INTRODUCTION TO THE SUBJECT: There is large no.

of brands available in the marke

t. Some are very familiar and rest are somewhat. What are the things that distin
guish those from rest? It may be brand name, advertisement, royal heritage and m
ay be celebrity endorser who endorses them. E.g. Raid and Taylor has the rich he
ritage of roping in various cascades of James Bond 007 as their brand endorser a
nd it has helped them strongly to build their brand. Businesses have long sought
to distract and attract the attention of potential customers that live in a wor
ld of ever-increasing commercial bombardment. Everyday consumers are exposed to
thousands of voices and images in magazines, newspapers, and on billboards, webs
ites, radio and television. Every brand attempts to steal at least a fraction of
an unsuspecting person's time to inform him or her of the amazing and different
attributes of the product at hand. Because of the constant media saturation tha
t most people experience daily, they eventually become numb to the standard mark
eting techniques. The challenge of the marketer is to find a hook that will hold
the subject's attention. Also from a marketing communications (marcoms) perspec
tive, it is vital that firms design strategies that help to underpin competitive
differential advantage for the firm's product or services. Accordingly, marcom
activities back-up other elements in the marketing mix such as designing, brandi
ng, packaging, pricing, and place. The term Celebrity refers to an individual wh
o is known to the public (actor, sports figure, entertainer, etc.) for his or he
r achievements in areas other than that of the product class endorsed (Friedman
and Friedman, 1979). This is true for classic forms of celebrities, like actors
(e.g., Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukherjee Aamir Khan and Pierce Bro
snan), models (e.g., Mallaika Arora, Lisa Ray, Aishwarya Rai, Naomi Campbell, Gi
sele Buendchen, etc), sports figures (e.g., Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Soura
v Ganguly, Anna Kournikova, Michael Schumacher, Steve Waugh, etc), entertainers
(e.g., Cyrus Broacha, Oprah Winfrey, Conan
O'Brien), and pop-stars (e.g., Madonna, David Bowie) - but also for less obvious
groups like businessmen (e.g., Donald Trump, Bill Gates) or politicians. Celebr
ities appear in public in different ways. First, they appear in public when fulf
illing their profession, e.g., Vishwanathan Anand, who plays chess in front of a
n audience. Furthermore, celebrities appear in public by attending special celeb
rity events, e.g., award ceremonies, inaugurations or world premieres of movies.
In addition, they are present in news, fashion magazines, and tabloids, which p
rovide second source information on events and the 'private life' of celebrities
through mass-media channels (e.g., Smriti Irani being regularly featured in var
ious publications). Last but not least, celebrities act as spokespeople in adver
tising to promote products and services, which is referred to celebrity endorsem
ent.
IMPORTANT CELEBRITY ATTRIBUTES While selecting a celebrity as endorser, the comp
any has to decide the promotional objective of the brand and how far the celebri
ty image matches with it. The selection is in fact a collaboration, from which b
oth the company and the celebrity gains. The most important attribute for a cele
brity endorser is the trustworthiness. The target audience must trust that a cel
ebrity carries a particular image and it must match with the product. The second
attribute in order of importance is likeability. The celebrity also must be acc
epted as a popular icon by a large cross section of the audience. Companies use
celebrity endorser because they are considered to have stopping power, i.e., a c
elebrity can be a very useful tool to draw attention to advertising messages in
a cluttered media environment. The overall popular image coupled with exact prod
uct-image match enhances the consumer attention resulting in greater brand recal
l. Similarity between the target audience and the celebrity is the third importa
nt attribute. A person well-known in a society can have greater impact than a ce
lebrity of a different world. If the endorser and receiver have similar needs, g
oals, interests and lifestyles, the position advocated by the brand communicatio
n is better understood and received. Similarity is also used to create a situati
on where the consumer feels empathy for the person shown in the commercial. The
bond of similarity between the endorser and the receiver increases the level of
persuasiveness.
BRANDING & CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT Indian firms have been juxtaposing their brands
with celebrity endorsers in the hope that celebrities may boost effectiveness o
f their marketing and/or corporate communication attempts. Today, use of celebri
ties as part of marketing communication strategy is fairly common practice for m
ajor firms in supporting corporate or brand imagery.
WHAT IS A BRAND? Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, once said, "Our
most valuable assets are our intangible assets." The intangible asset he was re
ferring to is a brand. The Dictionary of Business & Management defines a brand a
s: a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to
identify goods or services of one seller or a group of sellers and to differenti
ate them from those of competitor.
DEFINITION OF CELEBRITY A celebrity is a person who is widely recognized in a so
ciety. Whereas attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle or specia
l skills are just examples and specific common characteristics cannot be observe
d. It can be said that within a corresponding social group, celebrities generall
y differ from the social norm and enjoy a high degree of public awareness. Today
's celebrities are larger figures from movies (Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan)
, television (Larry King, Smriti Irani) and sports (Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Sc
humacher). DEFINITION OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT According to Friedman & Friedman,
a "celebrity endorser is an individual who is known by the public for his or he
r achievements in areas other than that of the product class endorsed." So, in t
he Coco-Cola advertisement; actor Amir Khan is the celebrity endorser for the pr
oduct or brand called Coke, and this process is referred to as Celebrity Endorse
ment.
THE NEED FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT The charisma of the celebrities almost always
entices people and their words are worshipped by a lot of people. Their influen
ce also goes on the political front, where they are invited for political endors
ement. The business firms, thus, resort to celebrity endorsement to perk up bran
d recall and product sales. This has now become a trend and is being perceived a
s a strategic means of brand building exercise.
The Elaboration Likelihood Model (EML) suggests that consumers will scrutinize c
laims more in important situations (say, life saving drugs) than in unimportant
ones. So, for almost similar products like Coke and Pepsi, it makes sense to use
endorsement. Also, Friedman & Friedman have shown that a celebrity relative to
a non-celebrity spokesperson would be more effective for products high in psycho
logical or social risk, involving such elements as good taste, selfimage, and op
inion of others. For example, when actor Shah Rukh Khan endorses Santro-Zip driv
e; the consumers are made to think that he is giving his opinion to go for this
car. Two reasons why advertisers need celebrity endorsement are to increase the
credibility & attractiveness of their advertisement. This is solely to affect co
nsumers' attitude towards their brand. To justify this hypothesis, we can take t
he example of former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen who helped the Epson brand of pr
inters achieve instant recognition; even with the established giants like Hewlet
tPackard and Wipro in the running. Similarly, actress Rani Mukherjee has turned
the tables for Bata's ladies footwear brand called Sundrop as sales increased by
a whopping 500%.
SCOPE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: The use of testimonials by advertisers dates bac
k to the 19th century when medicines were patented. Firms have been juxtaposing
their brands and themselves with celebrity endorsers (e.g., athletes, actors) in
the hope that celebrities
may boost effectiveness of their marketing. The increasing number of endorsement
s throws a valid question to the consumers. Is there a science behind the choice
of these endorsers or is it just by the popularity measurement? What are the re
asons which lead to impact of celebrity endorsement on brands? The success of a
brand through celebrity endorsement is a cumulative of the following 14 attribut
es. Greater the score of the below parameters, greater are the chances of gettin
g close to the desired impact.
IMPACT REGIONS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT While brand marketers with positive expe
riences would tend to believe that celebrity endorsements work and some would di
sagree, but one would be sure that the magnitude of its impact is difficult to m
easure even if sales figures are at our disposal. However, we can understand why
it works and the impact regions of celebrity endorsement. The illustrations bel
ow explain the same: -
HOW CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS INFLUENCE THE CONSUMER The basis for the effectivenes
s of celebrity-endorsed advertising can be linked to Kelman's processes of socia
l influence as discussed by Friedman and Friedman. According to Kelman, there ar
e three processes of social influence, which result in an individual adopting th
e attitude advocated by the communicator: COMPLIANCE, IDENTIFICATION & INTERNALI
ZATION These latter two processes are particularly applicable to celebrity-endor
sed advertising. Compliance infers that another individual or group of individua
ls influences an individual because he or she hopes to achieve a favourable reac
tion from this other group.
This process of social influence is not directly applicable to celebrity adverti
sing because there is little, if any, interaction between the celebrity and the
consumer. Identification applies to the situation wherein the individuals emulat
e the attitudes or behaviour of another person or group, simply because they asp
ire to be like that person or group. This process is the basis for referent powe
r. It was found that celebrities are more commonly liked than a typical consumer
spokesperson. Internalization as a process of social influence is said to occur
when individuals adopt the attitude or behaviour of another person because that
behaviour is viewed as honest and sincere and is congruent with their value sys
tem. The effectiveness of celebrity advertising traditionally has not been stron
gly linked to this process, as a celebrity's reason for promoting a product can
just as easily be attributed by the consumer to an external motive (i.e., paymen
t of fee) as to an internal motive (i.e., the celebrity's true belief in the val
ue and benefit of the product). An important issue of concern relates to the dev
elopment of a strategy for use in Celebrity Advertising, which benefits from the
dramatic impact of dual support of both the identification and internalization
processes of social influence. Celebrities are well-liked, but the techniques th
at can be used to enhance their credibility as spokespeople, and therefore, tie-
in more closely with the internalization process needs to be looked into. EFFECT
IVENESS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSERS A study conducted by Charles Atkin and Martin Blo
ck focussed on alcohol advertising and young audience to examine the impact of c
elebrity advertising in terms of social effects of advertising. The sponsoring C
ompany is the underlying source of any advertising message, but the individual m
odels depicted in the advertising serve as the
more visible communicator in many cases. The most thoroughly studied source qual
ity is credibility. Research conducted by social psychologists over the past 30
years demonstrates that a source perceived as highly credible is more persuasive
than a low credibility sender (Hovland and Weiss, 1951; McGuire, 1969; Hass, 19
81). The sources that companies use to present their advertising message typical
ly attempts to project a credible image in terms of competence, trustworthiness
or dynamism. Celebrity endorsers are considered to be highly dynamic, with attra
ctive and engaging personal qualities. Audience may also trust the advice given
by some famous person, and in certain cases, celebrities may even be perceived a
s competent to discuss the product. Friedman, Termini and Washington cite a 1975
study showing that celebrities are featured in 155 of prime-time TV commercials
. A later survey reported that this proportion was up to 20% (Advertising Age, 1
978). The most widely used celebrities are sports figures, actors or other types
of entertainers. There are several reasons why a famous endorser may be influen
tial: They attract attention to the advertisement in the cluttered stream of mes
sages. They are perceived as being more entertaining. They are seen as trustwort
hy because of apparent lack of self-interest. The final element is due to the wi
de-spread attribution that major stars do not really work for the endorsement fe
e, but are motivated by genuine affection for the product (Kamen et al, 1975). D
espite the use of famous endorsers, there is little published evidence regarding
effectiveness. In one experiment, an advertisement for a fictitious brand of Sa
ngria wine featured an endorsement attributed to either a celebrity (actor - Al
Pacino), a professional expert, the Company President, a typical consumer and no
source (Friedman, Termini and Washington, 1977). College students read the ad a
nd gave the ad 0-10 scales of believability, probable taste, and intent
to purchase. Across these three measures, the celebrity condition produced the h
ighest scores. While the 'no-source' control group had a purchase intention rati
ng of 2.7, the subjects exposed to the actor scored 3.9. Believability was rated
2.8 by control subjects versus 4.1 by those seeing the celebrity endorsement. F
or taste, the baselines of 4.0 compares to the celebrity group score of 5.6. Non
e of the other three endorsers were as influential as the celebrated person. BRA
ND, CELEBRITIES & CONSUMERS
FACTORS IMPACTING A BRAND WHILE BEING VIEWED BY A CONSUMER IN MEDIA The model ab
ove shows the various factors that affect a celebrity endorsed brand while viewe
d by a consumer in the media (both TV and print). The central idea being the imp
act on brand. The three major parts to a brand being shown are: • The Product • The
Advertisement • The celebrity endorsing it It is important is to study the relatio
nship between these factors and how they together act for or against the brand.
The product is important, of course, it may fulfill a need, want or a desire. Qu
ality is quintessential and, hence, nowadays it is understood the product is of
highest quality. So what next? The advertisement is important as a good product
could see an early exit if the advertisement is handled badly, and otherwise, a
mediocre product which is tastefully handled goes a long way. Lastly, the celebr
ity in the advertisement, recall, trust, familiarity is some of the reasons that
they are used. Now consider the interactions of these individual factors. The b
est of superstars can be doing the advertisement but if the product is far from
the image the star has, the whole advertisement is a waste. Imagine an Amitabh d
oing an advertisement for ad for youth apparel. Well, exceptions can be there bu
t then again it depends on the way it is done. Believability is of vital importa
nce, the TVS Victor advertisement shows us the bike being compared to the bat of
Sachin and the strokes he plays. Classically executed advertisement with the bi
ke and Sachin coming out as winners. The relationship between a product and its
advertisement again can be either dependant or none. In that case, a shock value
makes people remember the brand better and, hence, a possible long term loyalty
. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN A CELEBRITY & A BRAND To understand how consumers associ
ate celebrities to brands is well documented by a research study by Anderson (19
76); Collins & Loftus (1975); Rumelhart, Hinton & McClelland (1986). In their st
udy, associative learning principles were based on a conception of memory as a n
etwork consisting of various nodes connected by associative links. In the resear
ch context, celebrities and brands both represent nodes, which initially are unc
onnected but become linked over time through the endorsement process. When a con
sumer thinks about a brand, the link with the celebrity node is animated to a ce
rtain level through spreading activation (Anderson 1983a). The joint activation
of brand and celebrity provides a path over which one's evaluation of the celebr
ity has an opportunity to transfer to the brand. The key to the process is the s
imultaneous activation of the brand and celebrity nodes. Negative information ab
out the celebrity activates the celebrity node, which then activates the brand n
ode to some degree and allows reduced evaluation of the celebrity to transfer to
the brand. Studies by Noffsinger et al. (1983) and Judd et al. (1991) provide e
mpirical evidence demonstrating that attitudes can be affected in such a way. It
is also important to view the consumer in their social and cultural setting to
further see how celebrity endorsements increase sales and impact brands over tim
e. Celebrities usually form a very good example of a reference group appeal. Thi
s is particularly beneficial to a marketer and a brand that can cash in on the s
uccess of the star and, hence, push his brand. People who idolize their celebrit
ies, hence, have a biased affinity to the brand their favorites endorse. As time
passes on, they believe that they by adopting the brand that their celebrity en
dorses are becoming more like them. Celebrities can be used in four ways namely:
testimonial, endorsement, actor and spokesperson. Right now the current hot fav
orite in India is roping in celebrities for social causes like pulse polio, etc.
This has shown to be having a positive effect on the people. In India, Bolly-wo
od and sport personalities rule the mind-space and airwaves.
POSITIVE IMPACTS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT ON THE BRAND
Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the
target audience. This is especially true in case of new product11. Celebrities e
nsure attention of the target group by breaking the clutter of advertisements an
d making the advertisement and the brand more noticeable. A celebrity's preferen
ce for a brand gives out a persuasive message and hence, because the celebrity i
s benefiting from the brand, the consumer will also benefit. There is a demograp
hic and psychographic connection between the stars and their fans. Demographic c
onnection establishes that different stars appeal differently to various demogra
phic segments i.e. age, gender, class, geography etc., while psychographic conne
ction establishes that stars are loved and adored by their fans. Some stars have
a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest am
ong the masses. Another invaluable benefit from celebrity endorsements is the pu
blic relation opportunities. Dwane Hal Dean studied the effects of three extrins
ic advertisement cues viz. third party endorsement, event sponsorship and brand
popularity on brand / manufacturer evaluation. It was observed that endorsement
significantly affected only product variables (quality and uniqueness) and one i
mage variable (esteem). The third party endorsement hence may be perceived as a
signal of product quality. Goldsmith ET assessed the impact of endorser and corp
orate credibility on attitude-toward-the-ad, attitude-toward-thebrand, and purch
ase intentions. 152 adult consumers were surveyed who viewed a fictitious advert
isement for Mobil Oil Company. They rated the credibility of the ad's endorser,
the credibility of the company, and attitude-toward-the-ad (Aad), attitude-towar
d-the-brand (AB), and purchase intentions. It was observed that endorser credibi
lity had its strongest impact on Aad while corporate credibility had its stronge
st impact on AB. The findings suggest that corporate credibility plays an import
ant role in consumers' reactions to advertisements and brands, independent of th
e equally important role of endorser credibility.
Looking at the effect of celebrity endorsement on the wealth of a company a clas
sic example of Michael Jordan can be used. At the time of rumors of Michael Jord
an returning to NBA in 1995, he was endorsing products of General Mills (Wheatie
s), Mc'Donalds (Quarter Pounders, Value Meals), Nike (Air Jordan), Quaker Oats (
Gatorade) and Sara Lee (Hans Underwear). Study conducted by Mathur ET. associate
d with Jordan's endorsements shows that the anticipation of Jordan's return to N
BA, and the related increased visibility for him resulted in increase in the mar
ket adjusted values of his client firms of almost 2 percent, or more than $1 bn
in stock market value. From this study one can observe that the major celebrity
endorser with rumors or otherwise has a tremendous potential to influence the pr
ofitability of endorsed products. Semi-partial endorsement indicates that when a
company uses famous characters from any TV soaps for brand endorsements, consum
ers tend to relate to the character that he or she plays in the soap and hence c
an attract more credibility. For example, Smriti Irani who plays 'Tulsi' in a fa
mous soap has garnered a lot of support from the middleclass housewife today. If
she would endorse a brand, there would be more relativity and credibility. Same
can be said about Priya Tendulkar who used to play the character of Rajani.
NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT ON THE BRAND More often talked about i
s the extreme usage of a celebrity called 'lazy advertising', that is inadequate
content masked by usage of a celebrity. A good example is the use of Boris Beck
er by Siyaram and Steve Waugh by ANP Sanmar. Also as said earlier, associating w
ith a star, in itself does not guarantee sales. There is also the fear of Brand-
celebrity disconnect which points out that if the celebrity used represents valu
es that conflict with the brand values, the advertising would create conflict in
the minds of the target audience. Clutter in brand endorsements is very promine
nt these days and such kind of over-exposure can be bad for the brand as the rec
all value drops by a huge margin. A popular drawback of celebrity endorsement is
the 'Vampire Effect' or the celebrity overshadowing the brand16. Some viewers f
orget the brand that a celebrity is approving. Others are so spellbound by the p
ersonality of the celebrity that they completely fail to notice the brand being
advertised. Two new drawbacks can be seen these days what marketers call Celebri
ty Trap and Celebrity Credibility17. Celebrity trap is when the celebrity become
s an addiction for the marketing team and the task to find substitutes becomes m
ore and more difficult, leading to surfeit of celebrities. Celebrity credibility
refers to skepticism by the consumers regarding the celebrities, especially whe
n there is anything negative regarding the celebrity associated with the brand i
n the news, then brand is bound to be affected. For example, Air Jordan's genera
ted revenue sales of $130 million in the first year. The sales dropped miserably
in the second year when Jordan missed 62 games due to a broken foot18. Another
main worry of the advertisers is that their celebrity endorser would get caught
in a scandal or an embarrassing situation. Multiple product endorsement also has
a negative impact on customers' purchasing intentions. Tripp et al.19 investiga
ted the effects of multiple product endorsement by celebrities on customers' att
itudes and intentions. They found that the number of products a celebrity endors
es negatively influences consumer perception of the endorser and the advertising
itself. It was suggested that when as many as four products are endorsed, celeb
rity credibility and likeability, as well as attitude towards the ad, may attenu
ate. Superstar Amitabh Bachchan endorses multiple brands like Pepsi, Mirinda, IC
ICI, BPL, Parker pens, Nerolac, Dabur, Reid & Taylor, Maruti Versa, Hajmola, Tid
e, Cadbury and a few social messages. It has worked in some cases, while in some
cases it has not. D. K. Jain, Chairman and President, Luxor Writing Instruments
Pvt. Ltd, the marketer of the Parker brand said, "Using Amitabh Bachchan as our
brand ambassador has helped in strengthening our brand image and recall within
the target audience". Tarun Joshi, Communications Custodian, Reid & Taylor said,
"Amitabh Bachchan is an icon with universal appeal and has helped us to reach o
ut to the real 'Bharat.' In fact, agents and retailers have told us that already
customers have started asking about the 'Amitabh wali suiting.'" In case of Ner
olac Paints, which was endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan, around 80% of the responden
ts when asked to associate Bachchan with any paint, did so with Asian Paints, wh
ich is the biggest competitor of Nerolac20. The budget or cost is an important f
actor for celebrity endorsement. Depending on the status of the celebrity, remun
eration could run into millions of rupees for several years or may also include
a profit sharing plan. For example when S. Kumar's used Hrithik Roshan for their
launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 - 50
per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Sachin's endors
ements got him $18 million over five years. When Aamir first endorsed Pepsi in 1
995, he received Rs 17 lakh for it; his Coke commercials in 1999 got him Rs 2 cr
ore. Hrithik Roshan in his highflying days reportedly made over Rs. 20 crore in
endorsements and events by 200122.
NINE USES OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
1) Establishes Credibility:
Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the
target audience- this is especially true in case of new products. The role of a
celebrity endorser in an advertising campaign is, without doubt, linked to the r
eputation of the celebrity. If the reputation is damaged, more often than not fo
r reasons other than professional ,then the quality of his reputation dos suffer
:particulary if it is to do with his (or her) public behavior. Example: Dyna ad
by Katrina Kaif. 2) Attracts Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the targ
et group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the bra
nd more noticeable. Example: Shahrukh khan in pespi, Hrithik Roshan in Sony Erri
cson. 3) Associative Benefit: A celebrity’s preference for a brand gives out a per
suasive message - because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consum
er will also benefit. Example: Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Dabur Chwyanprash’. 4) Psychogra
phic Connect:
Stars are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalize
on these feelings to sway the fans towards their brand. Example: Dhoni in 7up 5
) Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic
segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.). Example: Amitabh Bachchan with c
hild in Dadur Honey, Sunny Deol in Lux cozi ad. 6) Mass Appeal: Some stars have
a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest amo
ng the masses. Example: Sharukh khan And Amitabh Bachchan in Polio Promotion. 7)
Mitigating a tarnished image: Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer’s conf
idence in its chocolate brands following the pitch following the highpitch worm’s
controversy;so the company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job. Last year, wh
en the even more controversial pesticide issues shook up Coca-cola and PepsiCo a
nd resulted in much negative press, both soft drinks majors put out high –profile
damage control ad films featuring their best and most expensive celebrities. Whi
le Amair Khan led the coke fight back as an ingenious and fastidious Bengali who
finally gets convinced of the product’s purity.Similary PepsiCo brought Shah Rukh
Khan And Sachin Tendulkar toghter once again in a television commercial which d
rew references to the ‘safety’ of the product indirectly. 8) Rejuvenating a stagnant
brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life into the stagnant Chyawnprash
category and staving off the competition from various brand , Dabur India roped
in Bachchan for an estimated project of 8 crore. 9) THE FRED PRINCIPLE This conc
ept is seen as the foundation of a successful endorser selection.
F is for Familiarity. The target market must be aware of the person, and perceiv
e him or her as empathetic, credible, sincere and trustworthy. R is for Relevanc
e. There should be a meaningful link between the advertised brand and the celebr
ity endorser, and more important, between the celebrity endorser and the defined
target market. The audience must be able to identify with the person. If consum
ers can immediately associate with an endorser, they will feel more predisposed
to accepting, buying and preferring the brand to competition. E is for Esteem. C
onsumers must have the utmost respect and confidence for the celebrity. Amitabh
Bachhan & Tendulkar have these. So do Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Kapil Dev amo
ng others. The public respect them because of their distinguished careers and un
assailable salesmanship. D is for Differentiation. The target consumers must see
the endorser as a cut above the rest. If there is no perceived disparity among
celebrities, then the strategy will not work. Michael Jordan is an example of an
international celebrity that rises above the clutter. This proves to be a huge
contributory factor to his effectiveness as an endorser. The Fred concept is not
a guarantee to success, but it can serve as a guideline when selecting a spokes
person. Each organization and its objectives are different, and should be evalua
ted on an individual basis. BRAND IMAGE FORMATION & BRAND PREFERENCE Having a co
ngruent image between the brand and celebrity does not guarantee any positive ef
fect on consumers brand preferences. The fundamental question is - what a brand
image really does to consumers? Baran and Blasko explained, "Since most product
s aren t special, most advertising does that entire so-called image stuff... The
re s no information about the product, there s only information about the kind o
f people who might be inclined to use the product." (p.13). This view is echoed
by Feldwick (1991) who
has suggested that the subjective experience of using a brand can be different f
rom the subjective experience of using an identical product without the brand re
assurance. In the case of using celebrity advertising to build brand image, the
effects are examined with a social psychological framework. Before we can scruti
nize the effects of celebrity endorsement on the overall brand, we have to ferre
t the implicit nuances that act as sources of strong brand images or values: • Exp
erience of Use: This encapsulates familiarity and proven reliability. • User Assoc
iations: Brands acquire images from the type of people who are seen using them.
Images of prestige or success are imbibed when brands are associated with glamor
ous personalities. • Belief in Efficiency: Ranking from consumer associations, new
spaper editorials, etc. • Brand Appearance: Design of brand offers clues to qualit
y and affects preferences. • Manufacturer’s Name & Reputation: A prominent brand nam
e (Sony, Kellogg’s, Bajaj, & Tata) transfers positive associations. The celebrity’s
role is the most explicit and profound in incarnating user associations among th
e above mentioned points. To comprehend this, let us analyze the multiplier effe
ct formula for a successful brand: S=P* D*AV -- the multiplier effect Where S is
a Successful Brand P is an Effective Product D is Distinctive Identity AV is Ad
ded Values The realm of the celebrity’s impact is confined to bestow a distinctive
identity and provide AV to the brand; the celebrity does not have the power to
improve or debilitate the efficiency and features of the core product. Thus, we
are
gradually approaching an evident proposition claiming, "The health of a brand ca
n definitely be improved up to some extent by celebrity endorsement. But one has
to remember that endorsing a celebrity is a means to an end and not an end in i
tself." An appropriately used celebrity can prove to be a massively powerful too
l that magnifies the effects of a campaign. But the aura of cautiousness should
always be there. The fact to be emphasised is that celebrities alone do not guar
antee success, as consumers nowadays understand advertising, know what advertisi
ng is, and how it works. People realize that celebrities are being paid a lot of
money for endorsements and this knowledge leads them to cynicism about celebrit
y endorsements.
THE PROCESS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT The process of celebrity endorsement is mor
e of meaning translation & meaning application. A deeper insight into this compl
ex process is provided by the following theory. • The Meaning Transfer Model McCra
cken, the author to this model, has suggested that, "The effectiveness of the en
dorser depends, in part, upon the meaning he or she brings to the endorsement pr
ocess." The celebrities effectiveness as endorsers stems from the cultural mean
ings with which they are endowed. It is a threestage process of meaning transfer
that involves the
formation of celebrity image, transfer of meaning from celebrity to the brand, a
nd finally, from the brand to the consumer.
Figure 1: The Meaning Transfer Model To explain it with the help of an example,
we can take the case of Rahul Dravid and Castrol. The cricket icon is seen as "M
r. Dependable". And when he endorses Castrol, an image of "dependability" is tag
ged on to the brand under promotion. THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRITY MANAGEMENT In a
world full of faces, the ones which bolt from the blue are perhaps of the cele
brities. The advertisers are always on the look out for such faces for the purpo
se of endorsement. But, the major challenge before them is to find the right fac
es for their brands or in other words celebrity management. McCraken quotes, "In
the best of all possible worlds, the marketing or advertising firm first would
determine the symbolic properties sought for the product... It would then consul
t a roster of celebrities and the meanings they made available, and taking into
account budget and availability constraints, would choose the celebrity who best
represents the appropriate symbolic properties." This suggests that the image o
f the celebrity must fit or be congruent with the product which can be explained
from the theoretical perspective using a social cognition framework.
• Schema-Based Expectancy Theory A schema is an abstract, cognitive structure that
represents some stimulus domain, e.g., a person, place, event, or thing. It is
organized through experience and consists of a knowledge structure. They can det
ermine what information will be encoded or retrieved from memory. Schemas are in
volved in encoding, interpretation, retention, and retrieval of information. The
y can influence perceptual cognitive activities through the generation of expect
ancies. In the case of well-known celebrities, individual would typically have p
ersonal relevant schemas (person schemas), acquired over time. When a celebrity
endorses a brand, the characteristics of that celebrity may be compared with the
advertised attributes of the brand by the audience for congruence or fit with t
heir available person-schema. The degree of congruence between the new informati
on (the brand attributes) and the existing information (the celebrity s characte
ristics) may then influence the level of recall of the new information. The Asso
ciative Network Model suggests that information inconsistent with an individual
s schema may be quite salient and information will, therefore, be attended to mo
re closely and be processed more deeply. Therefore, this information would be co
nceptually linked to a larger number of items in the memory, compared to a piece
of information that is consistent with the schema. While the Schema-Pointer + T
ag Model proposes that consistent or typical items are encoded in terms of a "po
inter" to a generic schema that contains the typical components and relationship
s for that particular knowledge domain. The atypical or incongruent items are, o
n the other hand, encoded with a rather distinctive "tag" and stored as a unique
, separate unit. This leads to higher recalling for incongruent items than for t
ypical items. And empirical researches confirm significantly higher recalling wh
en the image of the celebrity is congruent with the brand image. Therefore, cele
brity management is very important for the success of any brand.
"If commerce is the engine of our economy, then advertising is the spark. Respon
sible advertisers are the drivers who keep us on the right track, leading to a r
icher, more benevolent society." Philcox Brian
RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT The various risks associated endorse
ments are as follows: ○ Negative
with
celebrity
publicity - If the celebrity is strongly associated with the brand then the occu
rrence of the negative publicity can spill over the brand. This can harm the tru
stworthiness and credibility in the mind of the consumers. E.g., Salman Khan los
t his endorsement deal with Thumbs-Up after his infamous incidents like buck-kil
ling and rash-driving.
○ Overshadowing - When celebrity endorser is used, the
risk of consumers focusing on the celebrity and not on the brand exists.
○ Overexposure - This risk arises when the celebrity
chooses to endorse several different products simultaneously which might leave t
he consumers confused. E.g., Sachin Tendulkar endorses several brands such as MR
F, TVS Victor, Pepsi, Fiat, Boost, etc.
○ Overuse - Sometimes the company can use many
different celebrities to appeal to different market segment. But multiplicity of
endorser might blur the image of the brand and reduce the effectiveness of the
means of persuasion.
○ Extinction - The favorable response obtained by a
particular brand may weaken over time if the brand gets significant exposure wit
hout the association of the celebrity. If the celebrity contract is for a consid
erable period of time, then it can lead to draining out capital without proper r
eturn.
○ Financial Risk - The decision for hiring an expensive
endorser may not be always feasible if there is a poor brand fit. Therefore, for
celebrity endorsements to work effectively there are some fundamental ground ru
les: ○ The brand promise and the brand personality should be clearly articulated. ○
The communication objectives for the campaign should be frozen. ○ Focus must be on
the synergy between the brand and the celebrity image. ○ Establish explicitly wha
t the celebrity is going to communicate Once these criteria are met, endorsement
s can work as a force multiplier. A deeper insight in the impact of celebrity
endorsement on consumers minds can be explained by the meaning transfer model,
explained in the next section.
SELECTION OF CELEBRITY Celebrity endorsements are not new. One of the earliest e
xamples is Coca Cola who used Lillian Nordica, a Metropolitan Opera Star as thei
r first model or endorser. She became a household name all across USA known as t
he Coca Cola Girl. Soon people forgot her as an actress but
remembered her as the Coca Cola girl. She did wonders for the brand and this led
the company to release a series of these advertisements for over 30 years. Ther
e are various scientific ways in which the right celebrity is selected for the p
roduct endorsement, which are discussed here after. • Stereotyping Tellis defines
stereotypes as perceptions and depictions of individuals based on simplistic, bi
ased image of the group to which they belong, rather than on their own individua
l characteristics. For example: its better to select celebrities who say are tee
ns for chocolate advertisements and females for detergent ads, etc.
• The TEARS Model The attributes highlighted by the acronym "TEARS" are gauged for
celebrity selection. These are: Trustworthiness:
For example - Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan who is an icon of trust; promotin
g ICICI Bank. sports brand.
Expertise: For example - Golfer Tiger Woods for a Attractiveness: For example -
Tennis player Anna
Kournikova who earns 10 Million dollars per year in just endorsement.
Respect: For example - Former Miss World Aishawarya
Rai and the Eye donation campaign.
Similarity: For example - a child artist promoting a
chocolate brand. A celebrity scoring high on all the above attributes can turn o
ut to be a good endorser for the brand under question. • The No TEARS Model The "N
o TEARS" approach is a tool for managers and their advertisers how to go about s
electing celebrities so as to avoid the pitfalls from making an unwise decision.
It gauges the following information: Celebrity & audience match up, Celebrity &
brand match up, Celebrity credibility, Celebrity attractiveness, Cost considera
tion, A working ease and difficulty factor, An endorsement saturation factor, A
likelihood-of-getting-into-trouble factor
Selecting the right celebrity does more than increasing sales; it can create lin
kages with the celebrities appeal, thereby adding new dimension to the brand im
age. Research conducted by Katherine Eckel has revealed that celebrities
can get people to make a better choice but cannot influence people to make a fo
olish choice . The success of celebrity endorsement in India can be sought from
a market research conducted earlier which found that 8 out of 10 TV commercials
scored the highest recall were those with celebrity appearances. A few examples:
Sachin Tendulkar - Adidas, Sourav Ganguly - Britannia, Leander Paes & Mahesh Bh
upati - J. Hampstead, Shah Rukh Khan Pepsi, Sushmita Sen - Epson, and Aishwarya
Rai - Coke.
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: THE ISSUES INVOLVED There are several factors to consider
before resorting to celebrity endorsement. There is no single formula to win in
the world of marketing. A company must analyze the prospect of endorsement from
360 degrees, prior to product promotion. • Price vs. Profit The most important is
sue is that of return on investment (ROI). Companies need to perform a cost-bene
fit analysis prior to endorsement. The process of gauging the effectiveness of e
ndorsement on the overall brand is but difficult. The companies expect to bring,
in the long run, future sales, revenues and profit from the present investments
on celebrity endorsement. Celebrity endorsement is an expensive means of brand
promotion and the price burden almost always shifts on to the consumers; if not,
then it narrows the companies profit.
•
Multiple Brand Endorsement v/s Multiple Celebrity Endorsement
In the advertising landscape, we find either a celebrity endorsing multiple bran
ds or multiple celebrities being used to endorse a single brand. Sachin Tendulka
r, for example, in 2002 endorsed 12 brands (including Pepsi, Boost, Colgate Tota
l, Gillette, Britannia Tiger, Fiat Palio, TVS Victor, Fiat Sienna, MRF, Adidas,
Visa Cards and Home Trade). Tripp et al, says that the endorsement of as many as
four products negatively influences the celebrity spokesperson s credibility an
d likeability.
Figure: Khan)
Multiple
Brand
Endorsement
(Shah
Rukh
Also, the use of multiple celebrities to endorse a brand may hinder the meaning
transfer process, and thus, lead to confusion among the consumers.
Figure: Multiple Celebrity Endorsement (Adidas & Hyundai Santro) Similarity betw
een the target audience and the celebrity is the third important attribute. A pe
rson well-known in a society can have greater impact than a celebrity of a
different world. If the endorser and receiver have similar needs, goals, interes
ts and lifestyles, the position advocated by the brand communication is better u
nderstood and received. Similarity is also used to create a situation where the
consumer feels empathy for the person shown in the commercial. The bond of simil
arity between the endorser and the receiver increases the level of persuasivenes
s. The companies have to first clarify their business objectives, brand values a
nd then decide who the celebrities are who can carry them forward. Otherwise, th
ere can be unnecessary investments without proper return. So the celebrity endor
sement cost has to be weighed up against the return on marketing investment. Bes
ides, while designing an ad campaign, one should also keep in mind that the over
use of some extremely popular celebrities often tends to confuse consumers and r
educe the utility of celebrity endorsement. Another argument against celebrity e
ndorsement involves the behavior of the celebrity. The values that display thems
elves in regrettable behavior could transfer themselves to the brand. The market
ing function of a company should also understand that brands should assume a muc
h greater space than the celebrities, because their association may be temporary
but the brands are permanent.
FRAMEWORK TO MAKE ENDORSEMENT PROGRAM
EFFECTIVE
CELEBRITY
With the cut-throat competition and continuously changing market dynamics, one h
as to assess the market conditions and re-evaluate its current marketing strateg
ies such as its portfolio of celebrity endorsement. The action plan should be ab
le to answer the following key questions: Are the celebrity endorsements program
s result driven?
 How to quantify the value generated by the celebrity endorsements? Are customers
able to connect the brand with the celebrity?
Figure: Evolution of Celebrity Endorsements One can gauge the performance of cel
ebrity endorsement marketing program across the various stages of development (R
efer to Figure). We have attempted to prepare a framework to build a more effect
ive celebrity endorsement program: 1) ALIGN CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT WITH BUSINESS
OBJECTIVES. The attributes of the celebrity should be intrinsically valuable and
aligned with the product, brand and company. Figure 3 suggests strategies to be
adopted by a company depending on its brand positioning and the brand fit with
the celebrity.
Figure: Brand-Celebrity Attribute Fit Matrix
•
If the brand-celebrity attribute fit is slow, then the company should adopt "Eli
minate or avoid" strategy. The consumers are unlikely to connect between the bra
nd and the celebrity, and the recall value is likely to be very low; defeating t
he entire purpose of signing the celebrity. This is what happened when Goodlass
Nerolac Paints roped in Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador. When the pos
itioning of the brand is high but the fit with the celebrity is low, the company
should adopt a "Monitor and evaluate" strategy. The company should continuously
track the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement through surveys, monitorin
g the sales, etc. Though Parker pens had a positioning of premier pens, the earl
y advertisements (Refer Annexure 1) with Amitabh Bachchan showed low brand-celeb
rity fit. When the positioning has not been effective, but the fit with the cele
brity is high, the company should adopt the strategy of "Keep and enhance". The
company has to spot the opportunities to leverage the celebrity investment and t
o find more better and effective ways to
• •
•
communicate with the target audience. The celebrity attributes align with the co
mpany s brand, strategic business objectives and primary customer segment. The N
arain Karthikeyan - J K Tyres relationship works well in this category.
•
In the ideal quadrant when the positioning effectiveness is high and celebrity f
it with the brand is also high, the company should follow the strategy of "Grow
and partner". In case of Coke, the brand has firmly established the "Thanda" pos
ition in the minds of the consumer, with Aamir Khan playing the perfect role.
By situating potential celebrity on the matrix, companies can manage the celebri
ties as portfolios - re-distributing the resources and marketing efforts to thos
e celebrities with the greatest potential to increase value, while eliminating t
hose that prove too costly. 1) MEASURE AND QUANTIFY PERFORMANCE • A part of the ma
rketing budget should be allocated to primary and secondary research to determin
e the overall return on investment - measuring the real performance of a celebri
ty endorsement against the company s business objectives. • The company should hav
e proper metrics in place such as increase in sales, brand awareness and custome
r preference, to measure the effectiveness and the impact of celebrity endorseme
nt in the short and long term. • The endorsement costs are primarily driven by the
endorsement fees and promotion outlays.
The benefits that accrue from such a relationship can be categorized into two co
mponents: -
 Value of Hard Assets: The benefits derived from the hard assets are those that h
ave a clear market value such as increased sales and increase in brand equity. T
hese are the tangible benefits that a company derives from its endorsement strat
egy. Value of Association: Association value is derived from the target customer
s who associate the company / brand with the celebrity. These are the intangible
benefits that the company will accrue in the long-term. There are ways to quant
ify the potential value of hard assets and association value against their impac
t on company s celebrity endorsement by looking at the following catergories: In
cremental Sales Companies can quantify the effect of the celebrity programs on s
ales by performing year-to-year or quarter-to-quarter sales comparisons for targ
eted consumers, geographic regions, or specific product lines. Primary research
can also be done to reveal the impact of the celebrity on target customer s prop
ensity to purchase.
Brand Recognition
One of the objectives of celebrity endorsement is to increase brand awareness. H
owever, the companies use popular, though incorrect, survey approach by asking t
he respondent which celebrity endorsed their brand. Instead, they should ask the
respondent the brands associated with the celebrity. By gauging the top-of-mind
recall can enable the company
to find out if a connection is made between the brand and celebrity.
Figure: Endorsement Cost-Value Relationship
Customer Loyalty: Customer churn can be measured in fixed intervals before and a
fter the celebrity campaign period to determine the impact of celebrity on custo
mer retention. Additionally, primary research can be conducted to evaluate chang
es in the customer loyalty, customer preferences, etc. 1) SELECTION AND RENEWAL
OF CONTRACT WITH CELEBRITIES The ability to align goals and measure the value of
brandcelebrity fit is the first step in obtaining optimal value from a celebrit
y endorsement. Value is also derived by revisiting the celebrity portfolio to de
termine ways to reduce costs and increase benefits. Additionally, a company can
increase its
benefits by re-examining (and altering, if needed) its promotion strategy to cre
ate deeper brand association, identify new celebrities that are capable of achie
ving company goals and negotiate for additional rights from the existing contrac
ts. A large extent of this can be successful if the company can develop and exec
ute coordinated, preplanned negotiation strategy which will enable it to improve
the contractual fees and media commitments stipulated in the contract, as well
as the amount and benefits conferred on the company. A few guidelines for formul
ating a well-defined negotiation strategy would include: • Understand the Competit
ion of Celebrity Except for few venerable celebrities, most of the celebrities q
uote their price in expectation of negotiation. The company should benchmark the
contractual fees and benefits against that of comparable celebrities to ensure
the package is equivalent. • Understand Celebrity Clutter There could be a degre
e of clutter with the celebrity endorsing many more brands and companies. This c
lutter can impede the ability of the company to capture the image and awareness
required to generate value from the endorsement. The company needs to understand
the risk associated with the signing of such celebrity and need to devise strat
egic opportunities to stay clear of the clutter. • Include Value-in-Kind Payments
Companies can reduce their risk and endorsement costs by substituting out-of-poc
ket cash payments with value-in-kind, which can be traded at market price.
• Protection Against Ambush Marketing Ambush marketing (or adjacent marketing) is
the reality of the day and the marketing managers need to be creative to stay on
e step ahead of the competition. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan was shown drinki
ng Thumbs-Up in the hindi movie Kaante, when he is actually brand ambassador for
Pepsi.
WHY CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT FAILS? There may be cases where brands are not able to
take-off even after the backing of celebrities. And this leads to speculations
in the Ad World on the soundness of celebrity endorsement as an effective commun
ication strategy.
• The Reasons According to leading management thinker, Dr. Seamus Phan, "Many cele
brity endorsements fail because they identify a celebrity they like in an emotiv
e and un-researched manner and then try to create advertising to force-fit the c
elebrity into the creative concept." Therefore, the advertisers must associate t
he celebrity to the advertisement and not vice versa. Thinking on the similar li
nes, the advertisers shouldn t identify the brand to associate with the celebrit
y but do vice versa. The success of celebrity endorsement also depends upon the
capacity, knowledge, experience, and qualification to talk about the product. Fa
ilure may be attributed to improper positioning (Example: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhi
shek Bachchan & Maruti Versa), negative perception after use of product / servic
e (inferior products), misapprehension of the meaning of the endorsement, etc. "
The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that ever
y man is really two men - the man he is and the man he wants to be." William Fea
ther Another reason for the celebrity endorsement to turn against the brand is d
ue to "Overshadowing". This happens when the celebrity is larger than the brand
being endorsed. And unfortunately, though the celebrity generates higher levels
of attention among viewers, the impression is not always strongly linked to the
advertised brand. Finally, brand may also fail to get noticed given a recent neg
ative publicity of the celebrity endorser. Example: Michael Jordan lost his endo
rsement deals when he announced in 1991 that he s HIV-positive. It wasn t until
July 2003 that he landed his first endorsement deal since the announcement. • The
Solutions As discussed, celebrity management is very crucial to avoid the brand-
celebrity disconnect, and subsequently, brand failures. Proper market research s
hould be carried out and right positioning strategies should be in place. If the
consumers have questions in their minds regarding the quality or performance of
the product then even God cannot save the brand. There shouldn t be any ambiguit
y or confusions when showing the celebrity in the advertisement. The obvious sol
ution to the problem of overshadowing is to make sure that both the advertisemen
t and the celebrity are focused on the brand or product. To avoid any bad public
ity arising out of celebrity defames, companies may resort to multiple celebrity
endorsement. For Example: Pepsi while capitalizing on the popularity of cricket
and films in India used several cricketers and film stars in their ads. So when
Azharuddin and Jadeja got embroiled in the match-fixing controversy, Pepsi seve
red its association only with these stars, but its relationship with cricket con
tinued. • The Symbiotic Model Based on our understanding of the celebrity endorsem
ent process, we can propose our own model taking cue from the biological kingdom
. There are various symbiotic relationships that can exist between two organisms
. Similarly, we can visualize two entities "brand" and "celebrity". To achieve a
perfect success, there should be absolute symbiosis between the two entities. T
here may be one of the six effects to the celebrity endorsement process: -
Figure: The Symbiotic Model
 Mutualism (M): Both help each other (Example: Tata
and Narayan Karitiken)
Commensalism
(C1): Only one among benefited (Example: A failed endorsement)
them is
Parasitism (P): One is benefited; other is harmed
(Example: Azharuddin and Pepsi. Also, Home Trade & Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendul
kar, Hritik Roshan)
Neutralism (N): None of them benefited or harmed
(Example: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Maruti Versa)
Amensalism (A): Only one of them is harmed; other
unaffected
Competition (C2): Both are harmed
Celebrity endorsement is a complex process of balancing your risk with your gain
s. "The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple." - Oscar Wilde
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS The data has been collected from Virar Region by 35 people.
A market survey on Do celebrity advertisements sell?
1. Are you influenced by the presence of a celebrity in an advertisement? Yes No
2. Do you think celebrities make a difference to the image of the brand? Yes No
3. Do you agree with the concept of brand ambassadors? Yes No 4. Will you compr
omise on your current preference if the competitor brings in ads featuring your
favorite celebrity? Yes No 5. What are the chances that you would buy a new prod
uct just because of the presence of a celebrity? Definitely yes. Will not I migh
t 6. What would be the contribution of a celebrity in building up a brand image?
Totally builds up the image Doesn’t make any difference to the brand. Celebrity +
quality product builds up the right image
1) Are you influenced by the presence of a celebrity in an advertisement? Interp
retation From the curved conducted it is evident that almost 60 percent do not b
lindly believe or get totally influenced by the presence of a celebrity. However
40 percent are of the view that the presence of a celebrity will get them to go
and ask for the product. This is an aspect due to which celebrities are used by
advertisers.
2) Do you think celebrities make difference to the image of a brand? Interpretat
ion People do not think that celebrities alone can make up the image or break it
up. In order for a brand to have a positive and successful image in the minds o
f the customer there are a large number of factors other than celebrities endors
ing them. Quality, affordability and consistency are major factors that that con
tribute towards this. So it has to be concluded that majority of the people do n
ot feel that the presence or absence of any celebrity makes any difference to th
e public.
3) Do you agree ambassadors?
with
the
concept
of
brand
InterpretationAgain out here 60 % believe that brand ambassador as a concept is
not very important. Hence it can be understood that people do not get much influ
enced by celebrities endorsing a product and giving it their personality. Or it
can be said that one celebrity for one brand throughout is something that people
won’t mind compromising on in other words they do not mind a brand not having a b
rand ambassador.
4) Will you compromise on your current preference if the competitor brings in ad
vertisements featuring your favorite celebrity? Interpretation The majority of t
he people i.e. more than 60% here fells that they will not go for the competitor
s products if their favorite celebrity starts endorsing it. This shows brand loy
alty among the young Indian consumers as the survey done by us has been focused
mainly on the age group of 18-24 years. However there still are some 305 who say
that they will go for it seen their favourite celebrity in the ad. This is impo
rtant for a company if it is launching up say a new brand in a sector which it w
asn’t operating. This would thus help in pulling the competitors market share. 5)
What are the chances you would buy a new product due to the presence of a celebr
ity? Interpretation More than 60% of the people here are in a dilemma as to if t
hey are going to try out a new product just because of the presence of a celebri
ty. This
shows that majority of the public do not blindly believe on the image put up by
the celebrity and the brand he/she is endorsing. Only 20% say that they will try
it out only due to the presence of a known face. This further strengthens our v
iew that celebrity endorsements alone cannot make up a brand. 6) What would be t
he contribution of a celebrity in building up a brand image? Interpretation From
the graph it can be easily concluded that the majority feel that there is no ef
fect of the presence of a celebrity on the building up of a brand i.e. most of t
hem feel that celebrities alone do not make up the brand. The product should be
quality oriented, which alone can contribute majorly in building up a successful
brand.
CONCLUSION
Celebrity endorsement can be a goldmine or a minefield for a company s brand bui
lding process. There have been extensive studies relating to the process of cele
brity endorsement and brand-building. These studies indicate that celebrity endo
rsement has worked well in some consumer
segments while failing in others. Few celebrities have been more successful than
those with almost parallel fame. So the role of celebrity endorsement in the ad
vertising space is equivocal and cannot be seen as a assured strategic tool to w
in profits, market share, revenues, etc. Consumers can identify the clear differ
ence between a good script and a good brand idea. For example, while Pepsi s Sac
hin and Bachchan (kite flying) ad was seen as one with a good script, Coca-Cola
s Thanda Matlab... was seen as an insightful and strong brand idea. For all the
flak it drew in its vainglorious attempts to run down competition, Thumbs-Up was
seen as the only example of seamless linkage between brand positioning and bran
d celebrity. "Brand" is the most valuable asset of any company; building its ima
ge is, thus, of paramount importance. Any thoughtless adventure can be like the
Sword of Damocles upon your head. Celebrities do not make brands but ideas do. I
f the former were true then brands would have vanished when the hype and hoopla
around the celebrities faded. Celebrity endorsement is also one of the ideas. Bu
t, its easy to come up with new ideas; the hard part is letting go of what worke
d for you two years ago, but will soon be out-of-date. Therefore, it is imperati
ve to invest in good ideas; which will bring good returns. Thus, the need of the
hour is to focus less on your Return-on-Investment, and think more in terms of
your Return-on-Ideas. There is an increasing challenge to the marketing manager
to develop and implement an integrated marketing communication (IMC) plan to rea
lize the true value of the celebrity endorsements. There is a gradual shift from
the traditional approach of showing celebrities in advertisement to making them
the "spokes-person" of the brand. Companies have taken celebrity endorsement to
next level by projecting brands as a way of life. Smart companies are using the
ir brand ambassadors in other mediums such as movies to promote their brands. E.
g., Amitabh Bachchan, who endorses the financial instruments of ICICI Bank, is
shown as a branch-manager of ICICI Bank in the movie Baghban. Wooing the key exi
sting and potential target customers is the trait of a successful promotion stra
tegy. However, the marketing manager should be able to offer significant value p
ropositions in the services / products offered to the customers. Thus, one needs
to integrate celebrity endorsement with other marketing programs and ensure tha
t the celebrity attributes align with the overall brand or company. Companies th
at succeed in developing such an integrated IMC plans is the one to succeed in t
he long-term.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCE:
Philip A. Stroke(2009), "Impact of Celebrity
Endorsement", Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 14 March, Pg.47182.
Shimp (2007), "Celebrities as spokesperson", Journal
of Retailing, Vol. 76 No. 2, Pg.175-91.
Friedmen et al. (1976), “The power of brand”, Journal
of Business, Vol. 23, Pg.71-80. WEBSITE:

www.marketingmania.in/india.html http://en.wiki.wikipedia.com/indian_industry ww
w.marketingmanagement.in/india.html www.indiatimes.com/
www.hindustantimes.com http://www.businessweek.com./html