How to Market a Celebrity Product the Right Way
Growing up, I always had a sense of curiosity for pop culture. I was drawn to the personalities, confidence, and styles of celebrities, finding myself creating parasocial relationships. It’s become an outlet for myself and millions of others to gain inspiration and learn about subcultures outside of your own hometown. From Youtube, to Instagram, to A-List celebrities, I continue to be caught up on the latest news, gaining more insight about the industry everyday.
The power of social media has taken over predominantly Gen Z, the first generation to grow up with a vast amount of knowledge at the tip of their fingers. Before, access to the mass population was challenging to reach due to limited media. Now, anyone can garner a large audience, creating the term we now know as “Influencers”. The Merriam Webster Dictionary (2024) defines them as “a person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media”. In my fashion journey, I find this to be extremely accurate. I first fell in love with streetwear clothing because of what my favorite celebrities were wearing, and I value comfort the most. As a follower, you want to represent yourself with the personalities you’re watching that either align with who you are, or who you want to be.
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Knowing the importance of impact these influencers have, it makes sense why many venture off into product opportunities. The key to producing a successful product centered around a celebrity is solidifying what they represent and what they can offer. Many of these brands tend to fail because they create products that do not align with who they are. I want to bring up an example that strengthens this strategy. I follow a marketing Tiktoker (@bee.better.company), who has brought attention to the downfalls of celebrity brands. Recently, he has been discussing Charli D’Amelio as an example. Charli first blew up on Tiktok for her dancing videos, gaining over 100 million followers within her first year. With this extremely fast growth, she began to create brands that were simply products, overlooking a consumer need by cashing out instead. From clothing, to perfume, to now popcorn, she hasn’t found a justification for why her target audience should be buying these products. Additionally, over the course of these past two years, she has slowly stopped posting dance videos, losing her drive by being caught up in her new lifestyle. This has led to a decline in her social media engagement and profit. A suggestion he had proposed for her, was to design a clothing line or shoe that was fit for dancers, which makes perfect sense for what she embodies. After taking his advice in the past week, she has begun to post dances again. As a result, myself and many others have seen her on our For You pages for the first time in months. Recognizing what your target audience loves you for and showing that you have passion for what you do are what flourish a celebrity’s brand and career.
Now of course, not ALL cases are like this, but the majority of the time, if you want long term success this would be the route to go. Finding the core in the beginning is essential. Fans like myself form parasocial relationships for a reason, because we can relate to their personalities in certain aspects. Successful products look like Michael Jordan’s infamous sneakers for basketball players, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty providing fifty shade ranges, and Kim Kardashian’s Skims shape-wear for that iconic hourglass figure. They all are able to stick to their values in a creative way and leverage the consumer's wants by using their likeness.
