Celebrities as Health and Wellness Influencers

Earlier this month, we learned that Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, has plans to launch a new health and wellness start-up that will provide content contributed by celebrities and bloggers.

The increasing overflow of health and wellness information (and misinformation) has led consumers to be much more skeptical of health advice provided by anyone but a professional. So why are marketers still using celebrities as influencers?

Given the mass confusion surrounding various health topics and the growing distrust in celebrity’s opinions, we wonder if using celebrities and bloggers as sources of health and wellness information is the best choice for Huffington’s new venture.

As we’ve discussed before, trust in experts and health professionals for health information is continuing to grow, while trust in bloggers and celebrities is plunging. Results from the recent IFIC Food & Health Survey revealed that 83% of Americans have little or no trust in advice given from celebrities about food and diet.

While there once was a point when an A-list celebrity could influence consumers, it’s clear that times have changed. As for marketers, it is important now more than ever to provide consumers with the genuine, face-to-face interactions from the sources they trust most.