Jackie Keith

Advance Mass Com

3/2/16

Blog 1

Once a recording artist steps into the limelight, people watch their every move. This industry is made up of your sound and style and no one wants to fly under the radar. Celebrities have tried almost everything when it comes to style to stand out with things such as wigs, a dress made entirely from meat, and even an all denim couples matching red carpet look that people still talk about fifteen years later. Celebrities have to brand themselves to their audience as if they were a product to gain fans over other celebrities. Celebrities try to be unique when they first come to the scene, then once they are comfortable, they start peeling back layers of their image and start being the self. A celebrity wants to be relatable, interesting, and consistent.  Marketing your brand as a celebrity is everything.  

Marketing yourself is the same as marketing a product. “Some celebrities choose product categories that are close to their original source of fame, when others venture in completely new categories.” (Keel, 2012) In this case, the category would be style. Adele brands herself on her talent and being a down to earth person. She wears normal looking clothing and acts herself in interviews and on Instagram. Adele lets people see who she really is such as picture one and two down below. Picture one is a picture of Adele in work out clothes, struggling like any other person trying to be fit. Picture two is a magazine cover of Adele that is all natural. These pictures show that Adele only markets her talent and wants to be known for her talent.  With Adele being so down to earth and relatable, his makes her audiences want to follower her every move to see what she is doing. This is completely different for rapper, singer, songwriter Nicki Minaj who is a celebrity who completely commented herself to her new brand once she stepped into the limelight. When Nicki Minaj first stepped into the scene in 2009 she needed a plan to be known in the male dominate rap industry. Nicki Minaj decided that she was going to stand out no matter where she went . Nicki Minaj wore crazy wigs of all colors, sizes, heights, and lengths. She also wore outfits that one could not even image. These outfits had crazy color schemes, textiles, shapes, and even moving parts to the garment. This could be seen in pictures three and four below. The paparazzi loved her because they never knew what she was going to wear. Even if the outfit was on the worse dress list Nicki Minaj was still getting talked out. In an interview with Eonline, Nicki Minaj stated that before she was main stream she had a very natural look. Nicki Minaj planned to look crazy with wings and costumes and then by her third album she wanted to go back to who she really is. Which indeed she did. Nicki Minaj has recently dropped a new album with her singing along with rapping and having a softer more natural style. Nicki Minaj has stated that she has run out of ideas and the crazy look is getting tiring. Nicki Minaj fans all over the world have reacted highly of her natural look with most saying that they like this look better. This is even a marketing strategy for Nicki Minaj because even if she being herself, it is a change in the public eye and everyone is taking notice. Another celebrity who stood out in the recording industry because of their look was Lady Gaga. Not only were Lady Gaga’s outfits outrageous but so were her performances. Lady Gaga style used to be like no one else's in the industry. Lady Gaga even went as far as having a dress made entirely out of meat. (Picture six below) Again, this is a marketing strategy to be talked about. This was the highlight on the MTV: Music Video Awards red carpet. All attention was on her because she branded herself away from the “plain Janes” and took a risk. Lady Gaga also is known for crazy performances. At the 2011 Grammys, Lady Gaga performed “Born This Way.” The performance stared off with Lady Gaga being hatched from an egg. I still remember to this day how social media, especially Twitter, was blowing up because people could not believe she hatched from an egg. This is great marketing and press because I still remember this five years later. She left an imprint on the audience. However, Lady Gaga has now toned down her outfits. Just like Nicky Minaj, she is starting to be more herself. This February, Lady Gaga performed the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Lady Gaga wore a sparkly pant suit. Her performance was a huge hit but not because of her outfit. Lady Gaga let her talent do the talking. Since Lady Gaga is changing it up, now her fans are intrigued to see how much she has grown as an artist and figure out who the real Lady Gaga is. Lastly, I just have to mention the iconic all denim runway look Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears rocked at the 2001 American Music Awards. In 2001, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears were huge stars. What was even greater about this is that they were THE power couple at the time. Just like Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga they wanted to stand out for their style and they absolutely did. This was a huge risk because people didn't usually wear crazy outfits on the runway.  It does not matter if you hated it or loved it, someone was always talking about it. (Picture Seven)

Celebrities try to brand themselves differently from other celebrities. Celebrities can take the route of being themselves or being outrages. The most important thin is to stand out and not be a stereotypical singer or performer. With being relatable, interesting, and consistent with your branding will make you rise above the others. The saying goes “no publicity is bad publicity,” celebrities need to find their way of making audiences talk.

                                                              Work Cited:

                                                      

Keel, A. (2012). Celebrity Endorsements and Beyond: New Avenues for Celebrity Branding. Psychology & Marketing, 690-7003.