Angela Holdorf
It’s all about the likes in today’s generation, and I’m sure
that the millions of users on Instagram can attest to that. Since 2010 when it
was first released, Instagram has grown tremendously with around 400 million
active users. There just seems to be something about posting pictures and
letting people into your personal life that becomes addicting. Yet, the thrill
seems to be lost without the followers and the likes. One of the most thrilling
concepts of a social media platform such as Instagram is the chance to be
welcomed into the lives of our favorite celebrities. However, lately I have
realized a major increase in celebrities’ use of Instagram to promote or market
a product that they use, or they have created themselves (yes, I’m looking at
you Kardashian’s). This means scrolling through a lot of teeth whitening, tea
detox, meal preps, and work out shakes on your Instagram feed.
As we
scroll through these celebrities’ pictures on Instagram we get the chance to
see their new car, the first picture of their baby, and what they ate for
breakfast. But I’m sure it is no shocker that these stars are getting paid to
post those perfectly lit pictures, where they just so happen to be holding a cup of
detox tea. Take super model Kendall Jenner for example. Jenner posted a picture in
her closet promoting clothes she is selling through an app called @secretclosetnet
(Jezebel). With 43.6 million followers and her well-known impeccable style,
surely many people checked out that app. While some of these pictures look so natural
that you almost believe they truly love the product and want to share it with
the world, in many cases they’re legally required to disclose exactly that. Kim
Kardashian recently had issues with the FDA for promoting a morning
sickness drug without posting the side effects (Jezebel).
While
having these celebrities post products could really increase product
endorsement, sometimes having celebrities promote your items can backfire. It
could be in bad taste, bad celebrity choice, or a scandal linked to the celeb.
In those cases, the company will typically pull out a heart-felt apology on
Twitter. “Some celebrity product endorsements are such natural fits that we
have a hard time envisioning the product without the celebrities smiling face
next to it…Then there are other celebrity endorsements, which attract consumer
rage like a moth to a flame” (Forbes). Although
there can be downfalls to having celebrities promote products, as long as they
don’t slip up on what they’re told to post there will most likely be no crucial
complications.
The upside is the celebrity endorsements can have a major impact on increasing consumer awareness and purchases for most products. Henry Schafer of QScores.com wrote in his article “The Value of Celebrity Endorsements,” that “The key ingredient for making this work is insuring that the celebrity spokesperson is perceived to be compatible with the brand and the product category, and that these important perceptions are based on the brand's target consumers (primary purchasers)” (Schafer). It becomes a process for the client to choose the “right” celebrity to represent their brand, and have the best “compatible fit” in terms of their personality and public image (Schafer). When it comes to Instagram, it’s not only the clients looking for the perfect celebrity to promote their product. The celebrity wants to also make sure that their Instagram is still a “like” worthy account to follow. The Fat Jewish (aka Josh Ostrovsky) and Julianne Hough both famous with over 700k followers, agree that too much sponsorship could hurt your Instagram account. They both agree that if an account looks “too commercial” you will lose followers…and no one wants that. Ostrovsky says, “Young people today are really, really stupid, but they know when they’re being shilled. They know when they’re marketed to” (The Hollywood Reporter).
The upside is the celebrity endorsements can have a major impact on increasing consumer awareness and purchases for most products. Henry Schafer of QScores.com wrote in his article “The Value of Celebrity Endorsements,” that “The key ingredient for making this work is insuring that the celebrity spokesperson is perceived to be compatible with the brand and the product category, and that these important perceptions are based on the brand's target consumers (primary purchasers)” (Schafer). It becomes a process for the client to choose the “right” celebrity to represent their brand, and have the best “compatible fit” in terms of their personality and public image (Schafer). When it comes to Instagram, it’s not only the clients looking for the perfect celebrity to promote their product. The celebrity wants to also make sure that their Instagram is still a “like” worthy account to follow. The Fat Jewish (aka Josh Ostrovsky) and Julianne Hough both famous with over 700k followers, agree that too much sponsorship could hurt your Instagram account. They both agree that if an account looks “too commercial” you will lose followers…and no one wants that. Ostrovsky says, “Young people today are really, really stupid, but they know when they’re being shilled. They know when they’re marketed to” (The Hollywood Reporter).
While most
celebrity endorsements via Instagram can be ideal for marketing online, the
misuse by popular celebrities can actually do the opposite. I myself follow Kim
Kardashian’s Instagram, and she markets her products or another’s almost every
other picture posted. When she regularly posts about her app and her “Kimoji’s”
I find myself less interested in her account, nor would I ever spend the money
on her app. However, when she posts a normal video or picture of her regular
life and the caption says, “read more in my app” I do get curious as to what
the app says.
It is annoying to have this blatant advertising, but if a fan sees how good Kim looks in a dress by their Kardashian Kollection sold at Sears, they might try to snatch her style and go buy it (White Horse). I think that no matter what, Instagram will only benefit due to the increase in celebrities using it to their advantage. As for the future of celebrities marketing over Instagram, it will most likely continue because as bothersome as it can be-who can blame them with that many followers?
Here's a funny buzzfeed on celebrities using Instagram for promoting products if you would like to check it out:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/all-these-celebrities-are-promoting-a-teeth-whitening-produc#.tbPm7kXkk
Work
Cited
Baines,
Becky. "Celebrity Endorsement On Instagram." White Horse
Digital RSS2. N.p., 08 Aug. 2014. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
Brown,
Kara. "Here's How Much Celebrities Make in the Instagram Product Placement
Machine." Jezebel. N.p., 19 Jan. 2016. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
Brown,
Kara. "The Big Bad World of Products Celebrities Promote on
Instagram ." Jezebel. N.p., 21 July 2015. Web. 02 Apr.
2016.
Bukszpan,
Daniel. "6 Celebrity Endorsements That Enraged Consumers." Fortune
6 Celebrity Endorsements That Enraged Consumers Comments. N.p., 19 Apr.
2015. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
Reed, Sam.
"The Fat Jewish, Julianne Hough Explain the Rules of
Instagram." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 23 Mar. 2015. Web.
02 Apr. 2016.
"The Value of Celebrity
Endorsements." QScores.com 27 Jan. 2014. Web.
TomoNewsUSA.
"Instagram Ads: Celebrities Are Earning Extra Cash by Promoting Products
on Instagram - TomoNews." YouTube. YouTube, 23 July 2015. Web.
02 Apr. 2016.
Ally D’Alia
ReplyDeleteI feel that the whole premise and idea of celebrity endorsement is both brilliant yet incredibly frustrating. From the marketing and branding standpoint of a business, this feature and capability of celebrity endorsements via social media has taken off and really fostered a company’s rep to grow. However, from the consumer standpoint, we’re not always inclined to buy.
One of the most interesting quotes from Angela’s blog was from @TheFatJewish (Josh Ostrovsky), “Young people today are really, really stupid, but they know when they’re being shilled. They know when they’re marketed to.” (The Hollywood Reporter). It’s amazingly true. Our generation has a habit of ignorance, yet in this case ignorance is not bliss. We do know when we’re being marketed to and it’s awfully unattractive. Like Angela, I too follow some (but not all!!) of the Karsashian’s on social media’s like Instagram and Snapchat. When I see Kendall post a personal picture of herself hanging out versus when I see her post a picture with her perfectly gleaming teeth showing off her new whitening kit, I’m like, come on. It’s annoying! However, in those 43 million followers, it’s bound to catch a handful of people’s attention, given that the promotion is done right. “The perceived celebrity/brand relationship needs to be strong in all of these areas for the campaign to make a difference. “ (Schafer)
Because this social media celeb endorsement deal is fairly recent, it’s hard to say how well it will continue to do and if this is predicted to be the only platform for celeb endorsements. Social media will probably be around still for the rest of our lives, and continue to take off in ways we never thought imaginable. Therefore it could be very safe to say social media will turn into the only platform (or the only successful platform) for endorsement deals. The brands and businesses that take off because of celeb endorsements will be solely based on the ones that do this successfully. Often times I find myself wondering, ‘hmm, do I think she actually uses this?’ And often times the answer is probably no. That’s disheartening as a consumer. Therefore, the endorsement must, must, must be portrayed real, at its best, and that’s frequently hard to accomplish.
I also believe that celebrities who endorse a product through a commercial versus through one of their personal Instagram posts can be much different. “Stars like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have just under 300 million followers across their Twitter and Facebook profiles combined and offer a glimpse into just how important being able to understand that engagement is.” (Billboard) For example, over the weekend Taylor Swift and Apple Music just released a new commercial for Apple where Taylor is seen running on the treadmill listening to Apple Music. The commercial is cute, funny, and even brings in people who dislike Taylor because they get to see her fall off a treadmill. No offense to Taylor, but that’s genius marketing on their part. However, this took time. This was a planned, scripted commercial that time and money went into. Kim Kardashian posing under her selfie light in the bathroom endorsing a morning sickness drug is unlikely to have the same pickup. This is certainly something to consider.
Reed, Sam. "The Fat Jewish, Julianne Hough Explain the Rules of Instagram." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 23 Mar. 2015. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
Bill Board Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
I think that this is an increasingly prominent trend throughout Instagram. I feel that my feed is inundated with endorsements and promotional campaigns that it takes away from being able to connect with celebrities. I think in the beginning when I first started seeing this trend it seemed all right, but a bit odd, however, now it is more of a nuisance than anything else. As you mention in your post, we are now seeing more and more “perfect” and professionally taken photos that seem “realistic” but in reality this is very far from the truth. The Kim Kardashian example could have proven to be extremely dangerous as it was a negligent attempt to promote something without a black box warning. While many probably found this interesting, given that she was pregnant at the time and promoting a morning sickness product, she has no medical background. Without some type of regulation/rules to follow, then there will be a lot of room for error and might in turn, mislead the consumer. While celebrity endorsements are extremely popular, as you mention there is room for it to backfire.
ReplyDeleteHowever, on the flipside celebrities do also have the star power it often takes to sell a product. People are often drawn to their lifestyles, and if done in an appropriate manner this can further promote the brand and their own image. I also think that it’s interesting that Josh Ostrovsky and Julianne Hough agree that too much sponsorship could hurt your account. As long as the product is in line with the celebrities’ lifestyle then I think that it is okay to continue marketing to the consumer. But the caveat to that is that young people are pretty aware of when they are being marketed to.
For example, in a Billboard article entitled “Taylor Swift Wins ‘Most Marketable’ In New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake” it says that Swift received an 88.5 on the Davie Brown Index, or DBI, “which measured consumer views on 8,000 celebrities around the world” (Billboard). Technology is also an incredibly important factor in making a celebrity more marketable. Taylor Swift reaches a great deal of people through her interactions with fans and consumers on social media, not to mention, she has worked with Cover Girl, Sony, and Coke among other brands in the past few years. A good celebrity endorsement has to “[insure] that the celebrity spokesperson is perceived to be compatible with the brand and the product category, and that these important perceptions are based on the brand’s target consumers” (Schafer). More so as Schafer says “the perceived relationship between the celebrity and the brand needs to be evaluated on the following dimensions: sensible and appealing, believable, appropriate, motivating to the purchase decision” (Schafer). Personally, I think that celebrities need to be more aware of what they are posting and need to make sure that it is not misleading and potentially harmful to the consumer. If they are going to promote something I think that they should adhere to the same guidelines that a marketing firm would, even though it is meant to be lifestyle-based and not as serious.
"Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
I feel like when any type of new social media comes out it always starts out as “pure”, uncorrupted by advertisements and unwanted posts. But with the rise of advertisements, celebrities are cashing in on the endorsements possibilities. Celebrities used to make money the old fashioned way, by just being talented. But now celebrities can make money by taking pictures of them using products. Floyd Mayweather was the highest paid celebrity in 2015 pretty much because of his fights alone. He did not need to advertise unnecessary products on his Instagram or Twitter (Bacardi). The key ingredient for making this work is insuring that the celebrity spokesperson is perceived to be compatible with the brand and the product category, and that these important perceptions are based on the brand's target consumers (The Value)
ReplyDeleteWhen celebrities start endorsing products on social media it looses the value of the app. Celebrities are selling out and endorsing products that they don’t even use for massive amounts of money. Everybody has their price, but just because someone capitalizes on their fame to get either more fame or more money doesn’t make them a sellout necessarily, does it? They could just be incredible smart business people. A lot of celebrities make most of their money through endorsements. Today, advertising is key when it comes to making money.
I think one of the reasons celebrities do so well with endorsements is because they know who they are advertising to. Celebrity endorsements help companies tap into their fan base. Consider reality star Kylie Jenner, one of today's most sought-after -- and, as our research shows, most effective -- endorsers: The mere fact that Jenner promotes her own lip kit may encourage her most devoted fans to bye her products, allowing Jenner to perhaps attract more fans who will buy her products.
Consumers often cannot easily assess the true quality of products, at least not before they consume them. But seeing a celebrity attaching his or her name and good reputation to a product may help alleviate some of their uncertainty. Consciously or unconsciously, they might trust, say Jenner to endorse Cover Girl cosmetics only if those products truly are of premium quality. After all, Jenner herself would be at risk of damaging her reputation if that were not the case (Elberse).
Bacardi, Francesca. "Forbes' Top 100 Highest-Paid Celebs List Might Surprise You." E! Online. E! Online, 29 June 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Elberse, Anita. "Risks and Rewards of Celebrity Endorsements." CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Dec. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
"The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." QScores.com 27 Jan. 2014. Web.
Angela, I think you you’re complete right about celebrities taking to Instagram to promote or market a product that they use or have created themselves. The Kardashian-Jenner family relies on social medias, mainly Instagram tremendously. The family would have no type of fame if it weren’t for Instagram, so naturally they’re going to use it for everything they do to promote their reality show, makeup lines, apps, kimojis and so on. The Kardashian-Jenner’s are not the only celebrities using Instagram to promote a product of course but they are the easiest targets to talk about since it is all that they do. Celebrities like super model Chrissy Teigen promotes her new cookbook, “Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat” and actress Jessica Alba used it to promote her company The Honest Company and Honest Beauty. This market strategy is ideal for celebrities as well as for companies who use celebrities to promote their products on social media. In the article “The Value of Celebrity Endorsements”, Henry Schafer came to the conclusion that, “Celebrity endorsements can have a significant impact on increasing consumer awareness and purchase intentions for virtually every product category. The key ingredient for making this work is insuring that the celebrity spokesperson is perceived to be compatible with the brand and the product category, and that these important perceptions are based on the brand's target consumers (primary purchasers).” (Schafer) This makes it brilliant to have celebrities that are well liked and who come of trustworthy like Taylor Swift to market a brands product.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, “Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake”, a sports and media research company by the name “Repucom” have found that, “Taylor Swift has been singled out in a new study on live music partnerships as the most marketable musician among young Americans. According to London-based sports and media research outfit Repucom, millennials (and younger) like and trust the "Blank Space" singer more than any other artist out there, making her especially attractive to brands and marketers.” (Billboard Staff) Taylor Swift gives the impression to her fans that she is a kind, trustworthy and loyal person. If I were a big Taylor Swift fan of course I would trust whatever teeth whitener she is using or makeup foundation she puts on her flawless skin. I love that celebrities will show their meal plans, skin care rituals and more on Instagram. Honestly, I have bought products that Gigi Hadid uses because I love the natural look that she does. It is brilliant for celebrities to market or promote products on social media even if they truly don’t use it, which would be really upsetting if that were the case. But I will agree with Angela that sometimes it can be super annoying to look on a celebrities page such as one of the Kardashian-Jenner girls and all you see is Kylie Jenner promoting her new lipstick line. Celebrities should be more conscious of what they are posting and possibly spread out their promotion posts so it isn’t one after another.
Works Cited
Bill Board Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
This was a very interesting topic. I had never really given much thought to how celebrities use endorsements to promote themselves on social media. Whenever I think about celebrity endorsements, I think about commercials on TV or celebs being the spokesperson for a brand, like when female celebs get deals with Neutrogena or Terry Crews with Old Spice.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't surprise me that celebs are taking to Instagram to promote their products. I agree with Julianne Hough - too many endorsements and promo pics will make the celeb seem more fake and greedy. I don't follow Kim K but after how you described how she uses her Instagram, I don't think I will follow her any time soon. I follow celebs on social media because I like to get that insight into their personal lives, like you mentioned. I like feeling like I have that connection to them, even though I know that I really don't. It's cool to see celebrities like Jared Leto promoting his movie Suicide Squad on Snapchat through a Squad specific filter because it's only a few seconds and he makes it funny. To see Kim K using Kim specific emojis would just turn me off. It's one thing to promote art, it's another thing entirely to promote narcissism.
It makes sense that celebs need to be chosen very carefully by whomever is endorsing them. The relationship between the celeb and the company has to be "appropriate, believable, and sensible" (Schafer). It doesn't surprise me that someone like Taylor Swift is considered the most marketable celebrity (Billboard). Aside from the reputation of being a serial dater (one that has dissipated in recent years), Swift hasn't done anything exceptionally stupid in her time as a famous musician, aside from a few questionable tweets. She continues to be a role model for girls even ten years after she first became famous, which is unheard of when you consider celebrities like Amanda Bynes and Lindsey Lohan. She's beautiful and talented and it's a no-brainer why companies would want someone like her speaking out on behalf of their products. She has more followers on social media than most people and she's a marketing dream.
I don't mind celebrity endorsements as long as the celebrity uses the product and actually likes it. It drives me insane when I see someone promoting something that they don't care about, and you can tell when they're faking it. Some people get bent out of shape about it but I think it's a smart move for companies to use well-known and commonly followed people to promote their products.
"Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
While scrolling through my Instagram feed I can definitely agree that most of the content has some sort of endorsement in it. The content originally consisted of Starbuck’s coffees and fabulous outfits but, as Angela said, it has escaladed to mainly detox teas, teeth whitening, and workout shakes. I follow a lot of celebrities on Instagram and a lot of them have product endorsements, such as Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chelsea Houska, and Reese Witherspoon. Because of a celebrity’s seal-of-approval on a product (even if they are paid to say it is great), fans have become more inclined to buy because they want to be just like their favorite celebrity. Companies have really capitalized on celebrity endorsements and you can really see it, more than ever before, on social media platforms.
ReplyDeleteLooking at my Instagram feed now posts consist of a celebrity holding a product, saying how they can’t live without it, and then potentially even leave a discount code for their followers so they can get there very own. Surprisingly the most marketable celebrity has an endorsement-free Instagram. Billboard has named Taylor Swift as “the most marketable musician among young Americans,” and because she is the most trusted singer she is “especially attractive to brands and marketers,” (Billboard). As the 2nd most followed Instagram account, Selena Gomez being the 1st with 73.3 million, it is hard to believe that Taylor Swift doesn’t have any form of endorsements on her Instagram. I think Taylor Swift is a marketable name because she isn’t doing what all the other celebrities are, ex. product endorsements on social media. She has held true to what Instagram was made for, posting photos and videos about her daily life so we can all fantasize about what it would be like to be T-Swift.
A celebrity that has recently joined the product endorsement game is Beyoncé. On March 31st Beyoncé announced that she has started a new clothing line called Ivy Park. The clothes represent, “a new kind of performance wear: modern essentials for both on and off the field,” (Platon). Looking at Beyoncé ‘s Instagram, her last three posts were all about Ivy Park, not her usually photos of concerts, family, and photo-shoots. Although Beyoncé looks stunning, as always, her product endorsement videos are straying from her usual types of posts. Even though Beyoncé is the latest victim to the Instagram product placement formula, I’m definitely still buying some Ivy Park clothes, even if I’m not athletic whatsoever. This brings me back to my original point that since we idolize these celebrities we will pay anything to be somewhat like them and companies realize that. Celebrity endorsements tell consumers that it is simple to be like their favorite celebrities, all you have to do is buy our product.
Works Cited
Billboard Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. Billboard, 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Platon, Adelle. "Beyoncé Debuts Ivy Park Clothing Line." Billboard. Billboard, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Angela, I totally agree that celebrity’s social media accounts, particularly Instagram accounts, have been taken over by endorsements. It’s easy to see why Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake are the most marketable musicians according to Repucom's new study (Billboard). People consider them trustworthy because they don't obnoxiously endorse brands like it's their day job like the famous Kardashian-Jenner clan. These artists are also talented in other ways besides smiling for the camera so fans automatically think that they don't really need to do the endorsement because they are clearly doing well in their careers. Just last night I saw a commercial for Apple Music with Taylor Swift in the starring role. Her endorsement for them makes sense based on her refusal to put her music on Spotify and how Apple backed down when she sent out that letter last year. Endorsements that make sense for celebrities obviously are going to increase their trustworthiness.
ReplyDeleteThe Kardashians are masters at doing this because so many people watch their show and use their apps where they give have perfect platform to show their personality and interests in a "natural" way. For example, Kourtney has been really into being healthy since having her kids. She is teased by her family members for not eating anything with preservatives or processed. She has lost weight and gotten really fit since her last pregnancy and we often see her endorsements for FitTea on Instagram and Snapchat. Kim is know for her curves and basically made waist trainers a relevant product again through her Instagram pictures and commentary on "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" where she claims waist training was the reason she was able to bounce back more easily after her first pregnancy. Both of these endorsements were so successful because they hit on every one of the Q scores database 4 dimensions fore an effective campaign-- they were sensible and appealing, believable, and appropriate with the two Kardashians' interests and personalities which then led to checking off the last dimension-- motivating consumers that they can do the same thing if they use the same product they did (Schafer).
Other celebrities have gone a different route by starting their own product line based off of their personal brand. Kate Hudson, a celebrity known for her rock hard abs started Fabuletics, a workout apparel line. She’s now selling the company but will remain on as the spokesperson for the product line. Kylie Jenner started Kylie Cosmetics after her plump lips became the center of media buzz. Her lip kits are literally selling out in minutes and lip liner has become a staple item in every woman’s makeup bag since. Can we blame them for capitalizing on their personal brand? I don’t think so. Is it reasonable to be annoyed that they are using social media to make money rather than for the platform it is meant for, —sharing their lives with us? Definitely.
Bill Board Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Angela, I totally agree that celebrity’s social media accounts, particularly Instagram accounts, have been taken over by endorsements. It’s easy to see why Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake are the most marketable musicians according to Repucom's new study (Billboard). People consider them trustworthy because they don't obnoxiously endorse brands like it's their day job like the famous Kardashian-Jenner clan. These artists are also talented in other ways besides smiling for the camera so fans automatically think that they don't really need to do the endorsement because they are clearly doing well in their careers. Just last night I saw a commercial for Apple Music with Taylor Swift in the starring role. Her endorsement for them makes sense based on her refusal to put her music on Spotify and how Apple backed down when she sent out that letter last year. Endorsements that make sense for celebrities obviously are going to increase their trustworthiness.
ReplyDeleteThe Kardashians are masters at doing this because so many people watch their show and use their apps where they give have perfect platform to show their personality and interests in a "natural" way. For example, Kourtney has been really into being healthy since having her kids. She is teased by her family members for not eating anything with preservatives or processed. She has lost weight and gotten really fit since her last pregnancy and we often see her endorsements for FitTea on Instagram and Snapchat. Kim is know for her curves and basically made waist trainers a relevant product again through her Instagram pictures and commentary on "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" where she claims waist training was the reason she was able to bounce back more easily after her first pregnancy. Both of these endorsements were so successful because they hit on every one of the Q scores database 4 dimensions fore an effective campaign-- they were sensible and appealing, believable, and appropriate with the two Kardashians' interests and personalities which then led to checking off the last dimension-- motivating consumers that they can do the same thing if they use the same product they did (Schafer).
Other celebrities have gone a different route by starting their own product line based off of their personal brand. Kate Hudson, a celebrity known for her rock hard abs started Fabuletics, a workout apparel line. She’s now selling the company but will remain on as the spokesperson for the product line. Kylie Jenner started Kylie Cosmetics after her plump lips became the center of media buzz. Her lip kits are literally selling out in minutes and lip liner has become a staple item in every woman’s makeup bag since. Can we blame them for capitalizing on their personal brand? I don’t think so. Is it reasonable to be annoyed that they are using social media to make money rather than for the platform it is meant for, —sharing their lives with us? Definitely.
Works Cited
Bill Board Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
The concept that entertainment and the celebrity circuit focus more on turning a profit rather than creating media produce for the sake of pure entertainment is evident in brands’ uses of celebrities as a form of marketing and advertising. While Instagram and Twitter were originally created to form connections between individuals where they could share their personal lives, while having free access into the lives of others, these social media platforms have transformed into circles where brands pay celebrities to promote certain items or entire businesses through single posts. The idea is brilliant, as companies using Instagram and Twitter found an easy solution to reaching millions of individuals in a format they cannot easily hide from their media feeds. I took an interest in Angela’s blog, as it encouraged me to think about how individual celebrities are chosen over others. An article on the Billboard, called Taylor Swift Wins ‘Most Marketable’ In New Study, Followed by Justin Timberlake, begins looking at why brands choose certain celebrities, saying, has been singled out in a new study on live music partnerships as the most marketable musician among young Americans. According to London-based sports and media research outfit Repucom, millennials (and younger) like and trust the "Blank Space" singer more than any other artist out there, making her especially attractive to brands and marketers,” (Billboard). There is clear and thorough research done regarding which celebrity to pay the high salary to promote brands and products, and a large focus clearly remains on how what type of reputation the celebrity holds and how popular they are in terms of followers. If the celebrity is actively followed by over a few million individuals who may have not previously come across the product advertised, that allows the brand to reach a potential new audience that could generate a tremendous amount of new revenue.
ReplyDeleteAngela also touched upon the importance of a celebrity’s reputation, as the way in which he or she is perceived by his or her followers can have a significant impact on the success of the product advertised, and may influence whether or not individuals choose to buy it. Their reputation has much to do with how people perceive the product, and any difference between the celebrity’s image and that of the product can take away from the original persona of the brand’s product or name. An article on QScores named, The Value of Celebrity Endorsements, says, “The key ingredient for making this work is insuring that the celebrity spokesperson is perceived to be compatible with the brand and the product category, and that these important perceptions are based on the brand's target consumers,” (QScores). These points, and other views Angela shares in her blog definitely shine a light on how this dynamic and brand advertising has changed over time, and how it has in turn, changed the average individual’s time on the various social media accounts.
Works Cited:
Billboard Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. Billboard, 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
"The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." QScores.com 27 Jan. 2014. Web.