Celebrity influencers are power word-of-mouth marketers. If you get your product or service in the hands of a celeb with big following, that’s like money in the bank. Some companies contact celebrities directly (good luck with that), while others look to get celebrities’ attention via swag bags for, say, the Oscars or Cannes Film Festival. How do they do it? Well, while it isn’t necessarily easy, it is not impossible.
Getting products into celebrities hands via event swag has become such big business that the bag is out and the gifting suite is in. Gifting suites offer a buffet of products to celebs, where in exchange for freebies, company representatives hope to photograph the celebs holding their products.
Pay to Play – Celebrity Endorsements
One of the easiest ways to get in is to hire a PR firm that specializes in swag bag product placement. Hollywood Swag Bag places products in all the major awards shows. Hollywood Branded also places products. These are expensive options, starting at around $5,000 for your product in bags given to Oscar presenters and up to $20,000 for that plus a backstage pass and your photo with an Oscar presenter while they are holding your product.
Crafty and Clever Gift Bags
If you are the crafty sort, you might want to check out The Artisan Group. This group gathers the finest products, such as fine art photography and handmade pocketbooks, and places them in swag bags at celebrity gifting events like the Cannes Film Festival.
They offer several participation levels at these events, allowing artisans to display their products at the event, gift the products in the bags and provide photo ops of a celebrity holding the product. Currently, membership to the group is free and the participation fees are just a fraction of what it would cost for a PR company to place your product.
Smaller Celebrity Events
The big three – Oscars, Grammys and Emmys – are the most coveted swag-bag affairs, and entry into their bags is expensive. Celebrities attend many award ceremonies that are smaller, such as film festivals, SAG awards and People’s Choice. AND, the events that happen before, during and after the big three issue gift bags to celebrity guests as well. Look for “sponsorship opportunities” on the events’ websites.
