Jeweller - September 2020

MARKETING REVIEW | Brand Ambassadors
L to R: Chloë Grace Moretz, Indya Moore, and Sophie Turner for Louis Vuitton
and successful. Bear Grylls is the world’s
most recognised face of survival and
outdoor adventure, having spent his
career in the wild, navigating some of
the most extreme landscapes on earth
and coming out of the most dangerous
situations alive and unharmed.
“Luminox watches are known for their
ability to perform in extreme situations,
making this the perfect partnership.”He
adds, “There is no better watch to be
on Bear Grylls’ wrist than a Luminox,
especially a Luminox which Grylls
helped design and develop.”
Meanwhile, in the jewellery category, we
have seen stars such as Angelina Jolie
(Robert Procop), and supermodel sisters
Bella Hadid (Chrome Hearts) and Gigi
Hadid (Messika) work with established
brands as ‘guest designers.’ All three
collaborations had a distinct air of
authenticity. Jolie – a noted philanthropist
– and her daughter Zahara created a
charity collection with Procop, who is a
long-term friend and designed Jolie’s
engagement ring.
Bella Hadid is a close friend of the Stark
family, who own the Chrome Hearts
brand, while Gigi Hadid was introduced to
Messika founder Valérie Messika at Paris
Fashion Week and found their design
philosophies and approach to wearing
jewellery were very similar.
Perhaps the most prominent example
is Spanish A-lister Penélope Cruz and
Atelier Swarovski. Both Cruz and Atelier
Swarovski founder Nadja Swarovski
expressed a passion for environmental
protection, as well as fine jewellery.
The result was Cruz designing a
14-piece made-to-order collection
from responsibly sourced metals and
gemstones, as well as some synthetic
gemstones and lab-grown diamonds.
The range was later expanded and
manufactured in commercial quantities.
“Penélope asked us [to collaborate on
the range] and that is such an honour,
as usually we have to look for partners,
but to be working with someone who
believes in the cause is amazing,”
Swarovski said in 2018.
“Celebrity ambassadors have
provided Linneys with a
recognisable figure to showcase
our latest designs. Showing
how the pieces can be worn and
enjoyed is the key. Having the
celebrity endorsement gives an
added level of credibility to
the brand as well as assisting
with achieving PR [goals]
around the campaign.”
– Justin Linney, Linneys
She added, “It is much better to start with
the film crowd as they are environmentally
tuned-in, so it was a natural evolution
when Penélope came along. [And] these
are designed by someone who has been
on the red carpet.”
An interesting local example of authentic
celebrity endorsement is that of WAbased
Linneys. The family-owned retailer
has chosen a number of West Australian
celebrities to promote and model its
collections over the years. These have
included Ernie Dingo, Melissa George,
and Tahnee Atkinson.
Justin Linney, creative director Linneys,
tells Jeweller, “Celebrity ambassadors
have provided Linneys with a recognisable
figure to showcase our latest designs.
Showing how the pieces can be worn and
enjoyed is the key. Having the celebrity
endorsement gives an added level of
QUICK RE V IE W
Key Points
• Improve brand
awareness and
brand value
High-profile actors,
athletes, presenters
and musicians can
increase brand
awareness and
value with potential
customers
• Conversion and
sales growth
Celebrity
endorsements can
improve sales, but
this is moderated by
many other factors
• Value fit
and loyalty
Brands must
weigh the risks
that a star could
embarrass them
through private
actions or breaching
their endorsement
contract
• Data-driven
strategy
An endorser should
be chosen based
on research and
insights, rather
than gut feeling or
personal appeal
credibility to the brand as well as assisting with
achieving PR [goals] around the campaign.
“We focus on working with Australian
ambassadors because that fits well with our
brand and key messaging that we utilise in
our marketing.”
The retailer has recently shifted to productbased
campaigns in order to keep the focus on
its jewellery designs, however its most recent
celebrity ambassador was model-turned-
Survivor Australia contestant David Genat.
Another Australian retailer utilising a celebrity
strategy is Larsen Jewellery. It has been the
‘official ring partner’ of Channel 10’s The Bachelor
franchise for several years. The Sydney-based
brand created an unusual grey spinel ring for
Matt Agnew in 2019, a garnet-and-rose-gold
commitment ring for Nick ‘Honey Badger’
Cummins in 2018, and a diamond-and-platinum
design for Matthew ‘Matty J’ Johnson in 2017.
Larsen Jewellery also created the engagement
ring for Johnson and the show’s winner, Laura
Byrne, in 2019. The ring was promoted on both
Johnson and Byrne’s Instagram accounts;
together, the couple boast a combined following
of more than 500,000.
Indeed, social media has played an increasingly
critical role in the nature of celebrity
endorsement over the past decade.
A new sphere of influence
The celebrity ambassador approach to marketing
consumer products has enjoyed a long and
illustrious term without serious revision. But in
response to the questions being asked about
consumers’ fatigue with celebrity endorsements,
the other phenomenon to have emerged in
recent years is that of celebrities espousing
product endorsements via social media.
In 2011, US-based marketing platform
firm Ad.ly – which called itself the ‘social
matchmaker’ – had found a niche working with
brands to connect them with the right celebrity
ambassadors through digital media.
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