As brands eagerly await the end of Love Island to snatch up the next Molly-Mae Hague for their marketing campaign, we look at why you should work with reality TV stars, and how this may differ from content creators who made their start on social media.
A new year has brought with it a new season of Love Island, allowing us to meet a fresh bunch of wide-eyed twenty-somethings hopeful to find love - or become the next Molly-Mae Hague (sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference).
Over the past few years the success of many Love Island contestants on social media following their appearance on the show has provided a drive for more people putting in applications as a career move, rather than the search for love. If they make it to the final, many leave the villa with Instagram followings that have gone into the millions, causing brands to jump at the chance to get a sponsorship with them.
So, why should you work with reality TV stars on your next influencer marketing campaign? What are the advantages? Is there a difference to working with content creators who made their start on social media?
By starring on a show such as Love Island, many of the contestants emerge from the villa to a sudden growth of following online, often shooting into the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. This shot to fame can make them exist slightly closer to celebrity status than your average content creator; as a result, these stars are often idolised and seen as aspirational, rather than the relatability and authenticity which many creators tend to lean on in their organic content and paid partnerships. This idolisation could be because they have been defined as someone who is conventionally attractive from successfully appearing on Love Island, and also from their on-screen personality and how they’re portrayed on the show that fans become connected to. They then become influential to their audiences who may want to replicate those attractive qualities, as well as the glamorous lifestyle that many of the stars experience in the initial weeks after the show.
We have seen many brands taking advantage of this influence, especially when choosing their next brand ambassador. For example, Tasha Ghouri, one of the finalists from Season 8 of Love Island, is an ambassador for eBay, the first one ever for the brand. eBay’s decision to work with Ghouri, who is a positive symbol encouraging accessibility after being the first deaf contestant to appear on the show, emphasises the significance of how this connection can create a positive impact on the brand’s reputation. In a similar vein to celebrity endorsements, the association to a significant, current name in pop-culture puts the brand on the map as one that’s in touch with their audiences and aligned with the values of the celebrity.
Similarly, due to the large audience that comes from a show such as Love Island, the stars can often reach a rather wide demographic; providing the perfect opportunity for brands to utilise an increase in brand awareness among new clientele.
While many content creators have a niche in order to stand out online and allow brands to narrow down and specify who they want to target for a campaign, working with reality stars is a great opportunity to expand a brand’s overall reach.
Furthermore, Love Island stars can begin to niche down as the hype from the show begins to settle, enabling them to also build that close connection and loyalty with their fans, in a similar way to content creators.
Overall, if brand awareness is the main aim for your influencer marketing campaign, then working with reality TV stars can be a great option, particularly in the initial weeks following the final while the hype is still high among fans. In the long-term, many of these stars can become influencers in their own right, finding their niche and developing close relationships with their audiences.
At Digital Voices we can help advise what will be the right fit for your next campaign, so please do get in touch!
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