Retailers are quick to sign-up stars to bask in their reflective glory and it can do wonders for their brand. But sometimes a tie-up can do more harm than good
Why are we talking about it now?
Celebrity tie-ins are back on the agenda for Littlewoods and Superdrug but heading off the radar at Topshop, which has announced its four-year relationship with Kate Moss will finish after the forthcoming autumn collection.
Last week, Coleen Rooney made her first TV outing as the face of online and catalogue retailer Littlewoods and Superdrug has snapped up Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page to front a new campaign.
Do retailers really benefit from celebrity endorsements?
Moss’s collaboration is said to be have been lucrative. Although Arcadia does not split out results, it was reported that her range has contributed to a 10% sales uplift during 2007. Meanwhile, celebrity-laden womenswear and food ads were a key part of M&S’s revival.
While Jamie Oliver’s 12-year partnership with Sainsbury’s remains a winner for the chain, the pair clashed over its poultry policy. Graham Hale, chief executive of consultancy Interbrand, said that even helped to make the partnership appear real. “They resolved it so quickly that it showed Sainsbury’s engaged with him seriously.”
What about the campaigns that haven’t worked?
Some tie-ins seem like a natural fit but do not resonate with the target demographic. For example, Rooney was axed by Asda as the face of its George fashion brand after two years because it wanted to attract a more upmarket consumer.
Kerry Katona’s fall from grace as gave Iceland a real headache. “Brands are carefully built up over years and decades but celebrities come and go,” says Paul Brotherton, creative director for branded environments at consultancy Futurebrand. “There was a mismatch between the role Katona played in the ads and the life that was playing out in the tabloids.”
What are the advantages of using celebrities?
If a retailer can find a celebrity that fits neatly with its brand values, and is generating positive publicity, it is impossible to quantify the return on marketing investment. “It creates a proximity that has a commercial value,” says Hale.
And the disadvantages?
Apart from the Katona-style meltdown reflecting badly on a brand, other problems can arise if the wrong ambassador is selected in the first place.
Celebrity-fronted campaigns are also expensive and tend to run their course naturally. Consumers can be all too fickle when it comes to fame.
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