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Product Endorsements

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Lemuel

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Greetings all.

I wondered if there were some of you who, like me, work in sales and marketing. Specifically, does anyone here work with product endorsements - i.e. contracting with a celebrity for promotional purposes?

I normally attempt to avoid asking for help with my work (visions of Keating, y'know ... thanks, Ayn! :)), but this is an area where I need some education, and haven't found so much as a path to the answers I seek. So, instead of any direct questions and a long context-building setup, I wanted to first know if there was anyone who had any experience with this sort of thing. Where did you learn to negotiate the relationship successfully? Did you find the endorsement to be effective or a waste of money? How did you quantify the results?

If so, of course, avoid sensitive information; there's no need for names or product brands. I'm only interested in the process, and others' experiences, and I'll share a few of my own.

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Why don't you start a "Business Practice" subforum Nerd?
We have a sub-forum titled "School, Work, Money". Given the large number of sub-forums we have, wouldn't it be better to make one only after we've got a lot of posts on a particular area? Otherwise, the new sub-forums might remain nearly empty.
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Um, only peripheral knowledge, I had a friend who booked celebrities in Vegas. It involved a lot of schmoozing with their agents/handlers, then eventualyl the celebs themselves. You have to sell the idea to them. She got to talk to quite a few celebs, although she never met them, she just did booking.

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I can definitely imagine Rearden and Dagny using product endorsements in advertisements. An ad is not a logical argument. Sometimes, it is closer to polemic. Often, it isn;t even that; often, its purpose is simply to cut through everything else and say: Look!

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I think the main reason for celebrities in ads is to say “if I’m spending this much money to promote this product, I must (1) have spent a lot designing/making it and (2) think it will be around for a while.”

Another way to accomplish the same is simply to destroy expensive stuff on TV, which is why we’re seeing all those cars go splat in the VW ads.

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I can definitely imagine Rearden and Dagny using product endorsements in advertisements. An ad is not a logical argument. Sometimes, it is closer to polemic. Often, it isn;t even that; often, its purpose is simply to cut through everything else and say: Look!

By what principle of logic does one engage in a non-logical argument?

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A statement like "Mr. X thinks A is true" has no place in formal reasoning. Similarly, "Mr. X says A but does non-A" does not add or detract from the formal statement of a line of reasoning.

However, "Mr. X thinks A" and "Mr. X says A but does non-A" could still have cognitive significance. It depends on your understanding of Mr. X and of A. If you trust Mr. A's judgement about that category of things, it is reasonable to want to know more about why he likes A. In the second example, if you trust Mr. X, it raises the question of whether and why he is a hypocrite.

If someone tells me, "Camulet K was Ayn Rand's favorite book", I do not conclude that the book is good. However, the statement does have cognitive significance for me, because I have reason to trust her taste in books.

Similarly, if I'm trying to emulate Arnold Schwarzenegger's body-building techniques, and he recommends a particular energy drink, that does have cognitive significance.

Now, as an adult, one realizes that people are paid to endorse products, and one realizes that they will often exaggerate and sometimes even lie. So, one has to keep that in mind while judging the message. If I wanted a clear skin, I'd find it hard to believe that Jessica Simpson really used Pro-Active.

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Similarly, if I'm trying to emulate Arnold Schwarzenegger's body-building techniques, and he recommends a particular energy drink, that does have cognitive significance.

This is the type I'm dealing with, but let me elaborate the context of the situation I'm involved in.

I represent a line of music instruments, and a large part of marketing these instruments is working with professional players. Seeking the endorsement of someone whose career revolves around playing that instrument is a great value. Being able to say "my product is so good that this famous musician uses it" is not only valuable for me, but them.

The usual agreement is that we can use their testimony, image, logo, etc. to promote the products online and in print, all in return for a free instrument for them to use on stage. Both benefit from the arrangement: the artist gets premium gear, and the brand gets celebrity marketing.

It's not like I'm trying to use a pretty face to sell my wares; I would never seek the endorsement of, say Keanu Reeves or Angelina Jolie because they're not musicians - their word would not lend a credible testimonial to the products' quality. With famous (and talented) musicians, I prove that the products are worthy of use by people whose careers depend on quality instruments, therefore good enough for the musical hobbyist, weekend player, etc. In this case, a "celebrity" endorsement lends additional value to the product.

Without going into too much detail, there are severe limitations on my ability to take advantage of this form of marketing (the most powerful and persuasive for any music instrument). Some of those limitaions are circumstantial, and I won't tilt against windmills. Others are problems of perception, willingness, general disagreement over whose responsibility it is (manufacturer, or distributor ... both claiming it's the other's responsibility), and, most problematically, quantifying the efficacy of having such a program.

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