Benedict Advertising - Business Building Solutions

by Alicia Fisher, Account Executive

I was driving down I-95 this morning and saw a billboard for KB Homes with Martha Stewart’s face on it. There was no quote or mentioning of why she was there, but automatically I knew she had partnered with them in some way and was intrigued enough to figure out how.

Now, I’m not in the market for a home, nor am I a die hard fan of Martha Stewart’s, but my immediate association was that Stewart’s products and design elements were used in the creation and decoration of new KB Homes. Even though the only information I had to go from was that Stewart’s face was on a billboard, my assumption was correct.

That’s the power of celebrity endorsements. Businesses and corporations all over the world are teaming up with the brand equity and likeness of celebrities to promote their own products and services… and its working.

Although the billboard I saw only had an image of Stewart’s face, I didn’t need anything else. I automatically knew who she was, what she stood for and who her target audience is- making her association with KB Homes logical.

The key to a successful endorsement partnership is to do it correctly.

Working from the business side, it’s important to first recognize and personify your brand image before “piggy backing” on someone else’s. What does your brand stand for, who does it speak to, what do you want others to feel about your brand, etc. Upon defining your own brand, it is important to do your research and establish goals for a celebrity endorsement partnership.

Partnerships between Lorena Bobbitt and Ginsu Knives, or between Rachel Ray and AutoZone may not be the best ideas for celebrity endorsements. Sure the names would generate attention and publicity, but does it fit and match the goals without creating any negativity or complete disconnect for the consumer?

Celebrity relevance, credibility and image are very important items that consumers need in order to buy into an endorsement campaign.

Once the match has been made and the goals established, it is important to fully utilize the likeness and name recognition of the celebrity to successfully increase awareness, sales and loyal consumers of your product.

Many successful stories of endorsements include Nike and Tiger Woods, Salton and George Foreman, Jessica Simpson and Proactiv® Solutions, and so on.

However, there is always a risk that the celebrity can overshadow the product and message, do something that will negatively impact your brand outside of the endorsement or have a decline in popularity during the partnership which may create a disconnect.
So if you’re considering a partnership with a celebrity be sure to ask yourself about your own brand, do your research and choose wisely. KB Homes has been successfully developing Martha Stewart inspired communities since March of 2006 and will continue this year to expand into areas all across the country.

So congratulations to KB Homes for utilizing Martha Stewart to expand their brand and create a strong connection with consumers. “It’s a good thing”.

I’ve recently had the fortunate opportunity here at Benedict Advertising to work on a celebrity endorsement deal. Since we just received the contract today, I’ll use my next blog opportunity to give an update on my experience in creating strong brand awareness and recognition of a product by utilizing a celebrity’s brand equity and likeness.

Until next time…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 20th, 2007 at 12:42 pm and is filed under What's the 411?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.