Luxury Brands & Celebrities: An Enduring Branding Romance
Found this interesting summary on celebrity luxury partnerships by Uche Okonkwo , Executive Director, Luxe Corp and author of Luxury Fashion Branding and Luxury online www.luxe-corp.com
The complete article can be found just below..
Celebrity endorsement of luxury fashion is hardly a new phenomenon, as it has been around for several centuries. Charles Worth, the man who invented haute couture in Paris in the nineteenth century, understood the importance of linking celebrities to brands, even before this was recognized as an important marketing communications tool. To promote his fashion house La Maison Worth, he sought a high society lady and an influencer of the court fashions, Princess Von Metternich, wife of the then Austria’s ambassador to France and close friend of Napoleon’s wife Empress Eugenie. This celebrity’s patronage and connection with La Maison Worth contributed immensely to the success and status of this couture house as the most influential in the world at its time.
Celebrities are extremely important and valuable to brands, especially in the luxury fashion sector. There is no argument about it. They wield enormous power in fashion circles and can contribute to making and breaking brands. Fashion designers pamper them and brand managers recognize their potential to brands and utilize this effectively. Celebrity endorsement does not however begin and end with shooting and printing the photo of a beautiful model in a fashion magazine. There are several factors and dimensions involved in choosing a celebrity to endorse a brand. It is however worthwhile to understand what the true value of celebrity endorsement is. Read the rest of this entry »
Effective use of Celebrity endorsement – Part 4
An insight by Andrew Howie
Head – Andy Murray
Each year as Wimbledon comes around, the blow torch gets applied to Andy Murray and the whole of Great Britain pins their hopes on his success. He has managed to get as high in the professional rankings as number 2 in the world, but currently is sitting at 4th. He has twice made the finals of a grand slam at both the Australian Open and the US Open. His best Wimbledon appearances have both ended in the semi finals. So far, the Poms have had to wait for Murray to become the first British men’s champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
In a recent campaign for his major sponsor Head launched to coincide with this year’s Wimbledon tournament, Andy Murray performed some amazing tennis feats on the streets of London. On closer inspection here seems to be a few editing tricks along the way. But overall, it seems that he has done it all himself. Some of the tricks are pretty impressive.
There have been discussions around the authenticity of the footage. I think that given it is a piece of entertainment; it should be viewed as such. It doesn’t matter if it is real or not, but rather that it is engaging and memorable. Two of the most important things in advertising. It has been viewed close to 1 million times on Youtube alone. It was picked up by most sporting blogs around the world and was the subject of plenty of editorial content when it was launched. Read the rest of this entry »
TV sponsorship on the rise on Chinese TV
An insight by Michael MacRitchie
CHINA’S UGLY BETTY “UGLY WUDI”
China — A raft of new Chinese television advertising restrictions have made sponsorship and product placement a strong alternative route to reaching a ballooning consumer market, according to an independent analysts’ report released recently.
The series of new TV ad rules put in place in the first quarter of 2010 by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television “play directly into the hands of sponsors and product placers,” the report from Beijing-based media consultants China Media Monitor-Intelligence said.
“There has never been a better time to start closing the gap between reaching consumers and making quality programming,” Kristian Kender, CMM-I’s research director, told MGI Entertainment. Read the rest of this entry »
The right celebrity can give your brand sex appeal
An insight by Michael MacRitchie
It is not uncommon to switch on the television and be confronted by celebrity after celebrity propounding the virtues of some brand or other. Celebrity advertising has always been popular and a fast growing economy attracts celebrities by the dozen in this space.
People are easily influenced and impressed by celebrities, and consider it a status symbol to sport brands endorsed by them in an effort to aspire to the same status. (A brand associates itself with a celebrity to enhance its attractiveness to the consumer. But it is important to choose the right celebrity for a product as scandals relating to them can be disastrous in a milieu where attitudes are conservative.)
Here is a quick look at some; Read the rest of this entry »
An insight by Andrew Howie
Well established and long standing charities are facing a battle on a new frontier. Whilst they have previously battled to gain your affections and more importantly, your donation, they are now facing a battle against an increasing cluttered segment.
Over the last ten years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of registered charities that are out there campaigning for donations. Many of these charities operate in fringe areas and focus on niche issues. The difficulty being that the amount of money that is available has not increased at the same rate. Simple economics show us that charities are fighting harder for diminishing returns.
To help raise the profile of the charity, they have long sought celebrity endorsement. A quick internet search brings up many celebrities and the causes that they support. So prolific is the association of celebrities and charities there are website dedicated to the work these people are doing. Such high profile names and Angelina Jolie, Bill Clinton, Bono and Brad Pitt sit alongside George Clooney and Sir Elton John as supporters of numerous charities. The causes that they donate to include but by no means are limited to human rights, poverty and disease. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie donated in excess $8 million dollars in 2006 alone. Read the rest of this entry »
Feminism delivered in fabulous heels
An insight by Andrew Howie
Over the years, small screen hits have made their way to the big screen. Many have been successful too and spawned sequels. A great example of this is Mission Impossible. Certainly some of the better work we have seen from Tom Cruise in recent memory.
We have two famous franchises hitting the big screen and making waves as we speak. I am talking about Sex and they City 2 and The A Team. Whilst I have absolutely no interest in the former, it would be remiss of me not to discuss the culture phenomenon that it is. And the impact it has had on women around the world.
Many women have grown up emulating these women and they way they live their lives. Powerful, sexy, successful and most importantly comfortable in their own skin, these four women have sprouted trends that have made people, including themselves, rich and famous many times over. In the most recent second installment, the stars, now firmly in their 40’s and 50’s, move with ever more style and grace. They show that age is no barrier and often, a little bit of experience can help you manage some tough situations with poise. For example, people who chose to question your ability to wear an outfit, based on a pre-conceived social expectation. Read the rest of this entry »
An insight by Michael MacRitchie
Ok China readers it is official…. Not that this is entirely breaking news but Andy Lau is “officially” the hottest Asian actor. Apparently he now not only ticks all the boxes for Chinese Women but now Western women are also swooning for him…
The movie star came out tops in a survey of 108 Western women living in Shanghai, where respondents were asked to rank Chinese male professionals they would want to marry.
http://www.nigihana.com/forum/gossips/5216-western-women-want-marry-andy-lau.html
Also you will also see that Andy Lau also has “the sperm” Chinese women want the most for their babies….
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-06/30/content_5445732.htm
When Big Ideas Come to town…
An insight by Andrew Howie
Seen by most as the premier film festival on the plant, Cannes is here again. The world’s greatest actors, most beautiful people and movie executives trot along to watch the latest movies. There is a mix of art-house films and big budget productions. The big one this year is with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett. The remake of ‘Robin Hood’ is headlining the event. Ably supported by the sequel to the classic ‘Wall Street’. The big draw card at the event is of course the star factor. This year’s event has been judged as having less ‘A-list appeal’ than previous years.
Once all the glitz and glamor of the movie festival winds down and the movie stars go back to their mansions in the hills, the advertising guys roll in. Black tie and ball gowns are replaced with tight jeans and black shirts. People sporting edgy haircuts and even edgier attitudes. Read the rest of this entry »
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