branding and celebrity endorsements

8/2/2019 Branding and Celebrity Endorsements

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Branding and Celebrity Endorsements

Nike is known around the world for being one of the most iconic brands. It was recently rankedas the worlds 31st most valuable brand in terms of its brand value USD10.8 billion by theannual Business Weeks global top 100 brand survey. In spite of many market maneuvers (such

as the recent merger between Adidas and Reebok), Nike has remained the leader in its category.Nike is also very well known for another aspect and that is its consistent use of celebrities toendorse the brand. In fact one of the most successful collaborations between a brand and acelebrity is that of Nike and Michael Jordan. So successful was the collaboration that Nike andJordan launched a new brand variant called the Air Jordan line of sport shoes. Nike pulled off avery similar coup in the sports industry when it joined forces with the ace golfer Tiger Woods toenter the golf category with its apparel, equipment and accessories. Nike had no experience ingolf before. Moreover, golf being a very elite game, it was generally considered that a brand likeNike would not be very successful. This might have probably been true had Nike chosen thetraditional path to building its equity in the golfing arena. But Nike chose to associate with thebest golfer in the world and have him endorse the brand. As is known today, Nike has emerged

highly successful in golf.

This channel now being used by many brands around the world raises some crucial questionsabout ways brands are built and also about the impact such collaborations have on branding. Isassociating with a leading celebrity the easiest way to build a brand? Should celebrityendorsement be the principal channel of brand communications? How can brands decide onpotential brand endorsers? What are the advantages and disadvantages of such endorsements? Iscelebrity endorsement always beneficial to the brand? How does a celebrity enhances a brandimage? Answers to these and many other related questions are the content of this article.

Celebrity Endorsements A brief introduction

Endorsement is a channel of brand communication in which a celebrity acts as the brandsspokesperson and certifies the brands claim and position by extending his/her personality,popularity, stature in the society or expertise in the field to the brand. In a market with a veryhigh proliferation of local, regional and international brands, celebrity endorsement was thoughtto provide a distinct differentiation. But over the years, many aspiring brands in Asia havejumped on to this celebrity endorsement bandwagon. Even though endorsements have taken on aquasi-industry stature, there is hardly any hugely successful collaboration as those of Nikes.There are many reasons for such a happening. The next section addresses this issue.

Essentials of celebrity endorsements

Even though to an observer it may seem that Nikes success is totally based on Tiger Woodsassociation with the brand, nothing can be far from the truth. As a brand, Nike has established avery strong brand identity and a brand personality over the years. What Nike did was to usecelebrity endorsement as one of the main channels of communicating its brand to a highlyfocused set of customers. So, Nikes association with Tiger Woods was one of the parts of anentire branding process that Nike has been practicing consistently. Contrary to this, most of the


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brands in Asia that have used celebrity endorsements have used it as the main brand buildingtool. Before any brand signs on a celebrity, they should consider three main aspects.

y Attractiveness of the celebrity: This principle states that an attractive endorser will havea positive impact on the endorsement. The endorser should be attractive to the target

audience in certain aspects like physical appearance, intellectual capabilities, athleticcompetence, and lifestyle. It has been proved that an endorser that appears attractive asdefined above has a grater chance of enhancing the memory of the brand that he/sheendorses.

y Credibility of the celebrity: This principle states that for any brand-celebritycollaboration to be successful, the personal credibility of the celebrity is crucial.Credibility is defined here as the celebrities perceived expertise and trustworthiness. Ascelebrity endorsements act as an external cue that enable consumers to sift through thetremendous brand clutter in the market, the credibility factor of the celebrity greatlyinfluences the acceptance with consumers.

y Meaning transfer between the celebrity and the brand: This principle states that thesuccess of the brand-celebrity collaboration heavily depends on the compatibilitybetween the brand and the celebrity in terms of identity, personality, positioning in themarket vis--vis competitors, and lifestyle. When a brand signs on a celebrity, these aresome of the compatibility factors that have to exist for the brand to leverage themaximum from that collaboration.

Even though these three major principles must be adhered to by companies, practically it mightbe difficult to find celebrities that satisfy all these three conditions. Depending on the nature ofthe brand and the kind of product being used, companies can selectively emphasize one factorover the other.

Celebrity endorsements Dos and Donts

All brands must be aware of some of the important aspects of celebrity branding as discussedbelow:

y Consistency and long-term commitment: As with branding, companies should try tomaintain consistency between the endorser and the brand to establish a strong personalityand identity. More importantly, companies should view celebrity endorsements as long-term strategic decisions affecting the brand.

y Three prerequisites to selecting celebrities: Before signing on celebrities to endorsetheir brands, companies need to ensure that they meet three basic prerequisites, namely

the endorser should be attractive, have a positive image in the society, and be perceivedas having the necessary knowledge (although it might be difficult for a celebrity to meetall three prerequisites)

y Celebritybrand match: Consistent with the principles discussed earlier, companiesshould ensure a match between the brand being endorsed and the endorser so that theendorsements are able to strongly influence the thought processes of consumers andcreate a positive perception of the brand.


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y Constant monitoring: Companies should monitor the behavior, conduct and publicimage of the endorser continuously to minimize any potential negative publicity. One ofthe most effective ways to do this is to ensure that celebrity endorsement contracts areeffectively drafted, keeping in mind any such negative events.

y Selecting unique endorsers: Companies should try to bring on board those celebritieswho do not endorse competitors products or other quite different products, so that thereis a clear transfer of personality and identity between the endorser and the brand.

y Timing: As celebrities command a high price tag, companies should be on the constantlookout for emerging celebrities who show some promise and potential and sign them onin their formative years if possible to ensure a winwin situation.

y Brand over endorser: When celebrities are used to endorse brands, one obvious resultcould be the potential overshadowing of the brand by the celebrity. Companies shouldensure that this does not happen by formulating advertising collaterals and othercommunications.

y Celebrity endorsement is just a channel: Companies must realize that having acelebrity endorsing a brand is not a goal in itself; rather it is one part of the

communication mix that falls under the broader category of sponsorship marketing.y Celebrity ROI: Even though it is challenging to measure the effects of celebrity

endorsements on companies brands, companies should have a system combiningquantitative and qualitative measures to measure the overall effect of celebrityendorsements on their brands.

y Trademark and legal contracts: Companies should ensure that the celebrities they hireare on proper legal terms so that they dont endorse competitors products in the sameproduct category, thereby creating confusion in the minds of the consumers.

These guidelines are intended to provide companies a useful framework that they can use whiledeciding on the celebrities to endorse their brand.

Conclusion

The important aspect that companies must note is that celebrity endorsements cannot replace thecomprehensive brand building processes. As branding evolves as a discipline companies must beextra cautious to utilize every possible channel of communication rather than just a celebrityendorsement. When all other steps in the branding process is followed and implemented, thenchannels such as celebrity endorsements can provide the cutting edge as it did for Nike.


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Sample Celebrity Endorsement Research Questionnaire:

Name of the researcher: _________________

Name of the concerned department: _______________

Status of the research: ________________

Date: ___/___/____

Q1. Tell us something about your objective behind conducting a celebrity endorsement researchprogram?

Q2. According to your opinion, what is the core motive of a celebrity endorsement research?

y Preferring the most demanded celebrityy Identifying the adequate requirements of a particular commercialy Evaluating the status of a celebrity in the markety Others, ________________

Q3. For this research, who is your core target from the following mentioned sources?

y Peopley Corporate peopley Previous recordsy Others: ________________

Q4. What source are you using for this research?

y Online surveyy Public interviewsy Opinion polls

Q5. What type of products or services are you targeting for gathering the sufficient feedback tocomplete the research?

y Luxuryy Cosmeticy Clothingy Accessoriesy Jewelleryy Furniturey Other, please specify: _____________

Q6. Are you considering a particular brand for this celebrity endorsement research?


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y Yesy Noy If yes, kindly specify the name: ___________________

Q7. How are you measuring their publicity value?

y By counting the per annum incomey Using TV adds to count on their publicityy Contacting people by using the above mentioned resource for the same

Q8. As per you opinion, which factor of the following is best for you for finalizing the suitablecelebrity for endorsing services or a product?

y Popularityy Incomey Impressive appearancey

Other: ________________________


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Questionnaire

1.Name: _________________( Not discretionary )2.3.Email residence : ______________ ( Not discretionary )

Gender:MaleFemale

Age:13-1920-3030-4040-5050 as well as Above

Occupation:Service BusinessHousewifeStudent Others (Please Specify) _________

2. What have been a motivating factors when we devise to buy mobiles or cars?Discounts as well as offersFewer pricesLatest models as well as trendsCelebrity endorsing a product

3. Do we hold products privately advertised by a celebrities have been of great quality?YesNo50%Not sure

4. What is a many persuading cause to squeeze a following products?

a) Motor vehicle?Brand Name

CelebrityLuxurySelf Esteem

b) Clothing

Brand NameCelebrity


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StatusCost

c) Food Products

Celebrity

Attractive PackageQuality

Brand Name

5. Companies have been investing vast amounts of income for regulating celebrities; do weconsider a assisting them to enlarge their sum revenue?

Yes

No

Dont know

6. Which TV channels do we watch? (Specifically Indian channels)

7. Does a participation of celebrities similar to Shahrukh Khan, AmitabhBachan or Aishwariya Rai in an announcement encourages we to squeeze a product or service?

Yes

No

Not sure

8. Do we hold a celebrities additionally operate those products that they themselves endorse?

Yes

No

Not sure9. What sort of luminary publicity persuades we privately to squeeze products?Film starFamous personalitiesCricketerPolitician

10. Please rate a following celebrities as a code endorser:-

a) Aishwariya Rai forLOreal

Excellent

Average

Poor

Unsure

b) Amir Khan for coca cola

Excellent

Average


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Firms endorse celebrity for a variety of reasons. It might be the life experience of thecelebrity that fits the advertising message or the endorser's high appeal with the firm'sconsumer target group. Studies associated with the market effect of celebrity endorsementsuggest that consumers positively value the use of celebrity endorsers in theadvertisements. Firms invest significant money in putting together brands and organisationswith endorser qualities such as attractiveness, likeability, and trustworthiness. But today's

dynamic market conditions make these investments unviable. In this paper we areattempting to discuss the positive and negative effects of celebrity endorsement with fewexamples.

History

Celebrities are involved in endorsing activities since late nineteenth century2. The advent ofcelebrity endorsements in advertising in India began when Hindi film and TV stars as well assportspersons began encroaching on a territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain ofmodels3. One of the first sports endorsements in India was when Farokh Engineer becamethe first Indian cricketer to model for Bryl cream. The Indian cricket team now earnsroughly Rs. 100 crore through endorsements. There was a spurt of advertising, featuring

stars likeTabassum (Prestige Pressure Cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev(Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings).

Mechanism and Theories of Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity endorsements give a brand a touch of glamour and the hope that a famous facewill provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market. In the battle for themind, you get the customer excited by showing him a known face, and an effective demandis created. In short it helps increase the recall value of the brand. A piece of research statesthat the target audience age group of 15-30 gets influenced first by cricketers, thenBollywood stars and only then music, festivals and food4.

According to Source Credibility Theory5, acceptance of the message depends on 'Expertness'and Trustworthiness' of the source. Expertness is defined as the perceived abilityof thesource to make valid assertions. Trustworthiness is defined as the perceived willingness ofthe source to make valid assertions. Audience acceptance increases with the expertness ofthe source and the ability of the audience to evaluate the product.

According to Source Attractiveness Theory,which is based on social psychological research,the acceptance of the message depends on familiarity, likeability and similarity. Familiarityis the audience's knowledge of the source through exposure; likeability is the affection forthe source's physical appearance and behavior while similarity is the resemblance betweensource and receiver. This theory explains the message acceptance in two ways:Identification and Conditioning. Identification is when the receiver or the target audience ofthe communication begins to identify with the source's attractiveness, and hence tends to

accept his opinions, beliefs, habits, attitudes etc. On identification, a quote from BijouKurien, COO, Titan, "We decided on Aamir because we wanted someone who is a biticonic,who is style-conscious himself, and somebody who cuts across both sex and age group,between urban and rural India. A celebrity who is mouldable and who is not over-exposed".Conditioning is when the attractiveness of the source is supposed to pass on to the brandafter regular association of the source with the brand.

Grant McCracken6 has criticized the previous two theories and proposed the MeaningTransfer Theory. The theory explains that a celebrity encodes a unique set of meanings


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which if well used can be transferred to the endorsed product. Such a transfer takes place inthree stages encoding meanings, meaning transfer, meaning capture (Figure 1).

I. Encoding Meanings: Each celebrity has a unique set of meanings, which can be listed byage, gender, race, wealth, personality or lifestyle. In this way, the celebrities encode a setof meanings in their image. For example Preity Zinta can be seen as a lively, charming,

bubbly, witty and enthusiastic.

II. Meaning Transfer: This stage transfers those meanings to the product. When skillfullyportrayed, celebrities can communicate this image more powerfully than lay endorsers.

III. Meaning Capture: This assumes that consumers purchase products not merely for theirfunctional value but also for their cultural and symbolic value. The theory says thatconsumers buy the endorsed product with the intention of capturing some of the desirablemeanings with which celebrities have passed on to the product. This is more eminent inlifestyle products like clothes, perfumes, cell phones etc.

Discussion

Does celebrity endorsement really work? Theoretically yes, because the qualities associatedwith the endorser are associated with the brand and the brand therefore remains at the topof the consumer's mind. However one needs to realize that the impact of an endorsercannot be sustainable in all product categories and in all the stages of brand life cycles. Itreally depends upon the type of product. If it is a 'functional brand', then the product itselfis the hero. Here any celebrity association with the brand without correspondingperformance of the product will not be sustainable. While incase of 'image brands', like thecategories of soaps, soft drinks, cigarettes etc., where it is difficult to distinguish betweenthe products, celebrity endorsements help to distinguish between the brands at anemotional level. A research conducted by Synovate7, a global market research firm,

revealed that 47% people would be more likely to buy a brand that was endorsed by theirfavorite celebrity.

Pepsi Co. has used a variety of celebrities including Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan, AmitabhBachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Khanna, Fardeen Khan, Sachin Tendulkar etc. Amongstadvertisements featuring celebrities, Pepsi tops the heap with the highest recall of 70%,while arch rival Coke is lower across all markets with 52% recall. This proves that Pepsi hasreally exploited the use of celebrities in their advertisements and has worked8.


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Hindustan Lever's 'Lux' soap in India has been using popular film actresses to endorse thesoap since its launch four decades ago implying that they owe their stunning looks to thebrand. This consistent message hence reinforces the brand values and has been successfullyable to position the soap rightly as the 'beauty soap'9 .

It would be difficult to judge the direct effect of celebrity endorsement on the sales or

profits of the company. On Amitabh Bachchan endorsing RIN, an HLL spokesperson saysthat it was too early to gauge the success of 'Rin' in terms of sales and that though Daburhealthcare products' sales had improved, the increase could not be solely attributed tohim10. Similarly, there are also cases wherein there was a dramatic change in the salesfigure after the endorsements. For example Rahul Malhotra, Associate Director Marketing,P&G India quotes "Certainly, it has helped us promote our brand 'Head & Shoulders'. Lastyear, we were ranked as No. 2 and this year we are market leaders in this segment withover 45% market share".

D. Garg, Vice-President (Marketing), Dabur India Ltd quotes, "A celebrity does help inincreasing brand sales, but only if he/she is selected carefully and used effectively. Thepersonality of the brand and the celebrity have to complement each other and the selection

of the celebrity is, therefore, very important."

Positive Impacts of Celebrity Endorsement on the Brand

Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the targetaudience. This is especially true in case of new product11. Celebrities ensure attention of thetarget group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the advertisement andthe brand more noticeable. A celebrity's preference for a brand gives out a persuasivemessage and hence, because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer willalso benefit. There is a demographic and psychographic connection between the stars andtheir fans. Demographic connection establishes that different stars appeal differently tovarious demographic segments i.e. age, gender, class, geography etc., while psychographicconnection establishes that stars are loved and adored by their fans. Some stars have auniversal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest among themasses. Another invaluable benefit from celebrity endorsements is the public relationopportunities.

Dwane Hal Dean12 studied the effects of three extrinsic advertisement cues viz. third partyendorsement, event sponsorship and brand popularity on brand / manufacturer evaluation.It was observed that endorsement significantly affected only product variables (quality anduniqueness) and one image variable (esteem). The third party endorsement hence may beperceived as a signal of product quality.

Goldsmith et al.13 assessed the impact of endorser and corporate credibility on attitude-toward-the-ad, attitude-toward-the-brand, and purchase intentions. 152 adult consumers

were surveyed who viewed a fictitious advertisement for Mobil Oil Company. They rated thecredibility of the ad's endorser, the credibility of the company, and attitude-toward-the-ad(Aad), attitude-toward-the-brand (AB), and purchase intentions. It was observed thatendorser credibility had its strongest impact on Aad while corporate credibility had itsstrongest impact on AB. The findings suggest that corporate credibility plays an importantrole in consumers' reactions to advertisements and brands, independent of the equallyimportant role of endorser credibility.


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Looking at the effect of celebrity endorsement on the wealth of a company a classicexample of Michael Jordan can be used. At the time of rumors of Michael Jordan returningto NBA in 1995, he was endorsing products of General Mills (Wheaties), Mc'Donalds(Quarter Pounders, Value Meals), Nike (Air Jordan), Quaker Oats (Gatorade) and Sara Lee(Hans Underwear). Study conducted by Mathur et al.14 associated with Jordan'sendorsements shows that the anticipation of Jordan's return to NBA, and the related

increased visibility for him resulted in increase in the market adjusted values of his clientfirms of almost 2 percent, or more than $1 bn in stock market value. From this study onecan observe that the major celebrity endorser with rumors or otherwise has a tremendouspotential to influence the profitability of endorsed products.

Semi-partial endorsement indicates that when a company uses famous characters from anyTV soaps for brand endorsements, consumers tend to relate to the character that he or sheplays in the soap and hence can attract more credibility. For example, Smriti Irani whoplays 'Tulsi' in a famous soap has garnered a lot of support from the middle-class housewifetoday. If she would endorse a brand, there would be more relativity and credibility. Samecan be said about Priya Tendulkar who used to play the character of Rajani.

Negative impacts of Celebrity Endorsement on the brand

More often talked about is the extreme usage of a celebrity called 'lazy advertising', that isinadequate content masked by usage of a celebrity15 . A good example is the use of BorisBecker by Siyaram and Steve Waugh by ANP Sanmar. Also as said earlier, associating witha star, in itself does not guarantee sales. There is also the fear of Brand-celebrity disconnectwhich points out that if the celebrity used represents values that conflict with the brandvalues, the advertising would create conflict in the minds of the target audience.

Clutter in brand endorsements is very prominent these days and such kind of over-exposurecan be bad for the brand as the recall value drops by a huge margin. A popular drawback ofcelebrity endorsement is the 'Vampire Effect' or the celebrity overshadowing the brand16.Some viewers forget the brand that a celebrity is approving. Others are so spellbound bythe personality of the celebrity that they completely fail to notice the brand beingadvertised. Two new drawbacks can be seen these days what marketers call Celebrity Trapand Celebrity Credibility17. Celebrity trap is when the celebrity becomes an addiction for themarketing team and the task to find substitutes becomes more and more difficult, leading tosurfeit of celebrities. Celebrity credibility refers to skepticism by the consumers regardingthe celebrities, especially when there is anything negative regarding the celebrity associatedwith the brand in the news, then brand is bound to be affected. For example, Air Jordan'sgenerated revenue sales of $130 million in the first year. The sales dropped miserably in thesecond year when Jordan missed 62 games due to a broken foot18. Another main worry ofthe advertisers is that their celebrity endorser would get caught in a scandal or anembarrassing situation.

Multiple product endorsement also has a negative impact on customers' purchasingintentions. Tripp et al.19 investigated the effects of multiple product endorsement bycelebrities on customers' attitudes and intentions. They found that the number of products acelebrity endorses negatively influences consumer perception of the endorser and theadvertising itself. It was suggested that when as many as four products are endorsed,celebrity credibility and likeability, as well as attitude towards the ad, may attenuate.

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan endorses multiple brands like Pepsi, Mirinda, ICICI, BPL,Parker pens, Nerolac, Dabur, Reid &Taylor, Maruti Versa, Hajmola, Tide, Cadbury and a few


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"A sign of a celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.

- Daniel J Boorstin

INTRODUCTION

The motif behind total branding may be decocted as an attempt to amalgamate diverse activitiesto win customer preference. Apropos to this context, the topic Impact of celebrityendorsement on overall brand, is a significant one. The crescendo of celebrities endorsingbrands has been steadily increasing over the past years. Marketers overtly acknowledge thepower of celebrities in influencing consumer-purchasing decisions. It is a ubiquitously acceptedfact that celebrity endorsement can bestow special attributes upon a product that it may havelacked otherwise. But everything is not hunky-dory; celebrities are after all mere mortals madeof flesh and blood like us. If a celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand, he or she can alsoexacerbate the image of a brand.

If I may take the liberty of rephrasing Aristotles quote on anger, Any brand can get a

celebrity. That is easy. But getting a celebrity consistent with the right brand, to the right degree,at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way... that is not easy.

Celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following motives:

y Instant Brand Awareness and Recall.y Celebrity values define, and refresh the brand image.y Celebrities add new dimensions to the brand image.y Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage.y Lack of ideas.y Convincing clients.

The scope of a celebrity on the incumbent brand:

Simply stating, a brand is a differentiated product and helps in identifying your product andmaking it stand out due to its name, design, style, symbol, color combination, or usually a mix ofall these.

Before we can scrutinize the effects of celebrity endorsement on the overall brand, we have toferret the implicit nuances that act as sources of strong brand images or values:

y Experience of use: This encapsulates familiarity and proven reliability.y

User associations: Brands acquire images from the type of people who are seen usingthem. Images of prestige or success are imbibed when brands are associated withglamorous personalities.

y Belief in efficiency: Ranking from consumer associations, newspaper editorials etc.y Brand appearance: Design of brand offers clues to quality and affects preferences.y Manufacturers name & reputation: A prominent brand name

(Sony,Kelloggs,Bajaj,Tata) transfers positive associations


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The celebritys role is the most explicit and profound in incarnating user associations amongthe above-mentioned points. To comprehend this, let us analyze the multiplier effect formula fora successful brand:

S=P* D*AV --the multiplier effect

WhereS

is a successful brand,P is an effective product.D is Distinctive Identity

and AV is Added values.

The realm of the celebritys impact is confined to bestow a distinctive identity and provide AV tothe brand; the celebrity does not have the power to improve or debilitate the efficiency andfeatures of the core product. Thus, we are gradually approaching an evident propositionclaiming,

The health of a brand can definitely be improved up to some extent by celebrity endorsement.

But one has to remember that endorsing a celebrity is a means to an end and not an end initself.

An appropriately used celebrity can prove to be a massively powerful tool that magnifies theeffects of a campaign. But the aura of cautiousness should always be there. The fact to beemphasised is that celebrities alone do not guarantee success, as consumers nowadaysunderstand advertising. They know what advertising is and how it works. People realize thatcelebrities are being paid a lot of money for endorsements and this knowledge makes themcynical 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 needsto match the product. A good brand campaign idea and an intrinsic link between the celebrityand the message are musts for a successful campaign. Celebrities are no doubt good at generatingattention, recall and positive attitudes towards advertising provided that they are supporting agood idea and there is an explicit fit between them and the brand. On the other hand, they arerendered useless when it comes to the actual efficiency of the core product, creating positiveattitudes to brands, purchase intentions and actual sales.

Certain parameters that postulate compatibility between the celebrity and brand image are:

yCelebritys fit with the brand image.

y CelebrityTarget audience matchy Celebrity associated values.y Costs of acquiring the celebrity.y CelebrityProduct match.y Celebrity controversy risk.y Celebrity popularity.y Celebrity availability.


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y Celebrity physical attractiveness.y Celebrity credibility.y Celebrity prior endorsements.y Whether celebrity is a brand user.y Celebrity profession.

Successful celebrity endorsements for a brand- An Indian perspective

The latter part of the '80s saw the burgeoning of a new trend in India brands started beingendorsed by celebrities. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons were roped in toendorse prominent brands. Advertisements, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressurecookers), 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 ofthis, 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 theimpediment that an unknown Korean brand faced in the Indian market. The objective was togarner faster brand recognition, association and emotional unity with the target group. Starpower in India can be gauged by the successful endorsement done by Sharukh for three honchos-Pepsi, Clinic All Clear and Santro. Similarly, when S Kumars used Hrithik Roshan, then thehottest advertising icon for their launch advertising for Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 -50 per cent less on media due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was as high as 70per cent, and even the normally conservative trade got interested.

In the Indian context, it would not be presumptuous to state that celebrity endorsements canaggrandize 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 wasa first for them. The result was a ubiquitously appealing Aamir cheekily stating Thanda matlabCoca 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 revitalizethe 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.

India is one country, which has always idolized the stars of the celluloid world.Therefore it makes tremendous sense for a brand to procure a celebrity for its endorsement. InIndia there is an exponential potential for a celebrity endorsement to be perceived as genuinelyrelevant, thereby motivating consumers to go in for the product. This would especially prove trueif the endorser and the category are a natural lifestyle fit like sportspersons and footwear, Kapil-Sachin and Boost or film stars and beauty products.

Some Global Examples:

Globally, firms have been juxtaposing their brands and themselves with celebrity endorsers.Some successful ongoing global endorsements are as follows:


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y Celebrity endorsements have been the bedrock ofPepsi's advertising. Over the years,Pepsi has used and continues to use a number of celebrities for general market andtargeted advertising, including Shaquille O'Neal, Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean, and BustaRhymes, who did a targeted campaign for their Mountain Dew product.

y George Foreman for Meineke. He has also sold more than 10 million Lean Mean Fat--Reducing Grilling Machines since signing with the manufacturing company.

y James Earl Jones for Verizon and CNN.y Nike golf balls, since the company signed Tiger Woods in 1996, have seen a $50 million

revenue growth. Nike's golf line grossed more than $250 million in annual sales. In 2000he renegotiated a five-year contract estimated at $125 million.

y Other successful endorsements like NikeMichael Jordan, DunlopJohn McEnroe,AdidasPrince Naseem Hamed, and so on.

y Venus Williams, tennis player and Wimbledon champion has signed a five-year $40million contract with sportswear manufacturer Reebok International Inc.

Advantages of a celebrity endorsing a Brand

Brands have been leveraging celebrity appeal for a long time. Across categories, whether inproducts or services, more and more brands are banking on the mass appeal of celebrities. Assoon as a new face ascends the popularity charts, advertisers queue up to have it splashed allover. Witness the spectacular rise of Sania Mirza and Irfan Pathan in endorsements in a matter ofa few months. The accruement of celebrity endorsements can be justified by the followingadvantages that are bestowed on the overall brand:

y Establishment of Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust forthat brand among the target audience- this is especially true in case of new products. Wehad 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 thebrand.y EnsuredAttention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking the clutter

of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable.y PR coverage : is another reason for using celebrities. Managers perceive celebrities as

topical, which create high PR coverage. A good example of integrated celebritycampaigns is one of the Worlds leading pop groups, the Spice Girls, who have not onlyappeared in advertisements forPepsi, but also in product launching and PR events.Indeed, celebrity-company marriages are covered by most media from television tonewspapers (e.g. The Spice Girls and Pepsi)

y Higher degree of recall: People tend to commensurate the personalities of the celebritywith the brand thereby increasing the recall value. Golf champion Tiger Woods hasendorsed 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.

y 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.

y Mitigating a tarnished image: Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer'sconfidence in its chocolate brands following the high-pitch worms controversy; so thecompany appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job. Last year, when the even more


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controversial pesticide issue shook up Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and resulted in muchnegative press, both soft drink majors put out high-profile damage control ad filmsfeaturing their best and most expensive celebrities. While Aamir Khan led the Cokefightback as an ingenious and fastidious Bengali who finally gets convinced of theproduct'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 productindirectly.y 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.y Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic

segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.).y Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to

generate interest among the masses.y Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life into the stagnant

chyawanprash category and staving off competition from various brands, Dabur Indiaroped in Bachchan for an estimated Rs 8 crore.

yCelebrity endorsement can sometimes compensate for lack of innovative ideas.

Disadvantages of a celebrity endorsing a brand:

The celebrity approach has a few serious risks:

1. The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after he/she has endorsed the product:Pepsi Cola's suffered with three tarnished celebrities - Mike Tyson, Madonna, andMichael Jackson. Since the behaviour of the celebrities reflects on the brand, celebrityendorsers may at times become liabilities to the brands they endorse.

2. The vampire effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of a celebrity overshadowingthe brand. If there is no congruency between the celebrity and the brand, then theaudience will remember the celebrity and not the brand. Examples are the campaigns ofDawn FrenchCable Association and Leonard RossiterCinzano. Both of thesecampaigns 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 hisor her popularity due to some lapse in professional performances. For example, whenTendulkar went through a prolonged lean patch recently, the inevitable question thatcropped up in corporate circles - is he actually worth it? The 2003 Cricket World Cupalso threw up the Shane Warne incident, which caught Pepsi off guard. With theAustralian cricketer testing positive for consuming banned substances and his subsequentwithdrawal from the event, bang in the middle of the event, PepsiCo - the presentingsponsor of the World Cup 2003 - found itself on an uneasy wicket

4. Multi brand endorsements by the same celebrity would lead to overexposure: Thenovelty of a celebrity endorsement gets diluted if he does too many advertisements. Thismay be termed as commoditisation of celebrities, who are willing to endorse anything forbig bucks. Example, MRF was among the early sponsors of Tendulkar with its logoemblazoned on his bat. But now Tendulkar endorses a myriad brands and the novelty ofthe Tendulkar-MRF campaign has scaled down.


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5. Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another (competitor): Sainsburysencountered a problem with Catherina Zeta Jones, whom the company used for its recipeadvertisements, when she was caught shopping in Tesco. A similar case happened withBritney Spears who endorsed one cola brand and was repeatedly caught drinking anotherbrand of cola on tape.

6. M

ismatch between the celebrity and the image of the brand: Celebrities manifest acertain persona for the audience. It is of paramount importance that there is an egalitariancongruency between the persona of the celebrity and the image of the brand. Eachcelebrity portrays a broad range of meanings, involving a specific personality andlifestyle. Madonna, for example, is perceived as a tough, intense and modern womenassociated with the lower middle class. The personality ofPierce Brosnan is bestcharacterized as the perfect gentlemen, whereas Jennifer Aniston has the image of thegood girl from next door.

CONCLUSION

Despite the obvious economic advantage of using relatively unknown personalities as endorsersin advertising campaigns, the choice of celebrities to fulfill that role has become commonpractice for brands competing in today's cluttered media environment. There are several reasonsfor such extensive use of celebrities. Because of their high profile, celebrities may helpadvertisements stand out from the surrounding clutter, thus improving their communicativeability. Celebrities may also generate extensive PR leverage for brands. For example, whenRevlon launched the "Won't kiss off test" for its Colorstay lipsticks in 1994 with Cindy Crawfordkissing reporters, the campaign featured on almost every major news channel and equally widelyin the press. A brief assessment of the current market situation indicates, that celebrityendorsement advertising strategies can, under the right circumstances, indeed justify the highcosts associated with this form of advertising.

But it would be presumptuous to consider celebrity endorsement as a panacea for all barricades.Celebrity endorsement if used effectively, makes the brand stand out, galvanizes brand recall andfacilitates instant awareness. To achieve this, the marketer needs to be really disciplined inchoice of a celebrity. Hence the right use of celebrity can escalate the Unique Selling Propositionof a brand to new heights; but a cursory orientation of a celebrity with a brand may prove to beclaustrophobic for the brand. A celebrity is a means to an end, and not an end in himself/herself.


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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of theauthor(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.


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branding and celebrity endorsements

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