5 Steps To Celebrity Gifting with $0 Marketing Spend

One of my favourite things to do as the Founder of Shhh Silk is to build meaningful relationships with customers, retail partners and even celebrities. I have been successfully gifting celebrities around the globe since 2016, with our products seen on the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Khloé, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Victoria Beckham and many more. In my new book Self-Made I share how I have fostered and grown these relationships. Today for Retail Global I am sharing 5 steps to celebrity gifting. 

When it comes to celebrity gifting the lesson is about the importance of building, maintaining and respecting genuine connections and relationships with others. Relationships with celebrities are not about you, they are not about your brand, service offering or your product and they are definitely not transactional. The next time you think of shipping your new amazing product to a celebrity, influencer or high-profile person – stop. Stop and ask yourself – is this PR package all about me and my brand? How can I make this more about the person receiving this parcel and what they love, more than my own wants? How can I truly connect with this person?

This is where the real magic lies.

It’s time to grab your notebook and pen. Let’s start with a list of people you’d love to experience your brand.

1. Write a list of ten people who you would love to experience your product.
   
   
2. Now write a list of all of the people these people associate with, who is in their circle of influence (think stylist, friends, make-up artists etc)?
   
   
3. Starting with the first person on your list, what do they love? What are their favourite flowers, colours, birthdays, and any special individual likes you think this person has? (For example, Kendall Jenner loves horses, her birthday is on November third, she is a Scorpio, she loves mindfulness, sound bowls, her home, and she has her own Tequila label. Some of the people in her squad are Jen Atkin, Mary Phillips, Dani Michelle etc).
   
   
4. What is a moment or a random act of kindness you can create that this person would genuinely enjoy?
   
   
5. If you can’t ship to this person directly, can you ship it to their work address or can you send something to a member of their team or their circle of influence? Repeat this exercise for everyone on your list and then make a plan to create these amazing customised, truly personal moments and what you need to do, or what you need to purchase to create them.

It’s key to remember these gifting moments are not one-off moments. They are the start of a long and meaningful connection between you and the receiver. Remember that celebrities have access to everything these days, so you are not simply providing them with products they possibly don’t want or need (as this is just adding to landfill and waste). You are creating moments and experiences to make these people feel something special and meaningful for a moment in time. Random acts of kindness can evoke a range of different feelings and emotions for both the giver and the receiver. For the receiver, it can create feelings of gratitude, appreciation and happiness. These emotions are priceless and cannot be bought irrespective of wealth, they can only be experienced. You are creating experiences for people. 

If you’d like me to personally help you with your celebrity gifting strategy you can reach out to me below.