celebrity rumors | Celebrity Product Placement: A Primer

Celebrity Product Placement: A Primer

One method to do this is called “Gifting-The-Talent.” This generally involves supplying free product for insertion into “goody bags” which are handed out as ‘thank you’ gifts to celebrity presenters and award nominees at the now-countless awards shows and charity benefits that dot the entertainment landscape.

At last 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 assorted other goodies. According to news reports, the retail value of one such group of bags at the Oscars exceeded $110,000 each!

But how effective is this practice? If the goal of Celebrity Product Placement is to get press coverage, can we measure the value of gift-bag placements? What types of products are suitable and which are not? And what level of control does this strategy offer marketers both in terms of demographics and reach?

There is no denying the value of being associated with these glitzy events, and by extension, the celebrities who populate them. On the plus side, they offer a rare opportunity to get close to the biggest stars in the world. On the minus side, the marketer has no control in matching up celebrities who hold sway over their particular demographic. They have to play the cards they are dealt.

Gifting-the-talent at award shows virtually guarantees mentions in the celebrity press at the time of the event; but without permission to associate the celebrity’s name and likeness with the product, marketers don’t have the leeway to truly leverage those relationships in their own press activities.

Gifting-the-talent in this way has other limitations: first-movers snap-up desirable categories and, of course, not all products are deemed appropriate. You won’t find an energy drink in these bags.

PRODUCT SEEDING

Product Seeding offers marketers more control over whom to place products with but, conversely, less control over how (or if) those products get used. And, while virtually any product – from bottled water to consumer electronics – can be seeded with celebrities, marketers are playing the odds here. But the payoff can be huge if the seeding is supported by a creative strategy.

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