_About the author
Dustin Hawley
Dustin Hawley
Is the future of influencer marketing as we know it built on the foundation of a $500 celebrity endorsement? Sounds crazy, right? But before you discount the idea, you should know that there’s a company that’s looking to make that future a reality.
Cameo, an app that launched back in 2017, allows everyday people and business owners to pay celebrities and influencers to record personalized messages for them. The platform soft-launched Promotional Cameos back in July. Promotional Cameos is a feature that offers companies the chance to hire celebrities the likes of Michael Rapaport to endorse their products or services, all while avoiding the legal hurdles and hefty price tags that come with traditional celebrity endorsements.
Still, there is something viscerally weird about scrolling through a website and seeing a dollar sign attributed to a celebrity. “You know local night clubs? If one in Colorado all of a sudden has Akon performing there, you’re like, ‘What happened?’” jokes Joe Gagliese, co-founder and CEO of influencer talent management company Viral Nation.
Though skepticism remains around the long-term viability of the concept, Cameo counts itself among the few companies for which the COVID crisis has been a boon. The app has apparently seen a significant rise in interest during recent months, and half a million of its 1.2 million videos have been created in just the past 120 days or so.
But what does the future of sponsored content look like? Gagliese looks at the booming influencer economy as a necessary replacement for the older, often antiquated models. “Influencer marketing is a really great frontrunner in the diversity of marketing space,” he says.
“Influencer marketing is a really great frontrunner in the diversity of marketing space,”-Joe Gagliese, co-founder and CEO of Viral Nation
We only do marketing that works.
