Do Consumers Still Care About Brands Backed by Big Names?

Before A-list celebrities started documenting the fine details of their personal lives on social media, a fan’s self-proclaimed closeness to a public figure only required a stroll down the Macy’s fragrance aisle. And as online platforms have desensitized consumers to celebrity-backed content and trained them to recognize a disingenuous brand, believing that Grammy-award winners and MET gala attendees are intimately involved in ideating, curating and scaling their own businesses feels like an especially generous conclusion. “Fragrances were the original versions of celebrity brands, but I don’t think stuff like that would work as well these days,” said Ryan Nelson, partner at venture capitalist studio Jobi and co-founder and board member at Homecourt, Courtney Cox’s line of luxury household products. “People want celebrities to show they are interested and passionate about a product. They need to prove that it’s not just a cash grab.” https://twitter.com/ivieani/status/1574884061692174353?s=20 Consumers are no longer inclined to mindlessly buy stuff backed by influential people. A study from market research company GWI found that Gen Z’s interest in influencers has dropped 11% since 2020, and their interest in celebrities has dropped 22%. As fixation with public figures subsides, audiences are prioritizing value and expertise while conducting thorough brand research that spans far beyond recognizing that a familiar face is attached to a product. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Happy Dance (@happydance) "I highly recommend that influencers not solely rely on their current notoriety and think about a game plan for their media,” said Tiffany Hardin, CEO and founder of consulting firm Gild Creative Group, who stressed that businesses solely grounded in internet fame can lack longevity. “Is it reasonable to believe you're going to do this kind of work well into your retirement age?" Gauging sustainable stardom Brands can offer public figures born on social media ownership revenue streams that aren’t tied to fluctuating platforms, but the market saturation of products backed by influential people can weaken their relevance. “TikTok has misguided brands into applying old practices to a platform where anyone can go viral overnight,” said Jessica Phillips, founder of influencer marketing agency The Social Standard, who attributes minimized fandoms to the rise of short-form content. “We still obsess over people, but that obsession now exists in a much more narrow window.” According to Nelson, investors often “don’t go through the exercise” of asking themselves if the brand can exist without the founder’s current star power. He said that they should also meticulously analyze any history of scandals while identifying a strong differentiation that consumers are actually asking for. “We try to lean on the relationship with the celebrity or influencer heavily in the first few years to get that initial awareness and grow the brand,” said Nelson, who does not want Homecourt to always be synonymous with Courtney Cox. “We would actually want to dial back that association, so the brand can stand on its own.” https://www.tiktok.com/@homecourtco/video/7098918564861693226 Seeking utility amidst uncertainty Financial pressures and Gen Z’s famous rejection of capitalism is only strengthening consumer attraction toward relatable posts over aspirational content. TikTok is already occupied by users who don’t want to support big brands and millionaires, and the influencers who are financially positioned to start their own brands usually don’t need them to get by. When a macro influencer or celebrity launches their own brand or curates another sponsored post, users fill their comment sections with replies like “they don't need the money” and “I wonder how much they got paid for this.” GWI found that the number of Gen Zers who use private-label skincare products has grown 122% since 2020, which according to Beer reflects a “prioritization of value for money” that leaves influencer products at risk. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian) Choosing to not set up shop Celebrity and influencer-backed brands are most successful when notoriety is compounded, according to Phillips, who offered that Item Beauty would have been more successful if a group of creators were publicly supporting the line. If influential people want to facilitate deeper connections with their audiences, she said working with brands to roll out a limited-edition line is a safer bet, as it still maintains more intimacy than a quick promotion of a product that was already on the market. McDonald’s has become synonymous with short-term celebrity meals, creators like Emma Chamberlain and Keith Lee have worked with QSRs to introduce new menu items and EOS generated major marketing buzz in 2021 for borrowing colorful verbiage from a viral TikTok to relabel its shaving cream. https://www.tiktok.com/@heartdefensor/video/7200102494184197419 “If someone pops up overnight, there is a very small window to monetize that audience,” said Phillips. “EOS generated excitement with a limited-edition line and drove engagement by telling consumers to DM them for a bottle. The campaign acts as a solid roadmap for how to work with influencers.” While GWI found that consumer interest towards influencers has declined, those who say “influencers or other experts” are their favorite accounts to follow has stayed stable since 2020. The genre of content creators who simply use social media to educate users and promote their expertise are still well-positioned for success when consumer budgets get tight, according to Phillips. Sandra Lee, a dermatologist who has established long term notoriety on social media as “Dr. Pimple Popper,” falls under that category with her brand SLMD Skincare. https://www.tiktok.com/@slmdskincare/video/7208420423187336490?lang=en “If you’re trying to solve a problem, who are you listening to?” said Phillips, adding that Addison Rae’s status as a “generalist and not an expert” contributed to the demise of her beauty brand. “This is a knowledge-hungry generation, and going to someone with established credentials is alluring.”