and Accenture all ended their association with golfer Tiger Woods following his admission that he had been unfaithful to his wife. And now Coca-Cola has ended its relationship with Wayne Rooney. The footballer’s contract with Coca-Cola expired last year and is not being renewed. Although Coke are focusing their promotional efforts on the 2012 Olympic Games, Rooney’s alleged infidelity and latest dalliance with authority by swearing into a television camera after a recent Premier League game wouldn’t have done much for his stock.
In a sense there is an irony to this. His alpha-male, total committed approach and attitude – all of which are cited as what makes him the footballer he is – chimed with the target market for Coke Zero, where the male-focused campaign built around no compromise seemed a perfect fit. Now, though, Rooney it would seem has taken the ‘no compromise’ just a little too far.
With the level of investment – financial and otherwise – in securing the right face for your product, brands are increasingly using research to determine if the 'fit' is going to work. And this means understanding your brand 'shape' and the correct 'shape' of the celebrity to promote it. A star who may be perfect for hair and beauty products may not be the right person to offer relationship advice, for example.
Testing the market perception of celebrity options is crucial, not so much for asking why a celebrity may be suitable for the brand, but as importantly asking why not. Ask not only what the consumer’s perception of the celebrity is in the context of the product, but also what their general opinions of that person are. The rest, to an extent, is a game of chance and ensuring there is a swift get-out clause for the brand in the event of celebrity misdemeanour.
It’s impossible to accurately say whether there is any retrospective re-interpretation of a brand when its associated celebrity goes bad. However, effective research can help highlight the risk areas and then swift action in the event of a problem can help minimise any lasting collateral damage.
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