It’s a phenomenon Graham King, producer of the upcoming Michael Jackson movie, knows instinctively. He also produced the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, which made more than $900m (1.25 billion AUD) at the box office and won four Oscars. It comes off the back of the February release of Baz Luhrmann's EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, a follow-up to Luhrmann's 2022 Elvis movie.
Now, revealing research from Australia’s Macquarie University in collaboration with UNSW has investigated social media engagement with 10 major celebrities including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Emma Watson and Beyoncé.
Professor Chris Baumann, a marketing expert from Macquarie Business School, co-authored the paper and says the study confirms celebrities often continue to engage audiences well after death.
“This study is the first deep-dive look at how audiences engage psychologically with dead celebrities – and we found that engagement appears to be much more than simply emotional. There is so much bonding," he said.
“It was also fascinating to see how responses differed for types of celebrity. In some cases, for example, the Royal Family triggered a uniquely objective response in social media users. Increasingly, this means that we think marketers will turn to the powerful branding opportunities like merchandising that famous dead stars encapsulate."
Professor Baumann, who introduced the term ‘necro-branding’, says there's more to come on how companies use the images, sounds and art of dead stars, with AI increasingly being used to keep them 'alive'.
By analysing 120,000 social media posts, the research found that, in general, fans continue to express deep affection, nostalgia and emotional attachment for deceased celebrities.
“By looking at the fans’ emotional and cognitive language, we discovered that, while living celebrities generate more present‑focused, performance-driven engagement, famous stars – like Elvis – have become necro‑celebrities, who evoke stronger themes of eternity, affection, ritual and legacy,” said Professor Baumann.
First author, PhD student Rena Mu, adds: “The powerful emotions that their fans experience are now being harnessed as multi-billion-dollar branding opportunities. I expect this trend to accelerate as AI and social media transform the way stories are told, and advertising (and emotions) are sold.”
The findings offer marketers a data‑driven way to tailor celebrity‑based campaigns and explain why celebrity estates continue to have an impact, with digital grief, nostalgia and fandom sustaining and even amplifying a celebrity’s brand long after death.
Chris Baumann is a Professor of Marketing in the Macquarie Business School.