Entertainment: A Powerful Tool in
Communicating Health Messages
Working with Celebrities 101
Carefully consider the event, size, and audience reach before pursuing celebrity involvement. Will the event be a valuable use of the celebrity’s time, based upon the subject matter and audience to be reached?
Celebrities need specifics: who, what, where, when, for how long and WHY.
Remember celebrity birthdays, send cards, and send thank you notes.
Celebrities can be very labor intensive. Consider how much direct communication you have versus dealing in multiple layers of staff who may confuse communications and generate challenges for your organization.
It may be beneficial to work with public relations firms who specialize in entertainment partnerships.
It is important to consider the level of personal interest and commitment when partnering with celebrities. Although there are agencies that can find celebrities for events–there is often a high cost. If you have to pay an extraordinary fee for their appearance–is the use of the celebrity cost-beneficial to your organization and is the celebrity truly committed to the cause?
Be prepared to devote considerable staff, time (including after hours), and money (for travel, accommodations, and meals) toward the development of the project.
When developing messages, such as advertisements and public service announcements, allow the artist (and agent) the opportunity to review images and scripts and to comment and make recommendations for change. Then, implement modifications, as appropriate or needed. Allow the proper amount of advance time for clearance.
Page last reviewed 02/28/2007
Page last modified 02/28/2007
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