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IMPACT OF CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENTS ON
OVERALL BRAND
{Searching for the Right Match}
CONTENTS
P.NO.
1. ITRODUCTION
2. SYNOPSIS
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11
13
18
21
22
24
26
32
40
42
55
17. CONCLUSION
58
18. REFERENCES
67
INTRODUCTION
The modern world of marketing communication has become
colorful and inundated with advertisements, and it is hard to get
noticed. It is an uphill task for the designer of an advertising
campaign to differentiate itself from others and attract viewers
attention.
Everyday consumers are exposed to thousands of voices and
images in magazines, newspapers, and on billboards, websites,
radio and television. Every brand attempts to steal at least a
fraction of an unsuspecting persons time to inform him or her of
the amazing and different attributes of the product at hand. The
challenge of the marketer is to find a hook that will hold the
subjects attention.In helping to achieve this, use of celebrity
endorsers is a widely used marcom strategy.
In this jet age, people tend to ignore all commercials and
advertisements while flipping through the magazines and
newspapers or viewing TV. But even then, the glamour of a
celebrity seldom goes unnoticed. Thus, celebrity endorsement in
advertisement and its impact on the overall brand is of great
significance. In this process, the companies hire celebrities from a
particular field to feature in its advertisement campaigns. The
promotional features and images of the product are matched with
the celebrity image, which tends to persuade a consumer to fix up
his choice from a plethora of brands. Although this sounds pretty
simple, but the design of such campaigns and the subsequent
success in achieving the desired result calls for an in-depth
understanding of the product, the brand objective, choice of a
celebrity, associating the celebrity with the brand, and a framework
for measuring the effectiveness.
Companies invest large sums of money to align their brands and
themselves with endorsers. Such endorsers are seen as dynamic
with both attractive and likeable qualities and companies plan that
these qualities are transferred to products via marcom activities.
Furthermore, because of their fame, celebrities serve not only to
create and maintain attention but also to achieve high recall rates
for marcom messages in todays highly cluttered environments.
SYNOPSIS
Successful branding programs are based on the concept of
singularity. The objective is to create in the mind of the prospect
the perception that there is no other product on the market quite
like your product.
- Al Ries & Laura Ries
Indian advertising started with the hawkers who used to call out
their wares right from the days when cities and markets first
began. With this evolved a strategy that tried to benefit from the
emotional attachment of the admirers or the fans of the celebrities;
in the form of celebrity endorsement.
Paper tries to understand the process of consumer psychology
and impact of celebrity endorsement on the overall process of
brand building. The in-depth study of various models brings to light
the complexities pertaining to celebrity endorsement. A symbiotic
model has been proposed to define: how to make celebrity
endorsement a win-win situation for both the brand and the brandendorser. Brand is the most valuable asset of any firm. Any
thoughtless adventure can be like the Sword of Damocles. Its the
strong idea of promotion which is a more strategic means of
brand-building; which can be an economical alternative over
celebrity endorsement.
It doesnt matter how new an idea is; what matters is how new it
becomes.
- Elias Canetti
If youre trying to persuade people to do something, or buy
something, it seems to me you should use their language, the
language in which they think.
- David Ogilvy
This paper rifles through the concept of celebrity endorsement and
provides insights on what it is and how the increasing number of
endorsements, throw a valid question to the consumers. Is there a
science behind the choice of these endorsers or is it just by the
popularity measurement? What are the reasons which lead to
impact of celebrity endorsement on brands?
Through research and analysis, this paper emerges with a 14-point
model which can be used as blue-print criteria and can be used by
brand managers for selecting celebrities, and capitalizes the
celebrity resource through 360 degree brand communication since
our research proposes it as the foundation brick of the impact of
celebrity endorsement. Our study reveals that the impact of
celebrity endorsement is proportional to the 14 factors discussed in
the model.
The success of a brand through celebrity endorsement is a
cumulative of the 14 attributes. Greater the score of the below
greater are the chances of getting close to the desired impact.
The general belief among advertisers is that brand communication
messages delivered by 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 todays highly competitive environment.
DEFINITION OF CELEBRITIES
Celebrities are people who enjoy specific public recognition by a
large number of certain groups of people. They have some
characteristic attributes like attractiveness, extraordinary lifestyle
or special skills that are not commonly observed. Thus, it can be
said that within a society, celebrities generally differ from the
common people and enjoy a high degree of public awareness.
According to Friedman and Friedman, a celebrity endorser is an
individual who is known by the public for his or her achievements
in areas other than that of the product class endorsed. Compared
to other endorser types, famous people always attach a greater
degree of attention, recall and loyalty.
According to Melissa St. James, a doctoral fellow and marketing
instructor at The George Washington University, Studies show
that using celebrities can increase consumers awareness of the
ad, capture [their] attention and make ads more memorable.
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Lack of ideas
Convincing clients
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14
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Celebrity-Product Match
Cyrus Broacha is the brand ambassador for MTV since both the
celebrity and the brand are considered as friendly, young, moodboosting, humorous and outspoken. MTVs brand personality
overlaps Cyrus Broachas image as a brand.
Some more examples of compatible celebrity product match in
which celebrity brand attributes get transferred to the brand and
increases the brand equity is of Govinda & Navratan Tel,
Aishwarya Rai & Nakshatra, etc.
Celebrity Controversy Risk
The perfect example here is of Salman Khan and the controversy
in which he crushed a man to death with his Pajero when he was
driving under the influence of alcohol. Also, any act on the part of
the endorser that gives him a negative image among the audience
and goes on to affect the brands endorsed. The brand, in most
instances, takes a bashing.
Celebrity Popularity
Celebrity Brand association like Garnier endorsed Tara Sharma &
Simone Singh, Agni Diamonds & Riama Sen dont get much brand
recall, and even if they do, its difficult to attribute it to the
celebrities endorsing the brand.On the other hand, HPCL has had
increased popularity and share of voice due to the endorsement of
the brand through Sania Mirza.
Celebrity Availability
In case of various brands, there are situations in which they prefer
to go without a brand face, since there is no brand-fit between the
celebrities available and the brand. Also, due to multiple
endorsements by certain celebrities, brands refuse to adopt
celebrity endorsement since they fear dilution of the brand image.
Celebrity Physical Attractiveness
John Abraham endorsing Wrangler and Timex Sunglasses are
some examples which portray the celebrities physical
attractiveness that helps create an impact.
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Celebrity Credibility
The most important aspect and reason for celebrity endorsement
is credibility. In a research carried out among 43 ad agencies and
companies, most experts believed that the most important
dimensions of credibility are trustworthiness and prowess or
expertise with regard to the recommended product or service. One
of the most obvious reasons of Amitabh Bachchan endorsing
plethora of brands is the credibility of the celebrity and his
recognition across consumers.
To site one of the most successful campaigns in which the
celebritys credibility has had an indelible impact on the brand and
has saved the brand is of Cadburys. After the worm controversy,
Amitabh Bachchans credibility infused into the brand through the
campaign, helping it to get back on track. The campaign has won
an award for the same.
Multiple Endorsements
Not many people can remember all the brands that a celebrity
endorses and the chances of losing brand recall increases if the
celebrity endorses multiple brands. For example, in case of Sachin
Tendulkar people recall Pepsi, TVS Victor and MRF, but might not
remember brands like Britannia and Fiat. Similarly, for Amitabh
Bachchan, consumers remember ICICI, Pepsi, Parker Pens, Pulse
Polio and BPL. They might get confused in the endorsement of
Nerolac or Asian Paints. Thus, for multiple endorsements where
the same celebrity endorses several brands, it boils down to the
strength of the brand and the advertising content.
Whether Celebrity is a Brand User
Various celebrities endorse NGOs and social causes since they
believe in the social message that they need to convey to the
audience. One of the most successful campaigns has been
executed by PETA in which celebrities like Shilpa Shetty, Amisha
Patel, Yana Gupta, Sheetal Malhar, Mahima Choudhary claimed to
believe in PETAs philosophy, and thereby endorse the brand.
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RISKS
ASSOCIATED
ENDORSEMENT
WITH
CELEBRITY
22
what
the
celebrity
is
going
to
CELEBRITY SELECTION
There are various scientific ways in which the right celebrity is
selected for the product endorsement, which are discussed here
after
Stereotyping
Tellis defines stereotypes as perceptions and depictions of
individuals based on simplistic, biased image of the group to which
they belong, rather than on their own individual characteristics. For
example: its better to select celebrities who say are teens for
chocolate advertisements and females for detergent ads, etc.
23
Celebrity credibility,
Celebrity attractiveness,
Cost consideration,
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A likelihood-of-getting-into-trouble factor
Selecting the right celebrity does more than increasing sales; it can
create linkages with the celebrities appeal, thereby adding new
dimension to the brand image. Research conducted by Katherine
Eckel has revealed that celebrities can get people to make a
better choice but cannot influence people to make a foolish
choice.
The success of celebrity endorsement in India can be sought from
a market research conducted earlier which found that 8 out of 10
TV commercials scored the highest recall were those with celebrity
appearances. A few examples: Sachin Tendulkar - Adidas, Sourav
Ganguly - Britannia, Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupati - J.
Hampstead, Shah Rukh Khan - Pepsi, Sushmita Sen - Epson, and
Aishwarya Rai - Coke.
CELEBRITY
INVOLVED
ENDORSEMENT:
THE
ISSUES
Multiple Brand
Endorsement
Endorsement
vs.
Multiple
Celebrity
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30
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with the celebrity. By gauging the top-of-mind recall can enable the
company to find out if a connection is made between the brand
and celebrity.
32
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The Reasons
According to leading management thinker, Dr. Seamus Phan,
Many celebrity endorsements fail because they identify a celebrity
they like in an emotive and un-researched manner and then try to
create advertising to force-fit the celebrity into the creative
concept. Therefore, the advertisers must associate the celebrity to
the advertisement and not vice versa. Thinking on the similar lines,
the advertisers shouldnt identify the brand to associate with the
celebrity but do vice versa.
34
The Solutions
As discussed, celebrity management is very crucial to avoid the
brand-celebrity disconnect, and subsequently, brand failures. If the
consumers have questions in their minds regarding the quality or
performance of the product then even God cannot save the brand.
The obvious solution to the problem of overshadowing is to make
sure that both the advertisement and the celebrity are focused on
the brand or product. To avoid any bad publicity arising out of
celebrity defames, companies may resort to multiple celebrity
endorsement. For Example: Pepsi while capitalizing on the
popularity of cricket and films in India used several cricketers and
film stars in their ads. So when Azharuddin and Jadeja got
embroiled in the match-fixing controversy, Pepsi severed its
association only with these stars, but its relationship with cricket
continued.
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IMPACT-ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK
According to our study, the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers is
not independent, but is moderated by several factors like celebrity attractiveness and credibility, product-celebrity match,
message and product type, level of involvement, number of
endorsements by celebrities, target receiver characteristics and
overall meanings (e.g. personality, values, standards) attached to
celebrities. Besides these factors, environmental factors, regulative
issues and compatibility with overall marketing strategy also
influence the impact of the endorser.
We focus our study on the following categories .
The targeted consumer
The celebrity endorser
The product
None of these factors can independently achieve a positive impact
on the consumer; hence there exists an indispensable need for
these factors to have certain characteristics and a tactical fit
amongst themselves.
Market Environment
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A. Factors
I. Product
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III. Consumer
Consumer is the factor being wooed by the company/product using
the endorser. Hence, both the product & the endorser need to
meet the expectations of the consumer, thus making it critical to
understand consumer reactions to a given stimulus and product
category in differing circumstances.
B. Interactions
I. Consumer - Endorser (C-E Interaction)
Sudden change of the celebrity image
Drop in popularity of the celebrity
Loss of credibility due to over-endorsing
Disappearance of celebrity out of media flashlight
II. Brand - Endorser (B-E Interaction)
Every brand has a personality and the traits found in the brands
should be reflected in the celebrity too. A mismatch leads to
confused audience and lack of brand recall.
Worse, in some cases it might even lead to association of the
celebrity with the competitors brand (e.g., Nerolac Paints where
Amitabh Bachchan being a brand endorser of Nerolac paint was
perceived to be associated with Asian Paints).
Is Celebrity Endorsement Always the Best Method for
Promoting a Brand?
40
C. Influencers
I. Market Environment
It indirectly impacts the effectiveness of a campaign. Celebrity
campaigns create stronger impact in saturated markets as
products lack differentiation and clutter is huge. E.g., Indian soft
drink industry heavily depends on celebrity endorsement for
promotion.
II. Marketing Strategy
Both single celebrity endorsing multiple products and multiple
celebrities endorsing single product at the same time reduces
association of product and celebrity and reduces impact (e.g.,
Pepsi - where multiple celebrities are endorsing the product at the
same time which takes the brand away from getting associated/
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(7) Spoofing
Mirinda spoofed the Hutch puppy (a celebrity in its own right).
(8) Mascots
Ronald McDonald, the Amul girl
(9) Men are from Mars, Women from Venus
John Abraham lends his rugged image to Yamaha bikes while Priety Zinta
lends her cute dimples to peddle Scooty.
(10) Celebrities Lending their Name to Brands
Sharukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha have perfumes named after
them
(11) Company Owners Being Celebrities
Vijay Mallaya and Richard Branson who are walking talking celebrities
and endorse their own brands through their extravagance, their
flamboyant lifestyle
(12) Political Leaders
The 'India Shining' campaign from the BJP and the 'Congress ka haath
aam aadmi ke saath' campaign from the Congress with Vajpayee and
Sonia Gandhi lending their faces
(13) Using a Social Proposition Built Within the Brand
The Surf campaign done by Revathy and Shabana Azmi (in the
south and north respectively) which stressed on the prudent usage
of valuable water was a social proposition cleverly inter-woven in
the brand.
(14) Duration of Usage - Promotional or Long Term Strategy
Short-term example is the Rani Mukherjee campaign for Bata
which is believed to have helped boost sales for the ladie's
footwear brand, Sundrop, by a whopping 500 per cent. The same
Rani Mukherjee has a longer association with Fanta and Munch.
(15) Stealth Advertising
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SELECTION OF CELEBRITY
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Model Development
For the purpose of our study, we divided all companies and
brands into twelve categories mentioned below: 1. Creator / Innovator: Products or personalities famous for
disruptive, architectural, modular or incremental innovations,
e.g., White Goods
2. Caregiver: Personalities or products which give the
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Caregiver
Jester
Magician
Hero
Ordinary Guy
Lover
Innocent
Sage
Outlaw
Explorer
Ruler
Variables Developed
Celebrity Effectiveness Index (CEI): This is a parameter
defined to evaluate the effectiveness of a personality to
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Hypothesis
H1: A brand-celebrity area coefficient is positively related
to audience brand-celebrity connection.
The concepts developed can be used by celebrity clients for
effective decision making. The objective of a client can be
described as follows: To maximize area correlation of the brand-celebrity rectangle
subjected to: 1. Minimum Costs
2. Minimum Risks
The details of the variable in the above-mentioned objectives
are described below: Costs Associated:
1. Endorsement fees
2. Feature establishing costs
3. Feature enhancement costs
4. Feature sustaining costs
Risks Associated:
1. Mismatch risk
2. Celebrity feature transition risk
3. Celebrity feature mortality risk
The steps involved in testing of hypothesis are as follows: Step 1: Calculate CEI for celebrities and companies
47
Methodology
Calculation of Celebrity Effective Index
Respondents were given a name of a celebrity and asked to
rate the personality as against the archetypes defined earlier.
The sampling was convenience sampling and sample size of
hundred for each celebrity.
Ten celebrities were selected for the purpose. The selection
was based on three distinct focused group discussions done
with SEC A, B, C Category of members with 10 members each.
The top ten most frequent celebrities recalled or recollected
as brand ambassadors were chosen for the further studies.
Methodology
Primary survey was conducted to list down the brand against
the above-mentioned ten celebrities. The most frequent reply
was recorded. The brands were then subjected to archetype
scoring, and area correlation was calculated. From secondary
data, other endorsees, if existing, were recorded and the
process was repeated. For this other endorsee, the least
frequent or non-existing celebrity was selected from the list
of CEI calculation celebrities.
Celebrity
Brand
Alternate
Celebrity*
Amitabh
Bachchan
Polio
Santro
Preeti Zinta
Sachin Tendulkar
TVS Victor
Brett Lee
Saurav Ganguly
Sona Chandi
Mohammed Kaif
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Chavanprash
Rahul Dravid
Hutch
None
Hrithik Roshan
None
Aishwarya Rai
Nakshatra
Katrina Kaif
Kareena Kapoor
Airtel
A. R. Rehman
Ruffle Lays
Nawab Pataudi
Preeti Zinta
Pepsi
Yuvraj Singh
Results
Celebrity Effectiveness Index (CEI)
The ten celebrities and the survey results are as follows: 1. Amitabh Bachchan : CEI = 55
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 8
Jester 3
Magician 6
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 5
Innocent 3
Sage 8
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 8
Caregiver 4
Jester 6
Magician 3
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 9
Innocent 3
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 7
Caregiver 2
Jester 2
Magician 9
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
49
Lover 1
Innocent 1
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 8
Ruler 9
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 5
Jester 2
Magician 3
Hero 7
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 2
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 5
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 2
Jester 1
Magician 5
Hero 9
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 4
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 9
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 3
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 8
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 4
Ruler 5
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 8
Jester 2
Magician 3
Hero 7
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 9
Sage 3
Outlaw 1
Explorer 3
Ruler 2
Creator/Innovator 1
Caregiver 3
Jester 8
Magician 3
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 3
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 3
50
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 3
Jester 9
Magician 3
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 4
Lover 7
Innocent 2
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 2
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 8
Jester 8
Magician 2
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 9
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 2
Thus, CEI calculation was made for the ten celebrities. The
CEI is quantitative measure of: 1. Popularity
2. Image and positioning
Brand Positioning Index for Brands
Polio Eradication Campaign:
Creator/Innovator 1
Caregiver 10
Jester 1
Magician 1
Hero 1
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 10
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Santro:
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 5
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 4
Ruler 7
TVS Victor:
51
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 4
Jester 3
Magician 4
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 6
Creator/Innovator 4
Caregiver 8
Jester 2
Magician 4
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 1
Sage 5
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 3
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 3
Jester 5
Magician 2
Hero 4
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 2
Explorer 1
Ruler 3
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 2
Jester 1
Magician 2
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 8
Innocent 8
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 2
Creator/Innovator 3
Caregiver 3
Jester 8
Magician 2
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 7
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 7
Ruler 1
Hutch:
Nakshatra:
Airtel:
52
Ruffle Lays:
Creator/Innovator 2
Caregiver 2
Jester 8
Magician 1
Hero 3
Ordinary Guy 5
Lover 8
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 8
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 6
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Pepsi:
Caregiver 2
Jester 7
Magician 6
Hero 4
Ordinary Guy 5
Lover 1
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 6
Ruler 4
Caregiver 2
Jester 5
Magician 2
Hero 3
Ordinary Guy 8
Lover 1
Innocent 6
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 2
Ruler 2
53
Caregiver 1
Jester 9
Magician 4
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 1
Innocent 1
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 8
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 8
Caregiver 2
Jester 1
Magician 9
Hero 2
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 2
Sage 1
Outlaw 1
Explorer 8
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 7
Caregiver 1
Jester 1
Magician 8
Hero 5
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 1
Sage 2
Outlaw 1
Explorer 1
Ruler 1
Creator/Innovator 6
Caregiver 2
Jester 6
Magician 1
Hero 6
Ordinary Guy 1
Lover 2
Innocent 2
Sage 1
Outlaw 3
Explorer 6
Ruler 1
4. A. R. Rehman : CEI = 38
Success
Failure
54
Celebrity
Celebrity
Polio
224
162
Santro
263
215
TVS Victor
277
186
Sona Chandi
Chawanprash
177
92
Hutch
200
Tamarind
186
Nakshatra
234
100
Airtel
247
148
Lays
190
70
Pepsi
186
155
55
Limitations
The CEI and area correlation are highly time dependent. The
image and archetype of a personality is often volatile and
may change with time. The use of the method involves:1.
2.
3.
Repeated
surveys
for
CEI
calculations.
Keeping
track
of
celebrity
activities.
Continuous search for new and emerging celebrities.
Appendix
Brand
Celebrity
Thums-up
Salman Khan
93
93
100
Coke
Hrithik Roshan
83
100
50
Adidas
Sachin
73
85
25
Samsung
Tabu
54
68
25
Image
Celebrity
Product
56
Elegance
Beauty
Attractiveness
Classy
Renuka
Shahane
Madhuri Dixit
Saif & Tiger
Pataudi
Fardeen Khan
Stylish
Honest
Trustworthiness
Expertise
Amitabh
Bachhan
Tarun Tejpal
Reliable
Sachin
Tendulkar
Knowledge
Sachin &
Sehwag
Qualified
Naina Balsavar
Whisper
Emami
Asian
PaintsRoyale
Provogue
Reid &
Taylor
Tehelka
TVS
Victor
Reebok
Shampoo
57
the cricket pitch to celebrate her boyfriend's century. But when the
company was hit with the worm controversy it had to rope in the
national icon Amitabh Bachchan.He embodied the values of
Cadbury as a brand and connected with all of India - mothers,
teenagers, children, media persons and trader partners. The
'infomercial' that followed had Bachchan first voicing his own
concerns, and then assuring consumers that his doubts had been
satisfactorily laid to rest (after the factory visit).This reinstated
customer faith in Cadbury and sales have now touched pre-worm
crisis days.
Situation 2: Asian Paints will always be remembered for its 'Mera
wallah cream' campaign and more recently the 'Wah Sunil babu'
campaign. There have been very forgettable celebrity
endorsements from Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan in the past
(probably people were not able to visualize stars painting their own
walls). This is a case of a company whose non-celebrity
commercials have done way better than their celebrity campaigns
in terms of recall and message delivery.
Cases
1.
Sharukh
Khan
Mayur
Suitings
(Positive
Impact)
(Positive Impact)
This strong man from yester years, still resonates as the only
brand ambassador, who managed to sell a motorcycle in each and
every corner of India in the 80s. Dharmendras image of being a
brawny man, hailing from the rustic roots of India, gave Rajdoot
motorcycles the perfect brand ambassador it was looking for. He
not only gave to the product a sturdy and robust image, but also
brought to the product trust and honesty which it was trying to build
in its first time buyers.
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3.
Amitabh
Bachchan
(Cluttered
Identity)
Rani
Mukherjee
Hero
Cycles
(Negative
Impact)
59
Sachin
Tendulkar
Fiat
Palio
(Financial
Viability)
CONCLUSION
There is an increasing challenge to the marketing manager to
develop and implement an integrated marketing communication
(IMC) plan to realize the true value of the celebrity endorsements.
There is a gradual shift from the traditional approach of showing
celebrities in advertisement to making them the spokes-person of
the brand. Companies have taken celebrity endorsement to next
level by projecting brands as a way of life. Smart companies are
using their brand ambassadors in other mediums such as movies
to promote their brands.
E.g., Amitabh Bachchan, who endorses the financial instruments
of ICICI Bank, is shown as a branch-manager of ICICI Bank in the
movie Baghban.
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Wooing the key existing and potential target customers is the trait
of a successful promotion strategy. However, the marketing
manager should be able to offer significant value propositions in
the services / products offered to the customers. Thus, one needs
to integrate celebrity endorsement with other marketing programs
and ensure that the celebrity attributes align with the overall brand
or company. Companies that succeed in developing such an
integrated IMC plans is the one to succeed in the long-term.
Annexure 1: Story Board of Parker Beta
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He repeats his action and adds, Bhai shai. The girl is dumbstruck
and nods wordlessly. One more and he adds, Padosi to honge.
Yet another page succumbs, Chachi wachi. What a great pen!
The girl just nods her assent.
He repeats his action and adds, Bhai shai. The girl is dumbstruck
and nods wordlessly. One more and he adds, Padosi to honge.
Yet another page succumbs, Chachi wachi. What a great pen!
The girl just nods her assent.
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MVO: New Beta from Parker. Dil chahe likhte jaayen. The shot of
the auditorium, now deserted... ... except for the girl and her idol.
He continues to sign as she dozes next to him, Doodh wala,
paper wala, dhobhi...
Through analysis and research, this paper brings forth the
following insights: Celebrity endorsements do work in the Indian scenario. The
level and the magnitude of the effect vary with the celebrity
and the product category but most endorsements have a
favourable impact.
The consumer looks for a variety of aspects from the
endorsement like the credibility and likeability of the
endorser. Credibility also means the fit between the brand
and the celebrity.
Multiple endorsements do clutter the minds of the consumer.
When one endorser endorses many brands, then the recall
of the endorsement depends entirely on the power of the
brand. There are definitely some brands that go unnoticed
and the recall for those stands is at a bare minimum. The
company in that case can heighten the advertising content
because that grabs a special place in the mind space of the
consumer.
It is not just the financial gains from the endorsements that
matter to the celebrity. They also look for the fit with the
brand and what the endorsement might do to their image.
Professional performance of the endorser is important in
deciding the success of the endorsement. However, the bad
performance should be stretched so as to make sense to the
audience.
More than the bad performance in the professional field, it is
the association of the celebrity with a controversy or illbehaviour that causes negative impact to the endorsements.
During the match fixing scandal in India, the commercials
featuring Ajay Jadeja and Mohammed Azharuddin were all
taken off air so that they did not have a negative effect on the
brand.
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REFERENCES
Bibliography:
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16. www.thedayaftertomorrow.com
17. www.synovate.com 2003
18. www.indiantelevision.com
19. www.magindia.com
20. www.blonnet.com
21. www.rediff.com article by Country head, O&M India
22. indiainfoline.com article 'Celebrity Endorsements in
brands.
23. www.coolavenues.com
The
End
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