Celebrities love to be NOTICED! And I recently commissioned a well known couple for a book launch involving national coverage. Did I go with the first person who was available? No. Or the second or the third? No. It's about knowing who you are dealing with and understanding something about their own past, present and future. Believe it or not, it plays a huge part in the bigger picture and will stay embedded within hundreds of pages of print both virtual and hard for many years to come.

Okay, so you feel you have the right product or service; it's about getting out there, being a lateral thinker and finding the right person for the job.

Firstly, concentrate on what type of person you need for this campaign. Do you want someone who
has a whiter than white image who maybe is never seen on the red carpet and prefers a chocolate
drink to champagne? If so, they are never going to be best suited to you.
Let's take for example, if you are launching a new children's book, would you really want to approach someone who has had their name sprawled all over various tabloids for drug abuse and other debaucheries? It will, in one way or another be linked back to your book and the press are very clever with coming up with witty one liners. That's what they DO. Can you afford to take that risk? if not, steer clear!

What do you know about your celebrities background that may make them want to promote your product or service? For example, if they have a keen interest in global warming, they may well consider becoming 'face' of your new energy efficient car parts. But to be in with a chance at all, a professional approach is needed.
Don't become 'star struck' when you make any contact either with their agents, P.R. people or possibly even the celebrity themselves. It oozes UN-professionalism and will have them running a mile! Don't ask them for autographs and signed pictures; they are here doing something for you already, it you begin to 'hound' them, they may re-think their position.
Have a demeanor which projects confidence ( not arrogance) and listen to their comments as you would ( hopefully) anyone else. You may not agree but it is about give and take, right?
Make sure you have a way (probably their team will do it for them), of managing your own publicity for the event/s. If you are uncertain in any way, seek the advice of a p.r. agency.
They can help you with the right campaign and if you have been to the lengths of hunting down and commissioning a celebrity for your business / campaign, it is worth going all the way to ensure it is handled in the most professional manner of all.
Make sure everything is timed to perfection; for example, if you need a delivery of while lilies for a photo-shoot, don't forget to ensure that they will be there at 9.a.m. if the shoot is at 1. If every last detail is tried and tested again ( maybe have a trial run) then all should go according to plan; you get your celeb making your goods / services look outstanding,
the celeb gets their extra few column inches or even a cover shot for the week.
But most of all, never be too afraid to GO FOR IT! Your celebrity obviously did. And look how far it got them!

Learn more about this author, Rachael Webster.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

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