Celebrity+Appearances



Overview
The ultimate goal of a business is to increase sales and income. To achieve their goal many forms of new emerging media have developed in order to increase brand awareness. "It's all about brand awareness," said Ed Hardy's marketing director, Nathan Fuja. Businesses have been hiring celebrities to promote their brands, and its working! The kind of celebrity involvement varies. Physical appearance seems to induce positive feelings toward the spokesperson and in some cases changes beliefs about a business or product. For example, buying aVon Dutch trucker's hat to imitate Ashton Kutcher is a real outcome of celebrity-branded line and can sway buyers in a very significant way. A celebrity can influence a business simply by making an appearance in a night club or restaurant. TAO nightclub in Las Vegas, NV has teamed up with Kim Kardashian for numerous appearances. Kardashian hosted her 29th birthday party at TAO and recently launched her new fragrance there. TAO used Kardashian's fragrance in an advertisement to increase the crowd at their nightclub. These appearances reinforce the representation of celebrities used for potential businesses.

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Benefits
While celebrity status often allows superstars to live a life of privilege, many celebrities have chosen to make a public appearance supporting a wide variety of causes that are relevant in our world today. Hunger, earthquakes, addiction and AIDS are just some of the issues celebrities are standing up to recognized and lend their support. Jeremy Piven is only one of many celebrities who used his fame to help others. Piven has teamed up with You Tube. Together they are encouraging the public to get involved and create videos for a nonprofit organization addressing issues like poverty, disease and sanitation.

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 Mariah Carey is another celebrity known for her appearances at charitable events. Carey is a Congressional Horizon Award recipient for her humanitarian work and is well known for efforts to help disadvantaged children. She has also scheduled many charity performances. When a celebrity is going to make a performance at charity events, the proceeds go to the charity being honored. It’s an empowering feeling when the public can see their favorite celebrities making a positive difference in the world.

Limitations and Costs

Making appearances is an important aspect of being a celebrity. These appearances take time, and it makes sense that celebrities should be paid something for their inconvenience. The question is just how expensive is their time? OK! Magazine reported that Heidi Montag wouldn’t attend her own sister’s birthday party without being paid. According to a Forbes report, in 2007 reality television stars were charging up to $25,000 for an appearance or speaking event. Jon Gosselin requested $12,000 to guest host a radio station in Florida. Due to the increase of hit reality shows, however, fees have dropped. For a speaking event reality celebrities can earn between $5,000 and $10,000. Even for a small event such as a meet and greets, they can earn between $1,000 and $3,000. A big name celebrity can charge up to six figures for an appearance. Celebrities like Ali G, Chris Rock, Conan O’Brien, Jessica Simpson, Martha Stewart, Simon Cowell and Stephen Colbert have listed their appearance fee at $100,000 or more. It was reported by the All American Speakers booking agency that Billy Crystal, Donald Trump, Dr. Phil McGraw, Ellen DeGeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, Lance Armstrong, Larry the Cable Guy, Robin Williams and Tim Allen can charge $200,000 or more for appearances!

Audience Response

Stardom is created by having a base of loyal fans that raise a star to that celebrity status. The audience creates the celebrity. Without an audience, the celebrity is no longer a celebrity. Therefore, audience responsiveness will vary depending on how big the celebrity is; the bigger the audience, the bigger the celebrity. Eli Martinez, a bartender at the Lazy Lizard nightclub in Morgantown, WV, said when Bridget Marquardt came to the nightclub, the audience was like nothing he had ever seen before. “Some of the dedicated fans waited in line all night and never got inside. Each bartender almost tripled the money they made in tips compared to a normal weekend,” said Martinez. However, scheduling can be an issue when working with celebrities. A business must work with the celebrities who are endorsing them and comply with their availability. Planning a celebrity appearance is extremely complicated to organize; however, the payoff for the business can be well worth it!

Who uses celebrities for advertising today?

Got Milk? is a national campaign and one of the most recognized and respected advertising campaigns. Celebrities like Jordin Sparks, Usher, Ben Roethlisberger, Heidi Klum, Miley Cyrus and many more have helped Milk achieve the success of this campaign.



Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson and P. Diddy are few of many celebrities who have spoken out for Proactiv Acne Solution. Proactiv used a string of celebrities in their commercials to talk about their acne problems and solutions.Many talk shows like Chelsea Lately and David Letterman interview celebrities nightly. Radio stations often have celebrity call-ins and interviews. Night clubs all over the world use celebrity appearances to increase ratings, numbers and fans. Living in a world where many dream of being famous in some capacity or another, it is a trend that connects the public to their idols. The ability to capitalize on this popularity is endless.



References

Bye, e. (n.d.). Celebrity Appearance Fees Are on the… Decline? | OK! Magazine - The First for Celebrity News. //OK! Magazine - The First for Celebrity News//. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.okmagazine.com/2009/11/celebrity-appearance-fees-are-on-the-decline/

Charitable & Philanthropic Celebrities. (n.d.). //Celebrity Charity News, Events, Foundations & Causes//. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity

Martinez, Eli. Personal interview. 27 Mar. 2010.

MilkDelivers - got milk? Campaign. (n.d.). //MilkDelivers//. Retrieved April 3, 2010, from http://www.milkdelivers.org/got-milk-campaign/

Tschorn, A. (2005). The Fame Factor. //DNR: Daily News Record//, //35//(36), 22. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.