Dress to impress was released in November 2023 and became one of the fastest Roblox games to reach 1 billion visits. With the help of influencers like Caseoh, Kai Cenat, Madison Beer, and James Charles, the game reached this milestone and still continues to rapidly grow.
Although, this isn’t the first time a game was popularized through the influence of celebrities and well-known figures. For example, you may have heard of Among Us back in 2020 with the variety of streamers all around the world playing, or the various Minecraft eras that have occurred over the years as new influencers join or come up with new ways of playing the game.
When influencers play a game and express their enjoyment toward it, it’s called celebrity endorsement. Celebrity endorsement can either be nonprofitable, or it can be used as a marketing strategy by companies to influence an audience to do something through an influencer’s reputation or status. It helps both the influencer and the company because the influencer either gains money, a new audience, or some sort of profit, while the company gains new consumers, a reputation, and credibility.
With celebrity endorsement, influencers can either be honest and genuinely play the game for fun, or they can be paid to recommend the game. Being paid or gaining something out of advertising a game doesn’t necessarily mean the influencer is lying, or that the game is bad. However, it can introduce bias. When celebrities and influencers play a game for fun, it gives a more authentic and relatable feel to the audience, making them want to play the game more. Either way, both methods bring traction to the company and celebrity.
When influencers play for fun with nothing directly benefiting them, it lets the audience trust them more. For games like Valorant, people want to improve their rank and perform like streamers they look up to online. Ads for these games do help, but having popular influencers playing their game or being in the ad benefits them much more.
When a celebrity plays a game, the game’s credibility is benefited because these big creators support their game. It also gives the game personality because of the type of creators they invite to review the game and the way these games are advertised by the celebrity.
There are many reasons why someone may listen to influencers, some of which are: credibility, trust, nostalgia, and it opens them to something new or something that relates to their passions, etc.
Celebrities have a profound impact on the success of games. With their large followings and reputations online, it can be utilized in ways such as growing gaming platforms. Having an online community of followers comes with great influence. New players, a more diverse audience, trends, and creative ways of advertising can all happen as a result of celebrity endorsement. Thus, celebrity endorsement can benefit both the celebrity and the company, creating a mutual relationship.