Celebrity Endorsements in 2027: What Works, What It Costs and How to Measure It

A celebrity endorsement works when a well-known person whose audience and values fit the brand stands behind it over time, in their own voice, with content planned for both organic and paid distribution. The cost is driven by the person’s reach and brand value, the amount of content, usage rights, exclusivity and contract length. The return should be measured against the goal: reach and brand lift for awareness, tracked sales for conversion and long-term brand metrics for ambassadorships. Research supports the effect when the fit is right – and shows that a poor fit can weaken it.

Celebrity endorsement is one of the most searched topics in influencer marketing, and budgets are moving in the same direction: the IAB’s latest forecast puts US creator ad spend at 44 billion dollars, and EMARKETER forecasts 13.7 billion dollars in US influencer marketing spend in 2027. This guide explains what the research says, what drives the cost, how to measure the result and what changes heading into 2027.

What is a celebrity endorsement today?

Traditionally, a celebrity endorsement meant a famous face in a TV commercial or on a poster. Today, most endorsements also – or only – happen in the personality’s own social media channels, where the audience already follows them. The person tells the story in their own tone, the content is often amplified with paid media, and the collaboration can range from a single campaign to a multi-year ambassadorship or a co-created product.

That shift matters. The value is no longer only the famous face, but the relationship between the personality and their audience. We describe this in more detail in our article on why celebrity influencer marketing works; here we focus on the practical questions brands ask before signing a deal.

Does celebrity endorsement actually work?

Research gives a nuanced answer. In a study of hundreds of athlete endorsements, Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse and Jeroen Verleun found that sales for the endorsed brands rose by an average of 4 percent in the six months after an endorsement deal started, even after controlling for advertising spend. On the day a deal was announced, the endorsing company’s stock could be expected to rise by nearly a quarter of a percent. The study was published in the Journal of Advertising Research in 2012.

But endorsement is not automatic. A meta-analysis by Knoll and Matthes, covering 46 studies with 10,357 participants, found the strongest positive effects when the celebrity matched the endorsed product well – and the most negative effects when the match was poor. It also found that celebrity endorsements performed worse than quality seals or awards. The lesson is that fit and credibility decide the result, not fame alone.

Today’s industry data points the same way. In the IAB’s 2025 creator economy report, the most common goals for creator campaigns were brand awareness (43 percent), reaching new audiences (41 percent) and enhancing reputation and trust (35 percent) – the jobs that well-known personalities do best. At the same time, HubSpot’s latest State of Marketing report found that marketers more often named micro- and macro-influencers than mega-influencers (13.1 percent) as their most successful tier, which is a reminder that celebrities and creators do different jobs.

What makes a celebrity endorsement work in 2027?

1. Fit beats fame

Choose a personality whose audience matches your target group and whose values match your brand. In the IAB’s report, creator reputation (58 percent) and audience alignment (56 percent) were buyers’ top selection criteria, and in CreatorIQ’s 2025 research only 8 percent cited follower count as the most important factor.

2. Real, visible involvement

Fake celebrity ads have made audiences more sceptical. According to Svenskarna och internet 2025, 60 percent of Swedes had seen a fraudulent ad on social media in the past year, and 40 percent of them said one of the signs was that it used celebrities. That makes genuine collaborations – where the person clearly takes part, in their own channels and voice – more valuable.

3. Long-term rather than one-off

Repetition builds association. Digiday reported, citing research from Billion Dollar Boy, that 73 percent of marketers planned to invest in more ambassador programs within twelve months, and Sprout Social reports that 71 percent of influencers offer discounts for longer partnerships.

4. Content planned for paid media

According to CreatorIQ’s Creator-Powered Funnel report, creator content already makes up 44 percent of brands’ paid media creative, and 77 percent of paid media marketers say it outperforms traditional branded ads. Content featuring a well-known face can be used in ads and other channels – if the usage rights are agreed. CreatorIQ found that securing usage rights is a major barrier for 54 percent of paid media marketers.

5. Local trust

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer special report on brand trust found that people trust domestic brands more than foreign ones (75 versus 60 percent globally). Local personalities whom the audience has followed for years carry the same sense of closeness.

What does a celebrity endorsement cost?

There is no public price list. Fees are negotiated individually and depend on a handful of factors:

• Reach and recognition: how many people know and follow the person, across which channels and age groups.

• Scope: the number of posts, videos, stories, events and appearances.

• Usage rights: where, how and for how long the brand may use the content – especially in paid media.

• Exclusivity: which competing brands or categories the person may not work with, and for how long.

• Contract length: longer agreements usually give a lower cost per piece of content.

• Production and agency costs: concept, filming, editing, project management and paid amplification.

As a reference point for the wider market, Sprout Social reports that half of influencers charge between 250 and 1,000 dollars per post, and that 71 percent offer discounts for longer partnerships. Celebrity fees are set by the factors above and vary widely. The most effective way to make a budget go further is usually to combine one well-known personality with a group of creators, and to plan from the start how the content will be reused.

How do you measure a celebrity endorsement?

Measure against the goal you set before the campaign. A launch, a brand-building effort and a sales push should not be judged in the same way:

• Awareness: reach, frequency, brand lift studies and search volume for the brand.

• Consideration: engagement, comments, shares, saves and website traffic.

• Conversion: promo codes, tracked links and shop features – the most common tracking methods in Influencer Marketing Hub’s latest Benchmark Report (45.9, 26 and 25 percent).

• Long-term effect: association between the person and the brand, consideration over time and sales trends.

Do not expect one number to capture everything. In CreatorIQ’s latest State of Creator Marketing report, no single measurement method was preferred by more than 19 percent of brands. Combine short-term tracking with long-term brand metrics.

What does it look like in practice?

In the “Coca-Cola Loves Tacos” activation, Collabri brought together several well-known duos, including Pernilla Wahlgren & Sofia Wistam and Carolina Gynning & Carina Berg, and the campaign reached over 4.5 million views and 6,300 interactions. For Ellos, Gynning & Berg took on the Tough Viking obstacle race in a humorous video concept that reached more than 756,000 views. And in Amazon’s “Summer Hero” campaign, Marko “Markoolio” Lehtosalo was the face of an initiative that put the spotlight on local engagement. Each case was measured against its own goal.

What rules apply to celebrity endorsements in Sweden?

A paid endorsement in social media must be clearly labelled as advertising under the Swedish Marketing Act, so that the audience understands it is advertising at first glance. Konsumentverket states that the company has the main responsibility, and serious violations can lead to a fee of up to four percent of annual turnover. Sweden also has a specific law on names and images in advertising (1978:800): a company may not use another person’s name or image in its marketing without their consent.

AI adds a new dimension. The transparency rules in Article 50 of the EU AI Act already apply, and deepfakes must be disclosed. Never recreate a celebrity’s face or voice with AI without explicit consent and a clear agreement.

What changes for celebrity endorsements in 2027?

Three developments are already set or reported, and they all reward genuine, well-structured partnerships:

• The last AI Act deadline arrives on 2 February 2027, when the final deferred technical requirements for marking AI-generated content apply. AI-generated likenesses of real people will need to be clearly disclosed.

• New EU rules for influencer marketing are being prepared. The European Commission plans to propose a Digital Fairness Act before 2027, and influencer marketing is one of the areas it is expected to regulate.

• Trust becomes the scarce resource. In CreatorIQ’s latest State of Creator Marketing report, AI-related issues made up 44 percent of brand responses about the greatest threat to trust over the next three years.

For brands, that means real personalities, clear labelling and long-term agreements will be worth more in 2027 – not less.

Key takeaways

• Research supports celebrity endorsements when the fit between person, audience and product is strong.

• Cost depends on reach, scope, usage rights, exclusivity and contract length.

• Measure against the goal and combine short-term tracking with long-term brand metrics.

• In Sweden, label clearly and always get consent to use a person’s name or image.

• In 2027, AI transparency and genuine involvement will make real partnerships stand out.

Frequently asked questions

Are celebrity endorsements worth the money?

They can be when the goal is awareness, a launch or brand building and the personality fits the brand. The value increases when the content is also used in paid media and the partnership runs over time.

How much does a celebrity endorsement cost in Sweden?

There is no fixed price. Fees depend on the person’s reach, the scope of content, usage rights, exclusivity and contract length. An agency can propose a plan that matches your budget.

How do you choose the right celebrity?

Start with the target group and the message. Look at the person’s audience, values, tone and previous collaborations, and choose someone for whom the product feels natural.

Can a celebrity endorsement be measured?

Yes. Use reach and brand lift for awareness, engagement and traffic for consideration, codes and links for sales, and recurring brand surveys for long-term effects.

Collabri works with some of Sweden’s best-known personalities, including Pernilla Wahlgren, Carolina Gynning, Carina Berg, Laila Bagge, Marko “Markoolio” Lehtosalo and Sofia Wistam. Want to plan a celebrity endorsement that is built to be measured? Contact us at info@collabri.se.

Sources

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This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.