Star light, star bright, how many stars will I see tonight? It's a question many event hosts ask as they search the crowd for anticipated celebrity guests, knowing that now more than ever, famous faces generate press coverage and event buzz. But getting them to show up requires plenty of prodding. "We get a lot of calls from people who say, 'I thought it was going to be a lot easier to get celebrities because I had all the elements that it took to put a great party together," says Lori Levine, president of celebrity wrangling company Flying Television. "They're right about their event, but they have an enormous amount of competition." So here's how to get some star power.
Build Good Relationships
The easiest way to lure big-name actors, musicians, or athletes is through good relationships with them or the people who surround them. "[Celebrity wrangling] is definitely about building relationships with agents, managers, publicists, and celebrities," says Kelly Foster, talent director of Overland Entertainment. Building those relationships can be a long process. Ross Ellis has worked with celebrities, managers, and publicists for years, wrangling them first for events and now for Love Our Children USA, the charity she founded. "At first, I used to call and say, 'Can I have something for an auction?' and then I built up from there," she says. Now the charity has a celebrity board of governors, which includes Melissa Etheridge and Mandy Moore, who attend its events.
Hire a Professional
If you're starting your celebrity relationships from scratch—the Desperate Housewives ladies aren't already programmed into your Treo, for example—and star power is critical to an event's success, consider hiring professional celebrity wranglers. They can help you choose whom to invite, work with their contacts, secure RSVPs, and coordinate all attendance logistics with the stars.
"I would never take a job as a celebrity wrangler because it's too stressful and hard," says Lizzie Grubman of PR and event firm Lizzie Grubman Public Relations. "When we get hired to do events as a whole, the celebrities on our guest lists are part of our relationships. If we needed a celebrity wrangler, I would hire one, like Fingerprint [Communications—New York] or Flying Television, who are really good at what they do."
Wranglers may charge a per-celebrity rate or a flat fee based on an estimate of their time, the number of celebrities needed, the difficulty of securing positive RSVPs, whether the client is corporate or nonprofit, the event's location, the amount of motivating perks and gifts, and the complexity of logistics. While the cost can range greatly, one professional wrangler says getting a dozen or so celebrities to attend an event will run $10,000 to $20,000 on average, plus any expenses.
Events that hire celebrity wrangling firms get the benefit of their contacts and their reputations. "We have [celebrity] guests RSVP to our offices as a subtle way of sending a message that it is a quality event," says Randy Olsen, C.E.O. of Celebrity International Entertainment.
Even companies with extensive celebrity relationships sometimes turn to professionals. "We work with celebrity wranglers, PR agencies, and publicists to get information about our events out to their clients and make them aware," says Elizabeth Riordan, vice president of event marketing and promotions at Niche Media, publisher of Gotham and L.A. Confidential magazines.
Match Agendas
Before contacting any celebrities, be sure to research their personal causes or interests—including charities they have supported or past events they have attended—to find those who would be most interested in attending your event. Wrangling firm Celebrity Source has 10,000 celebrities and their special interests, hobbies, sports skills, kids, pets, hometowns, and causes in its database, which it uses to match celebrities to events. "I know people who at the drop of a hat will play golf if their schedule allows it," says president Rita Tateel. "They don't care what the charity or sponsor is."
While most planners can't maintain such databases, finding celebrities with relevant interests will increase your chances of having them show up, and make the appearances feel organic instead of tacked-on. "Our director and curators have relationships with celebrities and will invite them to attend an event they think they will be interested in," says Cecilia Wolfson, associate director of individual development at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Finding out which celebrities are in town will help you avoid wasting your time—and theirs—by inviting people who couldn't attend even if they wanted to. "Celebrity wrangling is all detective work to see who is in town, who is available," Levine says. And be sure to mention the other notable names on the guest list to make your event sound as high-brow as possible. "At first don't tell the publicist that lower-level celebrities are coming because they won't let their celebrity attend," Tateel says. "Just mention the people of the same caliber or higher that have been invited. At some point you have to come clean though."
Prepare for the Worst
When putting together your target list, don't be afraid to go overboard. "Invite at least 10 times the number of celebrities you need to show up and sometimes more," Tateel suggests. For the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, for example, Tateel invites 20 times the number the event requires. "Lots of celebrities are dying to do the event because they learn to drive a race car," she says, "but it requires eight days of commitment, which is just too much time." And remember, you can never have too many celebrities. "People's schedules change all the time," Foster says. "Someone may commit to coming and then the day before have to fly off to a movie shoot. Always have a
plan B."
Make It Easy
Send invitations with thorough-but-brief information directly to the target, if possible, and ask for the smallest time commitment to accomplish what you need. "If you want the celebrity to draw media attention, and media will only cover arrivals for the first hour and a half, you can just ask celebrities to come to meet and greet," Tateel says. "If they don't have to attend the whole five hours of an event, they are more likely to say yes."
Promising transportation means guests don't have to worry about parking or directions. And think about potential perks specific to the party's host. "We do our best to get a celebrity to attend, but we don't hit people over the head," says Victoria Ashley, director of public relations at Bill Blass, of inviting celebrities interested in the brand to fashion shows, charity events, and product launches. "We call and remind them of the event, provide them with something to wear if they would like, and help with any kind of logistics."
While wranglers rarely admit on the record to paying celebrities simply to attend a party, Tateel says to get a celebrity to show up at a corporate product launch, you need to pay an appearance fee. "You may have to pay an honorarium if your event is where most people wouldn't want to travel or if your event is not well known, even if it is a nonprofit," Tateel says.
Stay in Touch
After the initial invitation, follow up as often as every few days. "It takes a mailer, a reminder, personal phone calls, and coordination," Olsen says. "Celebrities are inundated with requests, so even if they say yes, if you only contact them once, they won't make it." He even suggests calling them the morning of the event to make sure their plans haven't changed. "They may think it would be better for them not to come at all than show up late and be rude. You have to tell them it won't be a problem."
When following up, inform the celebrites of any details that were not on the original invitation. "Tell them what press is going to be there, what to wear, the schedule," Foster says. "Once a celebrity showed up to a Mardi Gras-theme event wearing black-tie. It was very embarassing for her."
And, above all, be honest throughout the process. "My biggest piece of advice is to be honest about what the event is and what is expected of the celebrity, and be persistent," Foster says. "We want them to walk away having had a good time and feeling that the event was what we said it would be. Integrity is key to everything."
—Ellen Sturm Niz
What Lures Famous Faces
Their Interests
"The No. 1 type of events celebrities attend is charity events," says Randy Olsen of Celebrity International Entertainment. "Celebrities are also more apt to come to milestone events to be a part of history."
Relationships
Like many things, a lot of celebrity wrangling comes down to who you know. For the Guggenheim Museum's events, says Cecilia Wolfson, "Which celebrities are invited depends on who the sponsor is and a celebrity's relationship with the museum or with museum staff and artists."
Fun
Often stars are, as they say, just like us—they like a good party. "One of the reasons why celebrities attend events is because they are the best parties in the world," says Lori Levine, president of Flying Television.
Publicity
"Good media exposure is a motivator for up-and-coming or downand-going [stars]," says Rita Tateel of the Celebrity Source. "Superstars don't need it unless they are promoting something." And they like to stay with their own kind: "Celebrities like to associate with those of the same level or higher."
Built-in Involvement
"We do a lot of premiere parties, so the film's talent attends," says Niche Media's Elizabeth Riordan. "When we do cover parties, the cover star is the host."
Cash
Sometimes, that is—though few will admit it. "People hire celebrities to perform, but not to attend," Levine says. "Only someone on the C or D list would take money to walk a red carpet."
Swag
Never underestimate the power of gift bags. "Why would people who can afford to buy this stuff 10 times over be interested in what goodie bag they are getting?" Tateel says. "Because before they were celebrities they were human beings like you and me, and we all love gifts. It won't be the only motivator, but it could help make it more attractive of an invitation."
Posted 12.05.05
Photos: Kevin Winter/Getty Images (Tom Cruise), Mark Mainz/Getty Images (Eva Longoria), Kevin Winter/Getty Images (Adrian Grenier), MJ Kim/Getty Images (Nicole Kidman)
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Build Good Relationships
The easiest way to lure big-name actors, musicians, or athletes is through good relationships with them or the people who surround them. "[Celebrity wrangling] is definitely about building relationships with agents, managers, publicists, and celebrities," says Kelly Foster, talent director of Overland Entertainment. Building those relationships can be a long process. Ross Ellis has worked with celebrities, managers, and publicists for years, wrangling them first for events and now for Love Our Children USA, the charity she founded. "At first, I used to call and say, 'Can I have something for an auction?' and then I built up from there," she says. Now the charity has a celebrity board of governors, which includes Melissa Etheridge and Mandy Moore, who attend its events.
Hire a Professional
If you're starting your celebrity relationships from scratch—the Desperate Housewives ladies aren't already programmed into your Treo, for example—and star power is critical to an event's success, consider hiring professional celebrity wranglers. They can help you choose whom to invite, work with their contacts, secure RSVPs, and coordinate all attendance logistics with the stars.
"I would never take a job as a celebrity wrangler because it's too stressful and hard," says Lizzie Grubman of PR and event firm Lizzie Grubman Public Relations. "When we get hired to do events as a whole, the celebrities on our guest lists are part of our relationships. If we needed a celebrity wrangler, I would hire one, like Fingerprint [Communications—New York] or Flying Television, who are really good at what they do."
Wranglers may charge a per-celebrity rate or a flat fee based on an estimate of their time, the number of celebrities needed, the difficulty of securing positive RSVPs, whether the client is corporate or nonprofit, the event's location, the amount of motivating perks and gifts, and the complexity of logistics. While the cost can range greatly, one professional wrangler says getting a dozen or so celebrities to attend an event will run $10,000 to $20,000 on average, plus any expenses.
Events that hire celebrity wrangling firms get the benefit of their contacts and their reputations. "We have [celebrity] guests RSVP to our offices as a subtle way of sending a message that it is a quality event," says Randy Olsen, C.E.O. of Celebrity International Entertainment.
Even companies with extensive celebrity relationships sometimes turn to professionals. "We work with celebrity wranglers, PR agencies, and publicists to get information about our events out to their clients and make them aware," says Elizabeth Riordan, vice president of event marketing and promotions at Niche Media, publisher of Gotham and L.A. Confidential magazines.
Match Agendas
Before contacting any celebrities, be sure to research their personal causes or interests—including charities they have supported or past events they have attended—to find those who would be most interested in attending your event. Wrangling firm Celebrity Source has 10,000 celebrities and their special interests, hobbies, sports skills, kids, pets, hometowns, and causes in its database, which it uses to match celebrities to events. "I know people who at the drop of a hat will play golf if their schedule allows it," says president Rita Tateel. "They don't care what the charity or sponsor is."
While most planners can't maintain such databases, finding celebrities with relevant interests will increase your chances of having them show up, and make the appearances feel organic instead of tacked-on. "Our director and curators have relationships with celebrities and will invite them to attend an event they think they will be interested in," says Cecilia Wolfson, associate director of individual development at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Finding out which celebrities are in town will help you avoid wasting your time—and theirs—by inviting people who couldn't attend even if they wanted to. "Celebrity wrangling is all detective work to see who is in town, who is available," Levine says. And be sure to mention the other notable names on the guest list to make your event sound as high-brow as possible. "At first don't tell the publicist that lower-level celebrities are coming because they won't let their celebrity attend," Tateel says. "Just mention the people of the same caliber or higher that have been invited. At some point you have to come clean though."
Prepare for the Worst
When putting together your target list, don't be afraid to go overboard. "Invite at least 10 times the number of celebrities you need to show up and sometimes more," Tateel suggests. For the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, for example, Tateel invites 20 times the number the event requires. "Lots of celebrities are dying to do the event because they learn to drive a race car," she says, "but it requires eight days of commitment, which is just too much time." And remember, you can never have too many celebrities. "People's schedules change all the time," Foster says. "Someone may commit to coming and then the day before have to fly off to a movie shoot. Always have a
plan B."
Make It Easy
Send invitations with thorough-but-brief information directly to the target, if possible, and ask for the smallest time commitment to accomplish what you need. "If you want the celebrity to draw media attention, and media will only cover arrivals for the first hour and a half, you can just ask celebrities to come to meet and greet," Tateel says. "If they don't have to attend the whole five hours of an event, they are more likely to say yes."
Promising transportation means guests don't have to worry about parking or directions. And think about potential perks specific to the party's host. "We do our best to get a celebrity to attend, but we don't hit people over the head," says Victoria Ashley, director of public relations at Bill Blass, of inviting celebrities interested in the brand to fashion shows, charity events, and product launches. "We call and remind them of the event, provide them with something to wear if they would like, and help with any kind of logistics."
While wranglers rarely admit on the record to paying celebrities simply to attend a party, Tateel says to get a celebrity to show up at a corporate product launch, you need to pay an appearance fee. "You may have to pay an honorarium if your event is where most people wouldn't want to travel or if your event is not well known, even if it is a nonprofit," Tateel says.
Stay in Touch
After the initial invitation, follow up as often as every few days. "It takes a mailer, a reminder, personal phone calls, and coordination," Olsen says. "Celebrities are inundated with requests, so even if they say yes, if you only contact them once, they won't make it." He even suggests calling them the morning of the event to make sure their plans haven't changed. "They may think it would be better for them not to come at all than show up late and be rude. You have to tell them it won't be a problem."
When following up, inform the celebrites of any details that were not on the original invitation. "Tell them what press is going to be there, what to wear, the schedule," Foster says. "Once a celebrity showed up to a Mardi Gras-theme event wearing black-tie. It was very embarassing for her."
And, above all, be honest throughout the process. "My biggest piece of advice is to be honest about what the event is and what is expected of the celebrity, and be persistent," Foster says. "We want them to walk away having had a good time and feeling that the event was what we said it would be. Integrity is key to everything."
—Ellen Sturm Niz
What Lures Famous Faces
Their Interests
"The No. 1 type of events celebrities attend is charity events," says Randy Olsen of Celebrity International Entertainment. "Celebrities are also more apt to come to milestone events to be a part of history."
Relationships
Like many things, a lot of celebrity wrangling comes down to who you know. For the Guggenheim Museum's events, says Cecilia Wolfson, "Which celebrities are invited depends on who the sponsor is and a celebrity's relationship with the museum or with museum staff and artists."
Fun
Often stars are, as they say, just like us—they like a good party. "One of the reasons why celebrities attend events is because they are the best parties in the world," says Lori Levine, president of Flying Television.
Publicity
"Good media exposure is a motivator for up-and-coming or downand-going [stars]," says Rita Tateel of the Celebrity Source. "Superstars don't need it unless they are promoting something." And they like to stay with their own kind: "Celebrities like to associate with those of the same level or higher."
Built-in Involvement
"We do a lot of premiere parties, so the film's talent attends," says Niche Media's Elizabeth Riordan. "When we do cover parties, the cover star is the host."
Cash
Sometimes, that is—though few will admit it. "People hire celebrities to perform, but not to attend," Levine says. "Only someone on the C or D list would take money to walk a red carpet."
Swag
Never underestimate the power of gift bags. "Why would people who can afford to buy this stuff 10 times over be interested in what goodie bag they are getting?" Tateel says. "Because before they were celebrities they were human beings like you and me, and we all love gifts. It won't be the only motivator, but it could help make it more attractive of an invitation."
Posted 12.05.05
Photos: Kevin Winter/Getty Images (Tom Cruise), Mark Mainz/Getty Images (Eva Longoria), Kevin Winter/Getty Images (Adrian Grenier), MJ Kim/Getty Images (Nicole Kidman)
Related Stories
5 Tips for Event PR
5 Tips for Red Carpets