According to The Nielsen Company, a celebrity endorser is a valuable asset to a brand, During this year's Oscars telecast, 4 of the 10 most-watched commercials featured a celebrity spokesperson.
On the Internet, this trend continues as advertisers leverage social networking and celebrities to attract consumers.
Celebrities can be valuable to advertisers, but so too can the people who
follow them on social media websites, says a study from Nielsen's NetView Internet usage from 3rd quarter 2010 and @Plan Release 4 2010.
According to the study 64% of adult U.S. Internet
users who follow a celebrity also follow a brand, which means the celebrity follower is four times more likely to follow a brand than the average U.S. adult online.
Additionally,
Nielsen found that such fans are also more likely to offer advice and opinion to fellow online consumers. This is particularly the case when it comes to entertainment topics where 32% of celebrity
fans online provide advice on movies (making them 44% more likely than the average online user to do so), and 28 percent provide guidance on music (56% more likely) and television programs (34%
more likely).
Topics On Which Online Celebrity Fans/ Followers Most Likely to Offer
Advice (U.S. Adults Online) |
Category | % of Celebrity
Fans/Followers | Index (approx) |
Movies | 31.7% | 144 |
Music | 28.1 | 156 |
Television Programs | 27.6 | 134 |
Websites / Internet Content & Services | 24.3 | 147 |
Food & Beverages | 19.0 | 127 |
Electronics | 18.5 | 147 |
Computer Hardware/Software | 17.9 | 138 |
Books | 17.6 | 121 |
Restaurants or Bars | 16.0 | 126 |
Video Games | 15.6 | 157 |
Source: The Nielsen Company
(Read as: 32% of U.S. adult fans of celebrities online frequently provide advice on movies, 44% more likely than the average adult online.) |
Fans of
celebrities are also valuable consumers in other areas of online, particularly when it comes to transactions or purchases. One quarter also used the web to conduct personal banking transactions
and manage their credit card accounts, more likely to do so than the average adult online. Top online purchases among these online fans included clothing/shoes/accessories, music, and books.
Celebrity Fans/Followers Online; Top Online Purchases/Transactions (US
Adults) |
Purchase/Transaction | % of Respondents | Approximate Index (vs. Average Adult Online) |
Conducted home banking transactions | 25.4% | 108 |
Managed credit card accounts | 25.2 | 112 |
Purchased | | |
Clothes/shoes/accessories | 18.2 | 126 |
Music | 13.8 | 169 |
Books | 13.6 | 133 |
Auction items | 13.5 | 130 |
Travel | 13.1 | 103 |
Digital music | 10.9 | 182 |
Women's clothes/shoes/accessories | 10.4 | 116 |
Drugs/remedies | 9.4 | 119 |
Source: The Nielsen Company, March 2011
(Read: 25.4% conducted home banking and were 8% more likely than average adult online) |
Top online activities among fans of celebrities included emailing,
paying bills, and of course, social networking. Of these top online activities, celebrity fans were significantly more likely than the average adult online to comment/post on social networking
sites, view consumer generated video, visit a social networking site, and play online games.
Celebrity Fans/Followers Online; Top Online Activities (US Adults) |
Activity | % of Respondents | Approximate Index (vs. Average Adult Online) |
Sent/received any email | 80.1% | 101 |
Sent/received personal email | 74.9 | 100 |
Visited social network site | 62.4 | 167 |
Made comment/post on social network site | 59.2 | 186 |
Paid/viewed bills | 54.0 | 113 |
Checked weather online | 46.7 | 115 |
Viewed/printed maps/directions | 44.2 | 110 |
Viewed consumer generated video | 43.8 | 183 |
Played games | 39.3 | 145 |
Read general/political
news | 37.8 | 116 |
Source: The
Nielsen Company, March 2011 (Read: 39.3% of adult celeb fans played online games, and 45% more likely than average online adult) |
For more
about the study from Nielsen, please visit here.