INFLUENCE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT AND BRAND AWARENESS ON CONSUMERS’ PURCHASE DECISION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF YOYO BITTERS AND ALOMO

BITTERS

MOWEMI, BOLARINWA EBENEZER

(Communication and Language Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan)

2013

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The influx of celebrity endorsements in advertisement has been a major concern for

many scholars in the advertising field. This is consequent upon the fact that there is

virtually no advertisement produced nowadays for a product without any celebrity

smiling, winking, or dancing at or with the product. Even in developing countries like

Nigeria (home of Yoyo bitters) and Ghana (home of Alomo bitters), celebrity

endorsement has become a common exercise for advertisers and product owners. Gan

(2006) supports this notion by affirming that the use of celebrities as a marketing

communications strategy is a common practice for major firms in supporting brand

image. Firms have invested large sums of money to align their brands and corporate

images with celebrity endorsers’ qualities such as attractiveness, likeability, and

trustworthiness (Atkin and Block, 1983) in order to underpin competitive differential

advantage for a firm’s products or services (Erdogan, 1999). Furthermore, celebrities

serve not only to create and maintain attention, but also to achieve high recall rates for

marketing communication messages in today’s highly cluttered environments

(Kamen,Ali Azhari, and Kragh, 1975; Friedman and Friedman 1979; Kamins, 1989;

Ohanian 1991; Croft, Dean, and Kitchen 1996; O’Mahony and Meenaghan, 1997).

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Also, while writing on the ‘Effect of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumers’

Buying Behaviour’, Ali Ahmed, Azmat Mir, and Omer Farooq (2012) maintain that

every advertisement aims at creating awareness and arousing interest in the minds of

customers. To do so, advertisers employ several marketing techniques. Celebrity

endorsement is one of these powerful tools by which advertisers try to leverage the image

and identification of the celebrity to promote a product or a company (Atkin & Block,

1983). This makes the advertisement lively, attractive, interesting, as well as ensure it

gets attention (Ohanian 1991, Kamins 1990). This happens because consumers take the

celebrity as a role model and in turn these celebrities impact their lives.

By definition, celebrity endorsement, according to businessdictionary.com, is a

form of brand or advertising campaign that involves well-known persons using their fame

to help promote a product or service. It is also developed to encourage potential

customers to purchase a good or service. Manufacturers of perfumes and clothing are

some of the most common business users of classic celebrity endorsement techniques,

such as television ads and launch event appearances, in marketing their products. An

advertising strategy is generally tailored to a target audience, and a group perceived to be

most likely part of the population to purchase the product. Advertising strategies include

elements such as geographic location, perceived demographics of the audience, price

points, special offers, and what advertising media, such as billboards, websites, or

television, will be used to present the product (businessdictionary.com).

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Having its roots in psychology and the source credibility of communication (Hovland

and Weiss, 1952; McCroskey and Young, 1981), celebrity endorsement has come a long way

since the early research was done in the seventies (Friedman, Termini, and Washington,

1976; Kamen et al., 1975). Thus, Kaikati (1987) posits that celebrity endorsement has been

in application from a long time, in fact, not too late when advertisement techniques were

taking on new forms because advertisers realised soon that by using publicly renowned

personalities in advertisements, they will be able to align brands personalities with that of

the celebrity’s.

Several music celebrities, comedians, artists, and footballers are now used for

advertisement of both local and international product campaigns or adverts. For instance,

King Sunny Ade, a Nigerian musician is used for Yoyo Bitters advertisement.

Advertisers of other competitive products, especially Alomo Bitters produced in Ghana,

also use popular Ghanaian actors, actresses, and musicians like Davido and Ramsey

Noah to advertise the product. This technique, if used effectively, can enhance brand

recall and facilitate instant awareness.

It is noteworthy that not all the celebrities prove to be successful endorsers, thus

making the selection process more difficult (Giffin 1967). That is why advertisers go for

a careful selection of celebrities because if any micro aspect goes wrong in celebrity

endorsement selection process, the whole of the celebrity endorsed advertisement

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campaign may collapse (Ahmed, Mir, and Farooq, 2012). This will ultimately show

brand the way back to pavilion (Kaikati 1987, Till and Shimp 1995).

In their own view, Balakrishnan and Kumar (2011) affirm that:

Brand Endorsement is a way to get the brand noticed amidst the clutter that is there in the market place. Synergy is therefore required between brand and celebrity. The celebrity actually helps in accelerating the brand image formulation process. At the same time, advertisers argue that celebrities come with loads of liabilities that are hard to ignore. The decision of selecting the best endorser is thus a pertinent issue fixed by marketers.... In other words, the celebrity himself/herself should be a strong brand and the attributes of the celebrity brand should match the attribute of the product brand being highlighted.

From the above assertion, it can be observed that the selection of celebrities that

will endorse advertisers’ products is a very sensitive process. As it has been researched

and posited, celebrities can either make or mar a brand’s positioning in the competitive

markets. And since not all celebrity endorsers enhance sales of a product, advertisers

need to take more caution and understand the market before choosing a celebrity that will

endorse their products.

Thus, if celebrity endorsement is a means to an end, does it really change

consumers’ perception of a product? At the international level, many research works had

been carried out to answer this question on consumers’ attitudinal change to products as a

result of the celebrities used in advertising such products. This current study, therefore, is

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a local attempt at finding out into an issue relating to consumers’ attitudinal change,

consumers’ perception of a product and other new techniques used in brand awareness, as

the products (Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters) under study are relatively new to the

Nigerian Market.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The intense usage of celebrity endorsement as an advertising strategy has increased

drastically in the past few years; celebrities have been used to promote various kinds of

products and services, from sports to beverages to all kinds of electronics and several

other products. The drastic rise of celebrity endorsers is not limited to a specific sector of

the economy, companies using celebrity endorsement cut across all industry categories –

including packaged goods, telecommunication, financial services and automobile

industries (Okorie, 2010; Okorie & Aderogba, 2011).

When consumers switch on the TV, no matter what channels they watch, they can

see celebrity endorsed advertisements that extensively and frequently emerge. The types

of endorsed products are diverse, they include shampoo, sports shoes, mobile phone,

medicine, and toilet papers, among others. The significance of celebrity endorsers in

brand communication strategies does not only recline in the fact that they are used by

firms who wish to increase income, but in how these celebrities add value to a company,

brand or product (Okorie, Oyedepo, and Akhidenor, 2012).

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Thus, the celebrities used in advertisements, as it had been claimed by scholars,

may positively or negatively affect the attitude of consumers toward a particular product

advertised. Though much investigation has been carried out in this line internationally, it

can be somewhat difficult to submit to either the negativity or positivity of celebrity

endorsements on consumers’ perception and attitude to local products, especially in

Nigeria. This study is an attempt to examine how the use of celebrity endorsement has

impacted on the performance of two competitive products – Yoyo Bitters and Alomo

Bitters. Also, one wonders if certain product qualities are considered before a decision is

taken to use a particular celebrity or it is a case of certain perceived characteristics of the

endorsers make them a right choice for a product. Moreover, the study will delve into an

enquiry into extent to which the use of celebrities aids in creating brand awareness and

recall. In other words, major focus will be on plus advantage of celebrities in brand

awareness and recall.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be the focus of this study:

1) To what extent has celebrity endorsement influenced consumers’ perception of

Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters?

2) What is the relationship between product types, choice of celebrity endorser, and

celebrity’s personality?

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3) How well has celebrity endorsement aided brand awareness and recall of

advertising message of Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters?

4) Do consumers’ perceptions of the use of celebrities in Yoyo bitters and Alomo

bitters influence their purchase behaviour?

1.4 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The first major objective of this study is to measure the extent to which celebrity

endorsement influences consumers’ perception of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters. Also,

the study wishes to find out the relationship, if there is any, that exists between product

types, choice of celebrity endorser, and celebrity’s personality

This study will also seek to ascertain how well the celebrity endorsement has

aided brand awareness and recall of advertising message of particular products,

especially Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters. In the same vein, it will also seek to ascertain

if the change in consumers’ attitude is positive or negative as a result of the celebrity

used.

Finally, this study will aim at assessing consumers’ perceptions of the use of celebrities

in Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters, and the influence of such celebrities on consumers’

purchase behaviour. In complement to this, factors that can warrant the application of

celebrity endorsement advertising technique in product’s promotion will be investigated.

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1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Advertising is a persuasive encounter and a worldwide phenomenon which offers a

choice among products and services to suit a diversity of life styles and encourages the

improvement of products. The success of any advertising is greatly determined by the

ability of the advert producer to employ his strongest appeal to aid the recall of the advert

message. These could be a tedious exercise.

As an advertising campaign or strategy, celebrity endorsement has been argued by

scholars to have positive and negative effects for both the company and the celebrity

used. Seeing a celebrity in product’s advertisement, the consumer receives a positive

feeling of security and association (Hoekman, 2012). Since his or her idol is

recommending the product; the assumption is being made that it is a qualitative product.

Consumers would like to identify themselves with the celebrity and may buy the product

because they would like to be like the celebrity. Advertisements that use celebrities as

endorsers therefore create instant brand awareness and the celebrity induces a personality

for the brand. Unfortunately, there can be some pitfalls. The celebrity’s image can change

or the celebrity could lose the status of a celebrity. Moreover, a celebrity could be

endorsing for multiple brands which would have a negative effect on their credibility.

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Therefore, a study of endorsements and celebrity’s personality on consumers’

perception and attitudinal change to products or services will benefit the advertisers,

companies and firms, the celebrities and the consumers as well as other researchers who

may also want to conduct research on any aspects of celebrity endorsements and the

gap(s) this study may leave unfilled due to some limitations and complications. It will

also help to broaden the horizon of knowledge of scholars and upcoming researchers on

the impact and influence of celebrity endorsement on consumers’ attitudes towards

products, and at the same time, services.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will focus on both literate and illiterate consumers of the chosen products,

YOYO BITTERS AND ALOMO BITTERS. The consumers will be drawn from Ibadan

metropolis.

The sample will include both retailers and wholesalers the products. Due to the time

frame of this study, the traders will be selected using convenience and purposive

sampling techniques in Bodija and Aleshinloye markets.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Since it will not be possible to carry out the research work on the population nationwide,

and considering the time factor, the study is limited to traders and consumers of YOYO

BITTERS and ALOMO BITTERS in Ibadan. This constraint is likely to affect the

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applicability and generalisability of the study. Hence, it will be improper to make

generalisations beyond the limitations, since what obtains within the few selected

samples may not be representative of the entire population.

1.8 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

PERCEPTION: - Means an attitude or understanding based on what is observed or

thought.

CELEBRITY: - Means someone who enjoys public recognition by a large share of a

certain group of people.

ENDORSEMENT: - Means to give approval of, to support a claim or a statement.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter focuses on two major segments. The first segment is the review of empirical

studies and other works. The second segment entails the discussion of relevant theory

employed to frame this study. Thus, the followings will be considered:

The review of empirical studies and other works

The Marketing Communication Process

Advertising and Consumer Behaviour

The Use of Celebrity in Advertising

Historical Development of Celebrity Endorsement

Celebrity Endorsement and Brand Communications

Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements in Advertising

Models on Celebrity Endorsement Strategy

The review of theoretical framework

The Means-end theory

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2.1 REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES

2.1.1 THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Basically, communication is an inevitable component of social transaction between

individuals. As a result of this, man cannot but communicate, either in verbal or non-

verbal form. The understanding of the basic process of communication is fundamental to

the development of an appreciation of how marketing communication might function

(Yeshin, 1998). Thus, marketing communication, according to Fill and Barbara (2006), is

a management process through which an organisation engages with its various audiences.

They then added that through understanding an audience’s communication environment,

organisations seek to develop and present messages for their identified stakeholder

groups, before evaluating and acting upon the responses. By conveying messages that are

of significant value, organisations encourage audiences to offer attitudinal and

behavioural responses.

By nature, marketing communication helps define an organisation’s relationships

with their customers not only by the kind of messages exchanged, but also by the choice

of media and occasion to suit their customer’s preferences. While writing on developing

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effective marketing communication, Kotler (2002) maintains that there is a new view of

communication as an interactive dialogue between the company and its customers that

takes place during the preselling, selling, consuming, and post-consuming stages. To

expatiate on this, Kotler enunciates eight steps to follow in developing an effective

marketing communication programme: (1) identify the target audience, (2) determine the

communication objectives, (3) design the message, (4) select the communication

channels, (5) establish the total communication budget, (6) decide on the communication

mix, (7) measure the communications’ results, and (8) manage the integrated marketing

communication process.

Traditionally, there are five main marketing communication disciplines or tools:

advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and public relations. In

addition, there are media in which time and space can be bought or used to deliver

messages to target audiences (Fill and Barbara, 2006). These disciplines or instruments,

with more recent tools such as direct marketing and the internet growing in popularity for

services, can be categorised by differentiating between theme or image communications

and action communications (Stafford, 2002).

As part of the marketing mix, which defines the 4Ps of marketing, marketing

communication serves as the message an organization is going to convey to its market.

This, according to the managementstudyguide.com, is linked with the marketing

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communication process which identifies areas where the investments are being done and

what is bringing more return on investment.

Figure 2.1: Marketing Communication Process

Source:www.ma nagement

studyguide.com

The process,

as explained in

marketingstudyguide.com, begins at the strategic development stage. One can start by

creating a marketing communications program. At this point, one decides what will fall

in the advertising bracket. At the next stage, the responses of consumers are captured.

These responses are then recorded and maintained as advertising data. The executives

then analyze and evaluate the collected data. They generate the all important reports

15

which will help to allocate the integrated marketing and communications budget

(www.managementstudyguide.com).

In the light of all the foregoing, it is worth mentioning that marketing

communication is a methodical progression which identifies consumers’ needs and

preferences and devices means of satisfying them. As change is constant in consumer’s

products choices, marketers oftentimes select both offline and online channels to carry

out marketing activities which will further strengthen the relationship that exists between

the organisations and consumers. This approach conspicuously illuminates advertisers’

intention of using celebrities to endorse products – augmentation of brand-consumer

relationship.

2.1.2 ADVERTISING AND CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

In a rather simple form, advertising messages are geared toward either changing

consumer behaviour to products from disapproval to acceptability, or sustaining

favourable consumers’ attitude to products, as well as services. This means that whenever

advertising messages are packaged, they are meant to fulfill a particular purpose.

The primary objective of advertisers, according to Abideen and Saleem (2012), is

to reach prospective customers and influence their awareness, attitudes and buying

behaviour. Advertisers spend a lot of money to keep individuals (markets) interested in

their products. To succeed, they need to understand what makes potential customers

behave the way they do. The advertisers’ goal is to get enough relevant market data to

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develop accurate profiles of buyers to find the common group (and symbols) for

communications; this involves the study of consumers behaviour, the mental and

emotional processes, and the physical activities of people who purchase and use goods

and services to satisfy particular needs and wants (Arens, 1996).

Advertising, as a concept, creates awareness about old and new products (Obile,

1997). Obile further claims that advertising stimulates wants, indicates differences among

various products and shows how various needs and wants can be satisfied. Advertising

provides some advance information about products and services, and this information can

be used to decide whether to buy the product or not. Consumers react to the information

supplied by advertising by either purchasing the product advertised and subscribing to the

services offered or neglecting the proposition of advertising if it seemed deceptive and

unwelcome.

While explaining advertising, Hill (1991) affirms that advertising is arguably the

single most powerful force in any society viewed as being more influential than politics

and more persuasive than the media to change consumers’ behaviour to a particular

product or service. Advertising surrounds and envelops us so constantly and so

ubiquitously that it has become part of us so much that we hardly notice it anymore (Hill,

1991). For this reason, Malickson and Nason (1977), as cited by Obile, assert that:

Like it or not, advertising is all around us. The people who keep track of such things tell us that the average person is exposed to many hundreds of advertising messages

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between the time he opens his eyes in the morning and clicks off his light at night. (p. 17)

The aforementioned clearly shows that advertising is present almost everywhere.

Consumer Behaviour, literarily, deals with the various stages a consumer goes through

before purchasing products or services for his end use (Managementstudyguide.com). By

interest, every consumer shows inclination towards particular products and services.

Consumer’s interest is nothing but willingness of consumers to purchase products and

services as per their taste, need and of course pocket.

The buying behaviour of consumers is the decision processes and acts of people

involved in buying and using products. And the consumer buying decision is the buying

behavior of people who purchase products for personal or household use and not for

business purpose (Al Zoubi and Bataineh, 2011). Research, according to Al Zoubi and

Bataineh, suggests that consumers generally go through some evaluative steps when

making a purchasing goods or services. It is important to note, that in some cases, some

of these following steps may be bypassed. This will essentially depend on issues

including:

The purchase price of the good or service being purchased The relative degree of product technicality The frequency of purchase. (Google- buying decision.doc)

Figure 2.2: Consumer Buying Decision Process

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Problem Recognition

Information Search

Evaluation of alternative

Purchase Post

Purchase Evaluation

Source: Al Zoubi, M. O. and Bataineh, M. T. (2011) “The Effect of using Celebrities in Advertising on the Buying Decision: Empirical Study on Students in Jarash Private University" American Journal of Scientific Research. Issue 13, pp. 59-70.

In his class notes accessed on http://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt6.html, Brown

explains that the first step in consumer buying decision process is the recognition of the

problem, which, in another term, is referred to as “The awareness of need”. That is, the

consumer(s) will have to differentiate between his desired state and his actual condition.

After that comes the information search. This involves internal search (memory), external

search (from friends and relatives), and a successful information about the product from

the advertiser. The third step is the evaluation of alternatives. Brown notes that this

features product or service criteria the buyer wants or does not want. And lastly, purchase

and post-purchase evaluation deals with buyer’s reaction to satisfaction or dissatisfaction

derived from the used products.

The assertion of Brown on consumer behaviour is in consonance with the

declaration of Proctor and Stone (1982) that the principal aim of consumer behaviour

analysis is to explain why consumers act in particular ways under certain circumstances.

This analysis tries to determine the factors that influence consumer behaviour, especially

the economic, social and psychological aspects that can indicate the most favoured

marketing mix that management should select. Consumer behaviour analysis helps to

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determine the direction that consumer behaviour is likely to make and to give preferred

trends in product development, and attributes of alternatives communication method

(Saleem and Abideen, 2012).

To fully comprehend the important dynamics of consumer behaviour, a

considerable body of work exists. The turning point for a proper appreciation of the

complex nature of consumer behaviour was provided by Nicosia (1966), who was among

the first to recognise the important role of marketing communications in determining the

nature of consumer purchases (Yeshin, 1998).

2.1.3 THE USE OF CELEBRITY IN ADVERTISING

Celebrities are prominent and famous people who have made a landmark in their lines of

work. Due to the appealing status of the celebrities in the society, advertisers and

products’ makers have developed interest on them and used them as a way of entreating

the consumers to buy a product or subscribe to a service. For this reason, different

creative strategies are now used in order to obtain consumers’ attention and provoke

shoppers to purchase or use a specific product. Advertisers use different ways of thinking

to create catchy slogans that capture consumer attention. Creative strategies promote

publicity, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion (Peter and Olson, 1999).

It is acknowledged that a campaign developed by a firm to encourage potential

customers to purchase a good or service is an advertising strategy

(businessdictionary.com). An advertising strategy is generally tailored to a target

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audience perceived to be most likely out of the population to purchase the product.

Advertising strategies include elements such as geographic location, perceived

demographics of the audience, price points, special offers, and what advertising media,

such as billboards, websites, or television, and celebrity endorsement will be used to

present the product.

In recent times, the use of celebrities in advertisement is fast gaining ground as a

new dimension for product promotion. People buy or avail themselves of products

because they are motivated by certain conditions which they agree with and accept. Most

people are imitative and make many purchases merely because someone whom they

admire is using the product in question (Obile, 1997).

2.1.3.1 Who are celebrity endorsers?

Celebrity endorsers are individuals who enjoy public cognition and use this cognition on

behalf of an advertiser by appearing with a product in an advertisement (Ranjbarian,

Shekarchizade, and Momeni, 2010). They are people who enjoy public recognition by a

large share of a certain group of people whereas attributes like attractiveness,

extraordinary lifestyle are just examples and specific common characteristics cannot be

observed though it can be said that within a corresponding social group, celebrities

generally differ from the social norm and enjoy a high degree of public awareness

(Schlecht, 2003; Khatri, 2006)

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These celebrities, for instance, are drawn from various walks of life for

advertising purposes. This is true for contemporary forms of celebrities like footballers

(John Mikel Obi, Victor Moses, Osaze Odemwinge), Actors (Omotola Jalade Ekehinde,

Genevieve, Sanyeri, Segun Arinze), Hip pop stars (Tuface Idibia, D’Banj), Models

(Oluchi), politicians (Bola Tinubu, ‘Tunde Fashola), and Stand-up comedians (Laff up,

Basket Mouth, I go die).

In advertising, celebrities display their fame and attractive physique in order to

induce purchase of the advertised product. According to Lerbinger, (1972):

When the audience is obviously aware of the existence of a certain subject and is favourably disposed toward it, the communicator’s task is simply to reinforce the existing attitude. By drawing attention to the attitude and adding force to it, the likelihood of its translation into action is increased. (p. 36).

Celebrities act as spokes-people in advertising to promote products and services,

which is referred to as celebrity endorsement. In defining celebrity endorser, McCracken,

(1989) submits that any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses this

recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement is a

celebrity endorser (Ericsson and Hakansson, 2005). As stated earlier, celebrities could be

classified according to their work/performance area: entertainers (pop-stars, musicians,

showmen, actors, models), sports figures, businesspersons or politicians. They could also

be classified according to the level of their expertise and popularity (local, national or

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international / global), and their demographics (Banyte, Stonkiene, and Piligrimiene,

2011).

Advertisers, oftentimes, go for celebrity endorsement because of its greater

benefits and immense possible influence (Ahmed, Mir, and Farooq, 2012). This is so

because marketers are especially interested in consumers' attitudes towards

advertisements and brands (Ranjbarian et al, 2010). According to some research works,

celebrities make advertisements believable and enhance message recall. Furthermore,

celebrities aid in the recognition of brand names, create a positive attitude toward the

brand, and create a distinct personality for the endorsed brand. Ultimately, celebrity

endorsements are believed to generate a greater likelihood of customers’ choosing an

endorsed brand (Kilbourne, 2000).

Experiments, according to Clark and Horstman (2003), suggest that celebrity

endorsement can increase recall and consumer’s assessment of the products in certain

situations (Ranjbarian et al, 2010). Most of the times, making connection with the brand

message is occurred when consumers are not in a purchasing situation. Marketers use

celebrity endorsement so that information will be kept in consumers' minds better and in

the case of purchasing situation, they can easily retrieve it (Surana, 2008).

Undoubtedly, celebrities are an instrument for convincing consumers about

products’ and services’ uniqueness in the market; and they have, to a large extent, been

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used to persuade target audience in order to gain their approving patronage. In succinct,

celebrities are indispensable to advertisers.

2.1.3.2 Functional and Dysfunctional effect of Celebrity Endorsement

From the perspective of who celebrity endorsers are, celebrity endorsement simply

stipulates that the value associated with the celebrity is transferred to the brand and

therefore helps create an image that can be easily referred to by consumers. Consequently

by association, the brand can very quickly establish the creditability, recognition and

equity (Okorie, Oyedepo, and Akhidenor, 2012).

Experts in marketing communication strategies believe that using popular

celebrity can affect consumers’ feelings, attitudes and their purchase intention and

behaviour. (Belch & Belch, 2001; Banyte et al, 2011). Cited by Okorie et al (2012:147),

Ohanian’s (1991) study on how the perceived image of a celebrity endorser affected the

consumer’s intention to purchase found that “only the perceived expertise of the

celebrities was a significant factor explaining the respondents’ intention to purchase”. In

a similar advocacy, O’Mahony and Meenaghan (1997) while supporting Ohanian’s

findings concluded that source characteristics with the greatest impact on the consumer’s

intention to purchase were those of credibility and expertise.

Celebrity endorsement functional effects, as summarised by Kilbourne (2000), act

as a signpost to quality and can significantly enhance the reputation of a brand. They are

much more likely to be “invited in” by customers than other forms of advertising. Stars,

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by definition, enjoy high public awareness and people are able to visualize them very

easily as they are so familiar with them. And, if the celebrities are carefully chosen to suit

the brand, they will provide the meaningful resonance and positive disposition which

leads to “subscription” and the building of a successful relationship. There is a clear link

between higher awareness, or “fame”, for a brand and more favouritism towards it.

Familiarity easily translates into favouritism or likeability.

Another major benefit of using celebrity endorsement which agrees with what Kilbourne

(2000) postulated is that it can provide testimony for a product or service. The more

familiar an endorser, the more likely consumers are to buy the endorsed products (Miciak

& Shanklin, 1994).

Nevertheless, there are diverse risks and dangers inherent in celebrity

endorsement. So many research works have revealed that the effectiveness of celebrity

endorsement in advertising comes from the associative link between the brand (product)

and the celebrity, but the creation of such a link is concurrent with the risk (Till, 1998).

These risks of using celebrity endorsement, according to Banyte et al (2011), can be

classified into three broad categories: 1) celebrity-related risks, 2) product-related risks,

and 3) financial and other risks. The possibilities of occurrence of the risks of each group

are based on different assumptions.

The first group involves danger of negative publicity regarding the celebrity

(White, Goddard, Wilbur, 2009). If the celebrity is strongly associated with the brand

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then the occurrence of the negative publicity about the celebrity can spill over to the

brand (Banyte et al, 2011). Risk related with the celebrity also involves extinction

(Johansson & Sparredal, 2002). For example, an athlete who wins a gold medal in the

Olympics may be a very good endorser for a particular brand. If the athlete gets injured

or becomes less successful, he or she might no longer be the endorser the company was

looking for. There is also a risk that some actions of celebrities can harm or alter their

images (moral danger). According to Tellis (1998), such changes in image can

negatively affect the meanings that advertisers wish to transfer to their brands through the

endorsement.

The second group includes the dangers of overshadowing the product (when the

consumers focus their attention on the celebrity and fail to notice the brand being

promoted) (Erdogan, 1999; Belch & Belch, 2001; Ericsson & Hakansson, 2005);

overexposure (when the celebrity endorses many diverse products) (Till, 1998; Johansson

& Sparredal, 2002), as well as confusion (when many different celebrities endorse a

product or brand) (Ericsson & Hakansson, 2005). The latter two could cause confusion

amongst consumers about the brand’s identity.

To add to what some other researchers have postulated, Okorie et al (2012) stated

that the vampire effect of celebrity endorsement is one of the drawbacks in its use as an

advertising strategy in brand communication. This terminology refers to when a celebrity

overshadows the brand. If there is no congruency between the celebrity and the brand,

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then the audience will remember the celebrity and not the brand. Khatri (2006) has also

observed that there are chances that the celebrity is remembered more than a brand. He

further explained that a cyber-media research study reveals that 80% of the respondents

approached for research remembered the celebrity but could not recall the brand being

endorsed.

Thus, it can be implied that celebrity endorsement is like a two-sided coin with

benefit on one the hand, and shortcomings on the other. The effect of its shortcomings on

the advertised products is ample compared to its benefit. This, nonetheless, does not

indicate that celebrities should be stopped from being used as endorsers in products’

advertisements, but cognizance should be placed more on how advertisers can exploit the

positive features of celebrity endorsements to achieve better sales and favourable

patronage of the products and services.

2.1.4 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Using celebrities as endorsers in advertisements did not just start yesterday or a year ago

or two. The trend, to state affirmatively, was initiated when new techniques and strategies

were introduced into advertising. Revealing further, Kaikati (1987) noted that the use of

celebrities in marketing communication is not a recent phenomenon. Since its

beginnings, celebrity endorsement research has gone through several phases of discovery

(Domino, 2003). Celebrities have been endorsing products since the late nineteenth

27

century (Erdogan, 1999). Such an example from the early days of utilisation involves

Queen Victoria in association with Cadbury's Cocoa (Sherman, 1985).

The emergence of cinema was to extend the scope of endorsement as an

advertising technique, even though its present day popularity owes much to the growth of

commercial radio in the 1930s and to commercial television in the 1950s (McDonough,

1995). In those days, supply of 'stars' (i.e. potential endorsers) was limited (Kaikati,

1987), as it was viewed askance that 'stars' should invest their prestige on the flickering

cathode ray tube as mere 'brand presenters'. For this reason, advertisers were restricted in

their search for 'stars' that were exactly right due to their lack of availability. From the

late 1970's, supply of 'stars' has increased as a result of the deflowering of most Virgin'

celebrities who had previously refused to cloud their image with endorsements

(Thompson, 1978).

Notably, as the number of film and television roles has expanded, any perceived

shame in commercial exploitation has faded, which, in turn, allows advertisers greater

choice in the celebrity selection process (Erdogan, 1999). Estimates about utilising

celebrity endorsers in marketing communication activities have risen markedly (see

Figure 2). In 1979, celebrity endorsers' use in commercials was estimated as one in every

six advertisements (Howard 1979). By 1988, estimates were one in five (Motavalli

1988). Shimp (1997) claimed that around 25% of all US-based commercials utilise

celebrities.

28

Figure 2.3: Estimates of Utilising Celebrity Endorsers in all Commercials

Adapted from Zafer B. Erdogan’s Celebrity Endorsement: A literature review (Journal of Marketing Management, 1999, 15, 291-314)

From a UK perspective, a report in Marketing (February l", 1996) indicated that

advertising which used celebrities was 'a key to gaining national headlines' in 1995. In

terms of monetary value of celebrity endorsements, Lane (1996) estimated that US

companies paid more than $1 billion to athletes, not all celebrity endorsers, for

endorsement deals and licensing rights in 1996. It seems safe to argue that utilising

29

celebrities within commercials has reached such a level that it can be accepted as a fairly

common advertising strategy.

2.1.5 CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT AND BRAND

COMMUNICATIONS

Popular wisdom asserts that getting a celebrity endorsement is a tried-and-true, simple-

to-implement way to maximize advertising effectiveness (Daye, 2011). A celebrity may

be used as testimonial, endorsement, actor or spokesperson by the firm. Research has also

demonstrated that celebrity endorsement affects consumers' feelings in general and it

could affect the attitude of consumers towards the advertisement and brands too. This

could result in increased purchase intentions and as a result enhanced sales (Okorie et al,

2012). In other words, the use of celebrity endorsement helps to increase the recall value

of the brand; this is why the use of celebrities in mainstream advertising is a common

marketing communication strategy.

Branding holds the key to the success of a business in a competitive market that

no longer relies in distinguishing products or services based on quality and functional

benefits alone (Lim, 2010). Lim further highlights some key considerations when

communicating brand. They are as follows:

1. Presence of a brand champion (typically the CEO or founder of the company or

any of such stature) and an army of brand ambassadors (key personnel). As the

ultimate brand champion, business owners must stand at the forefront of the

30

company and take charge of developing and executing the brand communications

strategy. The roles that the brand champion and brand ambassadors play are

different but complementary. The brand champion is the “chief storyteller” who

develops a “good story” carefully angled to target each of the identified

stakeholder groups. Besides developing a “good story”, the brand champion needs

to convince employees that as brand ambassadors, they need to play their part in

repeating this same “story” to all the company’s external stakeholders. A “good

story” also meets the “3 C’s” detailed later.

2. Repeatedly communicate brand values. Apart from conducting regular training,

devote time for frequent dialogue sessions, display posters with the corporate

position statements, utilise notice boards, and circulate internal communication

(newsletters, emails, memos, etc.). Furthermore, non-verbal communication

elements such as dress-codes and the way employees are addressed are subtle

techniques that could have an effect in encouraging brand-supporting behaviours.

3. The three C’s. A “good story” embodies three essential Cs of brand

communication – clarity, consistency and constancy.

“Clarity” dictates that a strong brand message is clear and authentic about

what it is and what it is not.

31

To achieve “consistency”, the content of the brand communication should

ideally be developed once, and then tailored slightly for each medium.

“Constancy” is about constantly reiterating the same brand messages so as to

ensure that these messages are not only heard, but more importantly,

remembered. In the absence of these qualities, it is nearly impossible for the

brand communications strategy to succeed because each ambassador will be

telling a different “story”.

Another way to effectively communicate brands to the consumers is the adoption

of brand communication’s bottom-up process. According to the Journal of Psychology

(http://www.alleydog.com), bottom-up processing is also known as "small chunk"

processing and suggests that advertisers attend to or perceive elements by starting with

the smaller, finer details of that element and then building upward until a solid

representation of it in consumers’ minds is realised. A vivid representation of bottom-up

brand communication process is presented thus:

Figure 2.4: Brand Communication’s bottom-up process

32

Adapted from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://redcresearch.ie

2.1.6 EFFECTIVENESS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS IN

ADVERTISEMENTS

When selecting an endorser to represent a product, marketers can either choose a

celebrity or create spokespersons (Tom, Clark, Elmer, Grech, Masetti, and Sandhar,

1992). A marketer who creates spokespersons can have greater control on their

development through giving them characteristics that are both effective with the target

audience and congruent with desirable characteristics of the endorsed product (Gan,

2006). Conversely, marketers who use a celebrity as a spokesperson have limited such

control, instead, marketers have to select celebrities whose characteristics make them

effective with the target audience and whose public persona matches with advertised

product (Tom et al, 1992). Indeed, Tom et al.'s (1992) results proved that created

33

endorsers were more effective in creating a link to the product than celebrity endorsers.

They attributed these results for single utilisation of created endorsers with the brand

over a long time period and their specific persona representing the brand characteristics.

The authors based their findings on the classical conditioning paradigm.

According to this paradigm, in marketing communication context (see Figure 4,

page 18), consumers learn the association between an unconditional stimulus (endorser)

and a conditional stimulus (product) through repeated exposure. The association is much

stronger with original material (created spokesperson) than with popular material since

the popular material (celebrity endorser) is not just linked to a promoted product but with

many other things. In other words, the linkage is strong in created spokespersons, as it is

unique, whereas the linkage is weak in the case of celebrity endorsers because of other

associations (Erdogan, 1999).

Figure 2.5: Classical conditioning paradigm in marketing communications context

34

Tom, G., Clark, R., Elmer, L., Grech, E., Masetti, J., and Sandhar, H. (1992) “The Use of Created versus Celebrity Spokesperson in Advertisements” The Journal of Consumer Marketing. Vol. 9, No 4, pp. 45-51

Meanwhile, Mehta (1994) also found that there were no statistically significant

differences in attitudes towards advertising, brand and intentions to purchase endorsed

brand between celebrity and non-celebrity endorsement situations, but differences were

found in cognitive responses generated by receivers. In the non-celebrity conditions,

receivers focused more on the brand and its features whereas in the celebrity condition

receivers concentrated on the celebrity in advertising. Contrarily, Atkin and Block (1983)

and Petty, Cacioppo, and Schuman (1983) found that celebrity endorsers produced more

positive attitudes towards advertising and greater purchase intentions than a non-celebrity

endorser.

35

To determine the economic effectiveness of the use of celebrity endorsers, Mathur

and Rangan (1997) tried, through two studies conducted, to assess the impact of celebrity

endorsement contracts on the expected profitability of a firm(s) by using Event Study

Methodology, which is used in order to identify the valuation effects of marketing

decisions. Both study findings emphasised the effectiveness of use of celebrity endorsers

(Erdogan, 1999)

An important example that gives a clear distinction between celebrity endorsed

and non-celebrity endorsed products is the use of Michael Jackson by Pepsi Company.

Though Michael Jackson turned out to be a disaster for Pepsi Co., it had acquired 8%

increase in sales in 1984, the first year of its contract with Mr. Jackson (Gabor, Jeannye,

and Wienner, 1987) in an industry where a 1% rise in sales is equivalent to millions of

dollars. Although Pepsi Co. had many bad experiences with its celebrity endorsers (e.g.

Michael Jackson - alleged child molestation. Madonna - her album called Like a Prayer),

it still uses celebrity endorsers (e.g. the Spice Girls).

Considering academic findings and company reports, Erdogan (1999) argued that

celebrity endorsers are more effective than non-celebrity endorsers in generating all

desirable outcomes (attitudes towards advertising and endorsed brand, intentions to

purchase, and in fact actual sales) when companies utilise celebrities whose public

persona match with the products and target audiences and who have not endorsed

products previously.

36

2.1.7 MODELS ON CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT STRATEGY

Due to the difficulty inherent in selecting celebrity endorsers suitable for the promotion

of products, many scholars have attempted to construct models to assist in the selection

of celebrity endorsers (Gan, 2006). Some authors define only several main selection

criteria, others suggest using models comprising number of criteria for celebrity selection

(Banyte et al, 2011). While contributing to this discussion on endorsers’ selection,

Hovland, Janis, and Kelley (1953) conceptually added one of the earliest models, which

is Source Credibility Model – a model that is based on the assumption that consumers are

more likely to accept a message if they find it credible. This model involves two main

criteria: source expertise and trustworthiness (Banyte et al, 2011). Subsequently, the

Source Attractiveness Model (McGuire, 1985), which includes such criteria as similarity,

familiarity and liking that could be generalized as attractiveness. To help select a

celebrity endorser, many companies rely on Q-Ratings that are calculated by dividing the

popularity percentage with the familiarity percentage (Banyte et al, 2011).

The Q-Rating is an answer to how appealing the person is among those who know

him/her. The TEARS model (Shimp, 2000) encompasses such attributes as

Trustworthiness, Expertise, Attractiveness, Respect and similarity. Meanwhile the No

Tears approach involves not only the attributes for celebrity selection but also allows

evaluating some possible risks (Banyte et al, 2011). It suggests consideration of such

aspects as celebrity credibility, and audience match up, celebrity and brand match up,

37

celebrity attractiveness, cost considerations, working ease or difficulty, saturation factor

and trouble factor. The model based on the FREDD principle stands for familiarity,

relevance, esteem, differentiation and deportment (Ericsson & Hakansson, 2005).

The Source Credibility Model and Source Attractiveness Model, according to

Erdogan (1999), are categorised under the generic name of Source Models since these

two models basically inform and reflect research of the Social Influence Theory/Source

Effect Theory which argues that various characteristics of a perceived communication

source may have a beneficial effect on message receptivity (Kelman 1961; Meenaghan

1995).

2.1.7.1 THE SOURCE CREDIBILITY MODEL

The source credibility model explains that the effectiveness of a message depends on

perceived level of expertise and trustworthiness in an endorser (Hovland and Weiss,

1951; Hovland, et al, 1953; Dholakia and Sternthal, 1977; Ohanian, 1991; Solomon,

1996; Lafferty and Goldsmith, 1999), Gan (2006) citing Erdogan (1999) posits that this

means information from a credible source (e.g. celebrity) can influence beliefs, opinions,

attitudes, and/or behaviour via a process called internalisation, which occurs when

receivers accept a source influence in terms of their personal attitude and value

structures.

38

The honesty, integrity and believability of an endorser depending on target

audience perceptions are referred to as trustworthiness (Erdogan, 1999). Advertisers

capitalise on the value of trustworthiness by selecting endorsers who are widely regarded

as honest, believable, and dependable (Shimp, 1997). Similarly, Smith (1973) argues that

consumers view untrustworthy celebrity endorsers as questionable message sources

regardless of their other qualities. Friedman and Friedman (1978) observed that

trustworthiness is the major determinant of source credibility and then discovered that

likeability was the most important attribute of trust. Thus, they recommended advertisers

to select personalities who are well liked when a trustworthy celebrity is desired to

endorse brands. Nevertheless, Ohanian (1991) found that trustworthiness of a celebrity

was not significantly related to customers’ intentions to buy an endorsed brand.

Additionally, Desphande and Stayman (1994) established the hypothesis that endorser’s

ethnic status could affect endorser trustworthiness and brand attitudes, because people

trust endorsers who are familiar to them. Their findings implied that when targeting

particular ethnic groups such as Africans and Asians, ethnic background should be

carefully evaluated (Erdogan, 1999; and Gan, 2006).

Expertise is defined as the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a

source of valid assertions and refers to the knowledge, experience or skills possessed by

an endorser (Gan, 2006). Hovland et al (1953) and Ohanian (1991) believed that it does

not really matter whether an endorser is an expert, but all that matters is how the target

39

audience perceives the endorser. However, Aaker and Myers (1987) advocated a

source/celebrity that is more expert to be more persuasive and to generate more

intentions to buy the brand (Ohanian, 1991). Hence, expert sources influence perceptions

of the product’s quality (Erdogan, 1999). Meanwhile, Speck, Schumann, and Thompson

(1988) found that expert celebrities produced higher recall of product information than

non-expert celebrities, even though the difference was not statistically significant.

Moreover, celebrities’ professional accomplishments and expertise may serve as a logical

connection with the products, and consequently make the endorsement more believable

to consumers (Till and Busler, 1998).

In addition, many researchers advocated that a message recipient’s initial opinion

is an important determinant of influence through utilising the cognitive response theory

(Karlins and Abelson, 1970; Harmon and Coney, 1982; Stenthal, Dholakia, and Leavitt,

1978). This theory supports that if individuals have a positive predisposition toward the

message issue, a source who lacks credibility can be more persuasive than a high

credibility source, since those favouring the advocacy will feel a greater need to ensure

that a position with what they agree is being adequately represented (Aaker and Myers,

1987). Conversely, if individuals have a negative disposition, a high credibility source is

more persuasive than a less credible source since the highly credible source is thought to

inhibit individuals’ own thought activation and facilitate acceptance of message thoughts.

40

Therefore, Erdogan (1999) concluded that findings in source credibility studies are

equivocal; meanwhile, what factors construct source credibility and what factors are

more important than others in certain situations is still ambivalent (Gan, 2006).

Moreover, Pornpitakpan (2003) criticised that major problems of this model are that most

of these research finding did not evaluate the reliability and validity of their scales to

measure source credibility and that the different operationalizations made it difficult to

compare results across studies.

This model, therefore, is relevant to this study in the sense that the success of

advertising campaign with celebrity endorsement depends greatly on the celebrities used

for the advertisements. It further shows that consumers’ believability, acceptability, or

rejection of advertising message is determined by the level of the celebrity’s credibility,

and consumers’ perception of such celebrity. Aligning it to the products under study, this

model maintains that if advertising messages of Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters are well

packaged with high level of celebrity’s trustworthiness and expertise, there is the

possibility that the consumers accept and believe the advocacy about the products either

immediately, quickly or slowly.

Measuring Source Credibility

In reference to the criticism stated above, it is reasonable to think that a source's

credibility is totally subjective, but research shows that in spite of individual preferences,

a high degree of agreement exists among individuals (Berscheid, Dion, Walster, and

41

Walster, 1971). Patzer (1983) developed the Truth-of-Consensus method to assess a

source’s credibility and attractiveness. The method is based on the foundation that

individual’s judgements of attractiveness and credibility are naturally subjective, but

these judgements are shaped through gestalt principles of person perception rather than

single characteristics (Erdogan, 1999).

Markedly, on the basis of extensive literature review and statistical tests, Ohanian

(1990) constructed a tri-component celebrity endorser credibility scale, (see Table 1)

which assumes that credibility and effectiveness of celebrity endorsers is associated with

given characteristic dimensions, even though McCracken (1989) argued that the celebrity

world consists of much more just attractive and credible individuals.

Table 2.1: Source Credibility Scale

Source: Ohanian, R (1990) ‘Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorser’s perceived expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness’, Journal of Advertising, p39-52

42

This scale, according to McCracken (1989), assumes that credibility - and

consequently the effectiveness – of celebrity endorsers is bound with given characteristic

dimensions, but it is argued that the celebrity world consists of much more than just

attractive and credible individuals.

On other models, Banyte et al (2011) maintain that each of these models repeats some

basic attributes the stability of which allows suggesting them to be a foundation for

celebrity endorser selection. Thus, they summarised these models for celebrity endorser

selection. The summary is presented in table 2.

Table 2.2: Models for Selection of Celebrity Endorsement

Source: Banyte, J., Stonkiene, E., and Piligrimiene, Z. (2011) “Selecting Celebrities In Advertising: The Case Of Lithuanian Sports Celebrity In Non-Sport Product Advertisement” Economic and Management. Vol. 16, pp. 1215-1224

43

2.1.7.2 Conceptual three-stage model for selection of the celebrity

endorsers

Based on the systematic analysis of scientific literature, the conceptual model for

celebrity selection in advertising has been developed (Banyte et al, 2011). The model, as

explained by Banyte et al (2011), integrates three stages. The first stage involves

identification of the possibility of using the celebrity endorsement and embraces such

points of consideration as meaning transfer, product differentiation level, consumer

involvement level, questions of brand positioning and repositioning, introduction of new

brand, entering global campaigns and other. It is important to understand that there might

be many other reasons for using the celebrity endorsement and it depends on the

particular situation. The reasons provided in our model cannot be treated as final and

only, but just as the most commonly expressed as of considerable importance for decision

to use celebrity endorsement.

The second stage involves an evaluation of celebrity’s suitability

(appropriateness) for product / brand endorsement. It embraces eight main criteria for

celebrity selection, like audience match up, brand match up, attractiveness, respect,

familiarity, trustworthiness, expertise, and liking. The criteria derived from the literature

review and supposed to cover most important features of celebrity that have to be

considered before making a choice.

44

The third stage covers the assessment of possible risks, related with the use of

celebrity endorser. If the predicted risk of using a particular celebrity is not high (or

acceptable), the final decision of selection can be made. When the level of risk is too

high, it is advisable to go back to the stage of evaluation of celebrity’s suitability for

advertising and to consider another choice.

Figure 2.6: Conceptual Three-stage Model for Selection of the Celebrity Endorsers

Source: Banyte et al (2011) “Selecting Celebrities In Advertising: The Case Of Lithuanian Sports Celebrity In Non-Sport Product Advertisement” Economic and Management, Vol. 16

45

The model developed enables the advertisers to see and understand the multistage

process of using a celebrity endorsement, involving not only the criteria for celebrity

selection, but also the presumptions for the need of the celebrity endorsement and the

possible risks of doing it (Banyte et al, 2011). Marketers should consider issues at each

level before making the final decision (Banyte et al, 2011).

Thus, the relevance of this model to this research work is that, because Yoyo

bitters and Alomo bitters are relatively new to Nigerian market, the celebrities that are

supposed to be used to advertise the products must be appropriate and suitable for the

advertisement, and at the same time familiar to the consumers in Nigeria, especially in

Ibadan metropolis. For instance, it may look absurd to the consumers in Nigeria for Yoyo

bitters’ or Alomo bitters’ advertisers to use foreign and unfamiliar models, actors like

Mel Gibson and Nicholas Cage to endorse the products. Alongside that, this model

informs this study that there are indeed risks in celebrity endorsements. This will

invariably sensitize the advertisers of the products under study that the appropriateness or

suitability of the celebrities must be calculated with risks inherent in their usage.

2.2 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.2.1 The Means-end Theory

At conception, means-end theory has been applied to better understand consumer’s goal-

oriented decision-making behaviour in a variety of product/service settings (Goldenberg,

46

Klenosky, O’Leary Templin, 2000; Costa, Dekker and Jongen, 2004). According to

Costa et al (2004), two general assumptions are relevant in this goal-oriented framework.

The first is that consumers buy and use products depending on their evaluation of the

self-relevant consequences of these behaviours. They establish the self-relevance of the

consequences based on individually held values, while inferring their valuation from the

products’ attributes. These attributes, consequences and values (ACV) and, above all, the

links consumers establish between them, constitute the essence of means-end chain

theory.

The second assumption has to do with the level of intent and awareness of

consumption-related behavioural decisions. Consumers are assumed to make voluntary

and conscious choices between alternative objects, which are guided by the search of

positive consequences and/or the avoidance of negative outcomes (Olson & Reynolds,

2001).

While complementing the assumptions stated by Costa et al (2004), Leão and

Mellow (2007) citing Gutman, (1981); Mulvey, Olson, Celsi, & Walker, (1994), maintain that

the means-end theory approach is based on the notion that consumers see products as a

means to important ends and try to explain how the selection of a product or service

facilitates the achievement of desired end-states.

Furthermore, the means-end chain model developed by Gutman (1982) sustains

the supposition that values are dominant factors in the pattern of consumer purchase; that

47

these consider products or services based on the function of satisfying values; that all

actions have consequences (desired or not); and, finally, that there is a connection

between consequences and product or service attributes. The central aspects of the model

are consumer decision-making that produce desired consequences (positive) and

minimize undesired ones (negative) (Leão and mellow, 2007).

The model is based on the attribute-consequence-value (A-C-V) sequence that

forms a means-end chain (Gengler, Mulvey, & Oglethorpe, 1999; Prakash, 1986; Valette-

Florence & Rapacchi, 1991; Vriens & Hofstede, 2000). A means-end chain, therefore, is

a structure that connects product or service attributes to consequences produced by these

and the latter to values (Mulvey et al., 1994; Reynolds & Gutman, 1988). For example,

the attribute quality can lead to a consequence of optimizing time, which can also lead to

the value security (Leão and Mellow, 2007).

In order to preserve certain peculiarities of the sequence, as well as some of their

own relationships, the A-C-V model can be amplified (Leão and mellow, 2007). While

the basic A-C-V divides the means-end hierarchy in just three levels (product attributes,

consequences of use and personal values), its amplified version uses six, dividing

attributes into concrete (CA) and abstract (AA); consequences in functional (FC) and

psychological (PC); values in instrumental (IV) and terminal (TV) (Grunert et al., 1995;

Reynolds & Gutman, 1984; Walker & Olson, 1991).

48

To this study, the means-end theory is relevant because it considers and explains

the conscious choices consumers make to meet some needs, putting into consideration

the consequences of making such choices. This, according to the theory, is common

between alternative products like Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters. This theory puts it that

consumers of products like Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters are guided by the search of

positive consequences when making selection between both products. Thus, the

favouritism that will be enjoyed by either of the products depends greatly on how well

their advertising messages are packaged.

49

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, steps and attempts taken by the researcher to describe the methodology

and procedure employed in gathering, interpreting and analysing the data for this study

are presented. Thus, the following shall be discussed under this chapter:

Research design

Study population and sample size

Sampling technique

Research instrument

Method of data collection

Method of Data Analysis

3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN

This study was configured to examine how the use of celebrities in advertisements

change and influence consumers’ perceptions of and purchase decisions on products.

Also, the study sought to ascertain how well the personalities and characters of the

celebrities affect the attitude of the consumers toward a product.

To achieve this, survey design, in which a questionnaire, an interview guide, and

a focus group discussion (FGD) were used to obtain information from the selected

50

respondents/interviewees/discussants, was adopted. This method was chosen simply

because survey research is suitable and appropriate for eliciting vital information about

people’s beliefs, opinions, behaviour, attitudes, perceptions, and views concerning the

research questions of this study. These questions are:

5) To what extent has celebrity endorsement influenced consumers’ perception of

Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters?

6) What is the relationship between product types, choice of celebrity endorser, and

celebrity’s personality?

7) How well has celebrity endorsement aided brand awareness and recall of

advertising message of Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters?

8) Do consumers’ perceptions of the use of celebrities in Yoyo bitters and Alomo

bitters influence their purchase behaviour?

Yoyo and Alomo Bitters were selected for this study due to the rivalry and stern

competition that exists between the two products. The makers of these products were also

chosen because they use celebrities in advertising these products.

3.2 STUDY POPULATION AND SAMPLE SIZE

The focus of this study is both the literate and illiterate consumers of the chosen products,

YOYO BITTERS AND ALOMO BITTERS. The consumers were within Ibadan

metropolis. Also, the traders, both retailers and wholesalers, were covered in Bodija and

Aleshiloye markets. The questionnaire was distributed to the literate consumers of the

51

products, while short interviews were arranged for the illiterate consumers in Yoruba

language. The interview questions were the summary of the questionnaire items into

short sentences. A total number of one hundred and seventy copies of the questionnaire

was distributed.

More so, telephone interviews were arranged for two representatives of makers of

both products on the effectiveness of celebrities’ usage in advertisement. The calls were

mostly made in the evening because it was assumed that these representatives would be

less busy by that time of the day and would not be under any tension to respond to

whatever questions asked.

For the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide, nine students from the Faculty of

Arts, University of Ibadan were selected as the participants of the discussion. The

researcher moderated the discussion. Open-ended questions were asked for the group to

discuss. In recruiting these discussants, the researcher paid close attention to the socio-

cultural factors and the research questions. After the discussion which lasted for about

60minutes, the discussants were served refreshment.

3.3 SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

52

Convenience and purposive sampling techniques were employed in carrying out this

study. These sampling techniques were chosen because only the consumers of the Bitters

were used; also, the population is made up of individuals with different social

characteristics; and they were readily available and willing to participate in the research.

In the light of this, it was considered important to have respondents that are willing to

participate in the research without any form of coercion.

3.4 RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS

Questionnaire, Interview guide, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) guide were the

instruments employed for this study. The questionnaire had thirty-nine items – open-

ended and close-ended -- which were used to elicit information from the respondents.

The open-ended and opinion items were meant to elicit information about respondents’

opinions, attitudes, dispositions and preferences in relation to the objectives of the study.

The close-ended items were exclusive and exhaustive. The questionnaire was divided

into three sections: Sections A and B focused on information data and opinions, while

Section C focused on the demographic data containing six items.

The interview guide contained ten highly structured questions. The questions

went to both interviewees – representatives of Yoyo and Alomo bitters. From the

responses of the interviewees, some supplemental questions were also asked for further

clarifications on their points of view. Basically, the questions were closed-ended.

Likewise, six steering questions were used to direct the discussion in the FGD. The

53

questions were, by nature, open-ended questions. After this, come follow-up questions to

keep the discussion going.

3.5 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Data was collected through the administration of 170 copies of the questionnaire, and

through interview and FGD guides. The questionnaire and the FGD guide were designed

in English Language to elicit information from the respondents and the discussants, while

the interview guide contained both English and Yoruba languages. Adequate time was

granted to the respondents/discussants/interviewees to complete the items in the

questionnaire, respond to the interview questions, and contribute meaningfully to the

discussion; and when necessary, some questions were explained in Yoruba Language in

order to ensure a reasonable level of understanding and appropriate response from the

respondents. They were also given proper monitoring to ensure that mistakes arising

from unclear questions are reduced.

3.6 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

The collected data was interpreted and analysed using the frequency count method. To

achieve this, simple percentage (%) description and frequency count were employed for

the analysis of the data retrieved from the questionnaire. Based on their qualitative

nature, FGD’s and Interview’s data was analysed using constant comparative techniques.

The data was first transcribed and then analysed. These methods – frequency count and

54

constant comparative techniques -- were found appropriate and suitable in correlating the

data gathered. And the data obtained were analysed and discussed in relation to the

research questions.

CHAPTER FOUR

55

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA FINDINGS

4.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents analysis and discussion of data collected from the questionnaire,

the interview, and the Focus Group Discussion (FGD). The interpretation of findings is

done through the use of tables of frequency count and percentages, and constant

comparative technique. For frequency count and percentages, the figures are rounded up

to a whole number, thus, any decimal place above five becomes one (1) and the one

below five (5) becomes zero.

4.1 DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS OF RESPONDENTS

The total number of copies of the questionnaire retrieved was 160, meaning that every

copy administered was recovered. For analysis and discussion, the respondents were

categorised according to age, marital status, educational level/qualification and

occupation. Thus, tables one to four show these categories one after the other.

TABLE 4.1: CATEGORISATION OF RESPONDENTS BY AGE

Age Frequency Percentage (%)

Below 30 81 51%

30 – 40 47 29%

41 and above 32 20%

TOTAL 160 100%

Table 4.1 shows that more than half of the respondents in the study are less than 30 years

with 81 (51%), and this is followed by those between the ages of 30 and 40 numbering 47

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(29%). Those between the age group of 41 and below are a fifth of the sample. The

concentration of the respondents in these three age groups reveals that young people

economically dominate most of the activities like selling, buying, and regulation in the

markets visited.

TABLE 4.2: CATEGORISATION OF RESPONDENTS BY MARITAL STATUS

Status Frequency Percentage (%)

Single 77 48%

Married 70 44%

Separated 5 3%

Divorced 1 1%

Widowed 4 3%

Living together 3 2%

TOTAL 160 100%

From table 4.2, it can be established that most of the respondents are single 77 (48%),

followed by 70 (44%) respondents who are married. Others, who are separated, divorced,

widowed, and living together constitute the minority groups with 13 (9%) of the total

sample.

TABLE 4.3: CATEGORISATION OF RESPONDENTS BY EDUCATIONAL

STATUS

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Level Of Education Frequency Percentage (%)

No formal education 3 2%

Primary school 9 6%

Secondary school 14 9%

Post-secondary school(Trade learning, skill

acquisition, and apprenticeship)

47 29%

Graduate 87 54%

TOTAL 160 100%

Concerning the educational level of the respondents in the study, findings in table 4.3

show that highest number of the respondents -- the combination of sellers and buyers –

was well educated. This is clearly revealed by their frequency and percentage with 157

(98%) having at least primary school leaving certificate. Surprisingly, more than half of

the respondents 87 (54%) are graduates. Notably, there is a rather large disparity between

those in class of graduate and those in class of post-secondary school. This confirms that

elitists dominate the affairs and the administration of the markets. Those who had no

formal education (2%), primary education (6%), secondary education (9%), as it has been

exposed, constitute the smaller sets of buyers and sellers in the markets. Though the

researcher ensure that all levels of education were adequately represented, the difference

is due to the fact that educated people are more in number than uneducated people in the

markets used for the study.

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TABLE 4.4: CATEGORISATION OF RESPONDENTS BY OCCUPATION

Occupation Frequency Percentage (%)

Civil servants 28 17%

Trading/Business 55 34%

Farming 5 3%

Full-time housewife 6 4%

Unemployed 14 9%

Others 52 33%

TOTAL 160 100%

Furthermore, findings on the occupational status of the respondents of the study

presented in table 4.4 indicate that there are more traders and businessmen than those

who fall in the category of others (students, teachers, and so on) in the markets. Next are

civil servants with the frequency of 28 (17%), unemployed 14 (9%), and full-time

housewives 6 (4%); while the least number of respondents; 5 (3%) are engaged in

farming.

4.2 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

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The overall purpose of this study is to measure the extent celebrity endorsement

influences consumers’ perception of a product, and aids brand awareness. It should be

noted here that in the presentation of quantitative data acquired through the

administration of the questionnaire, frequencies in the tables are written in figures while

the percentages are enclosed in brackets; and parts of the coding rates such as SA:

Strongly Agree, A: Agree, D: Disagree and SD: Strongly Disagree were employed in

some segments of the analysis.

4.2.1 RESEARCH QUESTION ONE: To what extent has celebrity endorsement

influenced consumers’ perception of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters?

This first research question sought to find out the effects of celebrity endorsements on

perceptions of the consumers on Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters. To detect this,

quantitative and qualitative responses of the respondents, the discussants, and the

interviewees were used.

First, it was considered appropriate to survey the preference of the consumers

between Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters. Replies from the respondents showed a well

distinguished choice of the consumers in relation to the products. Though very few of the

respondents chose to stand aloof, the purpose of the researcher on this area was, to a large

extent, realised. As shown in the chart 4.1 below, a little more than half of the

respondents 82 (51%) preferred Yoyo Bitters. On the other hand, only 55 (34%)

consumers expressed their favourable inclination towards Alomo Bitters.

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Chart 4.1: Respondents’ Preference for Yoyo Bitters or Alomo Bitters

The findings, as presented in chart 4.1, show that Yoyo Bitters is more favoured

by the consumers than Alomo Bitters. This preference for Yoyo Bitters could have been

informed by either the consequences or outcomes the consumers have derived from the

use of the products. And this totally agrees with what was noted earlier in chapter two

about Olson and Reynolds’ (2001) position on the second assumption (consumers’

preferences) of Means-end theory that consumers are likely to make voluntary and

conscious choices between alternative objects, which are guided by the search of positive

consequences and/or the avoidance of negative outcomes. Additionally, marketing

strategies by the makers of Yoyo Bitters could also have warranted consumers’ fondness

for it.

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Second, there was an attempt to establish the relationship between celebrity

endorsement and consumers’ choices on products, especially Yoyo Bitters and Alomo

Bitters. That is, the extent to which the choice of celebrities used to endorse the products

under study influence consumers’ preferences of these products. Table 4.5 presents the

findings:

Table 4.5: Celebrity Endorsement’s Contribution to Consumers’ Choices

VARIABLES RESPONSES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE (%)

To what extent does

celebrity

endorsement

contribute to your

choice of these

products?

Very great 39 24

Great 44 28

Little 29 18

Very little 30 19

No extent 18 11

According to the data contained in table 4.5, it is clearly established that celebrity

endorsement greatly influences consumers’ choices of a product. A slight more than half

of the respondents (83, 52%) of the study revealed that they had been motivated and

driven by celebrities used to endorse the products under study to purchase and use the

products. Markedly, 29 (18%) and 30 (19%) of the respondents who indicated little or

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very little influence of the use of celebrities on their product preferences are also

acknowledging some degree of influence. Howbeit, only 18 (11%) respondents were not

in any way influenced by celebrities used to endorse a product or service. Therefore,

judging by what is shown in the table as the responses of the respondents, it can be

assumed, without any objection, that celebrity endorsements enhance products’ selection

by the consumers of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters.

Still ahead, the researcher, at this juncture, examined the degree of influence or

power the celebrities have on the perceptions of the consumers, that is, the extent to

which consumers’ views and discernments about Yoyo Bitters/Alomo Bitters are

stimulated and enhanced by the celebrities used in endorsing the products. Concerning

this, the submissions of the FGD discussants and the interviewees somewhat agree. For

instance, Damilola Banjo, a 300-level student of the Department of Communication and

Language Arts, expressed the view that: “Celebrity endorsement is actually tailored

towards perception…definitely; it will change consumer’s perception.” “To a great

extent, celebrity endorsement can influence consumer’s perception of a product. They

can use a particular celebrity to talk about a product, that is, to change the perceptions the

people have already had about that product…” Ayoola Ogundiran, a 400-level student of

the Department of Communication and Language Arts, added. Mrs. Florence Ajayi, the

Personnel Manager of Yoyo Bitters posited as follows:

Endorsement by celebrities is one of the greatest conventional tools of marketing, and this, to a large extent,

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helps to positively influence people’s perceptions about our product, Yoyo Bitters. Sometimes in year 2012, information reached us that people furiously complained about the bitterness of our product. To save the situation, we employed Baba Adebayo Faleti to state the multiple advantages of the bitterness of Yoyo Bitters. The exercise was not carried out to achieve any other purpose, but to change people’s perceptions about Yoyo Bitters.

Giving a similar plus to celebrity endorsement, Mr. Jude Odigie, one of the top

sales officials of Alomo Bitters in Nigeria, affirmed that sales doubled up when makers of

the product used celebrities to endorse Alomo Bitters. “The major purpose for using

celebrities is to favour the product before the consumers. When this is done, perception

will be influenced and sales increase,” he revealed.

Thus, in attempting an explanation for these phenomena presented afore,

proposition of source credibility model can be adopted. The model, as it was earlier

presented in the literature review, explains that the effectiveness of a message depends on

the perceived level of expertise and trustworthiness in an endorser. To further buttress

this, Kilbourne (2000) maintains that celebrities aid in the recognition of brand names,

create a positive attitude toward the brand, and create a distinct personality for the

endorsed brand. Ultimately, celebrity endorsements are believed to generate a greater

likelihood of customers’ choosing an endorsed brand.

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4.2.2 RESEARCH QUESTION TWO: What is the relationship between product

type, choice of celebrity endorser, and celebrity’s personality?

This research question, as it were, sought to know the connection between the personality

of a celebrity and a product he/she endorses. Also, it has been fashioned out to know the

suitability of celebrities makers of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters used to endorse their

products, to the nature, composition, and herbal mixture of both products. Hence, some

questionnaire items, FGD and interview questions were used to answer this research

question two.

Contemporarily, producers or makers advertise their products through various channels

and media, using celebrities to validate such products. But, are all these celebrities

suitable for the products they are endorsing? Chart 4.2 below reveals the findings:

Chart 4.2: Respondents’ Views on Celebrity’s Suitability

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Respondents were asked if “Any celebrity can endorse any product” (Q22) and if “Some

celebrities are more suitable in endorsing some particular products than some others”

(Q27). Their responses, as relayed in this chart, indicate that celebrities have certain areas

in which they can fit in in advertisements, and some certain products which they can, by

all standards, endorse. This is because the personality of a celebrity may not be married

with all kinds or forms of products; and to this, a great number of respondents (140 or

88%) rejected the notion that any celebrity can be used to certify any product. Banyte et

al (2011) make it clear in their conceptual three-stage model for selection of the celebrity

endorsers that it is advisable for advertisers to properly evaluate endorsers in order to

know their suitability for advertising, and if the risks of using such celebrities are too

high, then another choice should be considered.

In addition, it has been clearly shown that some celebrities are more appropriate

in endorsing some particular products than some others; 72% of the respondents strongly

settled to this. Emmanuel Ilori, a discussant at the FGD, revealed further that “You have

to be sensitive in choosing someone who will endorse your product”. Obanor Otasowie,

another FGD participant also had this to say: “the role or choice of the celebrity endorser

is somehow politically strategised and this is mostly borne out of the advertiser’s

idiosyncrasy”. Mrs. Florence Ajayi, the Personnel Manager of Yoyo Bitters expatiated

thus:

We examine celebrity’s personality very well before we ever employ them to help advertise our product. As you

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know that our product is herbal, and our target market mostly is primitive, it will not look or fit well to use someone like Tuface or Genevieve to endorse the product. The company intentionally used celebrities like Adebayo Faleti and King Sunny Ade because they will appeal more to the audience than hip-hop or Nollywood stars.

Thus, it is noteworthy to find out the believability celebrities add to

advertisements and how celebrity’s use appeals to the consumers, and to know if this use

of celebrities does not affect the intended message(s) of the advertisements. Table 4.6

clearly presents the findings:

Table 4.6: Respondents’ Perception on Celebrity’s Appeal and Credibility

VARIABLES SA A D SD TOTAL

Celebrities appeal more to consumers in advertisement than the ad message.

37(23%)

93(58%)

26(16%)

4(3)

160(100%)

Naturally, celebrities add credibility to products and services.

49(30%)

94(59%)

16(10%)

1(1)

160(100%)

Findings presented in table 6 indicate that celebrities make products and services

more credible before consumers, and appeal to the consumers more than the advertising

message as 93 (58%) and 37 (23%) respondents were of the opinion that the appealing

attribute of celebrities sell the products or services more than any advertising messages

that can feature in the advertisement, to against just 26 (16%) and 4 (3%) respondents

who chose to differ. In addition, highest number of 94 respondents (59%) followed by

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49 respondents (30%) who agreed that celebrities enhance believability of a product or

service. This supports the assertion of Okorie, Oyedepo, and Akhidenor (2012) on

celebrity’s functional effect that a brand can quickly establish creditability, recognition

and equity through celebrity endorsement.

Therefore, it can be established, based on the findings contained in chart 4.2 and

table 4.6 and the responses of the FGD participants and interviewees, that there is a

strong relationship between the personality of a celebrity and the product or service he or

she is endorsing. The suitability of the celebrities to products, as established afore, needs

to be tested by advertisers and makers/renders of products/services so as not to put the

advertising efforts expended to sell a product or promote a service into jeopardy.

4.2.3 RESEARCH QUESTION THREE: How well has celebrity endorsement aided

brand awareness and recall of advertising message of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo

Bitters?

Moreover, this research question aimed at investigating the understanding of the

consumers on Yoyo Bitters’ and Alomo Bitters’ advertising messages, and how celebrity

endorsement has helped in the responsiveness of the products to the consumers; this

assessment, nonetheless, will take a system of comparison between the two products

(Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters) under study.

As it has been argued under the model of Source Credibility that consumers’

believability, acceptability, or rejection of advertising message is determined by the level

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of the celebrity’s credibility, the researcher attempts to really confirm if this assertion is

true or not an d how it is applicable to both products under study.

Chart 4.3: Respondents’ Knowledge of the Celebrities used for Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters

Chart 4.3 shows that majority 102 (64%) of the consumers recollected quite well

the celebrities Abllat Nigeria Limited, makers of Yoyo Bitters used in advertising their

product. Names of celebrities like Adebayo Faleti, Kareem Adepoju (Baba Wande), King

Sunny Ade, and Fatai Rolling Dollars were written as a response to questions posed to

them in the questionnaire. Also, 25% (40) of the respondents claimed they knew the

celebrities used to endorse Alomo Bitters, stating that most of Alomo Bitters’

advertisements were ratified by Ghanaian’ movie and music stars. Consequently, the

respondents’ responses have revealed that consumers know much better about Yoyo

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Bitters than Alomo Bitters through advertisements. Well, this might have occurred due to

the fact that Yoyo Bitters’ makers employed familiar stars to advertise their product,

unlike the makers of Alomo Bitters.

Undoubtedly, this is why the majority of the respondents maintained that Yoyo

Bitters’ celebrities are more credible and believable than Alomo Bitters’. In addition to

this, these celebrities helped the consumers to precisely remember even the slogan of

Yoyo Bitters, which reads thus: “Wa laalafia”. Very few respondents stated Alomo

Bitters’ slogan – ‘The Authentic African Bitters’. By calculation, all these boil down to

the celebrities used to endorse the two products. The chart 4.4 below shows thus:

Chart 4.4: Credibility of the Endorsers

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At this juncture, the part celebrity endorsement plays in the consciousness of a

brand and advertising message recall by the consumers is examined. According to

Kilbourne (2000), celebrities influence brand awareness, make advertisements credible,

and enhance message recall. In addition to this, Segun Atolagbe, a discussant at the FGD,

pointed out that using celebrity to endorse a product is like creating an impression.

“Personally, I think there is no way a consumer will remember the celebrity used in

advertising a product, without remembering the message of the advert. The two go hand-

in-hand”, he affirmed. Nkechi Iwunze, also a discussant, expatiated further that celebrity

endorsers would help to imprint the advert message into the memory of anybody that

comes across the advertisements. But on a contrary note, Damilola Banjo maintained that

though a celebrity may sell a product, but the advertising message may be outdone by the

personality of the celebrity used. She said thus: “Some celebrities appear too ambiguous

for the consumers to comprehend, even though they may pose so funny, interesting, and

lovely. Therefore, they (the consumers) will eventually lose the message of the advert”.

What the discussant was trying to bring to the fore is the fact that the image of some

celebrities may overwhelm that of the product. For instance, using Afeez Oyetoro (Saka)

to advertise Etisalat (Port), the comedian’s image is such that the advertising message

may take the backstage.

While expressing her own view, Mrs. Florence Ajayi said that celebrities have

helped build the image of Yoyo Bitters. Furthermore, she pointed out that:

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It will be an understatement to say that Yoyo Bitters has become a household name. Its acceptability may be attributed to the product’s safety and efficacy, and the celebrities we employed to endorse it. You see, people love these celebrities and positively affected the satisfactoriness of the products by the consumers. Ever since we started using celebrities to advertise Yoyo Bitters, sales have increased…

In confirmation of the position of Mrs. Florence Ajayi (the personnel manager of

Yoyo Bitters) on celebrity endorsement and brand awarenenss, Mr. Jude Odigie, a sales

official of Alomo Bitters in Nigeria, enunciated that celebrity endorsement really creates

a favourable impression about the products on the consumers’ minds. “For instance,

people do have role models, and if they see these role models of theirs endorsing a

particular product, without doubt, they will hardly forget about the product, the

advertisement, and the message of the advert as well”, he reiterated.

By and large, celebrity endorsement has, to a great extent, aided the awareness of

Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters. This assertion is consequent upon the findings presented

earlier in this section. While comparing the two products (Yoyo Bitters and Alomo

Bitters) under study together, it was observed that Yoyo Bitters was more favoured by the

consumers than Alomo Bitters, and most of the respondents were able to state Yoyo

Bitters’ slogan and give the names of the celebrities that had, at one time or the other,

endorsed the product, while very few of the respondents gave preference to Alomo

Bitters. Without doubt, advertising message recall for the two products is enhanced by

celebrity endorsement.

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4.2.4 RESEARCH QUESTION FOUR: How do consumers’ perceptions of the use

of celebrities in Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters influence their (consumers’)

purchase behaviour?

Finally, this research question intended to examine if consumers’ purchase behaviour is

influenced based on their perceptions of the use of celebrities in Yoyo Bitters’ and Alomo

Bitters’ advertisements. That is, this question seeks to measure the impact of celebrity

endorsement on consumers’ buying decisions, especially of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo

Bitters. This question was answered using items 8 and 23 on the questionnaire, questions

six and seven of the FGD and interview guides respectively.

Oftentimes, it is debated that celebrities greatly influence consumers’ buying

behaviour. Some researchers claimed that most people refuse to buy products or

subscribe to services they will naturally not condone, but because of celebrities used to

attest to the unique features of these products and services, they go for them. Here is what

table 4.7 presents:

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Table 4.7: Respondents’ Purchase as Influenced by Celebrity’s Appeal

Option Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Due to the celebrity used in advertisements, have you ever purchased a product or subscribed to a service you naturally will not buy or condone?

88 55

72 45

Table 4.7 reveals that 88 of the respondents have been persuaded by adverts that

made use of celebrities to buy a product, while the other 72 make their purchase not

because a celebrity is used but on individual grounds as a result of habits. It can be

assumed, therefore, that the use of a celebrity is an added benefit.

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YESNO

TOTAL 160 100

Table 4.8: Effect of Celebrity’s Personality on Purchase

Variable Response Frequency Percentage (%)

Celebrity’s personality

affects consumer’s

purchase behaviour.

SA 43 26

A 54 34

D 33 21

SD 30 19

Total 160 100

In table 4.8, it is shown that a great number of respondents affirmed that the

personality of a celebrity in advertisement has an effect/influence on purchase decision.

This assumption is buttressed by the fact that 97 (60%) of the respondents established

that the character of a celebrity certainly enhances consumer’s purchase decision.

However, more than a third 63 (40%) of the respondents differed, they do not believe that

a celebrity’s personality can affect consumer’s purchase behaviour. That

notwithstanding, there is evidence from the findings presented that a celebrity’s

personality inspires a consumer to favour a product or service when making buying

decision.

Furthermore, this section, as it were, tried to discover the influence celebrities in

advertisements have on purchase decision of consumers of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo

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Bitters. To detect this, some of the qualitative data acquired were examined. Otasowie

Obanor had this to say:

Celebrities can actually influence buying behaviour of consumers of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters. Take for instance, if advertisers use Pastor E.O. Adeboye to endorse any of these products, so many people, who initially have detested the products, will definitely change their perceptions about the products, and make favourable decisions to buy any of these products they consider better.

Adding to this, Ayoola Ogundiran, also a discussant, observed that celebrities can

help change people’s perception about Alomo Bitters. “Most people think this product is

meant for touts, rogue, womanisers, and bus conductors, but if celebrities like Pastor

Adeboye, as assumedly mentioned by Otasowie, drinks the product in an advertisement

or comes forward to recommend the product, consumers’ perception will change, and

their purchase decision will definitely favour the product”, Ayoola expatiated.

While responding to a question during an interview session, Mrs. Florence Ajayi,

Yoyo Bitters official, affirmed that the company has recorded better sales and greater

turnovers since they have come up with a policy of using celebrities to endorse Yoyo

Bitters. She added “Overtime, the product has earned a good patronage of consumers”.

Mr. Jude Odigie, a distributor of Alomo Bitters expressed same view with Florence, but

in a somewhat different expression. “Gaining grounds in the market takes strategic

techniques, and using celebrities in adverts is one of such methods or techniques”, he

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stated. This agrees with findings from literature that indicate that other factors influence

purchase apart from promotion – pricing, product quality, buyers’ previous experience

with the product, and so forth.

From the analysis of the data gathered, it was discovered that celebrity’s

personality plays a vital role in consumers’ acceptance of a product, creates a positive

attitude toward the brand, and generates a distinct personality for the endorsed brand.

Between Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters, majority of the consumers favoured Yoyo

Bitters as their choice product. By deduction, this favouritism enjoyed by Yoyo Bitters is

borne out of the fact that respected icons, cultured and traditional celebrities were used in

advertising the product. Hence, a great number of respondents prefer Yoyo Bitters to

Alomo Bitters.

Again, it was observed that celebrities greatly influence consumers’ purchase

behaviour. All responses (both quantitative and qualitative) agreed with this. More so,

brand awareness is momentously enhanced by celebrity endorsement.

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CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter recaps the whole study under the following headings; summary, conclusion

and recommendations. Under the summary, the researcher summarises the procedure

employed in carrying out the study and specific findings, while conclusion is derived

from various findings found for research questions that guided the study.

Recommendations are also made for beneficiaries of the study.

5.1 SUMMARY

This study examined the influence of celebrity endorsements and brand awareness on

consumers’ perception of a product, using Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters as examples.

Specifically, the research investigated how consumers’ perceptions of Yoyo Bitters and

Alomo Bitters are influenced by celebrity endorsement, the relationship between product

types, choice of celebrity endorser, and celebrity’s personality, how well celebrity

endorsement has aided brand awareness and recall of advertising message of Yoyo bitters

and Alomo bitters, and if consumers’ perceptions of the use of celebrities in Yoyo bitters

and Alomo bitters influence their purchase behaviour.

In order to achieve the specified purpose of the study, survey research design was

employed using convenience and purposive sampling techniques for the selection of

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respondents. The questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and interview guide (IG)

constituted the major research instruments for the collection of relevant data. The

generated data were analysed through the use of frequency count and simple percentages,

and constant comparative technique. Findings were presented in tables and charts.

The findings revealed that majority of the respondents preferred Yoyo Bitters to

Alomo Bitters. Through examination, the study also discovered that celebrity

endorsements influence consumers’ choices, and enhance products’ selection by the

consumers of Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters. The responses of the sampled population

during FGD and Interview sessions also revealed that celebrity endorsements greatly

influence consumers’ perception of a product. Findings established that some celebrities

are more appropriate in endorsing some particular products than some others, and that

celebrities make products and services more credible before consumers, and appeal to the

consumers more than the advertising message.

A comparison of Yoyo Bitters with Alomo Bitters revealed that consumers knew

quite well the celebrities Abllat Nigeria Limited, makers of Yoyo Bitters used in

advertising their product more than the celebrities the makers of Alomo Bitters used to

endorse their product. The study further showed that the majority of the respondents

maintained Yoyo Bitters’ celebrities are more credible and believable than Alomo Bitters’.

It is worthy to note however that Yoyo Bitters used celebrities who are Nigerian

Nationalities. Hence, if this study is replicated in Ghana, Alomo Bitters’ celebrity

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endorsers will be more popular. The data generated for this study also indicated that the

character of a celebrity certainly enhances consumer’s purchase decision of a product.

5.2 CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of the study, it is obvious that celebrity endorsement plays a vital

role in disseminating advertisement information that can influence consumers to make

rational choices on products and services. This is evident based on the positive influence

that celebrity endorsements have had on brands, and on consumers’ purchase decision of

products and services. As established in chapter two of the study in Surana’s (2008)

assertion that marketers use celebrity endorsement so that information will be kept in

consumers' minds better and in the case of purchasing situation, they can easily retrieve

it, it is noteworthy to emphasize that consumers’ negative or positive actions and

reactions towards a product are triggered by unique elements of advertisement in which

celebrities appear to be paramount. The favouritism enjoyed by a product over a

competing one can also be borne out of the appropriateness of celebrities used in

ratifying such product(s).

In addition, as the findings reveal, Yoyo Bitters enjoys better patronage from the

consumers than Alomo Bitters. This was acclaimed by the majority of the respondents,

interviewees, and discussants that they were more familiar with Yoyo Bitters’

advertisements based on celebrity endorsements than Alomo Bitters. Hence, they

sustained their patronage of the product (Yoyo Bitters).

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5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS

From the findings and conclusion reached, the following recommendations are made for

these groups of people who stand to benefit from this study, they include makers of

products and services in Nigeria, consumers, Advertising agencies, government, and

regulatory bodies of the study:

1. Advertisers should focus more on using celebrities to endorse their products because

they (celebrities) add, to some extent, credibility to the advertised products or

services. Also, efforts should be made at checking the appropriateness of

celebrities to products and services before they can be used in advertisement. As

revealed in the study, not all celebrities are suitable for all products and services.

To this end, advertising agencies and makers of products and services should

intensify their efforts to put celebrities to proper scrutiny in terms of character,

personality, popularity, and human relations before they can be allowed to

authorize their products and services.

2. It is obligatory for the Advertising Agency to make use of appropriate media to get

the advertising message to the consumers. Regarding this, advertisements should

be presented at the right time, when consumers will be ready and willing to attend

to the message. The advertisers of competing products like Yoyo Bitters and

Alomo Bitters are more concerned here. In order to have an edge over a

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competitor, appropriate media should be employed alongside celebrity

endorsement.

3. A thorough research should be conducted in order to know consumers’ perceptions of

a product before coming up with an advertising strategy. This is a methodical

investigation into a product or service in order to discover facts, to establish or

revise a theory, or to develop a plan of action based on the facts discovered. To a

large extent, consumers’ actions and reactions towards a product can serve as an

anchor for the presentation of a well acceptable advertising message.

4. For Yoyo Bitters, Alomo Bitters and any other herbal products, it can be

recommended that credible, believable, and traceable celebrities be used to

endorse their products so as not to lose out completely in the market. Also,

advertisers should ensure to emphasise the positive features of their products;

however, they should be meticulous about this so as not to go against the

stipulations of Section 7.3.7 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code (fifth edition,

2010).

5. And lastly, consumers should check out for convincing elements in the advertisement

before favouring a product or service in their purchase decision. This is important

because some wrong notions about advertising such as it being deceptive can be

righted through this means. The convincing elements, such as celebrity’s

appropriateness to advertised products and services, correlation of advertising

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messages to the product contents, and the illustrations used in advertisements,

should be inspected thoroughly. Government should also monitor this so as to

reduce some obnoxious and deceptive advertisements in advertising industry in

Nigeria.

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Aaker, D.A and Myers, J.G. (1987) Advertising Management. 3rd edition, Englewood

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Abideen, Z., and Saleem, S. (2012) “Effective advertising and its influence on consumer

Buying behaviour” European Journal of Business and Management Vol. 3, No 3,

pp. 55-66.

Ahmed, A., Mir, F. A. and Farooq, O. (2012) “Effect of Celebrity Endorsement on

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APPENDIX I

The Department of Communication and Language Arts,

Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan

Questionnaire

Dear respondent,

This questionnaire is designed to assess the influence of celebrity endorsements and

brand awareness on consumers’ perception of a product. This study is strictly academic

and there is every assurance that every piece of information supplied will be treated with

utmost confidentiality. Kindly assist to patiently and sincerely complete this

questionnaire. Thank you.

Section A: Please tick (√) where necessary, and fill in where appropriate

1. How often do you read advertisements on the billboards and in the print?

(1) Sometimes [ ] (2) Rarely [ ] (3) Daily [ ] (4) Not at all [ ]

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2. How often do you watch products advertisements on television?

(1) Daily [ ] (2) once in a week [ ] (3) weekends [ ] (4) sometimes [ ] (5) Not at all [

3. How much attention do you pay to the contents of advertisement?

(1) No attention [ ] (2) Fairly great [ ] (3) Great [ ] (4) Very great

4. Are you aware of the use of famous people (celebrities) in advertisements?

(1) Yes [ ] (2) No [ ] (3) Can’t say [ ]

5. If yes, which product’s advertisement? ______________________________

6. What naturally motivates you to buy a product or subscribe to a service?

(1) Packaging [ ] (2) Sales Promotion [ ] (3) Colour [ ] (4) Advertising [ ] (5)

Others, please specify ______________________________

7. To what extent has your attitude changed toward a product due to the use of celebrity?

(1) Very great [ ] (2) Great [ ] (3) Little [ ] (4) Very little [ ] (5) No extent [ ]

8. Due to the celebrity used in advertisements, have you ever purchased a product

or subscribe to a service you naturally will not buy or condone? (1) Yes [ ] (2)

No [ ]

9. If yes, which product? Specify ________________________________________

If No, why? _______________________________________________________

10. Which of these products (Yoyo bitters and Alomo Bitters) have you ever used?

(1) Yoyo Bitters [ ] (2) Alomo Bitters [ ] (3) None [ ] (4) Both [ ]

11. How often do you buy Yoyo Bitters? (1) Weekly [ ] (2) Monthly [ ] (3) Once in two months [ ] (4) Otherwise, specify: _____________

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12. How often do you buy Alomo Bitters? (1) Weekly [ ] (2) Monthly [ ] (3) Once in two months [ ] (4) Otherwise, specify: _____________

13. Which of these products do you prefer?

(1) Yoyo bitters [ ] (2) Alomo bitters [ ] (3) None [ ] (4) Both [ ]

14. To what extent does celebrity endorsement contribute to your choice of these

products?

(1) Very great [ ] (2) Great [ ] (3) Little [ ] (4) Very little [ ] (5) No extent [ ]

15. Which celebrity was used for Yoyo Bitters’ advertisements?

_______________________________________________

16. Which celebrity was used for Alomo Bitters’ advertisements?

_______________________________________________

17. Who is more credible of the two celebrities?

_______________________________________________

18. What is the slogan of Yoyo Bitters?

__________________________________________

19. What is the slogan of Alomo Bitters?

_________________________________________

20. Which media do Yoyo Bitters’ advertisers mostly use to advertise their product?

(1) Electronic [ ] (2) Print [ ] (3) Outdoors [ ] (4) Social Media [ ] (5) Others,

please specify _____________________________

21. Which media do makers of Alomo Bitters mostly employ to advertise their

product?

(1) Electronic [ ] (2) Print [ ] (3) Outdoors [ ] (4) Social Media [ ] (5) Others,

please specify _____________________________

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Section B: Please tick appropriately. Strongly agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), Strongly

disagree (SD).

SN ITEMS SA A D SD

22. Any celebrity can endorse any product.

23. Celebrity’s personality affects consumer’s purchase behaviour.

24. Advertisement with celebrity endorsement is highly convincing.

25. Yoyo bitters’ advertisement is more persuasive than Alomo bitters’.

26. Alomo bitters’ advertisement is more credible than Yoyo bitters’

27. Some celebrities are more suitable in endorsing some particular products than some others.

28. Consumers maintain products’ patronage due to the celebrities used in advertising them.

29. Celebrities appeal more to consumers in advertisement than the ad message.

30. Naturally, celebrities add credibility to products and services.

Section C: Socio-demographic data

31. Age: _________ Years

32. Occupation: (1) Civil servant [ ] (2). Trading/Business [ ] (3) Farming [ ] (4)

Full-time housewife [ ] (5) Unemployed [ ] Others (specify) _____________

33. Marital Status: (1) Single [ ] (2). Married [ ] (3) Separated [ ] (4) Divorced [ ]

(5) Widowed [ ] (6) Living together [ ].

99

34. Educational Status: (1) No formal education [ ] (2) Primary school [ ] (3) Secondary

School [ ] (4) Post-secondary school [ ] (5) Graduate [ ]

35. Ethnicity (tribe): (1) Yoruba [ ] (2) Ibo [ ] (3) Hausa [ ] (4) Gwari [ ] (5)

Others

(Specify)_______________

36. Religion: (1) Christianity [ ] (2) Islam [ ] (3) Traditional Religion [ ] (4)

Others, please specify: ________________________

APPENDIX II

FGD GuideDear discussants,

I will first like to thank you all for making it to this discussion that I organised to

ascertain the influence of celebrity endorsements and brand awareness on consumers’

perception of a product. Before I continue, my name is Bolarinwa Mowemi, a student of

the Department of Communication and Language Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of

Ibadan. This discussion is basically and strictly academic. I implore you all to air your

opinions and views on the study at hand. Once again, thank you.

SIX STEERING QUESTIONS FOR THE FGD

1. Who are celebrities, and what is celebrity endorsement?

100

2. Can celebrity endorsement influence consumers’ perception of a product,

especially Yoyo Bitters and Alomo Bitters?

3. Are you familiar with the celebrities used for these two products? Who are they?

4. Do you think there is any relationship between product types, choice of celebrity

endorser, and celebrity’s personality?

5. How well can celebrity endorsement aid brand awareness and recall of

advertising message, especially for products like Yoyo bitters and Alomo bitters?

6. Do people’s perceptions of the use of celebrities in a product, especially Yoyo

bitters or Alomo bitters influence purchase behaviour?

APPENDIX III

INTERVIEW GUIDEGood day Sir/Madam,

My name is Bolarinwa Mowemi. I am a student of the Department of Communication and

Language Arts. And I am carrying out a research on the influence of celebrity endorsements and

brand awareness on consumers’ perception of a product, using your product (Yoyo bitters/Alomo

bitters) as a study. This selection of your product is consequent upon the fact that celebrities are

used to endorse your product in some of your advertisements. This study is strictly academic, and

I promise you that every piece of information supplied will be treated with utmost confidentiality.

Therefore, I beseech you to respond as truthfully as possible to the few questions I will ask you.

Thank you.

To Yoyo and Alomo bitters’ representatives

101

1) What is your discipline and educational status?

2) What post are you currently occupying in your company?

3) How long have you been working on the brand?

4) Which advertising agency/agencies is/are handling your product’s advertisement?

5) Why do you use celebrities to endorse your product?

6) How many celebrities has your company employed over time to endorse your

product, and what actually motivated your company to use celebrities?

7) Has your company recorded better sales and greater turnovers since you have

been using celebrities to endorse your product?

8) What criteria do you use in selecting your celebrities?

9) How well has celebrity endorsement aided consumers’ awareness of (Yoyo

bitters/Alomo bitters) in the market?

10) Can you really say affirmatively that celebrity endorsement has favourably

changed consumers’ perceptions of your product?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

102