Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 8-27-2025
Abstract
On August 27, 2025, Grammy winning singer Taylor Swift and football champion Travis Kelce announced their engagement. Celebrity couples inspire popular reactions with commercial implications. A research study from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University analyzed online reaction in the period immediately after the power couple’s engagement was announced. Results suggest overwhelming interest, positivity, and potential benefits to major brands, such as the National Football League. Findings include a 96% increase in brand references for the NFL and Kansas Chiefs on social media (mere days before the season’s start), 82% of social media posts about the couple’s engagement expressed “joy”(13,265% increase in joy related posts from the previous period analyzed), 10 million Instagram likes and 153K social media discussions generated (a 7222% increase), and a spike in interest for other brands associated with the stars’ engagement including fashion/apparel (63% increase) and 520K views for a post from the city of Cleveland.
Publisher
Center for Strategic Communication, School of Communication and Media, Montclair State University
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Luo, Yi; Choi, Jin-A; and Benton, Bond, "Swift/Kelce Star Power Effect? Engagement created a 96% increase in NFL discussion online with 82% of social media posts expressing “joy” about the couple" (2025). College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works. 60.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/scom-facpubs/60
Included in
Arts and Humanities Commons, Business Analytics Commons, Business and Corporate Communications Commons, Communication Commons, Fashion Business Commons