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<aside> 🗣 Miu Miu’s Spring 2022 microskirt that EmRata debuted at the CFDA Awards, the $650 Loro Piana cashmere hat that Succession made famous, nearly everything at The Frankie Shop – these days you’re never far from a buzzy item or trend whose popularity has skyrocketed after celebrity adoption. For smaller brands especially, this can be an exciting but scary time. There are endless possibilities and with those endless possibilities, some justifiable anxieties.
Virality is never guaranteed and often shows up inexplicably. Understanding how to navigate this sudden rise in publicity will help you thrive instead of tank during a time that’s certain to feel make or break. How do I know? It happened to me. Yes, a very famous person was photographed with one of my client’s products. The best part? It was all organic.
Here’s the story: the brand had sent some product to the celebrity’s stylist months prior, but nothing much really came of it. Then, out of nowhere, the woman was seen wearing the product. Cue press firestorm. Orders were coming in at a breakneck pace and the brand sprung into action immediately. They put the then-sold out product on backorder which single handedly resulted in their largest sales day ever. After all that though, the age old question remained. Now what?
The sight of a popular celebrity wearing your product can spark a whirlwind of excitement and potential, particularly in the case of a younger brand. It's a moment that holds tremendous power – a validation of your brand's craftsmanship and market standing, as well as an opportunity to captivate discerning consumers. The initial momentum can be intoxicating and leave you wanting to go all in, but maintaining steady, strategic growth goes beyond conventions like leveraging celebrity endorsements or traditional advertising. True success lies in striking a delicate balance. You have to harness the organic exposure that comes with celebrity while staying true to the brand in order to cultivate a narrative that transcends the individual.
Now, let’s distill what I’ve learned about making the best of a sudden attention influx.
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First and foremost, you never want to be too reliant on the celebrity’s influence – the press will do that for you. The photos that drove my client’s moment were picked up by major news and fashion publications. Not to mention the hundreds of newly tagged photos on Instagram, identifying where our celebrity’s product was from and how you can get your hands on it. This had an immediate effect on not just DTC sales but the brand’s presence on the secondhand market. While this initial surge of attention is undeniably thrilling, it’s crucial to swiftly capitalize on the buzz and strategically navigate the ensuing interest.
What if your brand notices the celebrity placement but the press doesn’t? If there's very little coverage (or none at all), it's fine to acknowledge that it happened with a small gesture like a social post as a way to mark the occasion and encourage your own press. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on the implicit celeb endorsement beyond that. Discretion tends to work a lot better in situations like this. Acknowledge once and move on as you would in real life.
I also recommend immediately communicating the limited nature of your product if that’s applicable. My client’s products are made in small batches and typically aren’t produced more than once or twice depending on the style’s popularity. In this instance, the brand placed the product on backorder and swiftly communicated with their supplier about the surge in press. Importantly, they also communicated to the customer that there would only be a certain number of units in stock, which urged them to act fast or miss out completely. They didn’t bend over backwards to appease new prospects and that’s okay. In fact, they’re standing strong within their brand positioning and ethos, which is a tip that all luxury brands should follow.
I stand by that advice for any ecommerce luxury brand actually. Taking a conservative approach to ordering products allows for scarcity which in turn creates more desire for said products. Ordering too much and having a product not hit like you expected (think about returns!) could cost you significantly in stocking fees. And eventually that product will have to be transferred to an off-price retailer or go on sale in order for you to rid yourself of it.
Remember: a celebrity's endorsement serves as an opportunity to increase awareness of your wider product range. In my client’s case, the next big step was to capitalize on that organic reach and tell the brand’s story more widely. While audiences may be aware of your product, it’s integral to tell your brand’s unique story to facilitate further connection and exploration of other products. We saw this a great opportunity to retarget that new traffic to emphasize what we’re about in the form of evergreen-style ads that showcased the brand from a 360° perspective. We also highlighted a selection of hero products – showing that we’re offering way more than just the viral one seen across the globe. This strategy worked. The campaign generated increased sales of the brand’s catalog over the next few weeks.
This final point may be down to a stroke of luck but it taught me a valuable lesson: timing is everything. Especially after the initial buzz starts to fade. Not long after our celebrity push, the brand unveiled a new collection that generated some of their strongest sales to date. We were led to believe that because of the bump in popularity, our brand managed to capture new customers at the right time by unveiling new products in a timely manner.
What does this mean for you? This scenario poses some important questions to consider when crafting your overall sales strategy. Should you drop a subsequent collection all at once or should you do smaller drops throughout the season? If the former, it may be worth going with episodic drops instead. Those allow you to keep continuous momentum and get in front of customers more often. The consistency with which your message is communicated is intimately related to its efficacy and impact on audiences.
<aside> 💡 If your time in the big spotlight ever comes (and I sure hope it does) these strategies and recommendations will have you prepped and positioned for success. Even if virality isn’t in the cards, the initiatives outlined above are all part of a healthy growth strategy for any luxury brand. Remember, virality is unpredictable, and while it can undoubtedly be a game-changer, sustainable success lies in maintaining a delicate balance between leveraging organic exposure and staying true to your brand's essence.
By swiftly capitalizing on the initial buzz, effectively communicating the limited availability of your products, and telling your brand's unique story to foster further connection, you can make the most of a celebrity endorsement and cultivate lasting relationships with discerning consumers. And who knows, perhaps one day you’ll be the next big thing yourself.
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