Is Barack Obamas “BlackBerry Addiction” a celebrity endorsement?
It’s not a paid celebrity endorsement (public servants are not supposed to have those) but, if he were able to take money for his endorsement, it would be extremely valuable to RIM, the company that makes Blackberries. Marketing experts have estimated the value of his endorsement as somewhere between 25 and 50 million dollars. From the New York Times: “”You always want the celebrity to be a good fit with your brand, and is anybody considered a better communicator right now than Barack Obama, or a better networker?” said Fran Kelly, the chief executive of the advertising agency Arnold Worldwide, who estimated that an endorsement by Mr. Obama would be worth $25 million. “It couldn’t have a better spokesperson.” Mr. Shabelman put the value even higher, at $50 million or more, because the endorsement is worldwide. “The worth to a company to have the president always talking about a BlackBerry and how it absolutely is a necessity to keep in touch with reality?” he said. “Think about how far
