InterMedia Entertainment™ Debuts Groundbreaking DR Star Index™ To Measure, Identify, Evaluate and Rank the Best Celebrities for Direct Response Marketing Programs

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Dec. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Superstar celebrities with massive name recognition aren't always the right individuals for Direct Response marketing campaigns—even if they were affordable. But a breakthrough new measurement tool debuting from InterMedia Entertainment™, the InterMedia Entertainment DR Star Index™ does what Q-Score, Davie Brown Index and E-Score cannot. It measures, identifies, evaluates and ranks the best celebrities for direct to consumer programs.

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Brooke Shields and Mark Harmon top the list of 100 leading celebrities in the first midyear rankings. Celebrities were scored on recognition, trustworthiness, attractiveness, influence, and likeability among other criteria. The IME DR Star Index™ is based on a representative survey of the national consumer base with respondents in all age, gender and income groups from all 50 states.

The information gleaned from the research can be used to determine ideal celebrities for any specific demographic. For instance, Harmon scored well overall based on trust, influence and likeability, but Alex Trebek and Heidi Klum scored No. 1 and 2 for people with incomes exceeding $100,000, thanks to the highly educated audiences that watch Jeopardy and the affluent viewers that are tuned into Klum as the host of Project Runway. 

Among men, Gary Sinise (CSI NY) scored 25 overall, but he was No. 3 among men 35+, overtaking Harmon for this age group. In instances where one specific character quality is considered paramount—such as trustworthiness—then that attribute can be weighted more heavily for DR spokesperson evaluation. As an example, while Joan Lunden—currently starring in a campaign for InterMedia's client A Place For Mom—did not rank in the top 25 percent overall for recognition, she scored high for trust and influence among women 35+. 

"We have worked hard to create a resource that will help all advertisers, marketers and CMOs make smart choices on celebrity spokespeople that can positively influence the ROI of their campaigns," says Rob Levy, President of InterMedia Entertainment™. "We use this index to serve our InterMedia Entertainment™ and InterMedia Advertising® clients, but we also feel we have created a powerful and illuminating tool that will serve the industry well."

The quarterly rankings from the InterMedia Entertainment DR Star Index™ will appear in Electronic Retailer Magazine, but businesses are welcome to secure one free report featuring the top 500 top ranked celebrities by contacting Rob Levy at [email protected]. In depth analysis using the DR Star Index™ is part of the suite of services provided to InterMedia Entertainment™ and InterMedia Advertising® clients.

Here's some more information from the midyear DR Star Index™:

• The top 10 overall after Shields and Harmon are Trebek, Vanna White, Patrick Stewart, Julia-Louis-Dreyfus, Jennifer Hudson, William Shatner, Henry Winkler and Courteney Cox.

• Conversely, Hulk Hogan ranked No. 1 in the Recognition category (with a recognition level of almost 98%), but only 71st in the overall rankings, due to lower scores on trustworthiness, attractiveness and ability to influence purchase behavior.

• Justin Bieber scored high in the Recognition category (over 96%), but near the bottom of the Influence category, which was probably affected by Justin's recent shenanigans. Similarly, Donald Trump and Mike Tyson scored high in Recognition (97.59% and 92.17%, respectively) and low in Trust and Influence. Clearly, simply being high profile and well known is not an adequate quality for an effective spokesperson.

• In fact, none of the Top 4 celebrities for the Recognition factor category ranked in the top 50 overall. Chuck Norris, whose credibility has been established through his history of playing authoritative, good-guy roles, was the only celebrity ranked in the Top 10 in Recognition who also ranked in the top 50 overall.

• Brooke Shields consistently scored in the top 10 in key areas, including Attractiveness, Trust, Influence and Likeability. Shields also performed well with both men and women, and across multiple age and income brackets.

"The InterMedia Entertainment DR Star Index™ is another major investment that InterMedia has made to maintain our leadership role in the direct response advertising industry," said Robert Yallen, CEO and President of the InterMedia Group of Companies®, the parent company of InterMedia Entertainment™ "We believe that astute and comprehensive metrics are the key to efficiency and effectiveness in advertising and we are applying that to entertainment and the art of celebrity deal-making."

InterMedia Entertainment™ provides its celebrity deal making services to a range of businesses, including new marketers, companies with existing campaigns that need renewed creative, and other advertising/ marketing entities. In the past 18 months, InterMedia has executed campaigns with such leading entertainment figures as Larry King, Bruce Boxleitner, William Devane, Joan Lunden, Jimmy Johnson, Joe Theismann and Chuck Woolery. InterMedia Entertainment™ conducts extensive market research to determine the right celebrity for each client. The company works with industry-leading agents, managers and studio executives to create its pairings.

For more information on InterMedia Entertainment™, and the InterMedia Entertainment DR Star™ Index, go to www.intermediaentertainment.com or contact Rob Levy at [email protected] or call (818) 995 1455.

SOURCE InterMedia Entertainment