The Ultimate Celebrity
Endorsement
By Buck Robinson
For years, direct response TV marketers have
known the value of incorporating celebrities
into their productions in order to serve as both
“channel stoppers” and to lend credibility to
their offers. Granted, some of these stars have entered
the infomercial arena at the tail end of their illustrious
careers.
But others, like Suzanne Somers and Victoria Principal, have truly embraced the power — and economic potential — of DR marketing and have built business empires through the power of their endorsements. But there
is another type of celebrity whose support for a product
or service carries even more weight
than an aging movie or TV star —
the on-air radio personality.
“Come on!” you say, “Radio is a
has-been medium! How can you
compare some faceless voice behind a microphone to a celebrity
who has (or at least had) his or her
face plastered all around the
world?! There is no way that a
radio DJ could ever have the impact that a Hollywood star does in
helping to sell my product!”
Well, in some categories, you
may be right. Because most on-air
radio personalities are best known
for their voices and opinions and
not their faces or physique, you
might have a hard time selling cosmetics, beauty treat-
ments or exercise equipment effectively via radio en-
dorsement. However, when it comes to high-ticket prod-
ucts, intellectual properties, housewares and other
categories that are not the usual
purview of short-form DRTV,
there is no one more effective in
generating highly qualified leads
than a trusted radio personality.
The reason for this is simple:
while television or movie stars
may play a part in your target audience’s life once a week, or perhaps once every few months, radio
personalities generally play a daily role in their listener’s
lives. And though that listener might have no idea what
that personality looks like, they certainly have a far more
intimate relationship with them because they know how
they feel about a wide variety of subjects.
In short, radio personalities are not known for the
characters that they play but for whom they really are as
individuals. They are not iconic. They are friends, advisors, confidantes. In short, they are real. And as real
celebrities, they have a level of intimacy and trust with
their listeners no Hollywood actor could ever have with
his or her fans.
So how does that help a DR
marketer? In short, it immediately
lends an unprecedented level of
“credibility to your product, even
Radio personalities ... though the audience cannot see it,
are friends, advisors, watch it being demonstrated or
otherwise know what it is that
confidantes. In short, they they are responding to. They don’t
need that kind of validation, so
are real ... they have a long as they know that it has
level of trust with their passed muster with the on-air host hey know and trust.
listeners no actors could I have seen campaigns grow
four- or five-fold in response sim-
have with their fans. ” ply because of the addition of a radio personality’s seal of approval. And that is even true versus canned spots that employ the
voiced endorsements of Hollywood stars. Even though
the audience knows that Hollywood star’s name and
hears his or her opinion about the product, that opinion
does not carry anywhere near the same level of credibili-
ty — or generate anywhere near the same level of re-
sponse — as the same kind of endorsement coming from
the radio host.
If you are thinking about DR radio and want to immediately cut through the clutter to make your product
instantly appealing to a well-targeted audience, there is
nothing more effective than employing the voiced endorsement of an on-air radio personality. After all,
wouldn’t you be more likely to buy something after hearing about it from a trusted friend? ■
