The Pros and Cons of Celebrity Endorsers

By Sean Norris

An Organic Connection
So far, it appears that Geoff Thomas’s gamble on Lance Armstrong paid off. According to USA Today, the ride had raised 600,000 pounds as of July 17, more than half of its 2015 goal and almost a third of its 2-million-pound 2016 goal. (This despite Armstrong’s apparent inability to stay out of the negative headlines. Leading up to his charity Tour de France ride, Armstrong insinuated on Twitter and in an interview with Sky Sports News that eventual 2015 Tour champion Chris Froome—along with most of the other Tour riders—was somehow involved in doping.)

Clearly, Armstrong is still a big enough name to command attention for a cause. And while he may no longer be the poster child for celebrity endorsers, his recent fundraising successes for One Day Ahead at least offer a valuable lesson for nonprofits considering celebrity affiliations. Armstrong, for all his offenses, has retained residual goodwill among cancer survivors, many of whom—Thomas included—drew inspiration from him before his downfall. Say what you want about Armstrong, but his connection to the cancer-charity cause is an organic one, unforced and rooted strongly in personal experience. This is precisely the kind of affiliation nonprofits should look for when seeking out celebrity endorsers.

“You want to make sure that the celebrity you are reaching out to connects with your foundation and its mission. It doesn’t make sense to reach out to a  celebrity that has absolutely nothing to do with your organization’s mission,  because then that means that you aren’t reaching your target audience,” said  Morillo. “The Miami Children’s Health Foundation supports Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, and therefore our target is reaching out to celebrities who care about children’s health on a personal level, because they are a parent or a celebrity that generally supports children’s causes.”

“Audiences are incredibly savvy and sophisticated—they can spot a dilettante a mile away,” added Dilenschneider. “Authenticity matters. An organization risks eroding its credibility by chasing celebrity interlopers. A great example of an  authentic, truly committed celebrity endorser is Leonardo DiCaprio and his  work with numerous ocean conservation organizations. More than a mere famous  face, he is incredibly knowledgeable about environmental issues and is himself  a major donor to ocean-related causes. Ideally, organizations should seek associations with persons who transcend the role of celebrity spokesperson and are  true evangelists.”

Making It Work
Still, this scenario is rare. Celebrities don’t often become willing spokespersons, actively championing a nonprofit’s cause out of some deep personal conviction. But when they do, the results can be spectacular—especially if the nonprofit acts quickly to connect with the celebrity. Case in point: The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). In June 2015, an HSUS investigation found that Costco had failed to deliver on its 2007 promise to convert to 100 percent cage-free eggs—its chickens were crammed in small cages and lived in substandard conditions, while the wholesale giant’s egg cartons depicted free-range birds in open pasture. HSUS shared the footage with ABC’s Nightline and other news outlets, sparking a public outcry against Costco’s supply-chain practices.

It was a coup for the animal protection organization, generating half-a-million YouTube plays and millions of Facebook views in the month following its release. But it wasn’t until actor Ryan Gosling got involved that the campaign blew up. “Our hope all along was that once we showed Costco and the public what was happening in the company’s supply system, Costco would agree it’s time to change and set a timeline for reaching 100 percent cage-free eggs,” said Matthew Prescott, senior food policy director for HSUS. “Ryan Gosling saw the footage—and Costco’s response—and wanted to take action. Like most people, Ryan cares about animals and knows that we can do better than cramming them in cages.”

“So we worked with him to send a letter to the company’s CEO, which was seen by millions  the world over,” Prescott continued. “After Ryan Gosling’s letter to Costco received global media coverage, Bill Maher published an op-ed in the New York Times voicing his support for Costco switching to cage-free eggs. That led to further  media coverage by CNN, CBS and others.”

Gosling sought out HSUS, and the organization capitalized, turning what could have been a standard celebrity endorsement into a viral marketing windfall. It won’t always work this way. “Virality is fickle—and extremely hard to plan and predict,” said Dilenschneider. “I recommend that organizations seeking organic celebrity participation focus on the relevance and authenticity of their message. Is the campaign message meaningful to others? Is it actionable? Does it resonate as true with your hopeful audiences? These are the essential ingredients of any campaign, be it celebrity-affiliated  or otherwise.”

More often than not, celebrity support has  to be sought out and paid for—and that’s OK. By  nature, some causes will attract more organic  celebrity support than others. Paid endorsements level the playing field, allowing smaller nonprofits and those with less-sexy (but no-less important) missions to keep up with big-name organizations. You just have to know where to start.

“If you’re starting from scratch, then you want to find out who is the celebrity’s manager and the publicist. And from there, it’s all about cold pitching,” said Morillo. “But, always start with a small request or minimal information and work your way up to gauge if they are receptive. From there, and if everything goes well, you can try to engage them even more. And never give up! Just because you try to reach out once or twice and they shut you down, doesn’t mean that they won’t ever support you. If you truly believe that there’s a certain celebrity that is perfect for your organization, keep reaching out with different pitches on how they can get involved."

Going Organic: The Miami Children’s Health Foundation’s Work With Celebrity Endorsers

Lucy Morillo, president and CEO of Miami Children’s Health Foundation, believes that the most effective celebrity endorsements are those rooted in an organic  connection between the star and the cause. But these connections don’t come  along all the time—and when they do, it’s up to the nonprofit to make them work. Here, Morillo talks about her foundation’s relationship with its flagship celebrity endorser, and offers a key tip for nonprofits looking to make similar connections:

“Golf legend Jack Nicklaus and his wife Barbara have been supporting the Miami Children’s family since 2010, when they joined us on the creation of the Miami Children’s Hospital Nicklaus Care Center in western Palm Beach County. They live in Palm Beach County and they are parents with many grandchildren, so it’s a cause that truly matters to them.

“That long-term support led to a $60 million pledge to Miami Children’s through their Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. This led to the hospital, along with its outpatient centers, to adopt the Nicklaus name. Now, they are chairs of our Together for the Children campaign and are spearheading the fundraising efforts in our community and beyond to make sure we not only reach our $150 million goal, but exceed it before 2017.

“Sometimes it takes luck finding those who will support your cause, but when you do, you need to hit the ground running and find a way that they can support—give them a purpose to fulfill that will truly connect and they will support.”

Lucy Morillo (center, left) with Dr. Narendra Kini, president and CEO of Miami Children’s Health System (left), and Jack and Barbara Nicklaus.