Is Celebrity Endorsement Good Or Bad For Your Brand?

Celebrity endorsements are a key influence in todays celebrity obsessed culture and its not something to be taken lightly when considering this option for your brand. Dependant on your clientele it can make or break your business.

For examples of greatly successful Celebrity Endorsements you only need to look at the most recent sporting events. Sporting Events are filled with Celebrity Endorsements and Sponsorship, be it Football teams and their Adidas boots or Golfers and their Nike caps. Endorsements and Sponsorships are everywhere you look and can have a huge impact on your sales and brand reputation. When your target customer watched The Masters Tournament last weekend and it reminded them that they need a new golfing shirt, they're not going to go buy just any branded shirt, they will buy the same brand they saw Bubba Watson wearing when he won the tournament. If you are sponsoring an event or have a celebrity endorsing your brand make sure your logo is bold and that people can then make the connection from that logo to your brand – go big or go home!

On the other hand Celebrity Endorsements can be quite precarious at times – think of the backlash twitter saw last year when Celebrities started promoting brands to their followers without making it clear that it was a paid advertisement. This is where Celebrity Endorsement can become a hindrance to your brand, you must be clear with your audience if it was a business arranged endorsement or not. It's less an issue when it comes to Printed Advertisements, as that's obviously a business arrangement, but when it comes to Celebrities social accounts or interviews, that's where the trouble can begin. If you do go into Celebrity Endorsement or Sponsorship ensure that your customers are aware if it is a business arrangement or if it is just a mention that they are a fan of your brand. It's unlikely that an endorsement or sponsorship deal will effect your product or services negatively, it is more likely to affect your brand's reputation which can be painful to rebuild.

If you brand is considering using your branded merchandise with a Celebrity or to sponsor National or Global Events then just remember to enter into this cautiously and to be completely transparent about it with your customers. Nothing will push your customer into your competition faster than a public scandal.