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Written by: Bob Williams
Knowing each member’s role in a talent’s team greatly increases the chance your offer will be accepted.
When deciding which celebrity to hire for a marketing campaign, it is important to remember that you are not just solely dealing with the celebrity. Talent comes with a team of various people that ensure the best deals, treatment, and representation. Celebrities rarely travel alone and will likely bring a member of their team such as an agent, publicist or manager during campaign related activities. These people handle various business and personal needs, and are often referred to as a celebrity’s “entourage.”
Before a celebrity arrives to campaign related events, it is important to know the role of each member on a celebrity team –
Agent: Commonly referred to as a talent or booking agent, this person finds jobs and handles the career for the celebrity that has employed them. It’s likely that marketers will deal with agents when attempting to recruit talent for campaigns or endorsements. Agents help their clients get auditions, communicate with casting directors, work on contracts so their client gets the best deal and arrangements, etc. Various types of public figures have agents such as actors, authors, directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, and even screenwriters.
Publicist: A publicist’s job is to handle their client’s relationship with the media, and help generate and manage publicity. Publicist’s tasks include arranging interviews and public appearances, handling press releases, organizing social media accounts, and advising on how to handle bad publicity. Unlike agents and managers, publicists often work for a flat fee instead of a percentage of the talent’s income.
Attorney: Most of the work of an entertainment attorney involves drafting contracts, negotiation, and mediation. These attorneys cover various areas including media, and legal fields such as corporate, finance, intellectual property, and privacy. Entertainment attorneys work with agents to finalize contracts for various projects, including compensation and participation. Some attorney’s job descriptions have become comparable to those of a star’s agent, manager or publicist; they are not limited to paperwork, but assist in building their client’s career.
Manager: Celebrity managers wear a variety of hats in their job, and have the ability to act as agents, publicists, contract negotiators, etc. Their responsibilities and duties can vary widely on a day to day basis. Managers help celebrities create daily schedules, create long-term career goals, give financial advice, and help to hire other members of a celebrity’s team. They are often the closest team member to a celebrity, which is why many enlist their parents or other family members to serve in this role.
Stylists: Stylists, or a celebrity’s “glam squad,” is a crucial part of their entourage. During filming and other campaign activities, celebrities can require their personal hair stylists, makeup artists, and wardrobe team to attend various events. Celebrity stylists can often times be costly, and have their own individual representation teams.
Label and/or publisher (if dealing with music): A label or publisher is the person or company that handles the issuing of music, images, books, or other works for sale and use in the entertainment industry. If marketers are looking to use a song in their campaign instead of a celebrity, they would go through the label or publisher that has the rights to said song.