Celebrities at events – yes or no?

Our latest #VoxPopuli poll answered the question of how important the presence of celebrities at various events

4 min to read
Written by: Viktorija Stukar

When planning an event, the organizers mostly try to hire and attract as many celebrities as possible in order to eventually attract as many participants as possible, sell more tickets, get more headlines in the media and so on. A famous person can be anyone, from a singer, influencer, expert or anyone else that the audience will recognize.

Our latest #VoxPopuli poll answered the question of how important the presence of celebrities at various events is to the audience, and these are the results:

Only 25% of respondents said that they were more attracted to events attended by celebrities, while as many as 75% of them answered that it did not matter to them at all.

We are sure that many event organizers will not agree with such answers since they know from experience that events with celebrities have a much higher attendance, but in this case you should consider  the type of event being organized, what is its goal and what is the target audience. Of course, educational events, charity events or presentations of new products can in no way be compared to one another.

Among the respondents there are 42% of those who think that celebrities give credibility to events, and 58% of those who claim that this is not the case.

The results here are a bit milder and closer to half, which we expected. A celebrity can certainly give credibility to a certain event, but also lower it. If the theme of the event is closely related to the area in which the person is successful and “at the top of the scale” it will certainly give value to the event, it can also add value to the new product it represents if the person’s lifestyle and beliefs overlap with the new product idea. On the other hand, engaging celebrities at an event just for the sake of their name that should ring in the audience ears is likely to only turn them down.

The majority of respondents (as many as 89%) think that celebrities who appear at events are not authentic.

Why? Because at some events, different topics and purposes, the same people constantly appear. Believe us, the audience really notices and resents it. Not only will they stop looking at you as something better than anything else, desirable and fun, due to the engagement of celebrities who literally “jump out of the pate”, but they will stop noticing you at all, and that is a counter-effect you certainly didn’t aspire to.

Finally, 30% of respondents believe that celebrities should charge for their attendance at educational events, and as many as 70% of them think that their attendance at educational events should not be charged.

The opinion of the respondents with which we can in no way agree and we must stand in defense of the famous. An educational event is not a humanitarian action. If someone comes to do a lecture and pass on their knowledge, which is relevant to the area, why shouldn’t they charge for it? This atmosphere has been established among the audience for several years now, where a good majority thinks that the more famous a person is, the more he owes to the community and has to “give back”. Every success requires effort and work, every lecture of an hour requires years of study, every appearance at an educational event requires hours of preparation, and this is the same as any other job that you would not even think of not charging for.

Finally, based on the results of the survey and our own many years of experience, we can conclude that celebrities themselves will not add any value to your event if they are not closely related to the area or topic of the event or if they participate in every event possible.

They should not be avoided, on the contrary, they should only be chosen very carefully.

Newsletter

Subscribe to our Newsletter!

And be always updated with news from Dialog.

Highlights

What Awaits Us in the Communications Business in 2025?

The coming year will be defined by artificial intelligence, authenticity, and change management.

B2B influencer marketing – the power of influencing the business community

B2B influencer marketing is gaining more importance while giving businesses a chance to reach the business community and decision makers through credible experts.

When and how to write a demand letter

In case of false claims published in the media, a timely demand letter is key to the protection of brands' and companies' image.