Celebrity-founded, owned and backed brands have become more and more popular. Some of the recently launched celebrity brands include SKKN by Kim Kardashian, Rhode by Hailey Rhode Bieber, R.E.M. Beauty by Ariana Grande, and JLo Beauty by Jennifer Lopez, just to name a few.

But executives and founders need to be thoughtful in how they incorporate a famous name into their brand. For starters, don’t hire a celebrity as a creative director or formulator.

Due to the nature of their profession, celebrities are often unfamiliar with how marketing works, especially go-to market planning and maintaining a brand. Jessica Alba is one of the few celebrities who have been able to create and maintain a successful brand. She speaks at length on how she does this, staying very much focused on what works for her as an entrepreneur with The Honest Company. The celebrity phenomenon is an interesting one in the beauty space. Celebrities essentially become their own brand, and as such must continue to be marketed by agents or PR firms to the public at large. However, this doesn’t mean that they can or should have their own beauty brand or be a creative director for another one.

A creative director is a role that is not only essential to a brand but also requires skills that are often acquired over time. It’s not a role that someone can simply jump into. It seems though that more and more beauty brands are placing celebrities in the role of creative director. It’s a risky proposition since they typically lack the skills of critical and creative thinking and writing, graphic design, typography, color theory, etc. Nor are they typically able to direct a team of designers and developers. If beauty, lifestyle and wellness brands do decide to hire a celebrity as their spokesperson—a better idea than as creative director—and/or become a member of their team, they really need to make sure they fit the brand’s DNA and that the celebrity aligns with their target audience. This is difficult because not all celebrities are appealing to all audiences.

In the consumer’s mind, there is a perception that having a celebrity behind the brand adds credibility and perhaps the product quality is better. This isn’t the case at all, granted the celebrity is staking their reputation on the line but let’s be honest, it’s typically about the money. Only celebrity brands that are driven by the celebrity as the founder can move beyond this perception. Price is another thing that consumers get confused by especially with celebrity driven brands. Premium pricing doesn’t mean good quality regardless of who’s behind it.

The best way to be successful in business is by staying true and authentic. Brands need a clear idea of who they are and what makes them different from the competition (even if it's just one thing). They need to focus on building their own strong reputation through innovation, creativity and originality within the industry and the consumer's mind by making sure everything from formulation to the brand visuals and message is thoughtful and consistent. Adding a celebrity to this isn’t going to change a bad product. If anything, it can make the situation worse.

The way we consume and interact with brands has changed drastically in recent years. The rise of social media—coupled with the fact that many celebrities now work for these same companies—means there's a lot more confusion out there on what is really worth believing or trusting. It’s ultimately up to the consumer to do their own research and decide what is best for themselves.

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About The Authors

Bradley Skaggs is partner and creative director and Jonina Skaggs is partner and art director of SKAGGS, a New York City-based branding and digital agency focused on beauty brands. Past and current Skaggs’ clients include Morphe, Charlotte Tilbury, DKNY, Tweezerman and more.  You can read more about the Skaggs point of view on “unboxing” and listen in to their podcast about packaging on Happi.com.