Celebrity Branding : The Darkside
A brading legend has it that Tommy Hilfiger’s clothing brand enjoyed a $100 million sales climb over a one year period after rapper Snoop Dogg appeared clothed in a Hilfiger logo rugby shirt on television program “Saturday Night Live.” The dramatic sales coup and successful partnership with music celebrities was largely attributed to Tommy Hilfiger’s brother, Andy Hilfiger. In 2001, Andy Hilfiger went on to work with celebrities who wanted to create fashion companies based on their own image. First recruit? None other than Jennifer Lopez.
For those who haven’t heard, Jennifer Lopez, also known as J. Lo, has earned unprecedented success as a music and acting phenom, including a debut album that went five times platinum and a commanding salary of over $12 million a film. She is easily one of the most talked, photographed and written about celebrities for fashion trends in the US.
J. Lo’s first perfume “Glow by J. Lo,” released in 2002, was an instant hit among 15 to 21 year old females – the same group who buy her albums. While no exact figures are public, in early January 2003, industry observers estimated that her fragrance sales totaled $44 million in the scent’s first four months.
In March 2004, Britney Spears and cosmetics maker Elizabeth Arden Inc. hoped to repeat similar success with the fragrances Curious and Fantasy. Too bad Spears hasn’t put out any child care products of late. Of course the inherent downside to a celebrity-name brand is that when the name is no longer the public’s darling or encounters personal problems and/or scandals, the brand has a much tougher time convincing the public that the “name’s” current problems do not reflect on the brand’s name itself. Martha Stewart’s empire knows this problem all too well. But she is back stronger than ever with her TV show and while people still make Martha Stewart prison jokes all over they still revere her for her business savy.
Take Michael Jackson and Pepsi way back when. If Pepsi knew then what Michael Jackson was about today, the allegations and the ghoulish appearance he has now, they probably would have wanted him to burn completely up instead of just his hair.
Associating a celebrity to a brand is a dangerous thing. While during the star’s upside your products will soar and if that same star decides to fall so will your customers. The same equation applies to a personal brand. If you decide that part of your overall look includes a Tommy Hilfiger logo shirt and then Tommy Hilfiger gets filmed clubbing baby seals in Alaska then you will have to change. So it is wise to pick and choose emulatees carefully. While anymore we just wait to see what new scandal will pop up next for a celebrity, it is still safe to roll the dice and copy certain aspects for your personal branding.
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