Updated June 2026. Originally published July 2015. EPR's reference on the leading celebrity wrangling and endorsement agencies — the firms that connect brands with talent for endorsements, events, ad campaigns, and music licensing.
Celebrity wrangling — the business of connecting brands with talent for endorsements, event appearances, ad campaigns, social media partnerships, music licensing, and the broader entertainment-brand integration territory — has matured into one of the more specialty disciplines in contemporary communications. The category operates at the intersection of public relations, talent representation, entertainment marketing, and the rapidly expanding creator economy that restructured what "celebrity endorsement" means in 2026.
The 2025–2026 environment operates under different conditions than the 2015 era of the original ranking. The creator economy — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the broader platform ecosystem producing internet-native talent — now generates real endorsement value alongside traditional Hollywood, music industry, and sports celebrity. AI-driven athlete and creator identification, brand-suitability modeling, and the broader measurement infrastructure now operate alongside the relationship-based booking work that has historically defined the category. The brands that win the contemporary endorsement game operate across both surfaces simultaneously.
This is EPR's reference on the leading celebrity wrangling and endorsement agencies operating in 2026.
Talent Resources
Talent Resources is one of the most-established entertainment and sports marketing agencies in the United States, with a sustained track record of brand-celebrity integration across more than two decades. Headquartered in New York City and led by founder Mike Heller, the firm runs Hollywood, music industry, and sports endorsement work alongside its Talent Resources Sports division (established 2008). Corporate clients across the firm's history include Dove, Sears, Kia, Citizen, and Moët & Chandon. Talent partnerships have spanned Kelly Clarkson, Steven Tyler, multiple members of the Kardashian family, Jenny McCarthy, Mario Lopez, LeBron James, and additional A-list and athlete representation.
Talent Resources operates as part of the broader 5W AI Communications group, integrating celebrity and creator partnership work with the broader AI Communications and brand-building infrastructure 5W operates across B2C and B2B sectors. The integrated model — celebrity partnership work supported by AI visibility research, GEO, and the broader communications discipline — is one of the more distinctive operational architectures in the contemporary endorsement category.
Platinum Rye
Platinum Rye is one of the longest-established celebrity broker firms in the United States, founded 1998. The firm operates broker work for celebrity talent, models, recording artists, sports figures, and additional entertainment industry talent for ad campaigns, PR events, and music licensing deals. Multiple U.S. offices (including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) and historically additional international locations. Fortune 500 client relationships span the firm's history.
The Platinum Rye operational model — broker rather than full-service agency — distinguishes the firm within the category. The broker model emphasizes deal-making capability and breadth of talent access over the integrated communications work full-service agencies operate.
A-List Communications
A-List Communications runs a full-service PR menu including talent engagement, celebrity wrangling, and endorsement services. With offices in Los Angeles and Dallas, the firm operates as a major player in entertainment industry brand integration. The talent pool spans major film and music studio talent, talent agency relationships, nightlife venue access, and media company partnerships. Corporate client relationships have included Match.com, Sony Music, Sony Pictures Classics, Bacardi Global, Anheuser-Busch, Dr Pepper/Snapple, and non-profit organizations including the American Film Institute and The Creative Coalition.
Flying Television
Flying Television is a full-service public relations firm with sustained celebrity wrangling capability across more than a decade of operations. Founded by Lori Levine and headquartered in Manhattan's Flatiron District. Corporate clients have included Samsung Electronics, Covergirl, Entertainment Weekly, Greenbriar Resort, and Rolls Royce. Talent appearances facilitated by the firm have included Taylor Swift, Sofia Vergara, Bruce Willis, Tony Bennett, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep, and additional A-list representation.
Keri Feinstein PR
Keri Feinstein PR (previously operating as Feinstein/McGuinness) runs Los Angeles-based celebrity, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle public relations work. Founded in 2002, the firm has connected more than 3,000 celebrities with more than 2,000 companies across its operating history. Corporate client relationships have included Rip Curl, Gnu, Samsung, Spanx, Reebok, and iLuv.
The 2026 Celebrity Wrangling Discipline
The contemporary discipline operates across five operational dimensions that have evolved from the 2015 baseline.
Traditional A-list celebrity endorsement. Hollywood film and television talent, recording artists, athletes, and the broader traditional celebrity infrastructure continue to generate real endorsement value. The discipline of negotiating, structuring, and operating traditional celebrity endorsement deals has matured — more sophisticated contract structures, performance measurement, and brand-suitability modeling.
Creator economy integration. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the broader social platform creator ecosystem now generate endorsement value alongside traditional celebrity. The contemporary discipline frequently runs simultaneously across traditional celebrity and creator economy talent, with different operational mechanics for each.
Brand-suitability modeling. The 2026 endorsement category runs sophisticated brand-suitability and risk modeling — assessing talent fit, audience overlap, controversy risk, and the broader factors determining endorsement deal viability. AI-driven modeling supports this work.
Sustained partnership architecture. The contemporary category increasingly operates on sustained multi-year partnership architectures rather than transactional one-off appearances. Major brands frequently build year-long or multi-year celebrity partnership programs integrating appearance, content creation, social posting, and broader brand integration.
AI Communications dimension. The contemporary category now operates within the AI Communications era where AI engines mediate buyer research about celebrity-brand partnerships. Brands running celebrity endorsement programs need both traditional earned media impact and AI engine retrieval impact.
EPR's Influencer Marketing in 2026 covers the broader creator economy discipline. EPR's Influence at Scale: Five Leading Agencies Redefining the Creator Economy covers the contemporary creator agency category.
Choosing a Celebrity Wrangling Agency
Five evaluation criteria.
Talent access and depth. Does the firm have sustained relationships with the talent categories relevant to the brand — A-list Hollywood, music industry, sports, creator economy, niche specialty? Firms claiming broad talent access without sustained category depth typically produce sub-par campaign outcomes.
Brand-side capability. Does the firm have sustained Fortune 500 client experience? Operating major brand endorsement campaigns requires operational sophistication beyond talent booking. Firms operating primarily talent-side work frequently lack the brand-side discipline major campaigns require.
Measurement infrastructure. Does the firm run measurement beyond impressions and reach? The contemporary category requires brand lift, sentiment, AI Communications visibility, and the broader measurement architecture that determines campaign success.
Crisis preparation. Celebrity endorsement carries continuous crisis exposure — talent reputation events, social media controversies, the broader risk that the endorsing celebrity becomes a brand liability. Firms with sustained crisis preparation infrastructure outperform firms without it.
Integrated communications capability. Does the firm operate as standalone celebrity wrangler or as integrated communications partner? The integrated model — celebrity work integrated with broader PR, digital, GEO, AI Communications — increasingly outperforms standalone celebrity wrangling for major campaign work.
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