Celebraity Brand

The modern world of marketing communication has become colorful and inundated with

advertisements, and it is hard to get noticed. It is an uphill task for the designer of an

advertising campaign to differentiate itself from others and attract viewers’ attention

Everyday consumers are exposed to thousands of voices and images in magazines,

newspapers, and on billboards, web sites, radio and television. Every brand attempts to

steal at least attention of an unsuspecting person’s time to inform him or her of the

amazing and different attributes of the product at hand. The challenge of the marketer is

to find a hook that will hold the subject’s attention. In helping to achieve this, use of

celebrity endorsers is a widely used mar com strategy

In this jet age, people tend to ignore all commercials And advertisements while flipping

through the magazines and newspapers or viewing TV. But even then, the glamour of a

celebrity seldom goes unnoticed. Thus, celebrity endorsement In advertisement and its

impact on the overall brand is of great significance. In this process, the companies hire

celebrities from a particular field to feature in its advertisement campaigns. The

promotional features and images of the product are matched with the celebrity image,

which tends to persuade a consumer to fix up his choice from a plethora of brands.

Although this sounds pretty simple, but the design of such campaigns and the sub sequent

success in achieving the desired result calls for an in-depth understanding of the product,

the brand objective, choice of a celebrity, associating the celebrity with the brand, and a

frame work for measuring the effectiveness.

Companies invest large sums of money to align their brands And themselves with

endorsers. Such end orders are seen as dynamic with both attractive and likeable qualities

and companies plan that these qualities are transferred to products via mar com activities.

Furthermore, because of their fame, celebrities serve not only to create and maintain

attention but also to achieve high recall rates for mar com messages in today’s highly

cluttered environments.

Aristotle said, “Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of

Introduction.” This could aptly summarize why innumerable products are endorsed by

celebrities, with or without a significant need or benefit from the same. Similarly every

product has an image. The consumer tries to consume a brand which has the maximum fit

with his/her own personality/image.

The celebrity endorser fits in between these two interactions, where he tries to bring the

image of the product closer to the expectation of the consumer, by transferring some of

the cultural meanings residing in his image to the product.“The model of Celebrity

Endorsement”, is essentially based on

The theoretical framework of Classical Conditioning given by Pavlov Upfront, this seems

like a very effective weapon in mature and saturated markets, which differentiates

products from those of the competitors by clearing the clutter and reaching the consumer.

But. is the impact so significant, or are the celebrities Themselves adding to the clutter?

Through this paper we primarily try to evaluate the impact of Any celebrity endorsement

campaign on the brand by analyzing it through our “Impact-Analysis Framework

consisting of - brand, consumer and the celebrity as well as the interactions between the

Consumer - Endorser and Brand – Endorser .And finally, is the investment in a celebrity

commensurate to

The returns earned by the company?

If the world were full of all wise men and all wise women; we would have never heard of

a term called "advertisement" And then good products Would have found the right

customer sand grown to prosperity, firms would have worked out a mathematical formula

to sell and succeed. But the buying process isn't rational ; and so is this world.

Indians are die-hard movie and sport buffs; and this aspect of The consumers has invited

the concept of “Celebrity Endorsement” to the world of advertisement. The purpose of

this paper is to an laze the role of Celebrity Endorsement in the process of brand-build in

by taking appropriate examples from the advertising landscape.

DEFINING THE MEANING & SCOPE OF THE TOPIC BRANDING &

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Today, use of celebrities as part of marketing communication strategy is fairly common

practice for major firms in supporting corporate or brand imagery.

What is a Brand?

Jack Welch the former CEO of General Electric, once said, “Our most valuable assets are

our intangible assets.” The intangible asset he was referring to is a brand. The Dictionary

of Business &Management defines a brand as:"a name, term ,sign ,symbol ,or design ,or

a combination of them, interred to identify goods or services of one seller of a group of

sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitor".

DEFINITION OF CELEBRITIE

Celebrities are people who enjoy specific public recognition by a large number of certain

groups of people. They have some characteristic attributes like attractiveness,

extraordinary lifestyle or special skills that are not commonly observed. Thus, it can be

said that within a society, celebrities generally differ from the common people and enjoy

a high degree of public awareness .According to Friedman and Friedman, a “celebrity

endorser is an individual who is known by the public for his or her achievements in areas

other than that of the product class endorsed”. Compared to other endorser types, famous

people always attach a greater degree of attention, recall and loyalty.

According to Melissa St. James ,a doctoral fellow and Marketing instructor at The

George Washington University, “Studies show that using celebrities can increase

consumers' awareness of the ad, capture [their] attention and make ads more memorable".

In this age of intense competition, where capturing a position in the consumers’ mind

space is extremely tough, celebrity endorsements give an extra edge to the companies for

holding the viewers’ attention. Celebrities can catalyze brand acceptance and provide the

enormous momentum that brands require by endorsing the intrinsic value to the brand.

“The term Celebrity refers to an individual who is known to the public (actor, sports

figure, entertainer, etc.) for his or her achievements in areas other than that of the product

class endorsed” (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). This is true for classic forms of

celebrities. Like actors (e.g., Amitabh Bachchan , Shahrukh Khan, AishwaryaRai,, Preity

Zinta, Aamir Khan and Pierce Brosnan).

Models

(e.g., Mallaika Arora, Milind Soman, Naomi Campbell,etc)

Television

Personalities (Husain, Smriti Irani),

Sports figures

(e.g., Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, AnnaKournikova, Michael

Schumacher, Tiger Woods, etc),

Entertainers

(e.g., Cyrus Broacha, Oprah Winfrey,),

Add pop- stars (e.g., Madonna, Shakira).

But also for less obvious groups like

Businessmen

(e.g., VijayMallya, Bill Gates) or politicians

.Celebrities appear in public indifferent ways. First, they appear in public when fulfilling

their profession, e.g., Vishwanathan Anand, who plays chess in front of an audience.

Furthermore, celebrities appear in public by attending special celebrity events, e.g., award

ceremonies, inaugurations or world premieres of movies. In addition, they are present in

news, fashion magazines, and tabloids, which provide second source information on

events and the ‘private life’ of celebrities through mass-media channels (e.g., SmritiIrani

being regularly featured in various publications). Last but not least, celebrities act as

spokes-people in advertising to promote products and services, which is referred to

celebrity endorsement.

IMPORTANT CELEBRITY ATTRIBUTES

While selecting a celebrity as endorser, the company has to Decide the promotional

objective of the brand and how far the Celebrity image matches with it. The selection is

in fact a collaboration, from which both the company and the celebrity gains.

The most important attribute for a celebrity endorser is the trustworthiness. The target

audience must trust that a celebrity carries a particular image and it must match with the

product.

The second attribute in order of importance is likeability. The celebrity also must be

accepted as a popular icon by a large cross-section of the audience.

Similarity

Between the target audience and the celebrity is the third important attribute. A person

well-known in a society can have greater impact than a celebrity of a different world. If

the endorser and receiver have similar needs, goals, interests and lifestyles, the position

advocated by the brand communication is better understood and received. Similarity is

also used to create a situation where the consumer feels empathy for the person shown in

the commercial. The bond of similarity between the endorser and the receiver increases

the level of persuasiveness.

Apart from that, expertise is also believed to be another important attribute. Definition of

Celebrity Endorsement According to Friedman & Friedman a “celebrity endorser is

An individual who is known by the public for his or her achievements in areas other than

that of the product class endorsed.” So, in the Coco-Cola advertisement; actor Amir Khan

is the celebrity endorser for the product or brand called Coke, and this process is referred

to as Celebrity Endorsement. Celebrities might endorse as brand ambassador or a brand

face.

Difference between Brand Ambassador & Brand Face A Brand Ambassador would be

one who is not only a spokesperson for the brand or is just appearing as a testimonial for

the brand’s benefits. He/she is an integral part of the brand persona and helps to build an

emotional, which goes beyond just appearing on TV commercials.

He takes up the cause of a Brand Champion and is associated with every aspect related

with the brand. What is more, there is a significant difference between making just an

endorsement for say, shampoo or an automobile, and being that brand’s alter .Both

parties take the latter far more seriously to the deal. So a brand ambassador would be

involved in press releases, he/she would be actively participating in any sales promotion,

sporting the Brand all the while. For example, Far en Khan is the brand ambassador for

Prorogue while he remains a brand face for Lox Body Wash.

On the other hand, a Brand Face would be the current celebrity who is just used as a tool

to increase brand recall and is only appearing in the advertisement. It is usually seen that

a brand face is a temporary contract and is very short term at times. An example would be

Sonar Chandi Chawanpryash using Sourav Ganguly for a while in its commercials. Brand

faces are easily forgotten and fades away with the Campaign 's end.

THE NEED FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

The charisma of the celebrities almost always entices people and their words are

worshipped by a lot of people. Their influence also goes on the political front, where they

are invited for political endorsement.

Eg. Hema Malini for B.J.P. , Govinda for Congress ,Amitabh Bachchan for S.P..When

actor Shah Rukh Khan endorses santro- Zip drive; the consumers are made to think that

he is giving his opinion the go for this car, Similarly ,acress Rani Mukherjee has turned

the tables for Bata's ladies footwear brand called Sundrop as sales increased by a

whooping 500%.

Celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following motives:-

Instant Brand Awareness and Recall

Celebrity values define ,and refresh the brand image

Celebrity adds new dimensions to the brand image

Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage Lack of ideas Convincing clients

WHY COMPANIES USE CELEBRITIES - THE CELEBRITY EDGE

Psychological Factors: Celebrities generally satisfy the esteem needs' of an individual.

For example a movie actress is expected to possess a flawless skin and a blemish free

face. Her fans want to know the

secret of her beauty, so she becomes a natural endorser for beauty related products

(cosmetics, soaps ,powder).

propping

Up Awareness and Trust Levels: Rahul dravid - bob

To Communicate a Certain Message about the Company: -Sachin Tendulkar as brand

ambassador gave it the desired facelift And image for the launch of 'Victor'

Celebrity Standing for a Single Brand: Think Zakir Hussain and you are reminded of

'Wah Taj' Taj Mahal tea. Ditto with A. R. Rahman for Airtel.

SCOPE OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

The use of testimonials by advertisers dates back to the 19 the century when medicines

were patented. Firms have been juxtaposing their brands and themselves with celebrity

endorsers(e.g., athletes, actors) in the hope that celebrities may boost effectiveness of

their marketing and/or corporate communication attempts for at least a century. One of

the early example is Queen Victoria’s endorsement of Cadbury’s Cocoa (Sherman,

1985). It was not until the 1920s, however, that advertisers used famous people for

product endorsements.

Actresses Joan Crawford, Clara Bow and Janet Gaynor were among the first celebrities to

promote products (Fox, 1984). At that time, the rationale given by advertising agencies

for u sing celebrities was “the spirit of emulation” (Fox, 1984, p.90). About a decade ago,

one in three television commercials used celebrities’ endorsements (Business Week,

1978), and today this advertising approach appeared to be on the increase across all

media types(Sherman, 1985 and Levin, 1988).

Friedman (1977) found that celebrities are featured in 15 percent of the prime-time

television commercials. In the United States, it was reported that about 20%of all

television commercials feature a famous person, and about10% of the dollars spent on

television advertising are used in celebrity endorsement advertisements (Advertising Age,

1987;Sherman, 1985). Thus, celebrity endorsement has become a prevalent form of

advertising in United States and elsewhere.

Today, the use of celebrity advertising for companies has becomes trend and a perceived

winning formula of corporate image building and product marketing (Media, July-August

1997). This phenomenon is reflected by the recent market research findings that 8 out of

10 TV commercials scoring the highest recall are those with celebrities' appearances.

Celebrity Endorsement in India

Phase 1: The Pioneering Phase (1950-1980 this phase was characterized by: -1. Limited

channels of communication2. Demand exceeded supply3. Heavy regulation and

governmental regulations some bigger companies from their global experience

introduced the concept of celebrity endorsement. HLL has used Hindi film stars to

endorse their beauty soap Lux since the fifties.

Phase 2: The Growth Phase (1980-1990) the introduction of television added a variable

effective medium of communication. Indian stars going global with events like Asia sand

World Cup victory. Vimal, Thums-Up, Gwalior and Dinesh aresome of the other brands

that used star-appeal in the early days of mass advertising. There was a spurt of

advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige Pressure-cooker), Jalal Agha (Pan

ParagPan-masaala), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and SunilGavaskar (Dinesh

Suitings).

Phase 3: Globalization In highly competitive markets, the following realities about brand

management exist: -1. Product differentiating factors are duplicable and imitable.2. All

long existing and successful brands imbue their products with a meaning.

IMPACT OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

The increasing number of endorsements throws a valid question to the consumers. Is

there a science behind the choice of these endorsers or is it just by the popularity

measurement? What are the reasons which lead to impact of celebrity endorsement on

brands?

Through research and analysis, this paper develops a 14 point model, which can be used

as a blueprint criterion which can be used by brand managers for selecting celebrities,

and capitalizes the celebrity resource through 360 degree brand communication, since our

research proposes it as the foundation brick of the impact of celebrity endorsement. Our

study reveals that the impact of celebrity endorsement is proportional to the 14 factors

discussed in the model.

The success of a brand through celebrity endorsement is accumulative of the following

14 attributes. Greater the score of the below parameters, greater are the chances of getting

close to the desired impact.

Fit with the Advertising Idea

One of the most successful celebrity endorsement campaigns which reflect the fit

between the brand and the 360 degree advertising fit is Fardeen Khan and Provogue.

Prologue’ s positioning in the apparel market is of a young, active, party-going, attention-

grabbing brand and so is Fardeen Khan. The conjunction between the two has been

immensely impactful and brand managers have utilized this endorsement through 360

degree reinforcement.

Celebrity-Target Audience Match

Smriti Irani endorsing the WHO recommended ORS Campaign in India. Indian mothers

can associate with Smriti Irani through the facets she projects on screen or in regular life

which helps develop connect with the target audience since mothers medicate their

children with ORS.

Celebrity Values

Tabu endorsing Tetra Packed Milk, Shabana Azmi campaigning for AIDS Awareness,

Amitabh Bachchan & Shahrukh Khancampaigning for Pulse Polio or Aishwarya Rai

appearing in the Donate Eyes campaign are few examples, which reflect the transfer of

celebrity values to the brand, creating an impact that generates recall.

Costs of Acquiring the Celebrity

Recently, a newspaper report showed how cola firms had gone beyond their advertising

budgets to get the best celebrities. Small firms that use celebrities’ services run greater

risks if they invest large amounts. Although nobody is willing to say exactly how Much

celebrities get paid, industry sources say Sachin Tendulkar’s price is believed to be

between Rs. 2.0-2.5 cores per endorsement, And musician A. R. Rehman, who had

signed up with AirTel, is believed to have picked up Rs. 1.75 cores. Film-star

HrithikRoshan was rumored to have picked up Rs. 2 cores for the Fly With Hrithik

campaign to push Close-Up, and Shahrukh Khan’s rate seems to be between Rs. 2.5-3.0

cores. Aishwarya Raiapparently picks up Rs. 1.25 cores for an endorsement and the

Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly is believed to get between Rs. 90 lakh to Rs. 1.5

cores, while film-star Aamir Khan apparently makes Rs. 1.5 cores per endorsement.

Celebrity Regional Appeal Factors

R. Madhavan endorsing Pepsi in southern India or Sachin Tendulkar endorsing in India

are few examples of how celebrities are chosen to reach out to target audiences for brands

in regional markets.

Celebrity-Product Match

Cyrus Broach is the brand ambassador for MTV since both the celebrity and the brand

are considered as friendly, young, mood-boosting, humorous and outspoken. MTV’s

brand personality overlaps Cyrus Broacha ’s image as a brand.

Some more examples of compatible celebrity product match in which celebrity brand

attributes get transferred to the brand and increases the brand equity is of Govinda &

Navratan Tel, Aishwarya Rai & Nakshatra, etc.

Celebrity Controversy Risk

The perfect example here is of Salman Khan and the controversy in which he crushed a

man to death with his Pajero when he was driving under the influence of alcohol. Also,

any act on the part of the endorser that gives him a negative image among the audience

and goes on to affect the brands endorsed. The brand, in most instances, takes a bashing.

Celebrity Popularity

Celebrity Brand association like Grainer endorsed Tara Sharma &Simone Singh, Agni

Diamonds & Riama Sen don’t get much brander call, and even If they do, its difficult to

attribute it to the celebrities’ endorsing the brand .On the other hand, HPCL has had

increased popularity and share of voice due to the endorsement of the brand through

Sania Mirza.

Celebrity Availability

In case of various brands, there are situations in which they prefer to go without a brand

face, since there is no brand-fit between The celebrities available and the brand. Also,

due to multiple endorsements by certain celebrities, brands refuse to Adopt celebrity

endorsement since they fear dilution of the brand image.

Celebrity Physical Attractiveness

John Abraham endorsing Wrangler and Timex Sunglasses are some examples which

portray the celebrities’ physical attractiveness that helps create an impact.

Celebrity Credibility

The most important aspect and reason for celebrity endorsement is credibility. In a

research carried out among 43 ad agencies And companies, most experts believed that the

most important dimensions of credibility are trustworthiness and prowess or expertise

with regard to the recommended product or service. One of the most obvious reasons of

Amitabh Bachchan endorsing plethora of brands is the credibility of the celebrity and his

recognition across consumers. To site one of the most successful campaigns in which the

celebrity’s credibility has had an indelible impact on the brand and has saved the brand is

of Cadbury’s. After the worm controversy,Amitab Bachchan’s credibility infused into the

brand through the campaign, helping it to get back on track. The campaign has woman

award for the same.

Multiple Endorsements

Not many people can remember all the brands that a celebrity endorses and the chances

of losing brand recall increases if the celebrity endorses multiple brands. For example, in

case of Sachin Tendulkar people recall Pepsi, TVS Victor and MRF, but might not

remember brands like Britannia and Fiat. Similarly, for Amitabh Bachchan, consumers

remember ICICI, Pepsi, Parker Pens, Pulse Polio and BPL. They might get confused in

the endorsement of Nicola or Asian Paints. Thus, for multiple endorsements where the

same celebrity endorses several brands, it boils down to the strength of the brand and the

advertising content.

Whether Celebrity is a Brand User

Various celebrities endorse NGOs and social causes since they believe in the social

message that they need to convey to the audience. One of the most successful campaigns

has been executed by PETA in which celebrities like Shilpa Shetty, Amisha Patel, Yana

Gupta, Sheetal Malhar, Mahima Choudhary claimed to believe in PETA’s philosophy,

and thereby endorse the brand.

THE PROCESS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

The process of celebrity endorsement is more of meaning translation & meaning

application. A deeper insight into this complex process is provided by the following

theory.

The Meaning Transfer Model

McCracken, the author to this model, has suggested that, “The effectiveness of the

endorser depends, in part, upon the meaning he or she brings to the endorsement

process.” The Celebrities ’effectiveness as endorsers stems from the cultural meanings

with which they are endowed. It is a three-stage process of Meaning transfer that involves

the formation of celebrity image, transfer of meaning from celebrity to the brand, and

finally, from the brand to the consumer. Culture The celebrities deliver meanings with

extra subtlety, depth and power than anonymous models. Celebrities offer demographic

information with special precision and configurations of range of personality and lifestyle

meanings. They evoke the meanings in their persona with greater vividness and clarity.

Celebrities actually own their meanings because they have created them on the public

stage by dint of intense and repeated performance. They pass these meanings into

advertisements through meaning transfer process. Preity Zinta, for example, isperceived

as a fun-loving, vivacious and modern Indian woman.

Endorsements

The meaning transfer model proposes that the marketing /advertising firm at first should

determine the symbolic properties sought for the product. Thereafter, they should consult

a host of celebrities and their associated meanings. Finally, after considering budget and

availability constraints, the celebrity should be chosen to represent the appropriate

symbolic properties. The chosen celebrity will have some meanings associated with it

which is not sought after for the product. The advertisement program should take care

about keeping the unwanted meanings out of the evoked set and capture only the salient

meanings. The advertisement must be designed to highlight the essential similarity

between the celebrity and the product. Consumption Consumers constantly search for the

object world which gives them access to workable ideas of demography, personality,

lifestyle and culture. McCracken suggests that this stage of the model is most complex, as

consumers must claim, exchange, care for and use the consumer goods to appropriate its

meanings. Celebrities play a major role in this stage as they have created their

own self, which makes them exemplary and inspirational figure to the consumers.

Consumers try to emulate the celebrities admired by them and try to find out the meaning

in the similar fashion. Celebrities bring the dramatic roles, fashioning cultural meanings

into a practicable form.

In the endorsement process, they make these meanings available in the material form to

the consumers who are keen to bring a self from them. Thus, celebrities become an

essential partner to the meaning transfer process because they vividly demonstrate the

process by which the meanings can be assembled.

“If commerce is the engine of our economy, then advertising is the spark. Responsible

advertisers are the drivers who keep us on the right track, leading to a richer, more

benevolent society,"

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

The concept of “Total Branding” is slowly emerging and many companies are focusing

on that. They are emphasizing on their best practices, customer relationship management,

and employee training and knowledge management. Internal brand management, under

which the company ensures that employees and Channel partners are convinced about

the brand, is becoming particularly important, for they are the ones who have to deliver.

Thus, the celebrity endorsement can be considered only as a carrier of what’s inside.

Besides, while designing an ad campaign, one should also keep in mind that the overuse

of some extremely popular celebrities often tends to confuse consumers and reduce the

utility of celebrity endorsement. Another argument against celebrity endorsement

involves the behavior of the celebrity. The marketing function of a company should also

understand that brands should assume a much greater space than the celebrities, because

their association may be temporary but the brands are permanent.

The various risks associated with celebrity endorsements are as follows: -

Negative publicity -

If the celebrity is strongly associated with the brand then the occurrence of the negative

publicity can spill over the brand.. E.g., Salman Khan lost his endorsement deal with

Thumbs Up after his infamous incidents like buck killing and rash driving.

Overshadowing -

When celebrity endorser is used, the risk of consumers focusing on the celebrity and not

on the brand exists.•

Overexposure -

This risk arises when the celebrity chooses to endorse several different products

simultaneously which might leave the consumers confused. E.g., Sachin Tendulkar

endorses several brands such as MRF, TVS Victor, Pepsi, Fiat, Boost, etc.

Overuse -

Sometimes the company can use many different celebrities to appeal to different market

segment. But multiplicity of endorser might blur the image.•

Extinction -

The favorable response obtained by a particular brand may weaken over time if the brand

gets significant exposure without the association of the celebrity. If the celebrity contract

is for a considerable period of time, then it can lead to draining out capital without proper

return.

Financial Risk -

The decision for hiring an expensive endorser may not be always feasible if there is a

poor brand fit. Therefore, for celebrity endorsements to work effectively there are some

fundamental ground rules: -

Clear brand promise and brand personality.

1 . The communication objectives for the campaign should be frozen.

2. Focus must be on the synergy between the brand and the celebrity image

3. Establish explicitly what the celebrity is going to communicate

CELEBRITY SELECTION

There are various scientific ways in which the right celebrity Is selected for the product

endorsement, which are discussed hereafter Stereotyping Tell is defines stereotypes as

perceptions and depictions of individuals based on simplistic, biased image of the group

to Which they belong, rather than on their own individual characteristics. For example:

its better to select celebrities who say are teens for chocolate advertisements and females

for detergent ads, etc.

The TEARS Model

The attributes highlighted by the acronym “TEARS” are gauged for celebrity selection.

These are: -•

Trustworthiness:

For example - Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan who is an icon of trust; promoting

ICICI Bank.•

Expertise: For example - Golfer Tiger Woods for a sports brand.•

Attractiveness: For example - Tennis player Anna Kourni kovawho earns 10 Million

dollars per year in just endorsement.•

Respect: For example - Former Miss World Aishawarya Rai andthe Eye donation

campaign.•

Similarity: For example - a child artist promoting a chocolate brand .A celebrity scoring

high on all the above attributes can turn out to be a good endorser for the brand under

question.

The No TEARS Model

The “No TEARS” approach is a tool for managers and their advertisers how to go about

selecting celebrities so as to avoid the pitfalls from making an unwise decision. It gauges

the following information: -

•Celebrity & audience match up,

•Celebrity & brand match up,

•Celebrity credibility,

•Celebrity attractiveness,

•Cost consideration,

•A working ease and difficulty factor,

•An endorsement saturation factor,

•A likelihood-of-getting-into-trouble factor

Selecting the right celebrity does more than increasing sales; it Can create linkages with

the celebrities’ appeal, thereby adding New dimension to the brand image. Research

conducted by Katherine Eckel has revealed that “celebrities can get people to make a

better choice but cannot influence people to make a foolish choice”.

The success of celebrity endorsement in India can be sought from a market research

conducted earlier which found that 8 out of 10TV commercials scored the highest recall

were those with Celebrity appearances. A few examples: Sachin Tendulkar - Adidas,

Sourav Ganguly - Britannia, Leander Paes & Mahesh Bhupati - J.Hampstead, Shah Rukh

Khan - Pepsi, Sushmita Sen - Epson, and Aishwarya Rai - Coke.

CELEBRITY ENDRSEMENT: THE ISSUES INVOLVED

There are several factors to consider before resorting to Celebrity endorsement. There is

no single formula to win in the world of marketing. A company must analyze the

prospect of endorsement from 360 degrees, prior to product promotion. Price vs. Profit

The most important issue is that of return on investment (ROI).Companies need to

perform a cost-benefit analysis prior To endorsement. The process of gauging the

effectiveness of endorsement on the overall brand is but difficult. The Companies expect

to bring, in the long run, future sales, revenues and profit from the present investments on

celebrity endorsement. Celebrity endorsement is an expensive means of brand promotion

and the price burden almost always shifts on to the consumers; if not, Then it narrows the

companies’ profit. Multiple Brand Endorsement vs. Multiple Celebrity Endorsement

In the advertising landscape, we find either a celebrity endorsing multiple brands or

multiple celebrities being used to endorse a single brand.

Sachin Tendulkar, for example, in 2002 endorsed 12 brands(including Pepsi, Boost,

Colgate Total, Gillette, Britannia Tiger, Fiat Palio, TVS Victor, Fiat Sienna, MRF,

Adidas, Visa Cards and Home Trade).

Tripp et al, says that the endorsement of as many as four products negatively influences

the celebrity spokes person’s credibility and likeability.

The action plan should be able to answer the following key questions:

1. Are the celebrity endorsements programs result driven?

2. How to quantify the value generated by the celebrity endorsements?

3. Are customers able to connect the brand with the celebrity?

One can gauge the performance of celebrity endorsement marketing program across the

various stages of development. We have attempted to prepare a framework to build a

more effective celebrity endorsement program

1. Align Celebrity Endorsement With Business Objectives.

The attributes of the celebrity should be intrinsically valuable And aligned with the

product, brand and company. suggests strategies to be adopted by a company depending

on its Brand positioning and the brand fit with the celebrity.

• If the brand-celebrity attribute fit is slow, then the Company should adopt“ Eliminate or

avoid ” strategy. The consumers are unlikely to connect between the brand and the

celebrity, and there call value is likely to be very low; defeating the entire purpose of

signing the celebrity. This is what happened when Good lass Nicola Paints roped in

Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador.

• When the positioning of the brand is high but the fit with The celebrity is low, the

company should adopt a“ Monitor and evaluate” strategy. The company should

continuously track the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement through surveys,

monitoring the sales, etc. Though Parker pens had a positioning of premier pens, the early

advertisements (Refer Annexure 1) with Amitabh Bachchan showed low brand-celebrity

fit.

• When the positioning has not been effective, but the fit with The celebrity is high, the

company should adopt the strategy of “ Keep and enhance”. The company has to spot the

opportunities To leverage the celebrity investment and to find more better And effective

ways to communicate with the target audience.

The celebrity attributes align with the company’s brand, strategic business objectives and

primary customer segment. The Narain Karthikeyan - J K Tyres relationship works well

in this category.

• In the ideal quadrant when the positioning effectiveness is High and celebrity fit with

the brand is also high, the company should follow the strategy of “Grow and partner ”. In

case of Coke, the brand has firmly established the "thane" position in the minds of the

consumer, with Aamir khan playing the per fact role.

By situating potential celebrity on the matrix, companies can manage the celebrities as

portfolios - re-distributing the resources and marketing efforts to those celebrities with

the greatest potential to increase value, while eliminating those that prove too costly.

2. Measure and Quantify Performance The company should have proper metrics in place

such as increase in sales, brand awareness and customer preference, to measure the

effectiveness and the impact of celebrity endorsement in the short and long term.

The relationship between the endorsement costs and the benefits is explained further in

Figure 4. The endorsement costs are primarily driven by the endorsement fees and

promotion outlays .The benefits that accrue from such a relationship can be categorized

into two components: -

• Value of Hard Assets: The benefits derived from the hard assets are those that have a

clear market value such as increased sales and increase in brand equity. These are the

tangible benefits that a company derives from its endorsement strategy.

• Value of Association:

Association value is derived from the target customers who associate the company /

brand with the celebrity. These are the intangible benefits that the company will accrue in

the long-term. There are ways to quantify the potential value of hard assets and

association value against their impact on company’s celebrity endorsement by looking at

the following categories: -

• Incremental Sales: Companies can quantify the effect of the celebrity programs on

sales by performing year-to-year or quarter-to-quarter sales comparisons for targeted

consumers, geographic regions, or specific product lines. Primary research can also bed

one to reveal the impact of the celebrity on target customer’s propensity to purchase.

• Brand Recognition: One of the objectives of celebrity endorsement is to increase

brand awareness. However, the companies use popular, though incorrect, survey

approach by asking the respondent which celebrity endorsed their brand. Instead, they

should ask the respondent the brands associated with the celebrity. By gauging the top-of-

mind recall can enable the company to find out if a connection is made between the brand

and celebrity.

• Customer Loyalty: Customer churn can be measured in fixed intervals before and after

the celebrity campaign period to determine the impact of celebrity on customer retention.

Additionally, primary research can be conducted to evaluate changes in the customer

loyalty, customer preferences, etc.

3. Selection and Renewal of Contract With Celebrities The ability to align goals and

measure the value of brand-celebrity fit is the first step in obtaining optimal value from a

celebrity endorsement. Value is also derived by revisiting the celebrity portfolio to

determine ways to reduce costs and increase benefits.

Additionally, a company can increase its benefits by re-examining(and altering, if

needed) its promotion strategy to create deeper brand association, identify new celebrities

that are capable of achieving company goals and negotiate for additional rights from the

existing contracts. A large extent of this can be successful if the company can develop

and execute coordinated, preplanned negotiation strategy which will enable it to improve

the contractual fees and media commitments stipulated in the contract, as well as the

amount and benefits conferred on the company. A few guidelines for formulating a well-

defined negotiation strategy would include:

• Understand the Competition of Celebrity: Except for few venerable celebrities; most

of the celebrities quote their price in expectation of negotiation. The company should

benchmark the contractual fees and benefits against that of comparable celebrities to

ensure the package is equivalent.

• Understand ‘Celebrity’ Clutter: There could be a degree of clutter with the celebrity

endorsing many more brands and companies. This clutter can impede the ability of the

company to capture the image and awareness required to generate value from the

endorsement. The company needs to understand the risk associated with the signing of

such celebrity and need to devise strategic opportunities to stay clear of the clutter.

• Include Value-in-Kind Payments: Companies can reduce their risk and endorsement

costs by substituting out-of-pocket cash payments with value-in-kind, which can be

traded at market price.

• Protection Against Ambush Marketing :- Ambush marketing (or adjacent

marketing) is the reality of the day and the marketing managers need to be creative to

stay one step ahead of the competition. For instance, Amitabh Bachchan was shown

drinking Thumbs-Up in the hindi movie Kaante , when he is actually brand ambassador

for Pepsi.

WHY CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT FAILS?

There may be cases where brands are not able to take-off even after the backing of

celebrities. And this leads to speculations in the Ad World on the soundness of celebrity

endorsement as an effective communication strategy.

Negative impacts of Celebrity Endorsement on the brand A popular drawback of

celebrity endorsement is the 'Vampire Effect' or the celebrity overshadowing the brand.

Some viewers forget the brand that a celebrity is approving. Others are so spellbound by

the personality of the celebrity that they completely fail to notice the brand being

advertised. Two new drawbacks can be seen these days what marketers call Celebrity

Trap and Celebrity Credibility. Celebrity trap is when the celebrity becomes an addiction

for the marketing team and the task to find substitutes becomes more and more difficult,

leading to surfeit of celebrities. Celebrity credibility refers to skepticism by the

consumers regarding the celebrities, especially when there is anything negative regarding

the celebrity associated with the brand in the news, then brand is bound to be affected.

The Reasons

According to leading management thinker, Dr. Seamus Phan, “Many celebrity

endorsements fail because they identify a celebrity they like in an emotive and un-

researched manner and then try to create advertising to force-fit the celebrity into the

creative concept.” Therefore, the advertisers must associate the celebrity to the

advertisement and not vice versa. Thinking on the similar lines, the advertisers shouldn’t

identify the brand to associate with the celebrity but do vice versa.

The success of celebrity endorsement also depends upon the capacity, knowledge,

experience, and qualification to talk about the product. Failure may be attributed to

improper positioning (Example: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan & Maruti

Versa), negative perception after use of product / service (inferior products),

misapprehension of the meaning of the endorsement ,etc.

“The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man

is really two men - the man he is and the man he wants to be.”

- William Feather

The Solutions

As discussed, celebrity management is very crucial to avoid the brand-celebrity

disconnect, and subsequently, brand failures. If the consumers have questions in their

minds regarding the quality or performance of the product then even God cannot save the

brand .The obvious solution to the problem of overshadowing is to make sure that both

the advertisement and the celebrity are focused on the brand or product. To avoid any bad

publicity arising out of celebrity defames, companies may resort to multiple celebrity

endorsement. For Example: Pepsi while capitalizing on the popularity of cricket and

films in India used several cricketers and film stars in their ads. so when Azharuddin and

jadeja got embroiled in the match fixing controversy Pepsi severed its association only

with these stars, but its relationship with cricket continued.

The Symbiotic Model

The success of celebrity endorsement also depends upon the capacity, knowledge,

experience, and qualification to talk about the product. Failure may be attributed to

improper positioning(Example: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan & MarutiVersa),

negative perception after use of product / service (inferior products), misapprehension of

the meaning of the endorsement ,etc.

“The philosophy behind much advertising is based on the old observation that every man

is really two men - the man he is and the man he wants to be.”

- William Feather

The Solutions

As discussed, celebrity management is very crucial to avoid the brand-celebrity

disconnect, and subsequently, brand failures. If the consumers have questions in their

minds regarding the quality or performance of the product then even God cannot save the

brand .The obvious solution to the problem of overshadowing is to make sure that both

the advertisement and the celebrity are focused on the brand or product. To avoid any bad

publicity arising out of celebrity defames, companies may resort to multiple celebrity

endorsement. For Example: Pepsi while capitalizing on the

• Mutualism (M):Both help each other (Example: Tata and Narayan Karitiken ,Amir

Khan and Titan)

• Commensalism (C1):Only one among them is benefited(Example: A failed

endorsement)

• Parasitism (P):One is benefited; other is harmed (Example : Azharuddin and Pepsi Also

Home Trade & Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar)

•Neutralism (N):None of them benefited or harmed(Example: Amitabh Bachchan,

Abhishek Bachchan and MarutiVersa)

•Amensalism (A):Only one of them is harmed; other unaffected

•Competition (C2) :Both are harmed

IMPACT-ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK

According to our study, the effectiveness of celebrity endorsers is not independent, but is

moderated by several factors like -celebrity attractiveness and credibility, product-

celebrity match, message and product type, level of involvement, number of

endorsements by celebrities, target receiver characteristics and overall meanings (e.g.

personality, values, standards) attached to celebrities. Besides these factors,

environmental factors, regulative issues and compatibility with overall marketing strategy

also influence the impact of the endorser .We focus our study on the following

categories .

1. The targeted consumer

2. The celebrity endorser

3. The product None of these factors can independently achieve a positive impact on the

consumer; hence there exists an indispensable need for these factors to have certain

characteristics and a tactical fit amongst themselves.

Along with factors which directly impact, we also study the following influencers which

have an indirect effect on the way an endorsement is perceived –

1. Market Environment

2. Overall Marketing strategy

A. Factors

I. Product Not every brand can and should be endorsed by celebrities. The brand’s image,

personality & the buying involvement of the Research has proved that consumers would

react more favorably to celebrity endorsers as against experts or typical - consumer

endorser in products which are high on psychological and / or social risk. The celebrity

creates a positive image and significantly impacts consumer’s intention-to-buy. Also, for

products having aspiration value e.g. premium watches, cars, the celebrity creates the

aura of elitism. Furthermore, products with high financial, performance or physical risk

such as mutual funds, medical equipments, are evaluated more favorably when endorsed

by a professional expert rather than by a celebrity. For products which are low in all five

types of risk, typical consumer - endorsers are most effective since the consumers can

relate to the character (Hershey H. Friedman and Linda Friedman).

II. Endorser

An Endorser can be defined as, “Any individual who enjoys public recognition and who

uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an

advertisement”. The following inherent qualities in the endorser usually impacts the

brand -

1. Credibility of image / Trustworthiness (Honesty, Integrity , Believability)

2. Competence / Expertise (in relation to the product)

3. Dynamism

4. Likeability

5. Attractiveness

Impact of Celebrity on the Brand

Plethora of research has tried to explore the effects that a celebrity exhibits. Celebrity

endorsements: -

- Creates and helps in retaining attention of the target ed audience.

- Achieves high brand recall in an environment with multitude of product

- Transfers of qualities associated with the celebrity to the product.

Perceived as entertaining .

Portrays trustworthiness due to lack of apparent interest

III. Consumer

Consumer is the factor being wooed by the company/product using the endorser. Hence,

both the product & the endorser need to meet the expectations of the consumer, thus

making it critical to understand consumer reactions to a given stimulus and product

category in differing circumstances.

B. Interactions

I. Consumer - Endorser (C-E Interaction)

- Sudden change of the celebrity image

- Drop in popularity of the celebrity

- Loss of credibility due to over-endorsing

- Disappearance of celebrity out of media flashlight

II. Brand - Endorser (B-E Interaction)

Every brand has a personality and the traits found in the brands should be reflected in the

celebrity too. A mismatch leads to confused audience and lack of brand recall. Worse, in

some cases it might even lead to association of the celebrity with the competitors brand

(e.g., Nerolac Paints where Amitabh Bachchan being a brand endorser of Nerolac paint

was perceived to be associated with Asian Paints).

Is Celebrity Endorsement Always the Best Method for Promoting a Brand?

Companies in many cases, prefer not to use a celebrity, but instead go ahead with a

spokesperson which has been tailor made for the product by the company. The following

are the advantage of such a strategy: -

•Control: Companies control the created spokesperson as it has been built in conformity

with the brand and target audience, and hence can be ensured with a consistent image.

Unlike in case of celebrities where the celebrity’s persona both present and past have

been created over the years.

Single utilization of created endorsers

: Such spokes persons are exclusive for a brand and hence avoiding any brand conflict.

• Association over a long time period

: The spokes person creates a permanent image by a long and steady association.

•

Focus more on brand and its features

: In Non-Celebrity advertisements the main focus is on the brand and its characteristics

while in celebrity the focus sometimes shifts entirelyto the celebrity’s features and their

aura & hence the medium failsin carrying the main message across.Examples of such

endorsement are Gattu - Asian Paints, Fido-Dido - 7Up, Hutch - Boy

C. Influencers

I. Market Environment

It indirectly impacts the effectiveness of a campaign. Celebrity campaigns create

stronger impact in saturated markets as products lack differentiation and clutter is huge.

E.g., Indian soft drink industry heavily depends on celebrity endorsement for promotion.

II. Marketing Strategy

Both single celebrity endorsing multiple products and multiple celebrities endorsing

single product at the same time reduce association of product and celebrity and reduces

impact (e.g.,Pepsi - where multiple celebrities are endorsing the product at the same time

which takes the brand away from getting associated/dependent on any celebrity. Hence,

impact is also influenced by the marketing strategy followed by the company.

III. Regulative Issues

It indirectly impacts the effectiveness of a campaign. Celebrity campaigns create stronger

impact in saturated markets as products lack differentiation and clutter is huge. E.g.,

Indian soft drink industry heavily depends on celebrity endorsement for promotion.

KINDS OF CELEBRITY HOOD THEIR IMPACT ON BRANDS

1.Product Placements

While the movie 'Taal' brandished Coke bottles unabashedly,

2.celebrities Co Owning the Brand

Madhuri Dixit and Emami 'Beauty secrets by Madhuri' range

3.Fictional Heroes

Shaktimaan has sold Parle-G, and Popeye single-handedlyrevived the consumption of

spinach in the US.

(4) No More but Celebrities Still

Campaigns created around a dead personality was the 'Kar lo duniyamuthi mein'

campaign for Reliance featuring Dhirubhai Ambani

(5) Page 3 Celebrities(6) Celebrities for a Cause

The Pulse Polio campaign being coordinated by UNICEF for the Ministryof Health and

Family Welfare had Amitabh Bachchan and SachinTendulkar

(7) Spoofing

Mirinda spoofed the Hutch puppy (a celebrity in its own right).

(8) Mascots

Ronald McDonald, the Amul girl

(9) Men are from Mars, Women from Venus John Abraham lends his rugged image to

Yamaha bikes while PrietyZinta lends her cute dimples to peddle Scooty.

(10) Celebrities Lending their Name to Brands

Sharukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha have perfumes named after them

(11) Company Owners Being Celebrities

Vijay Mallaya and Richard Branson who are walking talking celebritiesand endorse their

own brands through their extravagance, their flamboyant lifestyle

(12) Political Leaders

The 'India Shining' campaign from the BJP and the 'Congress ka haathaam aadmi ke

saath' campaign from the Congress with Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi lending their faces

(13) Using a Social Proposition Built Within the Brand

The Surf campaign done by Revathy and Shabana Azmi (in thesouth and north

respectively) which stressed on the prudent usage of valuable water was a social

proposition cleverly inter-woven in the brand.

(14) Duration of Usage - Promotional or Long Term Strategy

Short-term example is the Rani Mukherjee campaign for Bata which is believed to have

helped boost sales for the ladie's footwear brand, Sundrop, by a whopping 500 per cent.

The same Rani Mukherjee has a longer association with Fanta and Munch.

(15) Stealth Advertising

Since a cynical public no longer believes that celebrities actually use the products they

endorse in commercials. Revlon launched an online marketing campaign targeting female

customers via chat rooms talking about who Revlon's new face would be. Consequently

the announcement of Halle Berry as Revlon's new face was met with great anticipation.

(16) Foreign Celebrities

Jackie Chan doing a Discover commercial or a Boris Becker doing a Siyaram commercial

(17) Unintentional Celebrity Endorsements

The year before the late Princess Diana bought an Audi, they sold just about five hundred

pieces in the UK. The following year sales figures were close to ten thousand mark. John

Abraham haybusa.

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

The purpose is to provide the marketers with a quantitative method for selection of the

right celebrities to optimize the outcome for their advertising campaigns. We have

developed three matrices, which are: -

Celebrity Positioning Matrix , which gives the popularity and image details of a

personality in the market

Product Positioning Matrix , which is the direct consequence of the brands competitive

strategy

Area Correlation Matrix , which is the overall measure of match of brand and celebrity

These two matrices are used to develop two variables: -

Celebrity Effectiveness Index

Total Area Correlation Score The two variables can be used to decide on the

appropriate celebrity for the brand. The model also helps in minimizing the cost with

optimization of effect. The study is done in two stages, exploratory research involving

personal interviews and focused group discussion followed by primary data collection

and analysis.

Model Development

For the purpose of our study, we divided all companies and brands into twelve categories

mentioned below: -

1. Creator / Innovator: Products or personalities famous fordisruptive, architectural,

modular or incremental innovations ,e.g., White Goods

2. Caregiver: Personalities or products which give the perceived benefit of security and

care, e.g., Insurance Companies

3. Jester: Personalities or products positioned for fun and frivolous activities, e.g., Wafers

4. Magician: Personalities or products which claim to produce results which are

unexpected, e.g., Hair oils for enhancing growth

5. Hero: Personalities or products that prompt courageously action, e.g., Red & White

Bravery Awards.

6. Ordinary Guy: Personalities or products that have slice of life execution format, e.g.,

Peter England

7. Lover: Personalities or products that claim tender care, e.g. ,Beauty Soaps

8. Innocent: Personalities or products that retain and renew faith, e.g., Johnson & Johnson

9. Sage: Personalities or products for guidance and opinion, e.g., Newspaper

10. Outlaw: Personalities or products that encourage to break the rules, e.g., Jeans

11. Explorer: Personalities or products that claim self enhancement through exploration,

e.g., Jeeps

12. Ruler: Personalities or products that show how to exert control, eg., Tires

Variables Developed Celebrity Effectiveness Index (CEI):

This is a parameter defined to evaluate the effectiveness of a personality to interact with

customer and create desired impact. It is the sum of average score of each archetype for a

personality.

Area Correlation Index of Brand and CEI:

This we have defined as the weighted product of corresponding arch types of brands and

celebrities.

HypothesisH1: A brand-celebrity area coefficient is positively related to audience brand-

celebrity connection.

The concepts developed can be used by celebrity clients for effective decision making.

The objective of a client can be described as follows: -To maximize area correlation of

the brand-celebrity rectangle subjected to: -

1. Minimum Costs

2.Minimum Risks The details of the variable in the above-mentioned objectivesare

described below: -Costs Associated:

1. Endorsement fees

2.Feature establishing costs

3.Feature enhancement costs

4. Feature sustaining costs Risks Associated:

1. Mismatch risk

2. Celebrity feature transition risk

3. Celebrity feature mortality risk The steps involved in testing of hypothesis are as

follows: -

Step 1:

Calculate CEI for celebrities and companies

Step 2:

Calculate area correlation matrix for the same

Step 3:

Compare the success of the campaign with the area correlation matrix

Methodology

Calculation of Celebrity Effective Index

Respondents were given a name of a celebrity and asked to rate the personality as against

the archetypes defined earlier. The sampling was convenience sampling and sample size

of hundred for each celebrity. Ten celebrities were selected for the purpose. The selection

was based on three distinct focused group discussions done with SEC A, B, C Category

of members with 10 members each. The top ten most frequent celebrities recalled or

recollected as brand ambassadors were chosen for the further studies.

Methodology

Primary survey was conducted to list down the brand against the above-mentioned ten

celebrities. The most frequent reply was recorded. The brands were then subjected to

arche type scoring, and area correlation was calculated. From secondary data, other

endorsees, if existing, were recorded and the process was repeated. For this other

endorsee, the least frequent or non-existing celebrity was selected from the list of CEI

calculation celebrities.

Research Methodology

To define any research problem and give a suitable solution for the problem a sound

research is inevitable. Research methodology underlines the various steps involved in the

particular research and systematically solving the problem with the objective of determining the

fact.

Research approach

The researcher adopted conclusive and descriptive to study service quality with special

reference

As the term suggests, conclusive research is meant to provide information that is useful in

reaching conclusions or decision making. The purpose of the conclusive research is to provide a

reliable or representative picture of the population with valid research instrument.

Descriptive research describes data and characteristics of the population being studied.

Descriptive research answers who, what, where, when, and how. The descriptive design deals

with facts and characteristics concerning with individual respondents.

Data Source:

Primary data:

The primary data was collected with the help of a structured, non disguised questionnaire.

The data collection was done by making the existing customers of kasaragod fill the

questionnaires .The researcher also used unstructured personal interview to gather information

required for the purpose of the study.

Secondary data:

The research relied upon many secondary sources for getting a clear picture of the

environment. Secondary sources were previous study reports, journals, magazines, newspapers,

books with a view to supplement the primary data. The wide scope of the World Wide Web was

used to collect the detailed information about the topic. The study of secondary sources made

the structuring of questionnaire easy.

Research Instrument used

In order to get relevant information from the customers, questionnaire was used as

research instrument .The questionnaire are design to get the specific information about the

specific problem so that the data after analysis and interpretation results in a better application of

the problem .Hence the questionnaire for this study is prepared in the form of structured both

closed ended and open ended consisting the series of formal questions to elicit clear relevant

responses from the respondents.

(a) Sampling plan

Sampling plan includes sampling units used in the survey. It also includes sampling size

and sampling procedure for the survey.

(b) Sample size

The sample size undertaken in this research study is 50.

(c) Sample units

Every single individual undertaken in the research study is called the sampling unit. In

this research study sampling unit is every single individual who gets his vehicle serviced

(d) Sampling procedures

The primary consideration in purposive sampling is judgement of researcher as to who

can provide the best information to achieve the objectives of the study. The researcher only goes

to those people who in his/her opinion are likely to have the required information and be willing

to share it. Here the researcher collecting the information through questionnaire.

(e) Contact Method

Direct contact method was used for the study was used this study. Questionnaires were

directly circulated to the respondents of the sample in order to achieve instant response.

Tools used for analysis

The following are the tools were used for the project.

Non parametric tests-Man- Whitney test, Kruskal- Wallis test.

Statistical tools like Mean rank.

The significance of the results was tested using non-parametric tests- Man-Whitney test,

Kruskal- Wallis test, with the help of the statistical software SPSS.

Results

Celebrity Effectiveness Index (CEI)

The ten celebrities and the survey results are as follows: -

1. Amitabh Bachchan : CEI = 55

Creator/innovator 2 Caregiver 8 Jester 3

Magician 6 Hero 8 Ordinary Guy 1

Lover 5` Innocent 3 Sage 8

Outlaw 1 Explorer 2 Ruler 8

2. Shan Rukh Khan: CEI = 54

3. Sachin Tendulkar : CEI =53

Creator/Innovator 3 Caregiver 4 Jester 6


Lover 9 Innocent 3 Sage 3


4. Saurav Ganguly: CEI=42

5. Rahul Dravid: CEI=45

6. Hrithik Roshan: CEI= 50













7.Aishwarya Rai: CEI=49

8. Kareena Kapoor: CEI=46

9. Saif Ali Khan: CEI=44

10. Preeti Zinta: CEI=49

















Thus, CEI caluculation was made for the celebrities. The CEI is quantitative meansure

of:-

1.Popularity

2. Image and positioning

Brand Positioning Index for Brands

Polio Eradication Campaign:

Santro:









TVS Victor:

Sona Chandi CHavanprash:

Hutch:

Tamarind (S.Kumar’s):













Creator/Innovator 7 Caregiver 3 Jester




Nakshatra:

Airtel:

Ruffle Lays:













Pepsi:

Thus , the calculation is analogous to CEI but is for companies or products. The outcome

is the direct reflection of company’s positioning strategy.

Alternate Celerity CEI calculation:

1. Brett Lee: CEI =45

2. Mohammed Kaif: CEI=35

















3. Katreena Kaif: CEI=35

4. A.R. Rehman: CEI=38

5. Nawab Pataudi: CEI=31

6. Yuvraj Sing : CEI=37


Magician 4 Hero Ordinary Guy 1











Calculation of Area Correlation

The Corresponding cells of brand and celebrity are multiplied to calculate what we term

as Brand Celebrity Area Correlation

The following table shows the results of above mentioned ten brands:-

Brand Success Celebrity Failure Celebrity

Polio 224 162

Santro 263 215

TVS Victor 277 186

Sona Chandi Chawanprash 177 92

Hutch 200 -

Tamarind 186 -

Nakshatra 234 100

Airtel 247 148

Lays 190 70

Pepsi 186 155





We term the Celebrity With maximum Recall as successful celebrity and with minimum

recall as failure celebrity.

Conclusions & Recommendations of survey

The test of Hypothesis 1 shows that it is 100% accepted for the ten cases presented. Thus,

we can say that area correlation matrix is a good predictor of success of a campaign.

Moreover, the CEI is also a good predictor of popularity of the celebrity. Brands

generally will have lower CEI than Personalities due to deliberate attempts to have strong

positioning to fight competition and develop competitive advantages. The following

recommendations are made to brand managers and account managers: -

1. The cost of an endorsement will be a positive correlated function of CEI

2. The popularity of the campaign is a function of area correlation matrix

3. If the right match is found between the brand and celebrity, popularity of the campaign

can be optimized

4. The cost of the campaign can be reduced by involving celebrities with high polarized

archetype value which matches with the brand

Limitations

The CEI and area correlation are highly time dependent. The image and archetype of a

personality is often volatile and may change with time. The use of the method involves:-

1. Repeated surveys for CEI calculations.

2. Keeping track of celebrity activities.

3. Continuous search for new and emerging celebrities.

Brand Celebrity Unaided

Association

Compatibility

Index

Trait Fit

Index

Thusms-up Salman khan 93 93 100

Coke Hrithik roshan 93 100 50

Adidas Sachin 73 85 25

Samsung Tabu 54 68 25

Table.1

Aspect of brand Images Celebrity Product

Attractiveness Elegance Renuka Shahane Whisper

Beauty Madhuri Dixit Emami

Classy Saif & TIger Asian

Pataudi Paints-Royale

Stylish Fardeen khan

Amitabh bachhan

Provogu

Reid & Taylor

Trustworthiness Honest

Reliable

Tarun Tejpal

Sachin Tejpal

Tehelka

Expertise Knowledge

Qualified

Sachin & Sehwag

Naina Balsavar

Shampoo

PataudiPaints-RoyaleStylishFardeen Khan ProvogueAmitabhBachhanReid

&TaylorTrustworthinessHonest Tarun Tejpal

TehelkaReliableSachinTendulkarTVSVictorExpertiseKnowledgeSachin

&SehwagReebokQualified Naina Balsavar Shampoo concerns, and then assuring

consumers that his doubts had beensatisfactorily laid to rest (after the factory visit).This

reinstatedcustomer faith in Cadbury and sales have now touched pre-wormcrisis days.

Situation 2:

Asian Paints will always be remembered for its 'Merawallah cream' campaign and more

recently the 'Wah Sunil babu'campaign. There have been very forgettable

celebrityendorsements from Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan in the past(probably

people were not able to visualize stars painting their ownwalls). This is a case of a

company whose non-celebritycommercials have done way better than their celebrity

campaignsin terms of recall and message delivery.

Cases

1. Sharukh Khan - Mayur Suitings

(Positive Impact)”Sharukh Mayur Khan” is how this product came to be known,Sharukh

brought to the product his persona of high class lifestyle,giving the consumer the belief to

aspire and good clothing a sureway to reflect the aspiration. The ad shows a great fit

betweenwhat the product stands for, what the consumer expects and whatthe celebrity

means to the consumer, hence explaining the strongimpact in sales and brand recall.

2. Dharmendra - Rajdoot Motorcycles

(Positive Impact)This strong man from yester years, still resonates as the onlybrand

ambassador, who managed to sell a motorcycle in each andevery corner of India in the

80’s. Dharmendra’s image of being abrawny man, hailing from the rustic roots of India,

gave Rajdoot motorcycles the perfect brand ambassador it was looking for. Henot only

gave to the product a sturdy and robust image, but alsobrought to the product trust and

honesty which it was trying to buildin its first time buyers.

3. Amitabh Bachchan

(Cluttered Identity)Our framework argues that exclusivity makes the product-

celebrityassociation stronger thereby making the product resonates withthe qualities of

the celebrity. In cases where the celebrity endorsesmultiple products, he dilutes his

equity. There’s no better example in the Indian industry than AmitabhBachchan who

endorses ICICI Bank, Cadbury, Versa, Dabur, Rin,Parker Pens, Pepsi, Nerolac Paints and

many more. In each of thecases the ads use some or the other attribute of Amitabh

toendorse the product, but makes no strong link in the minds of theconsumer. Hence in

the end the consumer is lost and has difficultyidentifying, what does Amitabh really stand

for?

4. Rani Mukherjee - Hero Cycles

(Negative Impact)Rani Mukherjee endorsing a cycle makes a case where thecelebrity is

used only for her popularity without looking for Brand-celebrity fit.Cycles in India are

generally used by men and the target segmentbelongs to low income group. By using

Rani, the consumers couldnot be assured of the product’s qualities and could not relate

theproduct to the ambassador. Hence, the consumers were notmotivated towards the

product and the ad was called back, therebyemphasizing the need for a brand-celebrity

fit.

5. Hutch - The Child and the Dog

(Created Spokesperson)Hutch managed to grab the attention of the consumers, by

notusing a celebrity. The child and dog campaign came across as afresh initiative at

endorsing a product. The child and dog have hada very high brand recall as they represent

only Hutch and havebeen created by the company according to the needs of theproduct

and the message. It communicates to the consumer, “Weare there, wherever you are and

that too unobtrusively.” Theprotagonist says all of the above and creates a strong bond

withthe consumer.

6. Mohammad Azharuddin - Britannia

(Change of the CelebrityImage)Mohammad Azharuddin, at the peak of his career was a

brandambassador for an assortment of products. But the match-fixingcase besmirched his

image and all of the products starteddisassociating their endorsements from him.Thus, a

product is sold on basis of the qualities of the endorser and with a change in the inherent

value system of the celebrity; thebond with the consumer is lost.

7. Narain Karthikeyan - Jordan / Formula 1 Racing

(EnteringInternational Markets)A celebrity’s endorsement through various cultural and

socialroadblocks is one of the critical applications of our model; Narain isa case in point.

The popularity of F1 as a sport in India owes itsgenesis to use of Narain as a brand

ambassador of the sport. Hisimage and persona has been used by the sport and the

Jordanteam to create brand awareness in India.

8. Sachin Tendulkar - Fiat Palio

(Financial Viability)Sachin Tendulkar was paid a huge sum of Rs. 12 Crore to

endorseFiat Palio, even though Tendulkar as a brand could commandsuch an exorbitant

amount. It’s for the company to evaluate if thereturns generated by the endorsement

would commensurate theinitial spend. In this case due to excessive spending and failure

of the product to take-off the advertisements had to be withdrawn.

CONCLUSION

There is an increasing challenge to the marketing manager to develop and implement an

integrated marketing communication(IMC) plan to realize the true value of the celebrity

endorsements. There is a gradual shift from the traditional approach of showing

celebrities in advertisement to making them the “spokes-person” of the brand. Companies

have taken celebrity endorsement to next level by projecting brands as a way of life.

Smart companies are using their brand ambassadors in other mediums such as movies to

promote their brands .E.g., Amitabh Bachchan, who endorses the financial instruments of

ICICI Bank, is shown as a branch-manager of ICICI Bank in the movie

Baghban

.Wooing the key existing and potential target customers is the trait of a successful

promotion strategy. However, the marketing manager should be able to offer significant

value propositions in the services / products offered to the customers. Thus, one needs to

integrate celebrity endorsement with other marketing programs and ensure that the

celebrity attributes align with the overall brand or company. Companies that succeed in

developing such an integrated IMC plans is the one to succeed in the long-term.

Celebrities do not make brands but ideas do. Celebrity endorsement is also one of the

ideas. If not then brands would have vanished when the hype and hoopla around the

celebrities faded. Thus, the need of the hour is to focus less on your

Return-on-Investment

, and think more in terms of your

Return-on-Ideas

.

“There is one thing which is stronger than all the armies of this world, and that is an idea

whose time has come.”

- Victor Hugo

As has been identified in the analysis framework, the impact of any Celebrity

endorsement campaign depends on three factors -Brand, Customer and Endorser as well

as the interrelationship between -

Brand and Endorser (B-E Interaction)

Consumer and Endorser (C-E Interaction)Hence, a celebrity is required to have not

just a certain minimum level of qualities, but there should also be a tactical fit between

the constituting elements of the model. As has been seen in the cases ,celebrity

endorsement can impact brands in both positive and negative manner. It has acted as a

panacea for companies such as Cadbury’s during the phase when the brand was on the

verge of losing its hard owned equity in the same time also has been used effectively in

making the Anti-Polio Campaign a grand success. Therefore, before designing any

promotion, one must study how each of the factors involved complement and fit in with

the other’s requirement. However, a number of brands have been built without celebrity

endorsement. For some of their brands, Hindustan Lever and Procter & Gamble do not

believe in celebrity endorsement because they think that consumers, especially

housewives, are more likely to identify with a lay person on screen than a celebrity.

Procter & Gamble launched its 'Rejoice' brand in India with testimonials from ordinary

women in their TV advertising. Few more examples of this will be Lifebuoy, Wheel,

Dettol, Close Up ,Fevicol etc.

FACTS AND FIGURES :-

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

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

agreement with her to endorse their camera rolls. But, Aishwarya's magic did not

work there and they had to terminate the contract. Amitabh Bachhan (AB) was

seen endorsing Maruti's Versa Car. The AB factor worked wonders as far as

generating curiosity was concerned but the actual product couldn't meet the

expectations of people, and hence, the endorsement strategy didn't work. He has

been used very effectively by Parker Pens, ICICI Bank and Cadbury's to name a

few.

- Bata's sales doubled soon after they adopted Rani Mukherjee as their brand

ambassador. Magic Johnson lost his endorsement deals when he announced in

1991 that he's HIV-positive. It wasn't until July 2003 that he landed his first

endorsement deal since the announcement.

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

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

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

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

her 49 per cent growth in Celebrity endorsement advertising volumes on TV

during 2007 compared to 2006.

- Celebrities from Film Industry lead with 81 per cent share of overall Celebrity

endorsement advertising pie on TV during 2007.

- 'Aerated Soft Drink' was the top category with maximum advertising volumes of

Celebrity endorsement during 2007.

•- Celebrity endorsement on TV saw a whopping growth of sixtimes during 2007

over 2003

- 'Shahrukh Khan' had maximum number of advertisers in his kitty during 2007.

- Film Celebrities had the largest chunk i.e. 81 per cent share of overall Celebrity

endorsement on TV during 2007.

- Sports and TV personalities took the second and third rank with 14 per cent and 5

per cent share respectively during2007.

- Film Actors accounted for 50% share followed by Film Actress and Sportsmen

with 31 per cent and 14 per cent share of Celebrity endorsement on TV during

2007.

Share of Celebrity Profession on TV during 2007

REFERENCES

Bibliography :

•Positioning: A battle for mind - Jack Trout and Al Ries

•

Erdogan (1999), "Celebrity Endorsement: A LiteratureReview",

Journal of Marketing Research

, 15, 291-314

•

Hindu Business Line, 2003,Tellis, Effective Advertising:Understanding When, How, and

Why Advertising works

•

McCracken, Grant (1989), "Who is the Celebrity Endorser?"

Journal of Consumer Research

, 16 (December), 310-321.

•

Business Standard, May 13, 2005

•

Dean (1999), "Brand Endorsement, popularity, and EventSponsorship as advertising cues

affecting consumer Prepurchase attitude",

Journal of Advertising

, Volume XXVIII,Number 3, 1-12

•

Goldsmith, Lafferty and Newell (2000), "The Impact of Corporate Credibility and

Celebrity Credibility on Consumer Reaction to Advertisements and Brands",

Journal of Advertising

, Volume XXIX, number 3, 43-54

•

L. K. Marhur, I. Mathur and N. Rangan (1997) June, "TheWealth Effects Associated with

a Celebrity Endorser: TheMichael Jordan Phenomena", Journal of AdvertisingResearch,

•

B. Zafer Erdogan, Michael J. Baker and Stephen Tag (2001)June, "Selecting Celebrity

Endorsers: The Practitioner'sPerspective",

Journal of Advertising Research

, 39-48

•

Tripp, Jensen and Carlson (1994) March, "The Effect of Multiple Product Endorsements

by Celebrities on Consumers'Attitude and Intentions",

Journal of Advertisement Research

,Vol 20, 535-547

•

Agrawal and Kamakura (1995) July, "The Economic worth of celebrity endorsers: An

event study analysis", Journal of Marketing, Vol 59, 56-62

•

Aaker, David A. (1996), Building Strong Brands. New York,NY: The Free Press.

•

Daneshvary, Rennae and R. Keith Schwer (2000), "TheAssociation Endorsement and

Consumers' Intention toPurchase," Journal of Consumer Marketing, 17 (3), 203-213.

•

Friedman, Hershey H. and Linda Friedman (1979), "Endorser Effectiveness by Product

Type," Journal of AdvertisingResearch, 19 (5), 63-71.

•

McCracken, Grant (1989), "Who Is the Celebrity Endorser?Cultural Foundations of the

Endorsement Process," Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (3), 310-321.

Websites:

•

www.thedayaftertomorrow.com

•

www.synovate.com – 2003

•

www.indiantelevision.com

•

www.magindia.com

•

www.blonnet.com

•

www.rediff.com – article by Country head, O&M India

•

indiainfoline.com – article 'Celebrity Endorsements inbrands.

•

www.coolavenues.com

For more Notes, Presentations, Project Reports visita2zmba.blogspot.com

•

hrmba.blogspot.com

•

mbafin.blogspot.com

QUESTIONNAIRE

The ten celebrities and the results are as follows: -

1. Amitabh Bachchan : CEI = 55

Creator/innovator 2 Caregiver 8 Jester 3


Lover 5` Innocent 3 Sage 8


2. Shan Rukh Khan: CEI = 54

3. Sachin Tendulkar : CEI =53





4. Saurav Ganguly: CEI=42

5. Rahul Dravid: CEI=45









6. Hrithik Roshan: CEI= 50

7.Aishwarya Rai: CEI=49









8. Kareena Kapoor: CEI=46

9. Saif Ali Khan: CEI=44

10. Preeti Zinta: CEI=49

















Documents

Celebraity Brand