The Tribune

When I was a child, I thought that if you owned a business you were automatically rich. And that if you appeared in the newspaper or television for something good, you were automatically famous and rich.

I don’t think I was alone in that thinking, and I still encounter this myth of the rich celebrity day after day. Of course, my own personal experiences have quickly debunked this myth. Yet still it persists even to this day. What it has taught me is that celebrity is created by exposure, and celebrity is clearly something that works to the advantage of smart marketers.

It took me a while to understand that your celebrity can be leveraged into other fields. That is why you see movie stars, athletes and other well-known personalities talking on social, political and religious issues because their popularity makes someone value their opinion.

If you stop and think about it, eating something because someone well-known says it tastes good does not seem logical. But it is the emotional mind where persons make buying decisions first. And the desire to be like someone you admire is a very strong motivating force to mimic their behaviours.

Without a doubt, celebrity is transferrable across different fields. If you are old enough to remember the ‘Be like Mike’ campaign, you may remember that it sold a lot of tennis shoes. Does putting on a pair of Jordans really make you shoot a basketball better? Maybe. Because we all know that belief is an important part of the battle. So, in some ways, celebrity shoes may indeed make you shoot better.

The power of celebrity cannot be overstated, but persons often think that to hire a celebrity is outside their reach. In fact, the opposite is true.

If you find someone who has a huge following among the youth, they may not be rich or famous, but they may be very available. For example, there are a lot of young athletes who are well known by their peers.

The Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has done a great job with this, signing young Olympians on to their marketing campaigns.

To find the ideal local celebrity, try to locate someone who the group you are targeting will appreciate and trust.

For example, an older musician may be way past his or her prime, but if you are selling products that are bought by an older crowd, they may be the perfect pitch person for you.

And I’ll bet they will not be that expensive, yet their influence could move a lot of products.

NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, and has helped small and large clients, both in the Bahamas and internationally. Go to DArcyRahming.com and get his free video training series on How to Get a Paycheck From International Clients While Living in the Bahamas.