“Dramaturgy and Celebrity Branding”
What if every celebrity moment you see—on the red carpet, on social media, in a press interview—isn’t spontaneous, but instead part of a carefully managed stage performance?

In this episode of Theories of Celebrity Branding, we dive into the concept of Dramaturgy, a sociological theory developed by Erving Goffman, to explore how celebrities craft and manage their public personas. Goffman’s insight was simple but transformative: life is like theater. We are all actors performing roles depending on the audience and context.

For celebrities, this performance is magnified across millions of screens, with every moment scrutinized, amplified, and monetized.

Using this theatrical lens, host Bob Batchelor, faculty member of the Department of Communication, Media, and Culture at Coastal Carolina University unpacks how stars shape public perception by managing “front stage” and “backstage” behavior. The front stage is what we see—the press junkets, carefully curated Instagram posts, red carpet poses. Backstage is what we don’t—the private negotiations, brand strategies, and identity work that hold the persona together.

Why is this important for professionals and students in communications, branding, media, and PR?

Because understanding celebrity branding as performance reveals how strategic public identity functions—and how you, too, are participating in a form of brand dramaturgy every time you post, present, or pitch.

Highlights from this episode include:

• A deep dive into Goffman’s theory and how it applies to celebrity branding.

• The role of impression management in shaping public narratives and media identity.

• Case study on actor Robert Downey Jr., whose transformation from troubled star to cultural icon illustrates the power of backstage work and controlled performance.

• How branding teams, PR reps, stylists, and social media managers act as “crew” supporting the celebrity on their public stage.

• The role of “the audience”—you and me—in co-creating and reinforcing celebrity identity through engagement, consumption, and interpretation.

• The implications of constant exposure in a social media world where there’s less and less separation between “on stage” and “off stage.”

As Batchelor explains, these dynamics are not limited to A-listers. Leaders, influencers, professionals, and even students manage their reputations using similar tools. From selecting what to wear for a video interview to shaping a personal website bio, the performance of self is everywhere.

We also explore how Goffman’s theory can help us better analyze celebrity missteps and PR crises. When a public figure’s front-stage behavior collapses—when what we see doesn’t match what we expect—the fallout can be swift. But the reverse is also true: celebrities who carefully align their performance with audience expectations can achieve remarkable levels of trust, brand loyalty, and influence.

So what does this mean for your own career or communication goals?

Batchelor closes the episode with key takeaways for aspiring communicators, marketers, and creators:

• Recognize the power of consistency in public performance and how it builds trust.

• Understand the tools of impression management and apply them to shape your own brand with integrity.

• Avoid the trap of inauthenticity: great branding isn’t faking, it’s aligning your message with your values.

• Build a backstage strategy—know who’s helping support your brand, and what story you want to tell.

Whether you’re managing your own social presence, working in communications, or just trying to better understand how today’s media landscape operates, this episode will reshape how you think about fame, authenticity, and performance.

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