Do you want to enhance your public image as a brand? Why don't you book celebrities for your event? This will increase the attendance of your event and you can also use the event photos as marketing materials when the event is over. But booking a celebrity will not be a cakewalk! Celebrities are already bombarded with prior commitments. So, if you want them to attend your event, it has to be worthwhile.
Moreover, you have to book an appropriate person for the event. Make sure that the celebrity you choose is a good fit for your brand and event. Often, people make mistakes while choosing the right celebrity and this can make a huge difference to the success of your event.
Here, we will discuss the most important aspects of how to book celebrities for an event. Take a look.
Know the Representatives
If you are thinking about how to book celebrities for your event, you are most likely to make a pitch to their representative and not directly to them. And in some cases, you might also speak to their managers. Now let us assume that the celebrity has an agent or a representative. How can he or she help you?
A representative or an agent has the responsibility to find work for their clients. Right from roles in films and television to endorsement deals or live gigs, the agents make sure the clients they represent are always able to find work, based on their special talents. The business ends of any job are looked after by their clients, especially negotiating the contracts. Agents definitely get a percentage of the deals their clients make.
The type of agents they have will vary according to the industry they are catering to. For instance, an actor who is also a musician will have two agents for two aspects of his career. Even if you find a celebrity who does not have multiple agents, they will still need to get permission from the celebrity's manager or publicist before signing any deal. Therefore, while an agent is responsible for bringing business to their client, you need to keep every member of the celebrity's team in mind while making your pitch to the agent.
You can look for a celebrity booking agency that deals with celebrity management and influencer marketing like Talent Resources to get the details of an agent.
Know the Event
Many celebrity bookings suffer owing to the lack of clarity about the details of the event. Before you get in touch with a representative, you must have knowledge about the time and location of the place, the sort of event it is, and your expectations from the celebrity at the event. Many people request celebrities for an event but often they do not understand the booking process or lack the relevant information about the event. In order to prevent this kind of time waste, agents prefer having some readily available information beforehand. This will showcase you as a serious person and will further emphasize your legitimate business along with ensuring that there is clear-cut communication with the clients about the opportunity.
Try to provide as much information as you can.
The Venue
Make sure that the venue for the event is reserved before you speak to the agent so that you can be sure before booking the celebrity. You must also provide details of the venue's location and even the capacity of the venue. The celebrity should know everything before agreeing so that there is no last-minute confusion.
Date and Time
Right from the actual date to the duration of the event, everything should be clearly communicated to your agent. The agent will be aware of the schedule of the celebrity and will be able to understand if this event can be accommodated in his or her schedule.
What will the celebrity do?
The amount you will have to pay to book a celebrity will depend on the purpose of the celebrity at the event. Depending on the activities they have to do, they will fix the charges and you will be able to negotiate if needed.
The celebrity you are hiring must have a few activities in your event. You must decide on what you want your celebrity to do before making a choice. Here are a few
examples-
Appearance
An appearance is the most common request for celebrities and it involves hanging out at the event and taking pictures with your guests.
Walkthroughs
A quick appearance of a celebrity at an event is a walkthrough. It is basically for the celebrity to come and show their face and then leave.
Hosting
A celebrity may be asked to host an event and engage with your guests or even pass a few remarks. The payment will depend on the significant amount of time spent at the event. However, this cannot involve a long speech or a performance.
Speeches
A speaking engagement involves a celebrity delivering a speech to the guests and then leaving. The topic will be based on the event and does not require interacting with the guests.
Performance
A performance engagement is one where a celebrity is expected to deliver a performance at the event. The kind of show will depend on the type of celebrity you are choosing.
Arrangements Covered
Celebrities might have a few requirements while traveling, for example, one may need a first-class or a business-class ticket. Remember that the celebrity will not be traveling alone. Right from the hotel bookings to the tickets for everyone traveling with the celebrity has to be arranged by you.
Financing the event
You should arrange the finances of the event before approaching the celebrity. Be it you or someone else who is sponsoring the event, make sure that the funds are ready. Without the proper amount of money, you are wasting everybody's time and energy.
Procedure for how to book celebrities
The normal procedure for reaching out to a representative requires following certain steps.
Step 1:Always be concise. Celebrities are always flooded with several requests. You need to mention your request in the briefest manner possible. But while you must be concise, you must also not leave out the specifics. The request must not be long that people lose their patience nor should it be vague that people lose interest. You must also follow up on the requests made. But you should not send everyday follow-up emails. Therefore, the first step is to draft a short mail, communicating all the basics of your request, like when is the event, where is the event, and what kind of event is taking place.
Step 2:Now that you have made your request, the representative will reply confirming the availability of the celebrity. They might have more queries about the events. Next, you must try to collate all these answers in one formal mail and send all the information they have asked for.
Step 3:Now let us assume that the celebrity you wanted is available and the celebrity booking agency is willing to review the offer. The next step would be to put the offer together. Make sure all the necessary details are put together in the offer. If the offer is from a corporation or a university, try to make the offer on a signed letterhead.
Step 4:When you send the offer again, the celebrity booking agency will go through it. If the offer is alright with the client, then they will accept and the agency will confirm the same in no time. If the offer is not acceptable, then the agency might ask you to raise the offer or give you a chance to resubmit the offer, or they might also recommend some other celebrities they are working for who can meet your budget. It also happens that the celebrity might not respond at all if the offer made is too low.
Step 5:If you have a limited budget, the power of negotiation comes into play. You need to set a limit beyond which you will not go. Take 10% off from that number and then make the offer. There will be room for further negotiation if the celebrity does not agree even after that. Sometimes, you might also try to show a willingness to walk away from the negotiation as it will add bargaining power to your favor.
Taking care of the contract and deposit
As soon as the verbal sign-off is done, you should prepare the contract. Getting delayed in the contract might run the risk of losing the booking because as already said before, celebrities are full of such requests. After getting the sign-off on the contract, arrange for the deposit. Celebrity booking agencies usually ask for a 50% upfront deposit for securing the date. The next 50% is due on the D-day.
If the celebrity you are hiring is paying for their own travel and accommodations, then you might have to meet those expenses as well. This is not included in the deposit. Try to pay the deposit as early as possible in order to maintain good relations with the celebrity for future collaborations. Usually, the deposit is handed over through a wire transfer.
So, now you know how to book celebrities for your event, go ahead and choose the right celebrity for you.