Selection of celebrity endorsersA case approach to developing anendorser selection process model

Svend HollensenDepartment of Border Region Studies,

University of Southern Denmark, Sønderborg, Denmark, and

Christian SchimmelpfennigUniversity of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims at shedding some light on the various avenues marketers can undertakeuntil finally an endorsement contract is signed. The focus of the study lies on verifying the generallyheld assumption that endorser selection is usually taken care of by creative agencies, vetting severalcandidates by means of subtle evaluation procedures.Design/methodology/approach – A case study research has been carried out among companiesexperienced in celebrity endorsements to learn more about the endorser selection process in practise.Based on these cases theory is inductively developed.Findings – The research suggests that the generally held assumption that endorsers being selectedand thoroughly vetted by a creative agency may not be universally valid. A normative model toillustrate the continuum of the selection process in practise is suggested and the two polar case studies(Swiss brand Lindt and Austrian Vitatherm) are presented in depth.Research limitations/implications – As the results of the study suggest, generally held assumptionstowards the endorser selection process may be challenged. Consequently, this affects the necessaryaccuracy of models to evaluate the brand-endorser matchup.Practical implications – Conducted case studies indicate that there are various avenues how brandscome to their endorser. This paper could not find evidence of a best practice strategy.Originality/value – A normative model for the celebrity endorser selection process is suggested.

Keywords Endorsement, Branding, Celebrity endorser, Brand value, Brands, Product endorsement

Paper type Research paper

1. IntroductionOn average, one in five UK and one in four US advertisements feature a celebrity intoday’s marketing campaigns. On a global scale also roughly every fifth ad includes acelebrity, making endorsements a widely used and popular strategy among marketersto promote consumer products and services (Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta, 2010).

Celebrities star in TV commercials, appear in print advertisements of papers andglossy magazines or grin from billboards. Their support for featured brands andproducts comes along in form of testimonials in which they act as experts in areasrelated to their fame, their mere appearance in ads subtly influencing consumers, ortheir emergence at corporate events connecting a brand to their glamorous personality.

As consumers we are all exposed to such endorsements when watching television,listening to the radio, browsing in papers and magazines or walking the streets ofurban areas. We come across them on the subway when getting to the office on Mondaymorning or on Saturday night at the movies.

The rationale behind such endorsements is leveraging secondary brandassociations. In order to increase brand equity, marketers borrow associationsattached to other entities and link them to their brands, creating secondary brand

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available atwww.emeraldinsight.com/0263-4503.htm

Received 2 September 2011Revised 8 August 2012Accepted 10 August 2012

Marketing Intelligence & PlanningVol. 31 No. 1, 2013pp. 88-102r Emerald Group Publishing Limited0263-4503DOI 10.1108/02634501311292948

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associations (Kotler et al., 2006). It is argued that with such linkages consumers assumeor infer that associations characterizing other entities also are true for the linked brand(Keller et al., 2008). Hence, consumers consequently transfer any or all judgements andfeelings towards an entity to the endorsed brand.

As possibilities for brands to differentiate their products through its characteristicsand technical attributes have become limited we can observe a fundamental shift incompanies’ promotion; today, the emphasis of marketing communication efforts oftenlies on symbolic, emotional features generating more socio-psychological associationsin consumers’ minds (Carroll, 2008), such as leveraging secondary brand associations.

For secondary brand associations to be created Keller (1998) suggests eight categoriesto transfer positive image from; the usage of spokespersons being one of them.

And celebrities certainly provide a variety of positive images marketing managerswould gladly have their brands linked to. They can be seen as super-consumers, asexemplary figures that represent powerful and admirable selves everyone seeks and sostrong that even a glimpse of them in an advertisement conveys meaning (Carroll,2008). Besides, contracting a well-known personage almost certainly guarantees aminimum amount of consumer’s attention, media coverage, higher recall of the brandand credibility for its products (Majumdar, 2010).

Summing up, it can be said that the possibilities for brands to differentiateconsumer goods by performance specifications have become very limited. Creatingsocio-psychological connotations in consumers’ minds on the other hand, constitutesa more promising avenue for product differentiation taking into account today’sproduct variety available to consumers. Spokespersons being an effective meansof leveraging secondary brand associations explain the steady augmentation ofendorsement campaigns over the years.

However, celebrity endorsement campaigns also bear several drawbacks: improperbehaviour negatively affecting the brand, vampire effect, overexposure, usage ofcompetition’s products or lack of credibility are some issues brand managers may haveto deal with after an endorsement deal was signed. Not to mention exorbitant royaltiesbeing exchanged and expenses covered for accommodation, transportation and the likefor the stars and their entourage.

Hence, whether or not to engage a brand in some kind of endorsement deal needs tobe assessed carefully. Let alone the decision of who to finally appoint brandambassador. Given the many risks at hand scholars argue that identifying the rightcelebrity endorser is one of the most important decisions that can be taken for a brand(Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta, 2010).

2. Literature reviewCommon sense tells us that the same words uttered or written by different people canhave very different effects. This coherence explains why these so called “source effects”have been investigated by scholars for half a century by now.

Assisting marketing practitioners in their decision making, researchers haveexamined which characteristics of communicators are most effective for the targetgroup’s attitude to change. It was found that particularly important characteristics ofthe message sender are attractiveness and credibility (Solomon et al., 2006).

Building on research findings three models were developed to help explain whichtraits an endorser should have to successfully transfer positive meaning to a brand.The source attractiveness model suggests that an endorser should be attractive tothe target audience with regard to physique, intellectual skills, athletic capabilities

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and lifestyle. The source credibility model assumes that the success of a message ina marketing context is based on the perceived expertise and trustworthiness of theendorser. Finally, the meaning transfer model suggests that an endorser should alsopossess a set of traits compatible with those of the brand for meaning to be transferred(Roll, 2005).

Summarizing fundamental findings and theories Shimp (2008) developed the TEARSmodel according to which endorsers’ trustworthiness, expertise, physical attractiveness,respect and similarity significantly affect a campaign’s success. Additionally, Shimpsuggests eight crucial factors to be considered for making an endorsement campaignfavourable: celebrity and audience match-up, celebrity and brand matchup, celebritycredibility, celebrity attractiveness, cost considerations, working ease or difficulty factorand likelihood-of-getting-into-trouble-factor (Shimp, 2008).

Besides academics also marketing practitioners developed tools to advice inendorsement-related issues. Rather hands-on devises than comprehensive frameworks,tools such as Q rating and Davie Brown Index help marketers to find the mostappropriate ambassador for a brand. The Q rating by Marketing Evaluation Incconstitutes an established indicator to find the most famous celebrities (Hollensen,2010) and thus, can be used as an initial filtering layer in selecting celebrity endorsers(Erdogan, 1999). Furthermore, the Davie Brown Index set up by the agency Davie-Brown Talent is a helpful tool to measure the fit between an endorsing character and abrand. Based on the eight criteria appeal, notice, trendsetting, influence, trust,endorsement, aspiration and awareness the index intends to find the celebrity who bestmatches and represents the values marketers want its target audience to perceive(Glaister, 2006).

As this brief review shows, a considerable lot of research has been assigned to theunderlying concepts of leveraging secondary brand associations by means ofendorsements as well as traits necessary for an endorser to transfer meaning from.However, little research has been carried out to shed some light on the process amarketer seeking to engage in an endorsement deal is likely to go through (Erdoganand Drollinger, 2008), answering questions such as: which parties are involved? who tocontact? what is the procedure until finally a contract is signed? and so forth.

From a marketer’s perspective the question of the campaign’s process appears to beof major importance. For it determines who to contact and helps to get an estimate onthe campaign’s costs as well as workload for the marketing department. Besides, inendorsement in-experienced marketing managers may be curious to see how otherbrands initiate their endorsement campaign before embarking on such a venturethemselves. From an academic perspective on the other hand, the question of thecampaign’s process determines the necessity of subtle models to find the bestmatching endorser for a brand. Different parties are likely to tackle this challengedifferently as their expertise, experience, financial and human resources may varysignificantly. A creative agency specialized in celebrity endorsements can certainly beexpected to evaluate candidates’ appropriateness for an endorsement of a certain brandin a far more sophisticated manner than the marketing team of a small company wouldbe able to. As a matter of fact, whether or not an endorser is vetted through andultimately chosen by a highly professional and experienced agency is likely toaffect the degree of accuracy and precision that academic models and theories need tostrive for.

Thus, this study seeks to shed some light on the process of conducting anendorsement campaign to provide marketing practitioners with a basic guideline and

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an overview. Furthermore, marketing literature shall be enriched by providing anindication to which extend subtle models to matchup brand and endorser may berequired. Since our research indicates that the process is multifaceted in practisetwo contrasting in-depth case studies shall borderline the range. Subsequently,a normative endorser selection process model is suggested to further enrich marketingliterature.

3. Prior research on the endorser selection processThe widespread assumption seems to be that most of the endorser selection process iscarried out or at least guided by a creative agency which may be even specialized inendorsements. This presumption has revealed to us over the years in informal talkswith (in endorsement inexperienced) marketing managers. The fact that no research onthe overall selection process has been conducted or published yet further supports thisassumption (Erdogan and Drollinger, 2008). The only research on the process ofendorser selection available in literature focuses on the processes within advertisingagencies. In 2008 a pioneering study was conducted by Erdogan and Drollinger whoexamined the process by which advertising agencies select endorsers. Given the scopeand depth of this study this work can be seen as a ground-breaking achievement ininvestigating the endorser selection process. The results, which mounted in thedevelopment of a normative model of the selection process, shall be introduced brieflyin the following:

(1) Company’s marketing staff requests a campaign achieving certain goals withits advertising agency.

(2) Agencies’ teams discuss and evaluate various campaigns and finally moveahead with a celebrity-led campaign.

(3) Market research is carried out to find appropriate candidates.

(4) Agency gets in touch with pre-selected celebrities to clarify pre-conditions.

(5) Agency proposes the campaign to its client.

(6) After client’s approval final negotiations are conducted, which usually takeplace among company staff, agency staff and celebrity’s staff.

However, focusing only on the agencies’ internal processes the study neglects thatcompanies may directly ask an agency to work out an endorsement campaign or do notreach out to an agency at all. Furthermore, this normative model implies that celebrity-led campaigns are suggested by advertising agencies, research is carried out to findappropriate candidates, first contact is usually established by agencies andnegotiations usually do not include celebrities themselves.

Since other relevant research on the selection process has not been carried out orpublished yet, academic knowledge on the overall selection process appears to befragmented and needs to be further elaborated.

4. Research questions and propositionsIn order to further add to existing knowledge on the endorser selection processwe seek to find evidence either supporting or rejecting the assumptions madeby previous research. Hence our study seeks to shed some light on the wholeselection process examining interactions between various parties possibly involved.

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To achieve this objective the following research questions and propositions have beenformulated:

Do companies involve advertising agencies to find an appropriate endorser?

P1. Our proposition is that various companies may come to an appropriate endorserbecause of their agency’s evaluation. However, other companies may as wellcome up with candidates themselves.

If an agency was involved, was the endorsement campaign suggested by the agency orexplicitly requested by the company?

P2. Various companies may be carrying out an endorsement campaign becauseof their agency’s estimation that it would best achieve given marketingobjectives. However, other companies might have reached out to an agency toonly have vetted appropriate candidates after the decision of embarking on anendorsement campaign had been made.

Is there a subtle evaluation process vetting a candidates’ appropriateness to endorsethe brand?

P3. In case of the involvement of a creative agency we assume several possiblecandidates are weighed against each other and the brand-endorser matchupis properly reviewed. Should the company’s marketing department handlethe campaign without support of an agency we do not expect such evaluationprocess to be in place.

Are celebrities themselves and/or their agents involved in negotiations?

P4. Many times a celebrity may leave negotiating an endorsement deal to his agent.Due to exiting research gaps we do not know yet if this usually is the case.

5. Research methodologyAs previously argued, research on the process of endorser selection is very limited.Though endorsements extensively occur in marketing practise a theory of the overallendorser selection process has not been developed yet. Due to the lack of academicliterature, the complexity of the examined processes and the fact that the studyprimarily addresses the “how” (the endorser selection process works) we expectqualitative data to offer insights into the selection process that quantitative data cannoteasily reveal. Therefore theory-building rather than theory-testing research isnecessary. To develop a normative model of the overall endorser selection process wehave chosen to inductively build theory from case studies. In other words we aim tocreate a theoretical construct from case-based, empirical evidence. This approach islikely to produce theory that is accurate, interesting and testable and provides depthand insight into a little-known phenomenon. More precisely, a multiple case approachhas been chosen as this typically yields more robust, generalizable and testable theoryand also enables broader exploration of research questions and theoretical elaboration(Eisenhardt and Graebner 2008). Like multiple experiments a multiple case approachrepresents replications that allow the development of a rich, theoretical framework.

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Literature suggests that six to ten cases should provide compelling evidence to supportor reject an initial set of propositions (Yin, 1994; Yin 1981). This is to increase externalvalidity which reflects how accurately the results represent the phenomenon studiedand allows generalizability of results (Yin, 1981). For our research we have chosen toperform ten case studies to maximize the accuracy of the developed endorser selectionprocess model. For this to succeed, approximately 30 organizations have initially beencontacted. However, some of them were not qualified, interested or able to participate inour study.

Subsequently, the study’s results need to be tested against a larger population usingquantitative methodology for validation.

To get a picture of the overall selection procedure we have decided to conduct theresearch at the very start of every such campaign: the client. This is in fact a companytrying to increase awareness for its brand by embarking on a promotion campaign.The cases included in this study we have chosen based on companies’ track record incelebrity endorsements. Main criterion to be contacted has been an actual or previousengagement in celebrity endorsements. For practicability also geographical proximityhas been taken into consideration. For this reason companies headquartered in centralEurope – namely Switzerland, Austria and Germany – have been addressed.

To improve the reliability of the study’s results and hence to enable a replicationachieving the same results, we elaborated an interview guide which was part of thecase study protocol (Yin 2003; Miles and Huberman, 1994). Companies participating inthe case study have all been asked the following questions:

(1) Was a creative agency involved in the endorser selection process?

(2) If so, did you directly request a celebrity endorsement campaign with youragency or was such a campaign suggested by them?

(3) Did the creative agency come up with a set of possible candidates which werethen thoroughly vetted concerning their matchup?

(4) Was the celebrity personally involved in the selection process or only his/heragent?

In the course of the interview companies’ responses have been discussed into further detailand additional questions have been asked for better understanding and clarification.

In the following an overview of the participating brands and their endorsers (in caseof multiple endorsers a selection is listed) is provided:

. A.T.U. – Waldemar Hartmann (Germany);

. BMW – Stress (Switzerland);

. Castrol – Cristiano Ronaldo (Germany);

. EUNOVA – Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko (Germany);

. Lindt – Roger Federer (Switzerland);

. Maurice Lacroix – Bob Geldof, Justin Rose, Jimmy Wales (Switzerland);

. Rosbacher – Michael Schumacher (Germany);

. STOCKLI – Bruno Kernen, Daniel Mahrer (Switzerland);

. TISSOT – Michal Owen, Tony Parker (Switzerland); and

. Vitatherm – Hansi Hinterseer (Austria).

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As our study suggests, the avenues participating companies have undertaken tofinally being represented by a celebrity are multifaceted. To borderline the broadcontinuum two of the ten case studies will be presented more in-depth after anoverview of the results is presented. Those “polar types” are a particularly importanttheoretical sampling approach in which a researcher samples extreme cases in order tomore easily observe contrasting patterns in the data (Eisenhardt and Graebner 2008).In this study depicting such “polar types” gives a better understanding of the rangeof possible avenues available to companies to come to an endorser. By limiting the casestudies presented to the “polar types” we also intend to cope with the trade-off betweentheory and empirical richness as presenting a relatively complete and unbrokennarrative of each case of our study is infeasible due to limitations of scope (Eisenhardtand Graebner 2008).

6. ResultsIt came as a surprise to us how differently the ten examined companies ended up beingrepresented by a celebrity. Hence we conclude that the results of our study provide abasis to challenge the generally held assumption that endorsers are selected and vettedby creative agencies. So did the majority of interviewees indicate that the idea ofengaging a celebrity for a marketing campaign was initiated by the company’smarketing staff: seven of the ten interviewed companies responded that the actualor previous endorsement campaign was initiated by company staff and an agency wasnot involved in the process at all. Only three respondents reported agencies wereinvolved in some way. This result indicates that advertising agencies’ stake in theselection process of endorsers may not be as great as generally assumed. Also, wecould not find evidence that the size of the company and with it manpower of itsmarketing department or degree of professionalism allows any deduction whetheror not agencies will be involved.

Furthermore three companies have responded they focused on a certain individualright from the start, without vetting the appropriateness of their choice neitherweighing it against other candidates. In one case only one candidate was suggested bythe advertising agency which means alternative candidates might have beenconsidered by the agency. The remaining six companies have indicated that they didcompare and rank several candidates. However, only in two cases celebrities weresuggested and chosen due to a professionally carried out market research. Themajority – four companies – have reported pre-selected and ultimate candidates werechosen by a less objective and more subjective approach based on marketing staff’sexperience and personal perception of the fit between brand values and candidate’scharacteristics. This finding suggests that not in any case a company arrives ata particular ambassador due to a thorough and objective evaluation process.

Finally, the involvement of the celebrity itself in the selection process has beenexamined. Our interviews have revealed that in two cases negotiations were mainlyconducted with the stars’ agents. A personal get-together with the star and thecompany took place before the endorsement contract was signed though. Overall, thesetwo companies did not perceive the personalities to have a particular interest inthe brand or its values beyond the mere financial deal. In five cases companies haveindicated that celebrities did have a considerable stake in the process and wereinvolved in negotiations to a sizeable extend. Two companies even conducted allnegotiations directly with the endorsers without any agent being involved. In one casethe interviewee was not able to respond to this issue. We could not find evidence that

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the overall fame of an endorser explains the degree of his involvement in the process.In those cases without any agents being involved the star’s fame might play a key role.In the majority of cases in which an agent was involved to some extend marketingrepresentatives perceived celebrities’ personal interest in and commitment to thebrand variably strong. Relating the degree of perceived personal interest to thebrands’ characteristics we have found an indication that an endorser’s interest andcommitment might depend on the brand’s and its product’s perception in terms ofvalues, passion, tradition and the like.

7. Case study examplesThe two extreme cases shall now be sampled to convey a better understanding of therange of possible endorser selection processes (Plate 1).

Vitatherm by OMV/BP & Hansi HinterseerVitatherm: the brand name of a new heating oil distributed by HINNOVA (HeatingInnovations Austria GmbH) which is mutually held by BP and OMV. The new sulphurfree oil claims to be more efficient and environmentally friendlier than other fuels.

Hansi Hinterseer: the brand’s endorser – was born in 1954 in Austria and is aformer alpine skier. He won several alpine skiing World Cup races in Slalom skiing andGiant Slalom skiing. In 1994 he started a career as a singer and entertainer and is well-known pre-dominantly in German speaking countries.

Cooperation: the campaign was launched in October 2010 and the cooperation isscheduled until 2013. Besides advertisements in print media and direct mail alsoaround 1,400 billboard ads spread over Austria and roughly 1,000 TV advertisementsare planned.

Plate 1.Vitatherm advertisement

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Process: HINNOVA intended to further extend the marketing campaign for itsVitatherm brand increasing the brand’s recognition. In a workshop HINNOVA’smarketing staff and its advertising agency contemplated three different campaigns, acelebrity-led endorsement campaign among them. This option appeared to be mostconvincing and promising to the advertising agency and HINNOVA likewise andhence, was agreed on. In the course of the selection process a list with pre-selectedcandidates was presented by the agency. As an objective market research revealed,Hansi Hinterseer did best match the brand and would therefore represent it mostconvincingly. The contact to the star was established by HINNOVA’s creativeagency. Although a personal get-together with Hansi Hinterseer, the agency andHINNOVA representatives was arranged, negotiations were exclusively conductedwith Hinterseer’s agent.

Key facts: HINNOVA addressed its advertising agency requesting a campaignachieving certain objectives; the endorsement campaign was suggested by and workedout with an agency; a pre-selection of candidates was suggested by the agency; marketresearch was carried out to find the most appropriate candidate; communication wasdone mainly through the candidate’s agent.

Summing up: we can say that Vitatherm followed a rather objective and formalapproach in the endorser selection process. Decisions were made based on the expertiseof a creative agency which weighed various candidates thoroughly until finally anendorser was chosen (Plate 2).

Lindt & Roger FedererLindt & Sprungli: more commonly known as Lindt is a Swiss chocolate andconfectionary company. The company was founded in 1845 in Zurich, Switzerland andis one of the most traditional and known Swiss brands.

Roger Federer: is a globally known tennis player. He has won a male record 16Grand Slam singles titles and has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slamfinals. He has won four ATP World.

Plate 2.Lindt advertisement

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Tour Finals and 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments. He holds the record ofreaching the semi-finals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over fiveand a half years (2005-2010) and the record of reaching ten consecutive Grand Slamfinals. Sports analysts, tennis critics and former and current players considerFederer to be the greatest tennis player of all time. According to marketing expertsFederer appears to be the most attractive Swiss testimonial. He has a high degreeof popularity and a flawless image. Furthermore he represents performance, qualityand stability.

Cooperation: in October 2009 Roger Federer became the global brand ambassadorfor the world renowned chocolate brand. He is the first brand ambassador in the165 years history of the company. Together with the Maıtres Chocolatiers campaignthe celebrity endorsement campaign aims at increasing the popularity of LINDT inits global markets. The company also aims at encountering the consequences of thefinancial crisis which also has affected Lindt’s sales.

Process: some years ago Ernst Tanner, CEO and president of Lindt & Sprungli,sent a personal letter to Roger Federer, who resides in the vicinity of the company’sheadquarter at lake Zurich, inviting him to visit. A few days later Roger Federerindeed appeared and toured the company’s premises. As a result of this get-togetherthe idea of an endorsement cooperation was developing and finally realized.Negotiations were and are either carried out via Federer’s manager or with himpersonally.

Key facts: the endorsement cooperation was initiated by the company; an agencywas not involved in the selection process; other candidates were not considered; marketresearch to find the best spokesperson was not carried out; the endorser was and still ispersonally involved in negotiations with the company.

Summing up: we can say that Lindt followed a rather intuitive and emotionalapproach in the endorser selection process. Decisions made were based onexperience of marketing staff who best knows their brand and its values and hence,which campaign might be most successful and which personality may be the bestmatch.

8. Endorser selection process modelOur study indicates that there are various ways how companies end up carrying out anendorsement campaign with a celebrity. The depicted two contrasting case studies areonly two of the very many. In this section two normative models shall be introducedto demonstrate the borders of the possible continuum in a more theoretical format.In practise companies may deliberately choose or happened to pursue a selectionstrategy between those contrasting models (Figure 1).

The extended endorser selection process model constitutes the most extendedselection process, comprising multiple steps and stakeholders. In this model thecompany does not focus on a celebrity-led marketing campaign from the beginning.Foremost are specific objectives a to-be-launched campaign is to achieve. With thecampaign’s objectives in mind the company addresses its advertising agency whichconsiders various types of campaigns in light of the given objectives. The use ofan “expert” or a “common man” may be considered for an endorsement campaign aswell as a non-endorsement marketing campaign. After agency and client have agreedto pursue a celebrity-led endorsement campaign the agency comes up with a set ofpre-selected candidates. Pre-selection is based on objective market research to assurea proper fit between endorser and brand. Often pre-negotiations are carried out with

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pre-selected candidates as agencies like to avoid suggesting personalities who arenot available in the required timeframe, request a fee too high or, to make things worse,are not interested in representing the brand at all (Erdogan and Drollinger, 2008). Afternarrowing down the selection – taking into account endorser-brand fit and formallimitations – the most promising candidates are presented to the company.Characteristic for this approach is also a rather low involvement of the celebrityitself which means negotiations are usually conducted with the star’s agent via theadvertising agency (Figure 2).

[Step1] Company contacts advertisingagency requesting a marketing campaignachieving certain objectives.

[Step2] Among other campaigns a celebrityled endorsement campaign is discussed,suggested and finally decided on.

[Step3] Market research is carried out and alist with pre-selected candidates is preparedby the agency. pre-negotiations may becarried out with celebrities' agents beforecandidates are presented to the client.

[Step4] Pre-selected candidates arepresented to and discussed with the client.certain candidates move from a "short list" toa "shorter shortlist".

[Step5] Get-together with celebrity, agent,company and advertising agency may takesplace until final negotiations are conductedbetween agency and agent.

[Step6] Endorsement contract betweencompany and celebrity is signed.

Ext

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Steps in the processCandidates involved

Figure 1.Extended endorserselection process

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The compact endorser selection process model constitutes the least extensive selectionprocess comprising only few steps with lesser stakeholders involved. In this modelthe company focuses on a celebrity-led endorsement campaign right from thebeginning. Frequently the company’s marketing officers would have a desired endorserin mind from the outset. Advertising agencies are not involved in making the decisionto pursue an endorsement campaign nor are they consulted to find suitable spokesmen.Due to the company’s initial focus on a particular individual no evaluation process is inplace which would vet a pre-selection of candidates ensuring a proper brand-endorserfit. Characteristic for this approach is also a rather high involvement of the celebritywho is present at most negotiations and in direct contact with the company. Sometimesagents might not be involved at all, limiting the parties participating in the process tocompany and celebrity.

9. ConclusionThe results of our study provide a basis to question the generally held assumptionthat the endorser selection process is a pre-defined procedure with a definite set ofparticipating stakeholders. In the ten case studies we have conducted the avenues bywhich the companies have come to a celebrity-led endorsement campaign and to itsbrand ambassador are versatile. The suggestion to build a marketing campaignaround a celebrity may come from an experienced creative agency which has beenasked to work out a campaign achieving certain objectives. Then again, the decision topursue such strategy may as well derive gradually and internally as a particularpersonality has got marketing staff’s attention over time. Also the process of decidingon a certain individual appears to be multifaceted. It can be a formal procedurecarried out by a specialized agency including extensive market research, screeningQ scores and Davie-Brown-Indices or the application of other subtle tools to evaluatecandidates’ appropriateness. On the contrary, it can as well be that simple as acompany focuses on one particular person as from the beginning. In some cases a list ofpre-selected candidates might comprise tens of characters who move from a “short list”to a “shorter short list” while evaluations and negotiations are proceeding, whereas inother cases the decision appears to be made rather intuitive. Thus the finaldetermination may be based on a formal endorser selection process guided by a

Com

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Steps in the processCandidates involved

[Step1] Company decides to carry out acelebrity led endorsement campaign.

[Step2] Company's marketing focuses on aparticular candidate from the start who isbeing directly contacted or via his agent.

[step3] Negotiations are carried out withcelebrity (and his agent) and theendorsement contract between company andcelebrity is signed.

Figure 2.Compact endorser

selection process model

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practiced agency or as well on marketing staff’s experience, in-depth knowledge of thebrand and its values and ultimately a portion of intuition. Overall, the generalassumption that finding an appropriate celebrity for an endorsement campaignis usually taken care of by a creative agency could not be supported by our study.Nor that for the most part a subtle screening process is in place vetting brand-endorser-matchup.

Due to the qualitative nature of our study and its scope of ten case studies theimplications are limited. Nonetheless, we have demonstrated that we could not findevidence to support generally held assumptions concerning the overall endorserselection process. Furthermore, we have suggested an extended endorser selectionprocess model as well as a compact endorser selection process model which contrastthe two extremes of the full range of the endorser selection process we have found inpractise. Companies are likely to deliberately choose or happened to pursue a strategywithin the continuum indicated by those two models.

Subsequent to our theory-building study further research following aquantitative approach is necessary to validate the normative model developed. Suchvalidation on a greater scale might also allow a generalization and might indicate towhich magnitude companies follow either a rather compact or extensive endorserselection process.

10. Implications for marketing theory and practiceAs for the implications of our study, we believe that the results provide marketingliterature and practitioners likewise with new insights that may have consequences forprospective marketing research and endorsement campaigns, respectively.

As to the implication for academic knowledge we believe that our study providesprimary research in the area of endorser selection processes. Since the degree to whichcandidates are subject to a formal evaluation process has significance to the requiredaccuracy of developed models, further research on frameworks to better matchupbrand and endorser may also want to consider our findings.

The ten case studies conducted indicate that there are multiple ways in practisehow a brand ends up launching a celebrity-led endorsement campaign andhow its ambassador is chosen. However, we could not detect a prevailingselection process which could be considered state-of-the-art or best practise.Practitioners may therefore either have a suitable candidate suggested and vetted bya skilled creative agency or nominated based on marketing officers’ experienceand intuition. The conclusion which approach suits best, however, is individual andneeds to be left to company’s decision makers who at the end of the day know theirbrand best.

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Keller, K. (1998), Strategic Brand Management, Pearson, London.

Keller, K., Aperia, T. and Georgson, M. (2008), Strategic Brand Management – A EuropeanPerspective, Pearson, London.

Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L. (2006), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, Essex.

Majumdar, R. (2010), Consumer Behaviour – Insights from Indian Market, Phi Learning PrivateLtd, New Delhi.

Miles, M.B. and Huberman, A.M. (1994), Qualitative Data Analysis, Sage Publications, CA.

Roll, M. (2005), Asian Brand Strategy: How Asia Builds Strong Brands, Palgrave Macmillan,Basingstoke.

Shimp, T. (2008), Advertising Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated MarketingCommunications, South-Western, Mason, OH.

Solomon, M., Bamossy, G., Askegaard, S. and Hogg, M.K. (2006), Consumer Behaviour, PrenticeHall, Essex.

Yin, R.K. (1981), “The case study crisis: some answers”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 26No. 1, pp. 58-65.

Yin, R.K. (1994), Case Study Research, Sage Publications, CA.

Yin, R.K. (2003), Case Study Research, Sage Publications, CA.

Further reading

De Pelsmacker, P., Geuens, M. and Van den Bergh, J. (2007), Marketing Communications: AEuropean Perpective, Prentice Hall, Essex.

Ellram, L.M. (1996), “The use of the case study method in logistics research”, Journal of BusinessLogistics, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp. 93-138.

Hunter, E (2009), Celebrity Entrepreneurship and Celebrity Endorsement, ARK – Tryckaren AB,Jonkoping.

Patra, S. and Datta, S.K. (2010), “Celebrity endorsement in India – emerging trends andchallenges”, Journal of Marketing & Communication, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 16-23.

Rizzi, E. (2010), “Lindt & Sprungli droht der Federer-Overkill”, 20m Online, 2 February, availableat: www.20min.ch/finance/news/story/17225706

White, E. (2004), “Found in translation?”, Wall Street Journal, 20 September, available at: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109563985267321977,00.html

About the authors

Svend Hollensen received his PhD from Copenhagen Business School (CBS) in 1992, afterworking in industry. He has published articles in international recognized journals and is theauthor of the globally published textbooks at Pearson, e.g. Marketing Management, 2nd ed., andGlobal Marketing, 5th ed., which was published in July 2010. Indian and Spanish editions havebeen developed in co-operation with co-authors. The textbook Global Marketing has also beentranslated into Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Dutch. His research interests are withinrelationship marketing, globalization, global branding and internationalization of companies.Svend Hollensen is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: svend@sam.sdu.dk

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Christian Schimmelpfennig worked in product management with a French electroniccompany, after his traineeship in business within the industry. After this first practicalexperience he studied business administration at Georg-Simon-Ohm Hochschule in Nuremberg(Germany) while working part-time in product development of DATEV eG. He carried out furtherstudies in Malta before gaining postgraduate work experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers(Luxembourg) and Rodl & Partner (Germany). His MSc he obtained at University of SouthernDenmark (Denmark) and Universidad de Cadiz (Spain). Before joining HSG as Program Managerfor the Executive MBA and Global Executive MBA he was engaged with the MarketingDepartment of University of Southern Denmark for two years.

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