4 Thoughts on what celebrities can and can’t do for your cause
- Thu, October 06 2011
- Filed under: Marketing essentials
My friend Greg recently alerted me to Stephen Colbert’s latest charity campaign. Stephen Colbert appealed to his strong, close-knit community of viewers to create a “Stephen and Melinda Gates Foundation” campaign. You could upload a photo of yourself with Stephen and Melinda here, and when enough people (20,000) took action, $100,000 was contributed to DonorsChoose. They made the goal with time to spare.
It offers some interesting lessons what celebrities can and can’t do for a cause:
1. Celebrity-based campaigns hinge on how strong and committed that celebrity’s fan base is. People who love your cause already aren’t going to do more just because a celebrity’s in the picture. But a celebrity can bring in visibility with new audiences and some new supporters—depending on the celeb’s following. Colbert has a huge following, so he got people to take action (in this case, uploading photos). One of the most successful fundraisers on Network for Good’s platform was with Clay Aiken’s fan base—trust me, they are VERY committed!
2. The celebrity’s effectiveness as a spokesperson hinges on how tied they are to the cause. Think of Michael J. Fox and his support of research on Parkinson’s disease or Cicely Tyson’s anti-smoking advocacy after her sister died of lung cancer. People are more deferential to advocates of a cause who have a clear stake in that cause. Colbert made his “cause” more about being a Bill Gates himself than DonorsChoose—and that’s why it worked. That’s his shtick. It had an authentic feel—because it was about Stephen.
3. The lasting impact on the nonprofit hinges on the nonprofit. When people take action because a celebrity told them to, their emotional affinity is to the celebrity more than the charity. The nonprofit has to do the hard work of trying to build that connection after the campaign. It won’t be easy. I don’t know how many people donated to DonorsChoose in addition to loading their photos, but I imagine the number was far lower. Great cultivation, wonderful storytelling and clear collective impact are essential ingredients to transforming an impulsive, starstruck act to lasting support.
4. The best celebrities are your most ardent supporters. You don’t need to be on TV to be an amazing fundraiser. The best fundraiser for you may not be Stephen Colbert but rather a true champion of your cause with a great story to tell. They will be hugely influential among their circles of influence. Collect a small cadre of these types of “celebs” and you’ll be well served - perhaps better than by Hollywood glam.
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