It used to be that celebrities would endorse a product or appear in an ad for the brand. These days they want a big cut of the pie, so more and more celebs are launching their own product lines. Each day you hear of a new perfume, fashion line, shoe or bag collection, or in the case of Rihanna, an umbrella collection.
What bugs me most is when the celebrity is obviously not involved in the creative process at all and merely stamps his/her name on the product for the green. I can understand Gwen Stefani's LAMB, because I know how much fashion and style is part of her character. But to get Jessica Simpson's hair extension line or leather bags is beyond me.
In all honesty though, I can't hate on Rihanna. It is truly ingenious to use the fame of her ubiquitous hit Umbrella for an Umbrella collection. And it must be working, because Rihanna used New York Fashion week to launch her second Umbrella collection with totes.
Rihanna Umbrellas will be sold exclusively at Macy's this spring ($20 for a single color, $50 for two-toned canopy style). New models include Rihanna Sparkle Slender 'brella and Rihanna Satin Stick in both 'Auto Open' and normal styles.
Novel Celebrity Products
Rihanna's 2nd Umbrella Collection
Trend Themes
1. Celebrity-owned Product Lines - The rise of celebrities launching their own product lines presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the realm of brand collaborations and expanding market reach.
2. Innovative Brand Endorsement - Celebrities actively involved in the creative process of a product or collection offer the opportunity for disruptive innovation in brand endorsement strategies and authentic collaborations.
3. Utilizing Celebrity Fame - Leveraging a celebrity's fame and iconic associations for product lines presents the potential for disruptive innovation in marketing and capitalizing on brand recognition.
Industry Implications
1. Fashion - The fashion industry has the potential to explore disruptive innovation through collaborations with celebrities for unique and marketable product lines.
2. Beauty - The beauty industry can identify disruptive innovation opportunities by partnering with celebrities to create innovative and celebrity-endorsed beauty products.
3. Retail - The retail industry can embrace disruptive innovation through exclusive celebrity collaborations and incorporating celebrity-owned product lines into their offerings.