Thinking Of Using The Incredible Power Of Celebrity Marketing? 

Before reaching out to A-list stars, you will have to become an expert on your target celebrities. In fact, you need to research the personal preferences of the celebrities you are most interested in. Where are they eating, traveling, entertaining, shopping etc. Who are they spending time with and what are their hobbies? Then, and only then, can you succeed at celebrity marketing.

Of course, the first and most crucial first step is to research who best to send your product or service.

Here are a few factors to consider in your research:

Age

Who is your target market? If it's teen girls, do not send items to Halle Berry, Cate Blanchett, or Jodie Foster. They will never wear babydoll dresses, for example. No matter how seemingly ageless your favorite star is, she will never sell loads of products unless she is age-appropriate for your consumer market. So, if you're targeting young consumers, find a young star to send dresses to. You might find that Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and Leighton Meester are a much better fit. The celebrities you choose should match your target demographic. Otherwise, your celebrity marketing efforts are doomed.

Style Preferences

Take note of how certain celebrities show themselves in public. Angelina Jolie is almost always in black, white, or cream. Annette Bening usually wears her hair short. Paris Hilton prefers pink and Courteney Cox favors red. These details may seem unimportant and trivial, but they can actually help you decide which celebrities are perfect for your celebrity marketing campaign.

Ethnicity

Are you a Latina clothing designer? Eva Mendez or Jennifer Lopez may appreciate your style best. Make your product irresistible by providing incentives that they will most likely find tough to say no to. This is not playing unfairly; it's called playing smart. For instance, you could set aside a portion of the proceeds to Latina charities. Of course, you will need to mention this in your letter to your target celebrity.

Hobbies

Different stars have different hobbies, and you can use their hobbies in your celebrity marketing efforts. Find out which stars have hobbies that are connected with the product you produce. Reese Witherspoon, for instance, is very much into yoga. John Travolta loves flying and is a licensed pilot to boot! Matthew McConaughey loves to golf and surf. Use these hobbies to tell you who to send which items to.

One problem that usually comes up during research is how to separate fact from fiction. Often, the information we get about celebrities can be inaccurate. The best thing that you can do is simply be more observant and verify the information you find. Use pictures for corroboration and review celebrity publications such as People and US Weekly regularly. The pictures on Wire Image, for example, will never distort the facts you are looking to prove. Or, you can check out the celebrities' websites themselves. There, you will find a trove of information that you can use for your research.

About the Author

Liz Dennery Sanders is the CEO of Dennery Marks Inc., a nationally acclaimed brand strategy and celebrity outreach firm, and SheBrand, a company dedicated to empowering other female entrepreneurs and small business owners to build their buzz and create powerful personal brands that attract more clients.