Celebrity Endorsement Requires Effective Brand Management
Celebrity endorsement of a brand can become a costly and precarious slippery slope that seldom results in favorable cost-benefit or return on investment without a clear and logical strategic purpose.
Outstanding, meaningful celebrity involvement: Matt Damon in Ethiopia for Water.org.
Over my career, I have often seen CEOs and executives want a celebrity to endorse the company for no other reason than to rub elbows and pal around with the celeb for a while. Heck, I have seen a company spend a million dollars on a golf tournament for no other reason than to get the CEO’s photo taken with some pros. What’s the business benefit? Little to none. What’s the value to shareholders and customers? Zero.
Of course, there are good and honorable exceptions such Matt Damon’s selfless and valuable work for Water.org. That’s in a different class because Damon and other stars volunteer their gravitas and appeal to call attention to critical and life-threatening issues.
One of today’s more curious celebrity endorsements is Leica Camera’s use of Seal, the European-based singer.
Singer Seal (center) with then Leica CEO Rudi Spiller (right) at B&H Photo event in New York.
Seal, while a popular singer, is not generally recognized in the photography world as anything more than an enthusiast … an amateur picture taker. He is not a professional photographer. But, he is Leica’s “Ambassador,” showing up at events with company executives.
Maybe there is genius behind using Seal to promote Leica’s cameras — at least he can afford a basic $7,000 Leica camera body, lens extra. Leica lenses generally cost $2,000 to $10,000. I’m not sure how many of his concert fans in Croatia, Portugal or Brazil can afford such luxury, though. Few of us can.
In the hotly competitive digital camera industry, Canon, by contrast, does not focus on one celebrity photographer but rather has established the respected Canon Professional Network which includes many of the world’s leading and most accomplished photographers. Canon is recognized as the camera used by National Geographic, the White House and people like Pulitzer Prize winning photographer David Kennerly. The result has helped to make Canon the world’s most popular camera brand.
Seal in concert.
What caught my attention about Leica’s deal with Seal was that Seal has been using and praising the new Fuji X100 camera, a direct Leica competitor. The X100 is in such demand that it’s extremely difficult to buy. There’s a waiting list to get one. But Seal reportedly has owned several and sold at least one to an acquaintance. He’s also engaged in several online debates with opinionated comments over the merits of the Fuji and Leica cameras, which only served to further promote and validate the importance of the new Fuji camera.
From a brand and reputation management perspective, there is something even more troubling — some bloggers claim Seal has “threatened” them during online debates and discussions. Enter the words – “seal fuji x100” – into Google.com and more than a half dozen complaints show up.
I have never before been aware of a celebrity brand “Ambassador” for one company inadvertently working to the benefit of a competitor or venturing into such inconsequential technical or subjective arguments. The people at Fuji must be cheering for the unexpected publicity.
Rule #1: Never mention the competition!
The fault does not lie with Seal but rather with the apparent lack of experience by Leica’s less-than-savvy brand management people who should have counseled the star not to be lured into meaningless product comparisons which, in this case, will always be detrimental to the prestige of Leica’s brand.
Yes, I believe that Leica’s own people are ultimately responsible for the dramatic attention that Fuji’s new X100 camera has gotten.
In brand and reputation management, never mention the competition. But, in this case, Seal was permitted to do so … and the result was a million dollars in free celebrity promotion for Fuji, the competitor. Leica’s CEO should clean house.
I emailed two communications people at Leica more than a week ago to get some understanding of their company’s reasoning surrounding its celebrity endorsement strategy. They didn’t respond.
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Category: Featured, Reputation management
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On balance I regard Seal as a good Ambassador for Leica. He is a true enthusiast for photography and the M range of cameras. For me, thats preferable that having a celebrity that’s doing it for the money alone, or a recognised photographer that has little, or no interest in the brand. Worst still, perhaps, are photographers who promote the brand, but don’t spend their personal money on acquiring the equipment. Reading about why one should buy a Noctilux or an M9 when the writer hasn’t paid, nor would ever pay the $10,000 for special glass, yet, “it’s all I use for weddings” is worse than mis-leading by an otherwise reputable company. In comparison, Seal’s relationship is refreshing.
Leica must be in a quandary because they’d like to appeal to a much younger group of photographers, but their customer base is rather, err … established. You need to be established to own the normal $20,000 introduction fee. Regardless, it’s interesting that Leica take that market sector for granted and invest nothing in relationships with the senior group.
The recent M9-P launch video with Magnum fell flat when highly regarded, by the older Leica users and internationally recognised photographers, Elliott Erwitt and Bruce Gilden dismissed the new camera with a complete lack of enthusiasm. “I shoot film” said Erwitt, “I Like a camera that fits into my hand and I shoot film” said Gilden. Masterstrokes of poor brand management.Magnum photojournalists did use Leica M cameras when film was king, but today they typically use CaNikon for their professional digital requirements. Who from Magnum was sporting an M9 ?? No one !
So, it appears you’ve hit the nail on the head – Leica executives want free tickets, back stage passes and to bask in the glow of the Magnum history.
Nice piece.
Dear David,
you are 100 % correct. I am one of the owners of a $ 2 Billion German company, and we would never ask for celebrity endorsement. Well thought out equipment is its own celebrity, and one should concentrate on the results (possible) .
Thanks for your contribution.
Ulrich
“But we’re never gonna survive, unless – we get a little crazy.”
Seal (1991)
from the song “Crazy” in his eponymous debut album.
Leica executives must have taken the verse to heart