Actress Zoe Saldana has been identified by US consumers as the most valuable celebrity endorser in the inaugural Top Spot, Spotted’s 50 Most Valuable Celebrity Endorsers, launched today by Spotted, a research firm that has been named the authority in celebrity research by Adweek, CNBC, and The New York Times.
Saldana tops the list due to her exponential social growth, consumer approval and high scores for personality and audience alignment with her brand partner Campari, all of which are regarded as essential for successful brand endorsement. Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon has been identified by US consumers as celebrity endorser who successfully endorses the highest number of brands, in the wake of high-scoring partnerships with Crate & Barrel and Elizabeth Arden. Reese Witherspoon scores very high in terms of beauty, perceived intelligence and confidence, making her a very strong match for both Crate & Barrel and Elizabeth Arden.
The Top Spot Spotted’s 50 Most Valuable Celebrity Endorsers Ranking has been developed by Spotted to provide brands with a tool to identify the celebrity endorser that will help them achieve their business objectives, whether that is raising awareness of the brand with a rising star, or re-positioning the brand via a celebrity with whom the target audience has traction. It is based on analysis of celebrity endorsement data from Spotted.
This new report offers guidance that enables brands to take an analytical rather than subjective approach to choosing the celebrity that will best help them deliver ROI on their marketing budgets. Every move a celebrity makes is highly scrutinized and immediately available for public consumption via social media, making the celebrity selection process more meaningful than ever before.
Over the past year alone, 78 percent of celebrity endorsements didn’t resonate with their audiences, so given that roughly $34 billion is spent on celebrity endorsement and advertising in the U.S., $26.5 billion dollars was wasted on the wrong celebrity talent.
As well as reducing investment risk, The Top Spot Spotted’s 50 Most Valuable Celebrity Endorsers allows brands to select the ideal celebrity partner whose personality matches their brand and poses a minimum behavioral risk to their image and value.
The Top 10 Most Valuable Celebrities of 2018
1. Zoe Saldana — Campari
2. Reese Witherspoon — Crate & Barrel, Elizabeth Arden
3. Gabrielle Union — New York & Company
4. Dwayne Johnson — Under Armour, NASCAR, Apple
5. Drew Barrymore — Crocs
6. George Clooney — Nespresso
7. Jennifer Lopez — Guess
8. Misty Copeland — Estee Lauder
9. Lionel Messi _ Adidas
10. Terry Crews — AT&T
Along with the individual strengths that make their personality a good match with their brand partners, these celebrities are perceived by consumers to be authentic, charming, compassionate, confident, individualistic, optimistic, powerful and unpretentious. They rank in top tier for consumer approval and the bottom tier for their likelihood to cause controversy.
“Historically, brands have often relied on gut instinct and intuition when selecting a celebrity brand ambassador for high visibility campaigns,” says Janet Comenos, co-founder and CEO of Spotted. “But while star-power is important, the selection process needs to be far more scientific to account for the many complexities and components that determine whether the celebrity is the right fit in terms of resonating with current audiences and attracting new ones. This process can also uncover potential ambassadors that had not previously been considered. Brands that get it right are rewarded for their due diligence with strong, low-risk partnerships that provide long-term benefits.”
