Celebrity Silent Auction Items
Donations from Celebrities Create Increased Bids and Excitement
Mar 29, 2009
Obtaining celebrity auction items is easier than it seems. The asking is the easy part, as celebrities are asked for this sort of thing all the time, and are generally inclined to give. The tricky part is figuring out who to ask, as business of this sort is handled by celebrity representation.
Finding Contact Information for Celebrity Requests
Typically, the best contact for celebrity silent auction requests will be a publicist. There are a couple ways to obtain this information. If time is more available than money, use the Association of Talent Agents (ATA) Actors' Agent Search to locate the agent for actors or the public relations department of a sports team or record label. Ask the agent, team or label about the publicist information for a specific celebrity and contact information if they have it available (or look the contact information up online).
Alternately, if money is more available than time, use a subscription service to shortcut the process and obtain publicist information more quickly. Whorepresents.com offers this information for about $13 a month for one database (film/tv, music or sports) and $7 for additional databases. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has a pro service that includes this information for about $13 a month as well.
Making Celebrity Requests
Generally, celebrity contacts can just be sent the same letter as all other solicitation targets (see the article Writing a Silent Auction Donation Solicitation Letter). Be reasonable in what is requested – signed items like photos, script, posters, DVDs, magazine covers are all reasonable. Merchandising items with signed packaging are also a great requests for movies where that makes sense. Signed balls, gloves, bats, shoes, jerseys, photos, hats, game programs or other signed items sold at game venues are great for sports figures. CDs are the obvious choice for musicians.
As tempting as it is, stay away from "dream" requests like signed instruments, game worn clothing, in-person outings, walk-on parts, or other items of this sort unless someone personally known to the celebrity is making the request directly. It's not realistic and makes the event look unprofessional. If it well known that a particular celebrity supports the cause benefitted by the auction, a call to the publicist to discuss possible increased support or what bigger request might be appropriate can be a great idea.
Local Celebrities
Remember, entertainment and sports are not the only the only celebrities. Local politicians, organization officers and board members, local well-known public servants, school teachers and principals, local academics and other outspoken members of the community will often happily contribute to auctions. They'll also usually give much higher value items than distant celebs – in-person lunches, in-home dinners, day-on-the job shadow packages or other outings are not unreasonable requests. For more ideas, see the article Creative Silent Auction Items.
Celebrity donations can add a lot of excitement to a silent auction. Outside of Los Angeles or other celebrity hubs, where such things are less common, even small items like signed photos can generate high bids and interest and are definitely worth pursuing.
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