actor Endorsement in India

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PROJECT ON CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

IN

INDIA

Table of contents

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S. No. NamePage

1 Introduction to the topic 6

2 Relationship between a Celebrity & a Brand 10

3 Is celebrity advertising effective? 16

4 Literature review 23

5 The argument for Celebrity Endorsement 34

6 The argument against Celebrity Endorsement 37

7 Brand, Celebrities & Consumer 40

8 Measuring a Celebrity Endorsement 53

9 Research Objective and Methodology 59

10 Survey results 61

11 Findings 71

12 Summary and managerial implications 76

13 Conclusion 73

14 Appendix 1 & 2 80

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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The project is to study and analyze the impact of celebrity endorsement on a common

consumer. It is a sincere effort to understand the consumer perception for celebrity

endorsement, to learn and understand its effectiveness and to know the benefits anddrawbacks associated with celebrity endorsement. This project report suggests how a

celebrity can help a consumer in identification of a product. It also includes details

about the consumers views about the use of celebrities in brand promotion by an

organization. A survey was conducted to know the consumers perception and their

thinking about the celebrity endorsements. A questionnaire has been drafted for the

same, to understand the psyche of the cell phone customers to know their needs,

expectations and their attitude toward a cell phone brand ambassador. On the basis of

analysis of the result collected from the survey, we have drawn certain conclusions,

which are clearly mentioned in detail in the later part of this project report. In a nutshell,

this project report will act as a useful tool for any management in selecting a suitable

celebrity to endorse their product, according to the consumers likings.

Introduction

CELEBRITY BRANDING AND ITS EFFECT ON CONSUMERS

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It is a known fact that the best endorsements achieve an eclectic balance between the

product (brand) and the celebrity. Giving a brand a 'face' is more than just a marketing

strategy to increase sales or gain market share, it is a decision that can change the future

of the brand forever.

Choice of the celebrity, hence, is of utmost importance and is usually done based on

many different parameters - appeal, looks, popularity or even just a fantasy figure to

endorse a brand.

In today's highly competitive markets, big brands are at logger-heads when it comes to

products, each having a similar product to that of a rival. Where does one brand gain that

quintessential advantage - advertising, service, promise of trust, or even the all important

price factors? Advertising seems to be the best platform where brands prefer to compete

on - right from hiring the best advertising agencies to getting the biggest celebrities.

What would be the formula to success then? Well, a good creative agency, a large

enough promotional budget and a huge star to endorse your brand would definitely

ensure in the minds of a brand management team a feeling of security, success and a

triumph over the competitors brand.

The general belief among advertisers is that brand communication messages deliveredby celebrities and famous personalities generate a higher appeal, attention and recall than

those executed by non-celebrities. The quick message-reach and impact are all too

essential in today's highly competitive environment.

The different models applied by brands to achieve the full potential of such

endorsements, highlight the need for a convergence between the theoretical and

pragmatic approaches of brand building and effective advertising. The importance of a

celebrity-brand match and the various roles played by them as brand-associates show the

momentum this strategy has gained in the last decade or so. We put forward certain ideas

like 'positioning by association', 'diminishing celebrity utility' and the Multiplier Effect

which show the triangular relationship between the brand, the consumer and the

celebrity.

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India is a country where people are star-struck by film stars, cricketers, politicians, and

even criminals. Why? Populations of 1 billion and ticking, everyday people need

something or someone to look up to. A sense of security, admiration, comfort,

familiarity, and above all, someone they aspire to be at some hidden level in their lives.

And clever marketers leverage this very celebrity appeal and are successfully carrying

out their jobs by giving the bottom lines of all the brands what they want - profit, market

share and even recall. But how much star power is too much? "Does Amitabh really use

Tide," asked a 6 year old to her mother. Her mother laughs and says, "No way, just a

gimmick." What does that do to the brand?

Now, despite the potential benefits derived from celebrity endorsements, they increase a

marketer's risk manifolds and should be treated with full attention and aptitude. A brandshould be cautious when employing celebrities to ensure promise believability and

delivery of the intended effect. The growing importance of mythical characters as

celebrities and their sway over the target segments are ample proof of public demand for

icons to look up to. As the celebrities traverse from a mere commercial presence to

public welfare message endorsements, a whole new dimension is added to this process

and helps us in achieving a holistic view of the impact which celebrities generate in

every sphere and segment through their well-versed endorsements.

At the end of the day, do any stakeholders in a company (employees, contractors,

customers, shareholders, communities the company supports with jobs) benefit from a

celebrity endorsement?

Does anyone buy a product because a Bollywood or TV actor/actress stands up and

reads a script in somewhat convincing manner? Are their distinctions in how consumers

perceive these types of endorsements and respond to them?

What happens when a celebrity endorser gets involved in a public scandal, or worse,

dies? Will the product lose consumer support or perish?

The most important thing to remember is that putting a celebrity in an ad is not an idea

in itself. Unfortunately, this is how most celebrities are being used in Indian advertising,

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where they just become a prop. Ideally, there should be an idea that makes the celebrity

relevant to the product and the consumer. A celebrity's presence in the ad should be

contextual.

Celebrity endorsement cannot guarantee fool-proof success. The celebrity endorsement

strategy must be integrated with target market characteristics, and the other elements of

the marketing mix such as product design, branding, packaging, and pricing. The

message execution that will be mouthed by the celebrity must likewise be made clear

and single-minded. You can do this cleverly by aligning the spirit of the brand to the

product, or by using a celebrity because it ensures that people will notice you, and

hopefully remember what the brand is saying. Smart associations are ones where the

former happens.

Before we go into analyzing success and failure stories of brands, we examine the title

once again and try looking at it extremely minutely.

Relationship between a Celebrity & a Brand

To understand how consumers associate celebrities to brands is well documented by a

research study by Anderson (1976); Collins & Loftus (1975); Rumelhart, Hinton &

McClelland (1986). In their study, associative learning principles were based on a

conception of memory as a network consisting of various nodes connected by

associative links. In the research context, celebrities and brands both represent nodes,

which initially are unconnected but become linked over time through the endorsement

process.

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When a consumer thinks about a brand, the link with the celebrity node is animated to a

certain level through spreading activation (Anderson 1983a). The joint activation of

brand and celebrity provides a path over which one's evaluation of the celebrity has an

opportunity to transfer to the brand. The key to the process is the simultaneous activation

of the brand and celebrity nodes. Negative information about the celebrity activates the

celebrity node, which then activates the brand node 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 empirical 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 time. Celebrities

usually form a very good example of a reference group appeal. This is particularly

beneficial to a marketer and a brand who can cash in on the success of the star and,

hence, push his brand. People who idolize their celebrities, hence, have a biased affinityto the brand their favorites endorse. As time passes on, they believe that they by

adopting the brand that their celebrity endorses are becoming more like them. Celebrities

can be used in four ways namely: testimonial, endorsement, actor and spokesperson.

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Right now the current hot favorite 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,

Bollywood and sport personalities rule the mind-space and airwaves.

A recent study by FCB-ULKA was done on celebrity endorsements in India. Here, they

discussed two parameters: Compatibility Index and Trait Index when it came to

finding the relationship between a celebrity and a brand.

Compatibility Index meant that the consumers saw a suitable match between the brand

and the celebrity. Trait Index was based on the match between brand and celebrity

personality traits. The numbers showed that Compatibility Index was more favorable

than Trait Index. E.g., Hrithik Roshan scored high on his Compatibility Index (100) as

compared to his Trait Index with Coca Cola. But the end user being the consumer

preferred him. The other startling fact was the high points 93 and 100 by Salman Khan.

But Thums-Up had to drop him after Salman's accident. But people still associate

Thums-Up with the Khan. The other important factor is unaided association and Salman

scored higher than other competition. But in the long run, to protect the brand image,

Salman was dropped. So what is important is the way the customer perceives a brand

and the celebrity, so if the celebrity is favored, it does have a positive influence over the

brand. The other factor is the sheer image or popularity of the star, if the star's image is

larger than life, for example, for Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar, the

Compatibility Index seems to be a natural collorary.

Taking the millennium superstar Amitabh Bachchan, as an endorser, he fulfills all the

FRED objectives, namely, Familiarity (target market is aware of him, finds him friendly,

likeable, dependable and trustworthy); Relevance (which says that there should be a link

between the endorser and the product as well as between the endorser and the audience);

Esteem (the polio endorsement, for example, is successful as the masses see him as a

credible name-face-voice); Differentiation (in all his projections, he is seen to be one

among the masses, and yet he towers above them. He is different). His appeal is

universal; lesser mortals merely cater to specific niches. While there may be different

reasons, depending on the category, the lifecycle stage in which the brand is, and the

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particular marketing mantra being the flavor of the moment, the main reason is to make

the brand stand out and to facilitate instant awareness.

For example, in the much talked about Shah Rukh - Santro campaign, the organization

wanted to overcome the shortcoming of an unknown brand, Korean at that. The

objective of the company was to garner faster brand recognition, association and

emotional unity with the target group.

The Santro ad showed the highest recall amongst auto ads, despite average media spends

for the category. Reason being simple - star power paid off.

Another example was the launch of Tamarind by S. Kumar, they reckoned they spent

40-50 per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik Roshan who was

riding on the 'Kaho Na Pyar Hai'wave of Success. Ad recall was as high as 70 per cent,

and even the normally conservative trade got interested (so while a new brand would

normally take 8-10 months for entry into a Shopper's Stop, Tamarind was prominently

displayed within 20 days of launch). But now looking at the long term effects of Hrithik,

his movies began to flop and it may seem a sheer co-incidence that the Tamarind brand

died out as well.

Looking on the flip side, the biggest concerns from the advertiser's point of view is that

of 'vampiring' - the celebrity being bigger than the brand. Consider the 1980s when

Dinesh Suitings chose Sunil Gavaskar as their brand endorser. Soon it was seen that

Gavaskar completely overshadowed the brand. A similar case was that of Shah Rukh

and Mayur Suitings, where post termination of the contract, the corporate had to vest

crucial monies in a campaign where the sole objective was to wean the brand identity off

Shah Rukh Khan. So having a celebrity who may outshine your product is not such a

viable idea is the common consensus.

The other problem is that of duration of endorsement, and a possible mismatch between

the celebrity's life cycle and that of the brand. Owing to unavailability of dates,

sometimes long-term contracts are signed, but the celebrity's life might be over soon.

Multiple endorsements are the other problem. There is unfortunately a limited pool of

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celebrities who can resonate with consumers. So you have the same celebrity endorsing

several categories, as in case of Shah Rukh and Sachin, who are completely over-

exposed - one would assume a fair degree of confusion and little room for credibility,

and hence, a possible devaluing amongst customers.

Studying TV and print advertisements, one will realize that either some celebrities are

endorsing several brands or a specific brand is endorsed by different spokespersons.

These concepts are called multiple brand endorsement and multiple celebrity

endorsement respectively.

The question is, does this special form of celebrity endorsement affects consumers' brand

attitudes? Following Tripp et al. (1994), the endorsement of as many as four products

negatively influences the celebrity spokesperson's credibility (i.e., expertise and

trustworthiness) and likeability. They further add that these effects are independent of

the celebrity, i.e., the perceptions of even well-liked stars can be influenced. Reasons

may be found in the lack of distinctiveness, with one famous person endorsing several

products instead of concentrating on and representing one specific brand. Though these

findings may be valid, it does not automatically mean that the concept of multiple

product endorsement is useless. Further, research is suggested on potential positive

effects, like transfer of positive brand images, and on the shape of consumers' response

when more than four products are endorsed.

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Is celebrity advertising effective?

What are the benefits of representing India in the national cricket team? It is anopportunity to compete with the best in the world and pitch one's talent against the best.

It is an opportunity to travel around the world. It is an opportunity to uphold national

pride. And make good money from every match played.

But there is more, a ticket to modelling in the advertising world (and a future perhaps in

Bollywood). Not surprisingly it's a very attractive profession. As advertisers pour crores

of rupees every year, into celebrity advertising.

Think of Sachin Tendulkar. He means Pepsi in soft drinks, Boost in malted beverages,

MRF in tires, Fiat Palio in cars, TVS Victor in two-wheelers, Colgate Total in

toothpastes, Britannia in biscuits, Visa in credit cards, Airtel in mobile services and

Band-aid.

Clearly, an overload of brands and categories associated with one star.

In the advertising world, celebrity advertising is seen as a substitute for 'absence of ideas'

-- and actually frowned upon. Yet it appears again and again.

The reasons are quite insightful.

A client hits upon celebrity as a solution when his agency is unable to present to him a

viable, exciting solution for his communication/marketing problem. He then feels that

the presence of a well-known face is an easy way out. It is rare that there is an idea on

the table and client and agency mutually agree that the presence of a celebrity will

actually lift the script. This is very similar to Bollywood blockbuster films where the cast

is decided upon and the script either written accordingly or re-engineered around the

cast!

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There is no doubt that celebrity advertising has its benefits

The four Qs:

Quick saliency: It gets cut through because of the star and his attention getting value.

Goodlass Nerolac has ensured high saliency for its brand with the inclusion of Amitabh

Bachchan in its advertising.

Quick connect: There needs to be no insight but the communication connects because

the star connects. Sachin, Shah Rukh and their ilk's ensure an easy connect for Pepsi

with the youth.

Quick shorthand for brand values: The right star can actually telegraph a brand

message fast without elaborate story telling. Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar seem to

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have done that successfully for Boost in the early '90s. And helped to differentiate it in

the malted beverages market.

Quick means of brand differentiation: In a category where no brand is using a

celebrity, the first that picks one up could use it to differentiate itself in the market.

Boost did it in the malted beverage category.

And Preity Zinta does all the above four for Perk -- connecting with the youth and

reinforcing the brand's youthful, spontaneous, energetic values.

In general celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following motives:

Instant Brand Awareness and Recall. Celebrity values define, and refresh the brand image.

Celebrities add new dimensions to the brand image.

Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage.

Lack of ideas.

Convincing clients.

An appropriately used celebrity can prove to be a massively powerful tool that magnifies

the effects of a campaign. But the aura of cautiousness should always be there. The fact

to be emphasized is that celebrities alone do not guarantee success, as consumers

nowadays understand advertising. They know what advertising is and how it works.

People realize that celebrities are being paid a lot of money for endorsements and this

knowledge makes them cynical about celebrity endorsements.

Compatibility of the celebritys persona with the overall brand image

A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a brand, but the

celebrity needs to match the product. A good brand campaign idea and an intrinsic link

between the celebrity and the message are musts for a successful campaign. Celebrities

are no doubt good at generating attention, recall and positive attitudes towards

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advertising provided that they are supporting a good idea and there is an explicit fit

between them and the brand. On the other hand, they are rendered useless when it comes

to the actual efficiency of the core product, creating positive attitudes to brands,

purchase intentions and actual sales.

Certain parameters that postulate compatibility between the celebrity and brand image

are

Celebritys fit with the brand image.

CelebrityTarget audience match

Celebrity associated values.

Costs of acquiring the celebrity.

CelebrityProduct match.

Celebrity controversy risk.

Celebrity popularity.

Celebrity availability.

Celebrity physical attractiveness.

Celebrity credibility.

Celebrity prior endorsements.

Whether celebrity is a brand user.

Celebrity profession.

Successful celebrity endorsements for a brand-An Indian perspective

In the history of advertising products or services, political parties or ideas

celebrities have played a seminal role in boosting the bottom line. Whether what's on

offer is a soft drink, beauty aid, ideology or public health message, it's the celebrity

endorsement that makes the difference between recognition and anonymity.

The latter part of the '80s saw the burgeoning of a new trend in India brands started

being endorsed by celebrities. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons were

roped in to endorse prominent brands. Advertisements, featuring stars like Tabassum

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(Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving

Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings) became common. Probably, the first ad to

cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was Lux

soap. This brand has, perhaps as a result of this, been among the top three in the country

for much of its lifetime.

In recent times, we had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign with the objective of mitigating

the impediment that an unknown Korean brand faced in the Indian market. The objective

was to garner faster brand recognition, association and emotional unity with the target

group. Star power in India can be gauged by the successful endorsement done by

Sharukh for three products- Pepsi, Clinic All Clear and Santro. Unique selling

propositions are best boosted when a popular credible figure vouches for it. A Govindawho claims to wear a particular brand of banian impels scores to switch brands. An

Aishwerya Rai pledging her eyes motivates thousands to queue up to pledge theirs.

In the Indian context, it would not be presumptuous to state that celebrity endorsements

can aggrandize the overall brand. We have numerous examples exemplifying this claim.

A standard example here is Coke, which, till recently, didn't use stars at all

internationally. In fact, India was a first for them. The result was a ubiquitously

appealing Aamir cheekily stating Thanda matlab Coca Cola. The recall value for

Nakshatra advertising is only due to the sensuous Aishwarya. The Parker pen brand,

which by itself commands equity, used Amitabh Bachchan to revitalize the brand in

India. According to Pooja Jain, Director, Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd (LWIL), post

Bachchan, Parker's sales have increased by about 30 per cent.

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Review of literature:-

Attribution theory and endorsement effectiveness

Although past research documents a general tendency for consumers to believe in the

purity of the motives of celebrity endorsers, it is likely that this tendency varies

substantially both across consumers and across endorsers. For example, Tripp showed

that celebrities who endorse several products are viewed as less credible endorsers than

those who endorse only a single product. also demonstrated that celebrities who areblamed for negative events (e.g. accidents) can have detrimental effects on the products

they endorse. In short, the effectiveness of a celebrity endorser is dynamic, dependent on

the celebrity, the product, and perhaps even societal conditions at the time and place

where the advertisement is shown. As such, it could be fruitful to abandon the use of

traditional measures of the celebrity endorser's trustworthiness or credibility in general in

favor of directly measuring the degree to which individuals evaluate the celebrity as

liking the endorsed product after viewing the advertisement. Such evaluations fit under a

class of judgment that has been referred to as correspondent inferences Correspondent

inferences more generally refer to any judgment in which observers use an individual's

behavior (e.g. an endorser saying that she loves Cheerios cereal) to infer congruent

dispositions in that individual (e.g. inferring that the endorser actually does love

Cheerios cereal). We propose that correspondent inferences are a direct measure of a

celebrity's credibility in the specific context of the advertisement, and thus should predict

consumers' attitudes toward the advertised product.H1. =Correspondent inferences will

be positively associated with attitudes toward the advertised product. Another interesting

question in this context is whether consumers will tend to make correspondent

inferences about celebrity endorsers. Early social psychological work in attribution

theory suggests not a large endorsement fee should be viewed as a strong incentive

toward endorsement behavior, and thus observers should doubt that endorsements reflect

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true liking for the product on the part of the endorser. However, research indicating that

celebrities are especially credible and trustworthy endorsers (e.g. Freiden, 1984)

suggests that consumers might believe celebrities like the product regardless of

endorsement fees. Furthermore, research examining a phenomenon called

correspondence bias suggests that observers are biased such that they tend to attribute

behavior to personal characteristics of the individual performing that behavior (e.g.

liking for the product) even when situational factors (e.g. endorsement fees) are

sufficient to fully explain the behavior.

Celebrity attributes that influence endorsement effectiveness

Previous research examining the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements has focused

primarily on personal attributes of the celebrity that enhance his or her persuasiveness

For example, a number of researchers have used models in which source credibility,

typically viewed as a function of trustworthiness and expertise, is the primary factor

determining how influential the endorser will be Trustworthiness refers to the general

believability of the endorser, and is thus broader but conceptually similar to

correspondent inferences about the endorser. Expertise refers to the product knowledge

of the endorser and thus to the validity of his or her claims regarding the product, and is

believed to be a factor that increases persuasiveness above and beyond the effects of

trustworthiness.H3.=Perceived product knowledge of the endorser will be positively

associated with attitudes toward the advertised product.Other researchers have

emphasized the importance of source attractiveness in determining liking for the

endorser and thereby increasing endorsement effectiveness To the extent that

attractiveness is an important determinant of endorsement effectiveness, research based

on the matchup hypothesis for a discussion of the matchup hypothesis in relation to

endorser expertise) suggests that its importance is limited by the degree to which

attractiveness fits well with the advertised product Thus, for example, physical

attractiveness might be useful when selling cosmetics but not when selling computers.

Furthermore, although source attractiveness research has focused primarily on physical

attractiveness, attractiveness can also be viewed more generally as a positive attitude

toward the endorser. Such positive attitudes might result from admiration or perceived

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similarity although effective advertising is more likely to rely on the admiration

component because the influential power of celebrities is closely connected to their

status as role models.

Figure 1Model predicting attitude toward the advertised product in Experiment 1

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2Model predicting attitude toward the advertised product in Experiment

The argument for Celebrity Endorsement

Brands have been leveraging celebrity appeal for a long time. Across categories, whether

in products or services, more and more brands are banking on the mass appeal of

celebrities. As soon as a new face ascends the popularity charts, advertisers queue up to

have it splashed all over. Witness the spectacular rise of Sania Mirza and Irfan Pathan in

endorsements in a matter of a few months. The accruement of celebrity endorsements

can be justified by the following advantages that are bestowed on the overall brand:

Establishment of 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. We had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign. At launch, Shah Rukh

Khan endorsed Santro and this ensured that brand awareness was created in a

market, which did not even know the brand.

Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking

the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable.

PR coverage: is another reason for using celebrities. Managers perceivecelebrities as topical, which create high PR coverage. A good example of

integrated celebrity campaigns is one of the Worlds leading pop groups, the

Spice Girls, who have not only appeared in advertisements for Pepsi, but also in

product launching and PR events.

Time saving: Celebrity is able to build brand credibility in a short period of time.

Higher degree of recall: People tend to commensurate the personalities of the

celebrity with the brand thereby increasing the recall value. Golf champion Tiger

Woods has endorsed American Express, Rolex, and Nike. Actress Catherine

Zeta-Jones is used by T-Mobile and Elizabeth Arden. 007 Pierce Brosnan

promotes Omega, BMW, and Noreico.

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Associative Benefit: A celebritys preference for a brand gives out a persuasive

message - because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer will

also benefit.

Mitigating a tarnished image: Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer's

confidence in its chocolate brands following the high-pitch worms controversy;

so the company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job. Last year, when the

even more controversial pesticide issue shook up Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and

resulted in much negative press, both soft drink majors put out high-profile

damage control ad films featuring their best and most expensive celebrities.

While Aamir Khan led the Coke fightback as an ingenious and fastidious Bengali

who finally gets convinced of the product's `purity,' PepsiCo brought Shah Rukh

Khan and Sachin Tendulkar together once again in a television commercial

which drew references to the `safety' of the product indirectly.

Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and

advertisers use stars to capitalise on these feelings to sway the fans towards their

brand.

Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic

segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.).

Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be agood bet to generate interest among the masses.

Providing testimony: Another benefit of using celebrity endorsers is that s/he can

provide testimony for a product or service, particularly when the product has

contributed to their celebrity. The more familiar an endorser, the more likely

consumers are to buy the endorsed product.

Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life into the

stagnant chyawanprash category and staving off competition from various

brands, Dabur India roped in Bachchan for an estimated Rs 8 crore.

Celebrity endorsement can sometimes compensate for lack of innovative ideas.

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The argument against Celebrity Endorsement

The celebrity approach has a few serious risks:

1. The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after he/she has endorsed theproduct: Pepsi Cola's suffered with three tarnished celebrities - Mike Tyson,

Madonna, and Michael Jackson. Since the behaviour of the celebrities reflects on

the brand, celebrity endorsers may at times become liabilities to the brands they

endorse.

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2. The vampire effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of a celebrity

overshadowing the brand. If there is no congruency between the celebrity and the

brand, then the audience will remember the celebrity and not the brand.

Examples are the campaigns of Dawn FrenchCable Association and Leonard

RossiterCinzano. Both of these campaigns were aborted due to celebrities

getting in the way of effective communication. Another example could be the

Castrol commercial featuring Rahul Dravid.

3. Inconsistency in the professional popularity of the celebrity: The celebrity may

lose his or her popularity due to some lapse in professional performances. For

example, when Tendulkar went through a prolonged lean patch recently, the

inevitable question that cropped up in corporate circles - is he actually worth it?

The 2003 Cricket World Cup also threw up the Shane Warne incident, which

caught Pepsi off guard. With the Australian cricketer testing positive for

consuming banned substances and his subsequent withdrawal from the event,

bang in the middle of the event, PepsiCo - the presenting sponsor of the World

Cup 2003 - found itself on an uneasy wicket

4. Multi brand endorsements by the same celebrity would lead to overexposure:

The novelty of a celebrity endorsement gets diluted if he does too many

advertisements. This may be termed as commoditisation of celebrities, who are

willing to endorse anything for big bucks. Example, MRF was among the early

sponsors of Tendulkar with its logo emblazoned on his bat. But now Tendulkar

endorses a myriad brands and the novelty of the Tendulkar-MRF campaign has

scaled down.

5. Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another (competitor) : Sainsburys

encountered a problem with Catherina Zeta Jones, whom the company used for

its recipe advertisements, when she was caught shopping in Tesco. A similar case

happened with Britney Spears who endorsed one cola brand and was repeatedly

caught drinking another brand of cola on tape.

6. Mismatch between the celebrity and the image of the brand: Celebrities

manifest a certain persona for the audience. It is of paramount importance that

there is an egalitarian congruency between the persona of the celebrity and the

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image of the brand. Each celebrity portrays a broad range of meanings, involving

a specific personality and lifestyle. Madonna, for example, is perceived as a

tough, intense and modern women associated with the lower middle class. The

personality of Pierce Brosnan is best characterized as the perfect gentlemen,

whereas Jennifer Aniston has the image of the good girl from next door.

Brand, Celebrities & Consumer

Factors Impacting a Brand while being viewed by a Consumer in Media

The model above shows the various factors that affect a celebrity endorsed brand while

viewed by a consumer in the media (both TV and print). The central idea being the

impact on brand. The three major parts to a brand being shown are: -

The Product

Advertisement

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The celebrity endorsing it

It is important is to study the relationship 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. Quality 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 celebrity in the advertisement, recall,

trust, familiarity are some of the reasons that they are used. Now consider the

interactions of these individual factors. The best 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 doing an advertisement for ad for youth

apparel. Well, exceptions can be there but then again it depends on the way it is done.

Believability is of vital importance, 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 bike 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.

Selection of Celebrity

Anyone who is famous may be the right celebrity. However, the appropriateness of the

celebrity largely depends on the product or service. Most advertisers insist that their

celebrity spokespeople have charisma and current popularity. That is why we see more

movie and television stars, athletes, real-life heroes, and musicians acting as brand

ambassadors in the market.

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The choice of celebrity is critical for the success of the advertisement. The celebrity

should have high recognition, high positive affect, and the image of the celebrity must

match with that of the product. For this reason, famous sportsmen are used to endorse

sporting goods: Michael Jordan & Nike, Tiger Woods and Nike, David Beckham

endorses Adidas, etc. While it is totally inappropriate for movie stars to endorse a sports

products.

Celebrity endorsements must be used judiciously. If the celebrity is too famous or too

popular, then the celebrity will overpower the product - i.e., people will remember

seeing only the celebrity and forget the product. This happened when Britney Spears

came in a Pepsi Commercial in 2001. Britney Spears was at the height of her popularity -

viewers saw the advertisement to see Britney Spears and forgot all about Pepsi. In India,

Hollywood actress Dimple Kapadia in a sexy swim wear was used in a Cinthol soap

advertisement - People remember seeing the actress - but the soap was forgotten.

The cost benefit analysis of using celebrity in marketing communications is bit tricky.

But the general belief is that using celebrity is a lot cheaper in building a brand. For

example, S.Kumars built the brand "Reed & Taylors" as a premier suiting material by

having Amitab Bachan in its advertisements. To achieve the same without a celebrity

would have taken longer time & more money. In a span of less than two years after

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launch, the brand Reed & Taylors" has become the second largest seller of cloth for

mens suits in India.

Selection of the right celebrity is crucial. The needs of the brandrather than the fame

of the celebrityshould be the primary criteria when selecting a celebrity spokesperson.

The celebrity's physical attractiveness, values, and credibility also matter tremendously.

However, it would be suicidal to forget about the target audience.

Types of Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrity branding has many aspects. A slight change in the type of branding used can

result in either a great success or a dismal failure. Celebrity branding falls into five

general categories:

Testimonial: The celebrity acts as a spokesperson for the brand.

Imported: The celebrity performs a role known to the audience.

Invented: The celebrity plays a new, original role.

Observer: The celebrity assumes the role of an observer commenting on the

brand.

Harnessed: The celebrity's image is integrated with the ad's storyline.

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Facts over the Years

Approximately 60-70% of all television commercials feature famous people.

Aishwarya Rai had once endorsed 'Fuji-Film' camera rolls. The company made

an agreement with her to endorse their camera rolls. But, Aishwarya's magic did

not work there and they had to terminate the contract.

Amitabh Bachchan (AB) was seen endorsing Maruti's Versa Car. The AB factor

worked wonders as far as generating curiosity was concerned but the actual

product couldn't meet the expectations of people, and hence, the endorsement

strategy didn't work. He has been used very effectively by Parker Pens, ICICI

Bank and Cadbury's to name a few.

Batas sales doubled soon after they adopted Rani Mukherjee as their brand

ambassador.

Magic Johnson lost his endorsement 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.

Ticket sales at Wimbledon are known to have shot up significantly for all

matches featuring the latest 'sex-symbol' on the circuit - Anna Kournikova. An

average player who is yet to win even a single tennis tournament, Anna is known

to have earned far more from endorsements than her tennis career could ever

have given her.

Celebrity Endorsements as a Strategy

How Tiger Woodss endorsement of Accenture is beneficial to the company in sending

the message of high performance. This is just an example of having celebrity

endorsement. Marketers of consumer products have long used celebrities to endorse their

product - and this has become a common strategy. I therefore have chosen to write about

the theory and the intentions behind the strategy of using celebrity endorsements.

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Objectives of Marketing Communications

Defining the objectives of the advertisements is the first step. In general, there are four

major objectives for any advertisement. Note that not all advertisements need to have all

the objectives.

1. Establish the product need

stablishing a need for a product or a product category is the necessary first step.

This is more important in new-to-world category of products In Indian context,

consider the advertisement for Polio Immunization drive - the TV advertisement

featured Amitab Bachan telling that immunization is a must for every child -

while people suffering from polio are shown in the background along with

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healthy kids. This advertisement used a celebrity to create the need for polio

immunization.

Another good example is Toyotas advertisement of Innova in India. The TV

advertisement prominently shows Amir Khan playing different roles while

traveling in an Innova. The different roles - establish the need for such a big car

in India. ( Note that Indian car market is dominated by small cars - which can

seat only four adults, Toyota wanted to establish the need for a 8 seater car in

India)

2. Create Brand Awareness

Once the need for a product is established, customers must be able to associate

the brand with the product category. For example iPod is strongly associated with

portable MP3 players, Nike with sports shoes etc..

A classic example of this is Nikes use of Michael Jordan advertising for Nike.

This advertisement instantly created a strong association of Nike with basketball

shoes.

3. Set customer expectations

Brand value comes from the customers experience with the product. If the

product meets or beats his expectations, then a positive brand image is created,

else a negative brand image is created. Therefore it is essential to set the

customer expectations accordingly.

This is most common in established consumer products - Beauty products,

household cleaning products, food products etc.

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4. Create a purchase intention

These are marketing promotion advertisements - Buy one, get one free, or get

additional discounts if you buy within a particular date etc.. The sole purpose of

such communication messages is to encourage customers to buy immediately or

within a short period after seeing

Use of celebrity endorsements to create a purchase intention has been very

limited. This is mainly because such advertisements adversely affect the

personality brand value of the celebrity. Being associated with a discount deal isnot favorable image for the celebrity and the customer.

Brand Image & Celebrity

Research has shown that there are three aspects that influence a customer's attitude and,

hence, the long term impact on the brand - Attractiveness, Trustworthiness and

Expertise. The matrix below shows us the images and the celebrities: -

Aspect of Brand Image Celebrity Product

Attractiveness

Elegance Aishwarya Rai Nakshatra Diamonds

Beauty Madhuri Dixit Emami

Classy Saif and Soha Ali Khan Asian Paints-Royale

StylishSaif Ali Khan Provogue

Amitabh Bachhan Reid & Taylor

TrustworthinessHonest Tarun Tejpal Tehelka

Reliable MS Dhoni TVS Star City

ExpertiseKnowledge Sachin & Sehwag Reebok

Qualified Naina Balsavar Shampoo

Hence, we see depending on the product and aspect of brand, the choice of the celebrity

is important so that the celebrity can reflect that and not go against the brand.

We talk about Brand Equity, Brand Identity and Position. It is worthwhile to see the

effect of a celebrity on these critical elements. Brand equity essentially made up of

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loyalty, awareness, perceived quality, associations, and other proprietary brand assets.

The celebrity should be chosen in such a way as to reinforce and strengthen the brand in

all these elements but the question is, can he? Take an example of another star Fardeen

Khan, who endorses Provogue. Snazzy fashionable apparel from an Indian manufacturer

with the backing of a star son was a great idea for the brand image. It was able to attract

new customers who were fashion conscious but unable to afford high price international

brands.

Awareness of the brand was phenomenal as fashion shows, print and media advertising

was booming and Fardeen and Provgue had become a national phenomenon. Quality

was given utmost importance and, hence, from the manufacturer side, the commitment to

the customer was complete. Competition was present but sales figures showed Provoguereaping handsomely. Then the image of the so-called Bad Boy Fardeen emerged with the

drug and brawls in night clubs. This did lead to a certain discontent amongst fans of the

star and the brand. But remarkably not much effect on sales. It seemed that the

consumers had forgotten Fardeen's issues and remained loyal to the brand. Today

Fardeen is still the mainframe picture of every advertisement and the brand has not lost

any of its shine.

Measuring a Celebrity Endorsement

It becomes very important to measure the effectiveness of a celebrity (or determine the

worth of one). Few of the methods of measurement that are in practice are: -

The Q-SCORE Method

The FRED Principle

The Q-SCORE Method

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There is a way to measure the credibility, believability, popularity, and like-ability of a

celebrity. It's called a Q-Score, and you can purchase the Q-Scores of the candidates

you're considering.

Consider both sides of the deal - for a client who wanted to use a celebrity endorser, and

for a celebrity who was looking for an endorsement opportunity. Once you've defined

the kind of endorser you need (e.g., athlete, actor, male/female, young/old, etc.), its well

worth going through the Q-Score exercise.

Evaluating the contribution of the endorser after you've already made the decision is not

nearly as straightforward. One time, many years ago, a company actually shot a

commercial with a well-known (high Q-Score) endorser for national use, and it shot the

same commercial with a good actor, not so well-known. The company ran a limited

market test for 6 months with the unknown actor (cutting in the commercials locally,

over national network schedule) so could quantify the sales impact of the celebrity. By

the way, the celebrity was worth every penny of his outrageous fee. It ended up using

him for years, and he helped the brand reach market leadership almost entirely on the

strength of the commercials in which he appeared.

The FRED Principle

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This concept is seen as the foundation of a successful endorser selection.

F is for Familiarity. The target market must be aware of the person, and perceive him

or her as empathetic, credible, sincere and trustworthy.

R is for Relevance. There should be a meaningful link between the advertised brand and

the celebrity endorser, and more important, between the celebrity endorser and the

defined target market. The audience must be able to identify with the person. If

consumers can immediately associate with an endorser, they will feel more predisposed

to accepting, buying and preferring the brand to competition.

E is for Esteem. Consumers must have the utmost respect and confidence for the

celebrity. Amitabh Bachhan & Tendulkar have these. So do Shahrukh Khan, Preity

Zinta, Kapil Dev among others. The public respect them because of their distinguished

careers and unassailable 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 spokesperson. Each organization and its objectives are different, and should

be evaluated on an individual basis.

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THE IMPACT

As defined earlier, impact would be both short term and long term, but here the focus

would be more on the long term implications of the brand. Measurement of this would

be challenging and data would be difficult to obtain. The parameters on which impactcould be measured would be on a comparative basis of the brand before and after the

celebrity began endorsing the brand. Sales / revenue, market share, brand recall, level of

repurchase, brand loyalty, trust, image and perception of the brand per say.

In this trend of creative advertising, we see usage of celebrities of all walks in life -

particularly actors, film stars, models, sports persons, and the whole gamut. But the

usage can always backfire if the choice of the star is completely contradictory in nature

to the brand. Believability and association of brand to celebrity is important.

Selection of celebrities can be done while they are at their peak or when they are

destined for greatness in the near future. Again a risk that may go either way. What is

important at some level is the value that a celebrity adds to a particular brand. The

advertiser tries his best to make the celebrity and brand as analogous as possible. The

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celebrity endorser is seen to score quite well on dimensions such as trustworthiness,

believability, persuasiveness, and likeability when tested for reaction from people. This

is important to a marketer as if he can get a celebrity to make the masses follow, believe

or listen to him, he has been successful.

As discussed by Kelman (1961), the basis for the effectiveness of celebrity-endorsed

advertising can be linked to this process of identification and internalization of the

desired behavior. Price of fame may be high for the celebrity endorsed brands but they

have both what the markets and the everyday common man want - attention, power and

star sizzle.

Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition of a large group of people.

Celebrities may convey a broad range of meanings, involving demographic categories

(e.g., age, gender and status), personality and lifestyle types. For instance, people adore

Sachin Tendulkar because he represents a middle-class Maharashtrian boy who made it

big with sheer hard work. Likewise, Amitabh Bachchan for most is an icon of style, trust

and dependability.

Research Objective

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Main Objective:

To study the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer buying behavior.

Sub-Objectives:

Three basic sub-objectives are:

To understand consumer perception of the celebrities in advertisements.

To understand the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement.

To identify drawbacks associated with celebrity endorsement.

Research Methodology

Data collection

For data collection, I developed a well defined questionnaire as a research

instrument, consisting questions aimed to measure the consumers

perception, their liking and disliking and their views and comments about

Celebrity Endorsement. I conducted unstructured interviews (sample

size) of 50 students of USMS, in time duration of three days, all the data

generated was primary data that was generated from different cell phone

consumers.

Data analysis

The data collected was compressed to 3 point scale by adding the scale to

make it more interpretable. The same is recorded on an excel sheet and

qualitative data is refined to present it as suggestions and complaints. The

same is being presented in form of graphs and tables and correlation is

being shown between some of the important items.

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3. SURVEY RESULTS:-

The following are the findings regarding the consumer survey conducted by

me.The following graphs show the consumers perception about different

things, as shown below, below their questions:-

1. Percentage of cell phone ownership, among the surveyed people.

2. Cell phone buying behavior.

38

percent

on your own

with others

percent

Yes

No

Yes

No


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3. Motivating factor for buying a new cell phone.

For a cell phone consumer brand ambassador matters least to them while latest trends

matters the most.

4. Motivating factor for buying different products.

a) Motor vehicle

39

percent

fewer prices, 14

discounts an

offers, 15

brand

ambassodor, 6

latest trends, 65

fewre prices

discounts and offers

latest trends

brand ambassodor

f


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Luxury matters the most in final decision making for a motor vehicle consumer,

followed by self esteem.

b) Clothing

Celebrity matters most to a shopper, but in this case as well people wants to

follow the latest trends or fashion, that fashion could be initiated by a celebrity or

a brand ambassador.

c) Food Products

40

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

status fewer

prices

latest

trends

celebrity

percent

percent

48

12 1525

0

10

20

30

40

50

quality brandname clebrity attractivepackage

percent

percent


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Similarly quality of the product matters most to a food products consumer in the final

decision making, a celebrity might help them considerably in raising awareness of the

product but not in buying behavior.

5.

More then half the surveyed population believes that a celebrity helps an organization in

increasing its total revenue.

6.

Similarly around half of the surveyed people believe that a brand ambassador doesnt

always result in increase in the market share of the product, but 36% of them believe that

a celebrity mostly results in raising the market share.

41

percent

mostly true, 36

mostly not, 18

can't say , 46

most ly true mostly not can't say


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7.

Around 60% of the surveyed people believe that a celebrity like Shahrukh Khan and

Hrithik Roshan in an advertisement motivates them to buy that product.

8.

Around 60% of the surveyed people believes that a celebrity asks them to them buy the

product but they themselves dont uses their endorsed product.

42

12

58

30

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

yes no can'tsay

percent


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9.

Film stars are the most popular celebrities among all, followed by the cricketers and a

politician is least popular among the consumers as a celebrity brand ambassador.

10. Rating of different celebrities by the people.

Approx 65% of the surveyed people believes that Shahrukh Khan is a perfect brand

ambassador for Nokia Communication.

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b). Hrithik Roshan for Sony Ericsson.

Popularity of Hrithik Roshan as a brand ambassador is more then that of Shahrukh Khan

and very few peoples opinion is against him.

c). Priyanka Chopra for spice mobile.

Priyanka Chopra is not that popular as a brand ambassador as Shahrukh Khan or Hrithik

Roshan, 42% of people believes that she is just an average brand ambassador.

44

percent

74

22

4

0

0 20 40 60 80

excellent

average

poor

can't say

percent

32

42

18

8

0 10 20 30 40 50

excellent

average

poor

can't say

percent

percent


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11.

For a consumer, value for money matters the most followed by quality and prices, brand

ambassador matters least to a consumer in a the final buying behavior.

13.

Around 30% of the people are agreeing with the fact that a celebrity endorsement helps

an organization in reaching its goal, but around half of the surveyed people were not sure

about that as well.

45

percent

price, 12

qualityy, 14

value for

money, 64

celebrity, 10

price qualityy value for money celebrity


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14.

Around three fourth of he surveyed population believes that the prime purpose of a

celebrity endorsement is making the product popular, so that people may recognize it

easily.

15.

People think that the main drawback of celebrity endorsement is the very high cost

associated with that, celebrity vampirism of the product.

46

4

72

18

6

0 20 40 60 80

no new ideas

easy recognition

to increase sales

to follow competiors

percent

percent

32

8

6

54

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

celebrity vampires product

celebrity trap

trustworthness

high cost

percent

percent


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Profile of the surveyed people

Besides this all the surveyed people were students, their age lying between 21 years to

30 years.

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Findings

After analyzing the whole survey results, one can easily draw the following conclusions.

1. Cell phone penetration is very high among the youngsters, especially in the

metros.

2. Celebrity endorsement plays a very minute role in final decision making for

buying a new cell phone (6% only). A celebrity might help in easy recognization

and popularity of a product but not in final decision making.

3. If a consumer wants to purchase a new cell phone then latest technology matters

the most to him/her and brand ambassador matters least to them.

4. Effect of brand ambassador differs with different products, according to our

survey results, it matters most in case of clothing and food products. Because

people tends to be more choosy in case of high attachment and costly products

like cars.

5. A common man feels that a celebrity helps an organization in increasing their

total sales and hence the revenue.

6. A brand ambassador also helps in increasing the market share of the product.

7. Three fifth of the surveyed people feels that a celebrity like Shahrukh or Hrithik

motivates them to buy a product.

8. But vast majority of the surveyed people (60% approx) feels that celebrity

themselves dont use their endorsed products.

9. Film stars are the most popular celebrities among all, followed by cricketers.

10. More then 60 % surveyed people feels that Shahrukh Khan is the fittest brand

ambassador for Nokia Communications.

11. Popularity of Hrithik Roshan is slightly more then that of Shahrukh Khan as a

brand ambassador of a cell phone.

12. Priyanka Chopra is not that popular as a brand ambassador of cell phones as

Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan are. Just 32 % of surveyed people consider

her as a good brand ambassador of Spice mobile.

13. In final decision making, a value for money is most important for a consumer and

a brand ambassador matters the least.

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14. Around 75% of the surveyed people feel that celebrity endorsement helps an

organization in easy recognization of their products.

15. According to the surveyed people, the high cost of a celebrity is the biggest

drawback of celebrity brand endorsement followed by celebrity vampire effect.

Summary and managerial implications

The given principles were linked to specific managerial suggestions regarding more

effective use of celebrities to enhance brand equity:

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when used consistently over time

to increase the strength of the link between the celebrity and the endorsed brand.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when the ad execution is simple,

clean, and free of irrelevant design elements. Focus on the celebrity and the

brand together.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when using a celebrity who is not

already strongly associated with another product or service.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when using a celebrity with a high

fit, congruence, or belongingness with the endorsed brand. Celebrity endorsers can be used to effectively reinforce and/or create an image

for a product or service.

Test potential brand/celebrity combinations to ensure that the impression and

image of the celebrity is positive for the target audience.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective for less familiar brands.

Celebrity endorsers will be more effective for brands for which consumers have

limited knowledge/facts.

Celebrity endorsers will be more effective when integrated across the elements of

the marketing mix.

Caution in choice of celebrity endorser is warranted given the potential risk of

tarnishing the brands image.

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Conclusion

Celebrities have always been the easiest way for a new product launch (consumer goods)

and will remain to do so in the near future on account of their mass appeal and a world

full of star stuck loyal fans. But the impact on the brand is much greater than just an

advertisement showing a celebrity.

We have seen that the correct choice of a celebrity can surely increase sales but when it

comes to long term loyalty and impact on the brand. The effect is yet somewhat

debatable. In the end, the product must deliver for the customer, no matter who endorses

the product, if the customer does not see himself getting value from his purchase, he will

not buy it. But yes, celebrities over time can influence the loyalty and make a person

friendlier to a brand. Brand and celebrities are here to stay for a long time and in this age

of slick advertising and mass media and unthinkable budgets, celebrities are having a

field day charging huge amounts and making more money than their mainstream

professions. But then do they really care about the brand? Or is it just the money? But

the bottom line, celebrity endorsements are here to stay.

Let us accept one thing - the world of advertising and brand building does not believe in

the Laissez-Faire principle. Unless you reach out to the customer, make him think andnudge him that little bit, you will fall short of your targets and that is a cardinal sin,

given the competition. The brand managers work on an extremely sleek, thought-

controlling process which may be propounded as the Multiplier Effect. They are smart,

pragmatic people and know very well that Mr. Singh, sitting in his cosy home in Delhi

and watching his favourite action hero driving the brand new LX car model, would not

walk up to the car showroom next day and book one for himself. They offer simple

feelers like concept and lifestyle to him, which are inherent to the product advertisement,

with or without the celebrity endorsement.

With the use of the celebrity, this effect is shrewdly magnified so as to allow the

consumer to equate the personality and the brand together. Hence, whenever the

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consumer is watching the several images of her favorite actress alone, it conjures up

multiple impressions of her sipping the XY brand of coffee, each time.

The brand's ultimate goal is to be at the top of her choice bracket and it achieves this

goal by being omnipresent in her memory through related celebrity imagery. Does it

justify the obscene amounts of money paid to these celebrities? For firms with annual

turnovers in excess of Rs. 1000 crores, an endorsement deal of Rs. 5-6 crores for such a

response would indeed be a smart deal. In a Synovate/Blackstone Market Facts Survey

in India in late 2003, almost 47% respondents affirmed celebrity influence on their

purchase behaviour. That's a lot of people influenced by celebrity endorsement! Talking

about successful switchovers by celebrities among competitive brands, Aamir Khan had

a 78% top brand recall with Coke. But such transitions are rare and involve a lot of hardwork behind the scenes to dab any leftover effects of the celebrity's previous liaison with

the competitor.

While speaking of celebrities, we should be very clear as to who this term connotes to

and the powers they carry. Fido Dido for 7-UP, the Amul Girl or Tony the Tiger for

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes are as much a celebrity as any breathing face. They reach their

target consumer, they move the product, and they carry the brand. That's what counts. Of

course, the gestation period is higher in the case of such creatives, but in the event of a

hit, the comparative risks are minimized. After all, they cannot get drunk, attract a

controversy or commit a crime, as long as the management wants. In short, they are 'safe

floaters' vis--vis their unpredictable human counterparts.

Undoubtedly, there are many advocates for the clamp down upon the commercialization

of consumer emotions and money-making attitude of endorsers. But the celebrities have

circumvented these allegations by appearing in non-commercial advertisements. When

Aishwarya Rai appeals to the nation to donate their eyes while she personally pledges

them, she strikes a chord with millions of viewers. Shabana Azmi inspires a sense of

tremendous awe and respect while being shown as visiting HIV patients.

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This reverence is what is later harnessed by the brands in the commercial angle. You

grow in stature with the person. No matter how much we raise a hue and cry over one

celebrity being all over the place and marketing just about everything, it still works for

most of us.

Indeed, the premise that celebrity advertising has the power to propel a brand and drive

the sales can be argued. The Pareto Principle is widely debated and the 80-20 rule does

not have many takers in the advertising industry. That, "20% of advertising creates 80%

of demand or sales", may or may not be true. In either case it does not help. The word

remains that for a scintillating endorsement, you need much more than a glowing face

and aesthetic advertising. You should back it up with your operational and

communication skills.

Using a celebrity in advertising is no panacea and the success of this process depends on

several factors as discussed above. The careful selection of celebrity, matching the target

segment and brand values, should be inherently stressed upon. The advertisers can use

the Q Score, developed by a U.S. based marketing research agency, which considers two

factors - awareness and likeability, while evaluating the celebrity. Another important

factor is the flexibility with which the companies can go in for hedging the risks

associated in hiring a celebrity. They choose personalities from various fields or even

appealing to various consumer perceptions, so that they can minimize the damage in

cases of negative publicity due to any celebrity mistake. The cola brands spread their

endorsements across a wide 'variety' of celebrities such that even if one falls, the others

are still holding the fort.

In terms of the future, celebrity endorsements are here to stay. Their ability to cut across

the classes, caste barriers and apprehensions are simply too important to be sidelined.

They have been time-tested and delivered results repeatedly, given good hands. One

could continue to wonder if these celebrity-hawkers are worth the money and the

tantrums, but in a world of brand clutter and product muddle, celebrities seem to hit the

nail on the head, more often than not. And to be honest, let's look around ourselves, why

only Jane, we all in a little appreciation of those stars arent gazing back at us!

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Appendix -1

Studying Consumer perception for

Celebrity Endorsements.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am a student of SIVA SIVANI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT and I am

conducting a survey on Consumer Perception for Celebrity Endorsement. The

following questionnaire has been drafted to make me understand the needs and

expectations of the customers. Therefore I request you to kindly spare some time and

give me the following information. I assure you that the results of the study will be kept

confidential.

SECTION A

Questionnaire

1. Do you own a cell phone?

Yes

No

2. How do you purchase a cell phone?

On your own- With others-

3. If you wish to change your cell phone then what will be the motivating factor for

that?

Fewer prices

Various discounts and offers

Latest trends

Celebrity endorsing the product.

4. What is the purpose behind buying the following product

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a) Motor vehicle?

Luxury

Self Esteem

Brand Name

Celebrity

b) Clothing

Status

Cost

Brand Name

Celebrity

c) Food Products

Quality

Brand Name

Celebrity

Attractive Package

5. Do you think companies investing huge money, for using celebrities help them in

increasing their total revenue?

Yes

No

Cant say

6. Does the celebrity helps in increasing the market share of the companys brand?

Usually true

Usually not

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Cant say

7. Do you think, a presence of celebrity like Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan in an

advertisement encourages you to buy a cell phone?

Yes

No

Cant say

8. What do you think, do the celebrity themselves uses the product they themselves

endorse?

Yes

No

Cant say

9. On a personal note what kind of celebrity does you like the most?

Cricketer

Politician

Film star

Famous personalities

10. How do you rate the following celebrities as a brand endorser:-

a). Shahrukh Khan for Nokia.

Excellent

Average

Poor

Cant rate

b). Hrithik Roshan for Sony Ericsson.

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Excellent

Average

Poor

Cant rate

c). Priyanka Chopra for spice mobile.

Excellent

Average

Poor

Cant rate

11. What is the most important for you?

Price of the cell phone.

Quality of the cell phone.

Value for money

Celebrity endorsement

12. Do you think celebrity endorsement is an important thing in brand promotion?

Yes

No

Cant say

13. Do you think celebrity endorsement is really effective in reaching its goal?

Yes

No

Cant say

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14. According to you, what can be the reason for the companies to choose celebrities for

promoting their products?

No new ideas

Easy recognition of product

To increase sales and profit

To follow competition

SECTION B

1. Name: _________________(optional)

2. Income_________________

3. Gender: Male Female

4. Age:

13-19 20-30 30-40 40-50

50and Above

5. Occupation:

Service Business

Housewife

Student Others (Please Specify) _________

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Appendix -2

Bibliography

http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/dec/05guest.htm

http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles/Celebrity-endorsement.asp

http://www.coolavenues.com/know/mktg/surabhi3.php

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2008/04/09/stories/2008040950750500.htm

http://www.coolavenues.com/know/mktg/surabhi6.php

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/04/08/stories/2008040851250500.htm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1507842.cms

http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail/15671/Celebrity-endorsements-ensure-higher-

sale-Shahrukh-Khan.html

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=183

http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/Articles/Celebrity%20Endorsement1.htm

http://catalogue.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1998/cjsm/v2n1/dyson.htm

http://issuesinimc.wikispaces.com/Advantages+and+Disadvantages+from+using+celebri

ty+endorsement

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http://www.broadcastnewscorp.com/html/production.php

http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx4187&Title=White_Paper._Celebrity

_Endorsement_2008

http://www.asuku.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4649

http://www.nerve.in/subscribe.php?xml=brand_ambassador

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/Business/20070208/586975.html

http___www.emeraldinsight.com_Insight_ViewContentServlet_Filename=_published_e

meraldfulltextarticle_pdf_0070381109.pdf









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