Marketing a diva: the celebrity
Oh, just to be in their presence! Standing next to them in the room or near them on Zoom thinking “did we just make eye contact?!”. The excitement when they comment on your post! The afterglow!
Leaders of celebrity-style divas sometimes have their work cut out (and sometimes they just look at the work they are bringing in and the glow is all theirs) but this isn’t about that. This is about how leaders can harness the power of the diva, develop a few more in their business or develop the diva within you.
This diva has a high profile. In the old days, they would be out and about three to four evenings or lunchtimes a week, a guest speaker at a conference every couple of months, quoted in the industry or national press and maybe publish a blog or two. They are on top of their game, they know it and so does everyone else.
Despite the stereotype of celebrity-diva being self-interested, this type of diva often loves to talk about what the rest of the business is doing; maybe it retains an air of intrigue around them or maybe it’s just easier to talk about others than yourself. There is a quid pro quo with the diva’s weaknesses and how they make up for it. If this diva is embodying the firm’s brand when they are marketing, then all is well. If they are not, then any major fall from grace requires swift attention, see Jeep/Bruce Springsteen and a long list of others. Sometimes this means parting company and other times it means the diva needs to lay low: you will know whether the trade off for the fall is worth it.
The power and reach of this diva is often immense or at least, highly significant. It’s so important then, that this diva knows enough about the other services or products offered by the rest of the business to help make introductions elsewhere. Make sure they are rewarded when this happens; you will already know what type of reward works best for them. Your marketing team needs to be best friends with this diva. Cherry pick those activities that really need their endorsement. Getting them to engage with the best content that you put out is better than getting them to ‘like’ everything. Let them know about the recent successes so they can talk about them.
For the Wannabe Celebrity Divas:
People need to hang their hat on something about you: the work you do, the way you do it and – the real high note in the aria – why you do it. Think about it. Then talk about it.
Working in the shadow of a celebrity diva can be hard, but there is room in the spotlight for more than one. In fact, healthy competition or mentoring can be things that celebrity divas thrive on (leaders: just make sure it is recognised). Get engaged in their conversations and debates on social media. Show interest in what they are doing and ask if you can join them or help them prepare for their next speaking event or join them in a client meeting. But most importantly, start to think about your own platform. What do you want to be known for? Think about this but not too carefully. Try out a few topics to see which receive the most engagement, both online and in person.
Are you that divorce lawyer that represented so-and-so? The CEO of that company that became a unicorn after 8 months? The rising star at a big city auditors who campaigns really hard on BAME issues?
Wannabe divas need to find the story they want to tell and to own it. The work you do and the successes you have are incredibly important. Tell people about them. Divas don’t become divas by just quietly getting on with their work. Others need to know about this first. And then, just as when getting to know someone better, another layer is revealed. The ‘way’ you do things, what it feels like to work with you. Your fellow divas need to know this about you (so they can talk about you) and your target audiences need to understand it by the way you communicate when marketing. This is your brand and should complement the brand of the business where you work.
