When using stars, be careful they don’t explode into a black hole

What a week it’s been for football, and not just in terms of England’s win against Ukraine! This week has seen Nicklas Bendtner fined £80,000 for celebrating a goal by showing off his lucky Paddy Power pants, although the bookmakers have agreed to pick up the tab for the striker, and Nike reprimanded for using the personal Twitter accounts of Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere to promote its Make it Count campaign.

Whether you think the authorities were right or wrong in these two cases, the stories are a reminder of the challenge organisations face when using celebrities to endorse and promote their brands.

On the one hand, using popular people who resonate with the target audience helps to raise awareness, generate interest and increase loyalty. It doesn’t hurt when trying to get media coverage either! However, companies need to be careful that their relationships with celebrities don’t get them into sticky situations.

This is especially true since the advent of social media, as advertising standards bodies struggle to apply regulations designed for print and broadcast media to the world of Twitter and Facebook. There is ongoing debate over what constitutes “advertising and marketing communications” and how to define communications that are “directly connected with supply or transfer of goods, services, opportunities and gifts” on social media websites.

Companies planning to use celebrities in their marketing activities would be well advised to err on the side of caution, at least until the law has been clarified, to ensure that they don’t get hit with reprimands or fines.

But it’s not just in terms of the law that celebrity endorsement can get brands into trouble. Being linked to a star can cause problems for brands when that star behaves in ways that run counter to the organisation’s values, something that customers and critics alike are often quick to point out.

In 2005, H&M, Chanel and Burberry all cancelled plans to use supermodel Kate Moss in advertising campaigns following allegations of cocaine use. And in 2010 professional services firm Accenture dramatically changed its marketing strategy in the light of the scandal facing Tiger Woods, who had represented the brand for six years.

Finding the right person to represent your brand is difficult, and it is not just the companies noted above that have got into trouble when their ‘brand ambassadors’ have failed to live up to expectations. Organisations hoping to harness the power of celebrity must think seriously about who they use to represent them, and have contingency plans in place just in case.

When it goes right, using a star can keep a brand shining brightly, but when it goes wrong they can come crashing back down to earth with a bang.

Jo Nussbaum
Consultant
jo@linstockcommunications.com