Spokespeople and Their Salience to Publics
Still from Apple’s advertisement with Harry Styles. Photo courtesy of Apple.
Organizations can elevate their credibility, charisma and control by selecting organizational spokespeople that relate to their publics (Smith, p. 262). These spokespeople can either be celebrities or company spokespersons. Whichever you choose depends on your campaign and its goals.
Celebrities can often be effective spokespeople because they garner public interest and media attention. Celebrities like Lady Gaga, Reese Witherspoon, Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio often work with nonprofits to garner attention for good causes. It is important to note that when selecting a celebrity spokesperson, an organization must choose a figure familiar to its intended audience.
“Genuine connections are essential, and celebrity endorsements on social media have proven a great way for brands to make those connections. People want to see a face, a personality, something they can relate to.”
When choosing a celebrity spokesperson, you want to ensure that they are “at little risk for negative publicity” (Smith, p. 264). Celebrity spokespeople add additional opportunities for crises, so it is essential to have crisis communication plans in place.
Celebrities are not the only individuals that can be spokespeople in a campaign – individuals within an organization can just as effectively communicate to its publics. Some organizations use their CEO depending on their executive’s charisma and credibility. It is easy to default to this “CEO-as-spokesperson” approach, but organizations must ensure they save the CEO for significant issues the organization may face (Smith, p. 265).
Let us look at a successful campaign utilizing a celebrity spokesperson.
Harry Styles and Apple AirPods
With the release of Harry Style’s “Harry’s House” album, Apple partnered with Styles to unveil its campaign for the new AirPods with Spatial Audio. The campaign’s visual style was reminiscent of Apple’s iconic iPod silhouette commercials.
Apple is known for its celebrity collaborations and did not fall short on its latest partnership with Styles. His fame seems insurmountable in popular culture. The opportunity to promote Styles’ new album alongside Apple’s new AirPods is too great. Styles is an excellent choice as a celebrity spokesperson because of his salience in popular culture and the music industry.
Spokespeople for Pine Lake Resort
While I do not think Pine Lake Resort can land Harry Styles as a brand spokesperson, I certainly think the resort could attract local influencers and celebrities that have salience in the Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas markets. These partnerships could lead to higher awareness among the organization’s intended publics, helping improve its top-of-mind awareness.
