Chicago startup Cameo is making its first foray into politics with a fundraising effort for Joe Biden's presidential campaign.
The celebrity shoutout app announced Thursday that it has created a new feature that allows political candidates to fundraise on the Cameo platform, and it's beginning with Biden's run for president. CEO Steven Galanis tweeted that the startup has spent the last two years working on ways to allow campaigns to raise funds on Cameo, and called the move a "landmark moment" that's kicking off with the Biden campaign.
Here's how it works: First of all, no, Biden isn't joining Cameo himself. A select group of celebrities on the Cameo platform are raising funds for the former vice president. The celebrities make Cameo videos for fans as usual, but instead of keeping the money themselves, the funds are directed to the Biden campaign. The celebs involved each have a Biden for President logo on their Cameo page.
So far, participating celebrities include Andy Cohen, Mandy Moore, Titus Burgess, Melissa Etheridge and Dulé Hill. More celebrities are expected to join, according to a Cameo spokesperson. It's unclear how long the fundraising effort will continue. Andy Cohen's page says he's raising funds for Biden on Cameo for the next two weeks, with the Bravo TV host charging $500 for a video. Mandy Moore is charging $250. A Melissa Etheridge video will donate $100 to the campaign.
The Cameo rep wouldn't say if other politicians have immediate plans to run similar fundraising efforts on the platform, though it appears Biden is the first in a larger political push for the startup.
“Celebrities on the Cameo platform want connect with fans and raise money for important causes," Cameo COO Arthur Leopold said in a statement. "With the 2020 election around the corner, we’re excited that political campaigns, including the Biden campaign, can activate celebrities across the entertainment and sports industry to fundraise on Cameo.”
The move into politics comes after a hot few months for Cameo, which has seen its platform explode in popularity during the pandemic. The startup said this spring that it expects to do $100 million in bookings this year, and Galanis told Chicago Inno that Cameo's user and talent growth have reached levels the company wasn't expecting to hit for another two years.
Cameo, which has raised $65 million to date, has added a handful of big names to its platform in 2020, including Mike Tyson, Chuck Norris, Rachel Brosnahan and the cast of Tiger King.
