Here’s Proof That Having Your Product or Service Endorsed By Celebrities Is a Multi-Million $$$ Idea… and Well Worth The Expense and Effort.
No doubt you’ve all heard of George Foreman, the boxing champ who returned to the ring in 1987 after a 10 year hiatus. You might also recall he came back bigger and better than ever and captured the imagination of the public. What some of you may not know is that he has also carved out an incredible career as a commercial spokesperson celebrity for various products, including long term gigs with Meineke Mufflers and later at Salton, a direct marketing company that specialised in selling small kitchen gadgets through TV infomercials.
The Salton hierachy were wise enough to recognise the value of getting Foreman to endorse their products. Notably, the Foreman Grill – The Lean Mean Grilling Machine, with sales in 1996 of somewhere around $5 million, and 3 years later, with Foremans celebrity endorsement over $200 million, accounting for nearly half the companies turnover.
Salton was also wise enough to buy out Foremans royalty agreements and sign him to a multi-year endorsement deal including use of name and likeness for all their present and future products, and paying Foreman $137.5 million in the process (part cash, part stocks).
Salton have specialised in infomercials on TV with George as the celebrity figurehead to great effect. And although I’ve harped at length about the virtues of celebrity endorsement, few have chosen to take that path, although one Platinum member recently made an enquiry with me about “who and how much”. Here’s what we discovered after a few phonecalls: That you can get any number of celebrities somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000. See the list below…
Rowena Wallace (Actress)
Belinda Green (TV Presenter and Panelist)
Anne Sargeant (former Australian netball captain, ABC commentator)
Paula Duncan (Actress)
Jean Kittson (Comedian, radio broadcaster)
Karen Pini (former Miss World ,now 48)
Alex Wileman (former Lotto NSW presenter)
Jane Rutter (Flautist)
Victoria Nichols (Actress and TV Presenter )
Kerrie Friend (Game show hostess)
Renee Geyer (Singer)
Collette Mann (Actress)
Victoria Hansen (Chef, 2GB Expert)
Catherine Saxelby (Nutritionist)
Claudia Keetch (Parenting expert)
Dr Kerryn Phelps (Columnist and former AMA President)
Rhonda Birchmore (Singer )
Gai Waterhouse (Horse racing trainer)
Obviously you need to choose the celebrity that’s right for your product or service carefully, to ensure you get the positive impact you’re looking for. The point not to be missed is the power of the celebrity, match the right product with the right market using the right media and I’d say nothing will put your growth on steroids faster than using the right celebrity.
Best regards
Mal
