Celebrity and Influencer Marketing is Shifting from Aspirational to Inspirational, Just Like Your Brand

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis recently launched Quarantine Wine, with 100% of all proceeds going to COVID-19-related charities.

Once upon a time, like three months ago, we all dug the glam lifestyles of celebs and influencers. Now those lifestyles are sheltering at home and looking an awful lot like everyone else’s, roots and all.

And even if traveling was still a thing, lots of followers just aren’t in the mood to flip through dreamy shots of celebs traipsing through exotic locales at the moment. The public appetite is craving inspiration more than aspiration.

We’re navigating the new abnormal, and marketing folks for brands are pulling their hair out - one by (newly gray) one. Tough to plan for the future when nobody can anticipate the next week. And you can’t easily tap customer sentiment when it changes by the hour, in sync with the latest news announcements about re-opening.

Corona life has put all of us in the spin cycle, but marketing still needs to happen, and celebs and influencers are still a vital connection. Consumers are bored/terrified/lonely/stir-crazy/overwhelmed/needing distractions/thriving/despairing - all over the map and tough to wrangle. And that’s changing everything about celebrity and influencer marketing.

For example, now that celebs are opening up their homes and closets and showing us their un-mani’d nails, they’re feeling a lot more relatable. They’re even starting to own the “approachable” vibe usually reserved for influencers - and getting really creative about how to leverage that influence. 

Take the gaggle of A-listers participating in the #PassTheMic campaign, where stars like Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt handed over their social channels to COVID-19 experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci to share facts and science-driven perspectives on the pandemic. Meanwhile, Brad Paisley and wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley opened The Store —a free grocery store in Nashville that serves individuals and families experiencing food insecurities and financial hardship.  Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis just launched Quarantine Wine, a new vintage where 100% of proceeds are going towards coronavirus relief efforts.

Or check out the recent YouTube video created by influencer giant James Charles, which features several iconic beauty gurus as part of a “Get Ready with Me” challenge. All to raise a crazy amount of money (doesn’t hurt when Google is matching two for one) for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.

Of course, some celebs and influencers are still clinging to a mask of perfection when the rest of us are all wearing the Covid-protecting kind. The influencers and celebs who are missing this cue and proceeding with business as usual are getting major blowback. “What pandemic?” some of their posts seem to wonder, as they casually pose in bikinis and hawk their perfume line in the same old 2019 way.

Even worse are the few who have the gall to complain, “I’m so bored.” Oh, really? “Then get up off the couch and put your influence to good use,” you want to yell in their ear (from six feet away.)

So let’s be clear: I’m not saying that all celebs and influencers are acting like heroes right now. You’ve got your thoughtful celebs and influencers and you’ve got your annoying ones, just like the rest of the population.

Regardless, celebrity and influencer marketing is still a critical tool for brands. Ninety percent of consumers find this form of marketing more trustworthy than traditional advertising, according to Nielsen Consumer Trust Index.  

Fortunately, despite some bad honeycrisp apples, a great many celebs and influencers are working overtime to be the polar opposite of obnoxious. That means shifting their vibe, moving away from 100% conspicuous consumption to integrate social consciousness. Most of the big talent I work with is not only trying to avoid coming off as tone deaf, they genuinely want to do something to help.

That North Star is guiding much of the marketing I see with brands, many of which are stepping up in heartfelt ways and showing leadership through empathy. 

Take my client Mattel. The company just launched a collection of Fisher-Price action figures and Little People characters to honor the everyday heroes on the frontlines of this pandemic, including doctors, nurses, E.M.T.s, grocery workers, and delivery drivers.  All net proceeds through May from this #ThankYouHeroes collection will be donated to FirstRespondersFirst, a fund established to support frontline healthcare workers. The initiative has received loud applause and gone viral, just based on the announcement alone.

Mattel’s #ThankYouHeroes collection celebrates the everyday heroes on the front lines, with net proceeds through May going to a fund established for frontline workers.

Or look at American Girl, another of my clients. To help girls and their parents during this crisis, American Girl created a free content hub on their site called Stay and Play, which includes tips about taking care of yourself during the pandemic, as well as a curated assortment and links to craft activities, videos, and a free online library where girls can download select fiction and advice books (new ones added weekly), along with corresponding learning guides. To help give the online library an added boost, American Girl is bringing in celebrity guests to read a chapter of one of the downloadable books on camera that they will share online and in social.

Valuable efforts like these won’t get the attention and awareness they deserve without good marketing. This isn’t just about tooting one’s horn to bask in praise. Spreading the word about corporate efforts to help pandemic relief can steer attention and dollars to deserving nonprofits and motivate other businesses to become better corporate citizens. 

Celebrities and influencers have a role to play in perpetuating this virtual circle. Their powerful platforms affect the opinions and behaviors of millions of followers (that’s why they’re called influencers, kapiche?) 

And sometimes the best way you can give back is simply by taking people’s minds off of the real world for a minute. That’s why I also appreciate the celebs and influencers who are providing value through entertainment, whether it’s free concerts from their living rooms, fun antics to make us giggle, or creative adaptations to accommodate social distancing.

For example, Travis Scott’s concert on Fortnite drew an audience of 12 million. Derek Blasberg, Head of Fashion and Beauty for YouTube, recently hosted YouTube’s first virtual fashion show, offering entertainment and raising awareness for research efforts led by the amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19.  

When teamed up with brands, celebrities and influencers are powerful amplifiers not only of products but also of missions. Many brands are relying even more on celebrities and influencers right now for exactly that reason, to help brands communicate their compassion in ways that are uniquely direct, effective, and important during these times.

And that’s making inspiration the new aspiration. Try it on - you’ll just love the way it feels.

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Kristi Kaylor is the CEO of The Loft Entertainment, L.A.’s leading (yes, we’re biased) marketing and content development agency that helps brands leverage the power of celebrities and influencers.