Paris' Emirates endorsement worth $1.5m - expert

PARIS ENDORSEMENT: Paris Hilton's praise for Emirates on Twitter is worth $1.5m, according to a PR expert. (Getty Images)

Paris Hilton’s gushing endorsement of Emirates Airline on social networking website Twitter was worth $1.5m in free PR for the airline, according to a Dubai-based publicist.

The socialite and hotel heiress posted a photograph she took of the Emirates logo inside her first class cabin alongside the caption “this Airline is amazing” on her Twitter page shortly before her flight to Dubai took off on Tuesday.

Beside a photo of her first class cabin, Hilton posted the comment: “so comfy”, with “huge” the caption on another picture of her cabin.

She then posts a picture of her inflight bed.

Hilton’s ‘tweets’ are followed by almost 200,000 ‘followers’, including fans, media and other celebrities.

She is visiting Dubai to appear on the emirate’s high profile television show; ‘Paris Hilton’s My New BFF.’

“For something like Paris's tweet on Emirates I would say Emirates would have acquired a minimum value of around $1.5m in PR as of today in 24 hours,” said Adnan Dawood, an expert in celebrity endorsements.

“And this is just the beginning. It could go up to $3m if there is ‘fallout PR’ from her tweet.”

In a statement, Emirates confirmed it did not have a business relationship with Hilton nor had it paid her any endorsement fee.

"We are delighted that Paris Hilton - accustomed to luxury, a frequent traveller and a global style icon - has enjoyed her experience with Emirates and has articulated her views in the public domain,” said Boutros Boutros, Emirates' divisional senior vice president, corporate communications.

Hilton would usually command around $1m for a paid advertising endorsement for one day's work, depending on the geography of where the advertising was distributed, according to Dawood.

In addition, for an overseas appearance Hilton would expect to be paid somewhere in the region of between $200,000 and $700,000 not including transport and accommodation, he added.

Dawood said he doubted the ‘tweets’ were part of a marketing campaign orchestrated by Emirates.

“It’s not a marketing ploy,” he said. “There are huge benefits to the Emirates brand from this. It’s natural and does not look staged.”

No one was immediately available to comment from Emirates.

In contrast, Hilton’s Twitter comments denying that she would be appearing at the launch of the Bed Lounge at the Intercontinental Hotel were “bad” for the club night’s brand.

“While some may say all publicity is good publicity, I don’t believe that,” he continued.

“Yes, people are now aware of a club called Bed but in what credibility? A successful brand is not only well known but also credible.”

As a demonstration of the exposure a celebrity association can bring to a brand, after singer Michael Jackson visited Bahrain in 2005 the number of internet searches on Yahoo for the island kingdom rocketed by 1,030 percent, Dawood said.

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READERS' COMMENTS

To Mr.D
Posted by The Analyst on Friday 19 June 2009 at 01:00 UAE time


Dear Mr D.. I wasn't asking a question, hence no question mark after take unpaid leave. It was a statement. Not too many expected BA to have such loses with those record high airfares....much higher than Emirates or the competition. I hope you were adding your opinion for the poor employees of British Airways and supporting them, because they too have families to feed. As far as the top brass sitting on their behinds whether it's BA or Emirates, I have no pity for them. They will survive this crisis and CONTINUE to get paid and live incredibly luxurious lifestyles.. Cheers to all!!!!!

To The Analyst
Posted by D on Thursday 18 June 2009 at 10:22 UAE time


As widely reported on 16 June....

"Unions at British Airways have reacted angrily to a request by chief executive Willie Walsh that its 40,000 staff should work without pay for a month." This after a record pre tax loss of 401 million pounds.

So to answer your question, yes I have seen British Airways asking their flight attendants to work for free!

??
Posted by The Analyst on Thursday 18 June 2009 at 05:57 UAE time


Hers friends and followers on tweet don't have the finances to even look at the Emirates First Class Cabin. Advertising only works when it's positioned to the right audience. You do know that the US is in a global recession with unemployment close to 10%, millions of jobs still being made redundant?? The last thing anyone wants to see is her sleeper seat. I guess Emirates needs to spin everything, when they've been hit so hard. Have you seen British Airways asking their flight attendants to work for free or take unpaid leave. Emirates did the unpaid leave request first, several months ago, but BA?? Cheers to all.

I wish I could get celebs to tweet my brand
Posted by tamer, Doha, Qatar on Wednesday 17 June 2009 at 21:55 UAE time


if only she would tweet about my shawarma shop

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