The Instagram-effect means that in our current world, celebrities and influencers are king. Brands have learned that collaborating with the hottest names capitalises on this trend and provides a valuable link to consumers’ lives. But before writing a cheque to Kylie Jenner for $1,000,000 for an Instagram post, read our guide on how to use celebrity seeding to boost your consumer PR activity.
How celebrity seeding works
Celebrities and influencers are thought leaders, especially when it comes to consumer lifestyle brands. Putting your products in the right influencers’ hands to generate endorsements and testimonials can drive consumer purchases. While there can be a financial transaction as part of the deal, it is possible to work with celebrities on unpaid and reciprocal terms.
It is possible to achieve this by:
- Providing celebrities with relevant, exciting products that give the celebrity a chance to experience it, providing the client with content that they can re-post
- Obtaining testimonials from influencers to promote the brand, product or service
- Utilising your product or business as currency as a primary tool over and above payment
Here are a few examples of celebrity seeding:
- Clothing brands seed product with celebrities through seeding agencies. The agents pick out items for their celebrity clients, who then wear them in public and are photographed by paparazzi wearing the items
- Automotive manufacturers seed free car leases to celebrities they want to be seen driving their cars (Audi has been known to do this)
- Airbnb seeds free stays at key properties with celebrities
Although celebrity seeding has been around for a long time, today it does have some downsides – lacking in crucial areas of data measurement, brand message distribution and demographic understanding. However, it remains a highly valuable method of brand and product advertising as part of a holistic consumer PR campaign.
For more on our consumer PR, please see ADPR’s Consumer PR 101
If you’d like to discuss a celebrity seeding campaign for your consumer product or business, call us on +44 (0)1460 241641 today for a chat about how we can help.