Celebrity Product Placement: A Primer
January 3, 2010 by Jonathan Holiff
Filed under Celebrity
With more and more companies wanting to integrate their products into the lives of celebrities, now seems like a good time to take a closer look at Celebrity Product Placement, describe three common approaches, and outline what steps can be taken to guarantee results.
The term “Celebrity Product Placement” is used to describe several related techniques, but its definition applies to each: free products are distributed to celebrities in expectation of a promotional benefit. Unlike the more overt, paid-for endorsement, it offers a distinct advantage. It can appear like a product choice made on individual preference.
Most marketers are unaware of their options in this category (one form features contracts with celebrities, guaranteeing performance and allowing marketers to actively leverage celebrity patrons in the media) and therefore many overlook a very powerful influencer-marketing technique.
In this article, I will describe each of the three main approaches and discuss their relative merits by listing their pros and cons. I also hope to quash any misconception that Celebrity Product Placement has to be a gamble, and show you how best to secure a return on investment (R.O.I.).
But first, a little history…
Celebrity Product Placement (sometimes called “Celebrity Seeding”) has been with us since the dawn of marketing. Centuries before Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped into his first Hummer, an 18th century potter named Josiah Wedgwood began supplying his wares to England’s Queen Charlotte. Being given the title “Potter to Her Majesty” led to a huge amount of publicity for Wedgwood which he took advantage of using the term “Queen’s Ware” wherever he could.
