Watching the raid on Sean Combs' home during the news took me back to September 2006 when I led Diageo’s Reserve Brand Group. The Cîroc team, ably led by Jamie Herbstman, presented two potential growth strategies: (1) partner with Sean “Diddy” Combs, an idea generated by the inimitable Jacquie Lee, or; (2) a traditional brand-building campaign for “self-defined sophisticates living an uncommon lifestyle”, developed by KBS (kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners) and Hunter. I advocated for the uncommon. Ultimately, the team went with Diddy, launching in 2007. The Diddy partnership took Cîroc from +/- 50,000 to ~2 million cases globally today. It also paved the way for many others like Clooney’s Casamigos, Hagar’s Cabo Wabo, Reynolds’ Aviation Gin . . . I take no credit for the Diddy deal, but I think it fair to call it a success. But now Cîroc is declining double-digits in the US. Could Diageo have built a more enduring business today if they had gone with a positioning woven into the fabric of the product? Public reports indicate that Diddy made almost $1 billion over the 15-year partnership, and that does not include the dollars needed to activate the partnership. So minimally, Diageo could have spent, on average, $70 million/year to establish the “Uncommon Vodka”. What do you think? Is the Diddy story a cautionary tale for building brands around celebrity alignment (like Jared/Subway) or an unfortunate one-off? Today I see more influencer/celebrity endorsements than ever . . . but will these be lasting businesses? Do strategics need to be cautious when buying personality-driven businesses? I wonder . . . Jon Bond, Domenico Vitale, Jonas Hallberg, Aaron Reitkopf, Jonathan Lyon, Kristie Wallis (she/her), Brian Hodous, #Diageo #Cîroc #Diddy #Vodka
Jamie Herbstman
7mo
The rise with Diddy was certainly stratospheric. Until that partnership materialized, we had almost no money to do marketing, in an an exceptionally expensive category. I’d say we did pretty well seeding that new to market little vodka brand. Only time will tell if the brand can weather the celeb storm…
Good points, Joel Henry. I've not been a fan of celebrity endorsements, since 1994 when, while working at JWT/NY on the Clorets brand, Bronson Pinchot (Balki of "Perfect Strangers") was paid ONE MILLION DOLLARS to do a couple of 30 second spots. Of course, I might have been biased, since I was on set and he was jealous of the attention my then one year old daughter was getting! :) It just seemed there was no synergy or common equities between the brand and the actor. Obviously, it was a good deal for Pinchot - not so much for Clorets. Totally unrelated - the brand was discontinued in the mid-2000's. The Diddy/Ciroc match up seemed to make sense at the time, but it is definitely a risk. I mean - look at what happened to Bud Light!
John Cook
7mo
The younger consumers are brain dead. How do the Kardashians and Jenners survive on creating nothing other than breathing. Marketing and Brand building is unfortunately dead ..... particularly for small and new developments Brands. It's a circus of celebrity driven purchase decisions. Look at LV - it's not even real leather - made in sweat factories in Asia - consumers who can't really afford it would rather live in a shack but have a LV bag. Crazy!!!
Ellen Howse
7mo
Joel Henry great question. I think that the right celebrity endorsement can drive brand awareness and growth. However, there's a difference between a partnership that's based solely on borrowed equity vs a celebrity who's integrated with the brand values. The former can be risky; the latter can support longer-term brand building.
Seth Sporn
7mo
It's a hard balance between having a "star" spokesperson that helps the brand and knowing when to cut ties with that star. At some point, it's best to "cut the cord" before it's too late!
I think to rely on one celebrity for a single or multi-year campaign is fine. But the brand has to stand for more than someone else's face. The market is littered with bad celebrity deals (Pepsi and a Kardashian). Some deals reek of desperate relevance. But some work out. Keep your eye on building your brand, not someone elses.
At the end of the day, “don’t promise consumers what you can’t realistically deliver.” Diddy may still consider himself a sophisticate living an uncommon lifestyle; but consumers (who really position brands) now see past the facade and the information is disgusting.
Oscar Martinez
7mo
As a very wise merchant once told me. Be careful with celebrity endorsements. His point of reference was Kobe and Sprite. I cannot disagree with his position.
Director of External Affairs and Community Engagement
7moAttention is powerful. While awareness is part of the success equation, building marketing plans around markets that get attention is essential. The Diddler, Sam Bankman-Fried, Ye, and insert any monetized attention-getting person all had/have campaigns and marketing activities targeted to large markets. Hip-Hop is a powerful product that Diddy was able to leverage. He’s not the only one but there have been rumors and whispers about him for a while. There will sadly be more like him …maybe not as egregious, but power untethered to humility and reality is a recipe for eventual corruption. So yes, caution is needed.