Iconic products are to become the new stars as consumers suffer from a dose of ‘celebrity fatigue’, says research from Datamonitor.
Marketers are advised that consumers are growing weary of overexposed stars such as David Beckham, whose, er, face endorses everything from Pepsi to Armani pants.
There’s also the unpredictable nature of your celebrity endorser — another Pepsi face, Britney Spears’s personal profile is said to have eclipsed that of the product she was advertising.
Consumers now want a level of interaction and accessibility that their idols don’t provide. Products such as the iPod, Threadless Ts and ‘eco-iconic’ designs allow for that interaction. But celebrities are necessarily removed — their value is, arguably, their inaccessibility.
Datamonitor’s senior analyst Richard Parker explains: “Consumers’ relationships with these celebrity-like branded products are based heavily on participation and interaction, two behaviours that are desired but rarely achieved by everyday people in their relationshiops with actual celebrity idols.”
The findings fit with the Coolbrands top 10 listing. The brand we consider coolest is the ultra-iconic Aston Martin, where the car is the star — a legacy association with James Bond affords it a useful celebrity-by-association. Among the others in the top 10, most allow the product to speak for itself.
Where celebrities are used, they are being ‘matched’ to the brand, rather than the other way around.
Even more low key, the 2008 Business Superbrands top 10 listing includes a number of classic British brands — BP, the BBC, Rolls-Royce — industry icons that, again, transcend the cult of personality.
That said, to the right of the Datamonitor story on ‘celebrity fatigue’ is news that Mick Hucknall’s appearing in Virgin Media’s star-studded campaign, Pamela Anderson’s joining Big Brother Australia, and Josh Hartnett’s going to endorse Armani fragrance. So we’re not quite exhausted yet.
Something to consider: the research could point towards a different approach to promotion. Allowing customers to get involved in creating or tailoring their product will lessen the need for traditional ‘face-led’ advertising. Co-creation models are going to lead the way, whatever the industry, according to business guru C K Prahalad, whose new book presents a template for change. More on this coming up!
