In all the games I’ve seen, often a company won’t think about one of the most overrated aspects of the business strategy game that wins. And that’s celebrities.
Celebrities for a fixed cost, give your shoes a boost in desirability. Most of the people think really materialistically when they think of celebrities and want them to promote their shoes. Celebrities are known for getting outrageous amounts of money, and therefore, in the first year, people make crazy offers without even thinking. When I say crazy I mean over $10,000, I’ve seen people top out at $50,000. Thinking about it logically, if you’re starting a new game, your business makes a net profit of about $30,000 a year. So to bid anything over $10,000, you’re basically wasting your net winnings. Most companies get off to a bad start by bidding too high for celebrities.
Realistically his celebrity deals are $1000-$3000 to set you in the right direction. A game without celebrities can be won.
However, celebrities can be a strategy unto themselves. A mid game company that has all the celebrities for possibly $5000 on average has stifled its competition that has no celebrities. This strategy is not a sure hit, but it is a strategy I have used for a round.
In general though, take celebrities with a grain of salt. The celebrities in the game do not have enough influence on their own to win the business strategy game. In the end, it’s your product that will make or break you.