Just Eat’s brand boss on why its celebrity strategy continues to deliver
Having a famous face in your ad can give it instant virality, but as the food delivery app’s Susan O’Brien explains, endorsement deals aren’t always a walk in the park.
Snoop Dog kicked off Just Eats musical strategy / Just Eat
In 2020, Just Eat dropped its breakthrough Snoop Dog commercial, kicking off its musician collaboration strategy, which now includes campaigns with Katy Perry and, more recently, Christina Aguilera.
Susan O’Brien, the vice-president of brand at Just Eat, recalls at the time of launching Snoop, “people just thought, ‘that’s a bit random, where’s it going with that?’”
Just Eat’s campaigns work because they’re not just celebrity-fronted for the sake of being celebrity-fronted. Each artist gives the Just Eat jingle a fresh spin, with takeout food referenced throughout. “That combination of music with the commercial messaging was really important for us. You will see it’s now an integral part of our marketing strategy,” she says.
Speaking at an event hosted by social and creator agency Supernova, alongside Professor Green and Supernova co-founder Raf McDonnell, O’Brien says research is the most important part of any celebrity endorsement deal. Although it can sound a little “dry,” she says she needs data to understand a celebrity’s international relatability and likeability, as well as to uncover any red flags that might make Just Eat’s lawyers or CEO a bit nervous.
When deciding which celebrity to partner with, brands rarely get their first choice, she says. “We have a long list and a short list and then exponential conversations with lawyers, music labels, artists direct themselves... it’s a very complicated process.” Finding good partners to help navigate this world is essential, she says, to ensure both the brand and talent are satisfied.
Not only is it complex to make the deals, O’Brien says it is also complex internally to get everyone to back that talent and the expense. “It’s not just about negotiating the talent, it’s the socialization piece internally and people like wondering why we’re going with this celebrity and not that celebrity.”
The brand boss admits there are a lot of “horror stories” when it comes to working with celebrity talent, adding: “This is not the easy choice when it comes to marketing strategy.”
She tells one story about the shoot with Aguilera that was plagued by an earthquake in LA, which played havoc with the filming schedule. “You think you are all set when you’ve got the contract and then you’ve got force majeure coming in to mess it all up for you.”
Don’t force-fit a celeb into your brand
O’Brien advises that making sure there is genuine collaboration between talent and brand is essential to making good celebrity campaigns. “You have to allow them to do the thing that is truly them without forcing a square peg into a round hole just to drive home the commercial message. It’s their brand as well as our brand. That is why it’s important not to water it down.”
One campaign O’Brien recalled being particularly collaborative was the 2022 Katy Perry ad. The creative was surreal, cartoonish and full of bold colors, which are all elements of Perry’s style.
“She was very dedicated; even on the shoot, when everyone was happy, she wanted to go again because she thought she could do better and be more herself,” O’Brien shares.
Marketing gold
Social media is “critical” to the talent deals Just Eats makes these days. When the company launched the Snoop Dog campaign in 2020, TikTok hadn’t yet taken off so it wasn’t as big of a priority within the negotiations.
“The minute that you utilize your talent and their channels, it is just like marketing gold. It just explodes. The whole thrust of any contract or terms and conditions is that they post on their channels.”
@xtina Love when worlds collide! It was amazing to work with my girl @BigLatto ✨We had such a fun time on set THANK YOU @justeatuk @Just Eat Ireland #DidSomebodySay #JustEat #DidSomebodySayJustEat #AD ♬ Did Somebody Say HipOpera - Latto & Christina Aguilera
Just Eat’s Christina Aguilera and Lotto commercial has had over 16m views on TikTok and on Aguilera’s channel the video has 2m likes and 13,000 comments. “That virality of it going out there into the world, touching different people in different markets at different ages, is hugely valuable to a brand,” says O’Brien.
Her message to marketers who want to sign up a celebrity is to be clear about the job that the celebrity needs to do for that brand. Just Eat didn’t include a celebrity in its ads for 14 years before Snoop Dog because it didn’t make sense at the time. “If it’s appropriate to use talent, only then do you go into that place. Don’t do celebrity for celebrity sake.”
O’Brien was speaking at an event hosted by social and creator agency Supernova, alongside Professor Green and Supernova co-founder Raf McDonnell, exploring collaborations between brands and celebrities.