Nobody Cares… Until They Do

In an age where everyone has something to say, sell, or promote, the hard truth is that nobody cares about you or your message by default. Why? 

Because the modern marketplace is overwhelming, millions of voices clamour for attention on social media, in emails, and on websites, all competing for the same limited resource: people’s time. 

And in the midst of this noise, the average person asks a simple question before engaging with any content: “What’s in it for me?”

Your personal story might be riveting to you, and your product might indeed be brilliant. But in a digital sea of never-ending options, people tend to scroll right past anything that doesn’t immediately speak to their needs. 

Consumers today face decision fatigue; they’re inundated with ads, product launches, and offers that promise the world. As a result, skepticism is at an all-time high, and attention spans are fragmented. 

No matter how passionate you are about your idea, if it doesn’t solve a HUGE pressing problem and only you have the solution, or it does not spark a strong emotional response, it risks going unnoticed.

People don’t have the mental bandwidth to genuinely care about every single brand or message they encounter.

So, in the grand scheme, people only prioritise themselves. They pay attention to messages or products that directly impact their lives in tangible ways. 

You need to make them understand their own priorities and position yourself as one of those priorities. You need to give them a safe space, emotionally balanced environment where they can feel secure and ready to engage.

The more they talk about themself, the more they feel secure. The more you engage with the people they already trust and feel secured with, the better chance you have to capture their attention.

Endorsements

An endorsement is a public declaration, statement or action by someone who shows support for, or approve of, something (product, service) or someone (person), lending some sort of credibility to it or them.

A kind of endorsement and introduction by someone, either wealthy, royalty, or well-known like a celebrity or influencer, can make a brand or product more appealing to consumers.

The official definition of celebrity endorsement is a form of brand or advertising campaign that involves a well known person using their fame to help promote a product or service.

Public figures or celebrities have traditionally been employed by luxury brands to advertise a specific brand with the primary goal to reach a greater audience, most of which the celebrity’s fan base.

Types of endorsements:

• Testimonial – acts as an ambassador, advocate or spokesperson for you or your product brand
• Imported – performs a role known to the audience
• Invented – plays a new, original role
• Observer – commenting on the brand
• Harnessed – celebrity’s or influencer’s image is integrated with the brand

Harnessed

In 1760 pioneers like Josiah Wedgwood started using royal endorsements as a brand-building tool, using the FRED (familiarity, relevance, esteem and differentiation) principle in evaluating the feasibility of endorsing a celebrity.

According to Nancy Koehn, a retail historian at Harvard, in 1765, Wedgwood produced a cream-colored tea set for King George III’s wife, Queen Charlotte, which resulted in his appointment as Potter to her Majesty. The creamware quickly became known as Queensware, signalling its elegance and aspirational qualities. 

Wedgwood moved swiftly to capitalise on this power of celebrity endorsement, advertising aristocratic sales in London newspapers and naming specific pieces for individual members of the nobility thereby creating the illusion that Wedgwood china are pieces of aristocratic fashion and quality that the ordinary folk could bring into their own homes and for which they were willing to pay more.

Wedgwood has historically sold its goods at higher prices than competitors and generally avoided discounting, effectively signalling the superiority of their products and brand to consumers. 

Customers who buy Wedgwood china aren’t just paying for a product; they are buying the esteem associated with a prestigious brand associated with royalty.

However, there is a vast and great difference between royalty as a brand endorser and a celebrity as a brand endorser, but it seems to work well for some brands.

Today mostly celebrities are used as a compelling force because their fans trust them, are familiar with them, perceive them almost as family and idolise them, aspiring to be like they are, live how they live, own what they own, know who they know. 

Subconsciously people believe that purchasing a product that’s promoted by a celebrity they admire, will allow them to emulate the celebrity’s desired traits or attract similar people into their lives, or they will gain some status.

The same is true for the new influencers who are being used more and more in the same way. Some consumers yearn to attain the qualities, lifestyles, accomplishments, that are featured on their favourite icon’s highlight reels, or social posts, no matter how unrealistic.

The success of these endorsements would depend on the title, fame, power, and fortune of the endorser. 

It’s risky and unrealistic for you to rely on an endorser to carry and sustain your image, even if that person or entity is seemingly scandal-free and liked by all. You’d be wise to stay in control of your own brand.

Realistically, most modern consumers will not engage with a person (you in this case) if your values do not speak to them, or if your services are not relevant to them, even if it’s featured in a Leadership Magazine and the cover reads Forbes.

Endorsements may still be an excellent strategy, but it just means a more thorough approach regarding responsible selection of who the endorser would be and on what platforms it will be announced.

If you can find someone else or entity who believes in you, can advocate for you, can endorse you for who you are and what you do, make sure of their credibility, reputation, their values, and ethics. 

Investors

In a sense, an investor is an endorser. If they invest in you, they publicly admit they like what you do and through their investment endorses you.

Investors and VCs want to buy/invest in what’s going to happen in the future. They want to buy what becomes a 10, 100, even 1000x return. That’s what you’re selling.

How you or your business can bring them that return.

Approach investors from a position of relational opportunity. Offer investors a rare opportunity, and tell a story that tugs at their feelings to get them to a place of understanding.

Your work is about meaning, impact, and winning. The same applies to fundraising. You’re not begging for money, you’re offering a chance to be part of something transformative. 

Fundraising isn’t inherently a technical skill. It’s a deeply human one that relies on the art of connection, storytelling, and emotional intelligence. 

It’s not so much about presenting a perfect deck as it is about making investors feel something powerful, the potential of your vision.