The Office star Brian Baumgartner has earned over a million dollars as the top-earner on Cameo, the service that let’s fans pay a set fee to receive video messages from their favorite celebrities. That’s no small feat, as Cameo offers messages from major sports stars, musicians, comedians, and iconic actors from the big and small screen – many of whom are more recognizable names than Brian Baumgartner. And yet, Kevin Malone from The Office is the star that Cameo users love the most. The secret to Baumgartner’s success? According to Cameo CEO Steven Galanis: “He really takes a lot of pride in his craftsmanship of the videos.”
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Galanis gave a lengthier explanation of why Brian Baumgartner is Cameo’s top-earner while speaking to New York Times Sway podcast:
“The person that did the most in revenue this year is Brian Baumgartner who is Kevin from The Office,” Galanis told Swisher. “He’ll do over $1 million this year in bookings… He really takes a lot of pride in his craftsmanship of the videos. And I do think the quality of the Cameo is something that is really important to people. And he just is somebody that really takes it seriously and does a great job. He’s reliable. He turns them around quickly. And the content is really funny.”
Cameo launched in 2017 from its headquarters in Chicago. Steven Galanis created it alongside Martin Blencowe and Devon Spinnler Townsend, after the seed of the idea formed in 2016. Blencowe was a former film producer and NFL agent, who got football player Cassius Marsh to record a congratulation message to one of Blencowe’s friends. That video turned on a light bulb for Blencowe and Galanis, as they realized selfies (and selife videos) were the modern form of autograph, and would be highly valued by fans.
Celebrities who meet certain criteria of visibility and fame (like big enough social media followings) are eligible for Cameo. Their fees increase with demand and popularity, and celebs can set parameters things like how long they can take to produce the video. Prices for celebrities videos can range anywhere from $5 into the thousands. Reports ealirer this year had Caitlyn Jenner marked as the highest-earning celebrity, but now it seems Brian Baumgartner is king.
As of writing this, fans of The Office can still get a video from Baumgartner for the reasonable price of $195. Just head on over to Cameo.
