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Block #7 International Academic City Dubai
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c e crescendo of celebrities endorsing brands as been steadily increasing over t e past 20 years or so.
Marketers overtly acknowledge t e power of celebrity in influencing buyer's purc ase decision. c ey ave
firm believe t at likeability or a favorable attitude towards a brand is created by t e use of a celebrity.
c e crore of rupees spent per year on celebrity endorsement contracts s ow t at celebrities like Amitab
Bac c an, S aruk k an and Sac in cendulkar play an important role for t e advertising industry. It is an
establis ed fact t at celebrity endorsement can bestow unique features or special attributes upon a
product t at it may ave lacked ot erwise. Ê

In India from late 1970's and early 80's t e new trend in advertising started. Brands started being
endorsed by celebrities. Hindi film and c
stars as well as sportspersons were roped in to endorse
prominent brands. Advertisements featuring stars like Late Jalal Ag a (Pan Parag), cabassum (Prestige
cookers), Sunil Gavaskar for Dines Suiting, Ravi S astri and
ivian Ric ards (
imal), Persis K amb ata
and Kapil Dev (Palmolive S aving cream) became common.

c oug marketers s ould remember t at celebrities are mere living beings like us and if t ey can
ig lig t t e benefits or advantages of a brand t ey can also ave some uncanny negative impact.
c eory and practice suggests t at t e use of stars and t eir unleas ing power in advertising generate a
lot of publicity and attention from t e public but t e underline questions are, do t ese stars really elp a
brand by increasing its sales? On t e ot er and, can t ey really ave an Impact on t e person's
consumption pattern, t ereby c anging is brand preference? How an advertisement featuring a celebrity
can influence consumers buying decision and can create an association between a brand and a common
man.

co answer t ese questions, t e article will examine t e relations ip between celebrity endorsements and
brands, and t e impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer's buying be aviour as well as ow
consumer makes brand preferences.

We will apply a wide range of accepted principles of ow consumers brand attitudes and preferences can
be influenced, ow buyer'sbe avior can be influenced, ow buyer's be avior can be molded. We will use
t e principles of credibility of source and attractiveness, t e matc up ypot esis, t e consumer decision
making model and t e communication model to understand t is p enomenon.

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Brand is t e proprietary visual, emotional, rational and cultural image t at you can associate wit a
company or t e product. Few examples will bring ome t e meaning i.e. l  utterly butterly delicious;
 
± t anda matlab cocacola; 
 ± Ye dil mange more; "
! Masti bole to kurkure and

 ka India.

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Advertisements enforces w at exactly t e brand stands for and w at to expect by its consumption and
above all w at factors, features and attributes makes it better from competition. Advertisements along
wit ot er marketing efforts generate expectations and feelings in a customer and force t em to t ink
w en t ey see or ear t e brand name. c is c inking process and emotional bonding gets more mature
and relevant w en a celebrity endorses t e brand. c
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Celebrities are people w o enjoy public recognition and mostly t ey are t e experts of t eir respective
fields aving wider influence in public life and societal domain. Attributes like attractiveness,
extraordinary life style or special skills'larger t an life imageand demigod status can be associated wit
t em.

It is safe to deduce t at wit in a corresponding social group celebrities generally differ from t e social
norm and enjoy ig degree of public awareness.

Celebrities appear in public in different ways. co start, t ey appear in public w en fulfilling t eir
professional commitments example: Ma endra Sing D oni, w o played cricket in front of an audience in
cwentycwenty World Cup. Furt ermore, celebrities appear in public by attending special celebrity events,
example: t e movie award nig ts; special screening; world premiers of movies or for social causes. c ese
celebrities ave universal presence and appeal, t ey are present everyw ere, in news, fas ion s ows and
magazines, tabloids and above all advertisements.





Star power in India can be gauged by t e successful endorsements done by S aruk K an (Pepsi,
Hyundai Santro, Sunfeast, and Navratan etc.), Amitab Bac c an, Sac in cendulkar, Ra ul Dravid,
Hrit ik Ros an and t e ot ers. c e inevitable question is, if and ow t e lively interest of t e public in t e
ric and famous can be efficiently and effectively used by companies to promote t eir brands and
consequently to increase t eir sales revenues.

c is fact can be broug t out by using certain examples i.e. Mr. Amitab Bac c an promoting Cadbury
c ocolates after t e fiasco of infestation w en t e image of Cadbury India went very low in t e eyes of
people. Soon t e company found a perfect fit and a reliable celebrity to transmit t e correct message and
elp regenerating t e lost trust. c e fit between t e product and celebrity is evident as Mr. Bac c an and
Cadbury c ocolates bot ave tested troubled times and still t ey stand tall and t e love and trust t ey
bot s are wit t e people all across India. c is is a live example of ow a celebrity broug t certain
attributes to a product like c ocolate.
Actor S aruk k an as also endorsed diversified products. His endorsement basket is ranging from
Hyundai Santro to Sunfeast biscuits on one and and from Compaq computers to
ideocon electronics on
t e ot er.

According to Advertising researc companies bot t e actors are doing well and t e ad spent on bot by
t e companies is increasing at a p enomenal rate, so does t eir basket of endorsements. c ese actors
bring reliability and trust in t e brand and above all, t ey elp in increasing t e sales revenues.

Celebrity endorsements are powerful, as become evident from t e above two examples but, w y is it so?
c is power is offered by t e following elements, w ic also creates a 'cop of t e Mind Position'.

* Instant Awareness, knowledge about t e brand and easy recall.

*
alues and image of t e brand is defined, ig lig ted and refres ed by t e celebrity.
* c e celebrity adds new edge and dimension to t e brand.
* Credibility, trust, association, aspiration and connectivity to brand.
* Belief in efficiency and new appearance t at will result in at least trial usage.


$ 

 

 

  is t e study of ow people buy, w at t ey buy, w en t ey buy and w y t ey buy.

It blends elements from psyc ology, sociology, sociopsyc ology, ant ropology and economics. It
attempts to understand t e buyer decisionmaking process, bot individually and in groups. It studies
c aracteristics of individual consumers suc as demograp ics, psyc ograp ics, and be avioral variables in
an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on t e consumer from groups
suc as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.

c e study and knowledge of consumer be avior elps firms and organizations to improve t eir marketing
strategies and product offerings. Following are t e important issues t at ave significant influence on
consumer's psyc e and t eir ability to take decisions:

ÔÊ c e psyc ology of ow consumers t ink, feel, reason, and select between different alternatives
(e.g., brands, products);
ÔÊ c e psyc ology of ow t e consumer is influenced by is or er environment (e.g., culture, family,
signs, media);
ÔÊ c e be avior of consumers w ile s opping or making ot er marketing decisions;
ÔÊ Limitations in consumer knowledge or information processing abilities influence decisions and
marketing outcome;
ÔÊ How consumer motivation and decision strategies differ between products t at differ in t eir level
of importance or interest t at t ey entail for t e consumer; and
ÔÊ How marketers can adapt and improve t eir marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to
more effectively reac t e consumer.
ÔÊ c eir Age, Religion, Culture, Income, informal group and Referent Group.

Understanding t ese issues elps us adapt our strategies by taking t e consumer into consideration.

 

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c e given process is very complicated t oug on first sig t it does not look so. Process starts wit
problem recognition or wit an unsatisfied need. Somet ing t at a consumer would like to ave or
purc ase in order to attain satisfaction. c is need can be Psyc ological, attitudinal or P ysiological but
yes it s ould ave t e capacity to be fulfilled by consuming a particular product or service.ÊÊ

co satisfy t e given need w at all are t e components t at s ould be taken into consideration and ow
we can maximize t e satisfaction is t e next stage. In t is stage, we will cover ability to purc ase, level
of involvement, people w ose opinion will count and ot er relevant details t at will elp us in optimizing
satisfaction.

Based upon information searc we will generate various alternatives i.e. w ic brand or product is
affordable for me, w ere will it be available comfortably and above all in comparison to ot er brands or
products ow better or economical it is.

Evaluation stage will look like cost benefit analysis and based upon maximum value or utility per rupee
spend, we will decide or s ortlist t e product or brand. c is is t e decision and confirmation stage w ere
t e consumers prepares imself for t e purc ase of a particular brand and give preference to one and
only one over and above t e ot ers.

Next comes t e purc ase w en t e consumer will finally go to t e market and look for t e brand or t e
product, p ysically verifies it and purc ases it.

Last is t e post purc ase Evaluation in w ic t e customer wants to justify is consumption or purc ase
decision. He tries to find out w et er is purc ase decision was rig t or not. Companies make lot of effort
to tackle t is situation successfully and t ey want t e customer to be satisfied wit t eir product.

c is stage may result into t ree situations, first is satisfaction w ere customer is satisfied and e got
expected results but t is does not necessitates t e repeat purc ase by t e consumer. Second is
dissonance w ere t e consumer is not satisfied as e got less utility or less t an expected result from t e
consumption or product performance. c ird is Delig t, ere t e consumer gets more t an expected
satisfaction and utility and t is will assure t e repeat purc ase and creation of brand loyalty.Ê
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c ere are several factors t at affect consumer's decision to purc ase a brand and a product. c ese
factors t oug at time are not very muc visible but t ey make an impact and affects sales of a product
or brand up to a great extent. c e table below s ows some of t ese factors.Ê


  
 

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Researc studies ave proven t at known products and names are sold more t an unknown ones.
c erefore, a known brand or an optimally exposed brand will find more recognition and buyers in t e
market in comparison to completely unknown or unexposed brand. Recognition of brand and its
significance along wit t e traditional factors plays a very significant role in consumer decisionmaking
process.

More or less every consumer as a brand preference and given t e affordability and societal norms, eac
buyer would like to buy and consume one of t e ig ly acceptable, recognizable, and reputed brands.Ê

Ê
c e above given model explains t e important role t at a brand plays in t ree different stages of
consumer's purc ase decision making. A consumer start collecting data or information about is favourite
brand t an e keeps is favourite as one of t e alternatives and e evaluate is selected brand against all
available options and on finding it suitable or best among all options based upon a qualitative and
quantitative evaluation e will ultimately purc ase t e selected or favourite brand.Ê

Ê
c e diagram above explains ow various traditional factors along wit brand preference interact during
purc ase decision process and finally results into a consumer's final product c oice or ultimate purc ase.ÊÊ



 

Surveys suggest t at compared to any ot er types of endorsers, famous people ac ieve a ig er degree
of attention and recall. c ey increase awareness of a company's advertising as well as elp in retention of
message in t e psyc e of t e audience. c ey can also elp t e company in reducing t eir expenditure on
Media and ot er forms of publicity. An example will bring more clarity, W en S Kumars, a known textile
brand entered into readymade garments business t ey used Hrit ik Ros an, t en t e ottest advertising
icon for t eir launc advertising for cAMARIND, now one of t e premium readymade brands. c ey
reckoned t at t ey ave spent 400 percent less on media due to s eer impact of using ottest star like
Hrit ik. c e Ad recall was as ig as 70 percent and t e campaign can be termed as a great success.

Celebrities also create positive feelings towards brands, connect user to brand and are perceived by
consumers as more entertaining.

Using a celebrity in advertising or for any, ot er type of communication for brand building is likely to
positively affect consumers' brand preference, brand attitude, brand association and purc ase intentions.
co ensure positive results, owever, it is critical for advertisers to ave a clear understanding of
consumer's reactions and reinforcement of celebrity endorsement. c e impact of celebrity endorsement
on any brand as well as on consumer's purc ase decision is very critical.

 

 

Central goal of advertising is t e convincing of consumers and persuasion to purc ase, t e ultimate
objective, t oug not openly spoken, is to some ow attract consumers to t e market offering of t e
company, generating positive attitude, reinforce positive association and ultimately to generate sales,
may be a trial purc ase. At later stages, t e sponsor may work towards creating a brand loyalty but
generating initial sales or increasing t e existing sales is t e primary objective. In t is respect, t e
credibility of an endorser along wit advertisement plays an important role in convincing t e target
audience of t e attractiveness of t e company's brand and generates sales. Pursuing a celebrity
endorsement strategy enables advertisers to project a credible image in terms of expertise,
persuasiveness, trustwort iness, and objectiveness.
co create effective messages, celebrity advertisers also ave to consider t e attractiveness of t e
spokesperson. Source attractiveness refers to t e endorser's P ysical appearance, Personality, Likeability
and Similarity to t e receiver, t us to t e perceived socialvalue of t e source. c is be avior mainly goes
back to alo effect, w ereby persons w o perform well on one dimension example: p ysical
attractiveness or top professional performance, social status are assumed to excel on ot er levels as well
i.e. appiness and coolness. c is is evident from t e use of Fardeen K an, modern, dynamic, outgoing
and smart personality for Provogue; e translates t e modernism of t e brand well. citan uses Aamir
K an in is different avatars for communicating to t e public t at t eir watc es are as reliable and
passionate as Aamir is for films. Bot Fardeen and Aamir carry t e message well and en ance t e
credibility of t e brand t ey endorse.

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Researc proves t at a spokesperson especially for a service product or organization (ICICI First
Amitab Bac c an, now S a ruk K an) interacts wit t e type of brand being advertised. c ese stars
communicate t e value of t e product and transform an ordinary service into a miracle solution for all
problems of an ordinary customer.

According to Friedman and Friedman (1979), a famous relative to a 'normal' spokesperson is more
effective for products ig in psyc ological or social risk, involving suc elements as good taste, self
image, and opinion of ot ers. Several researc studies ave examined t e congruency between celebrity
endorsers and brands to explain t e effectiveness of using famous persons to promote brands.

In India, a brand called Reid & caylor presented its perfect example w en t ey first launc ed t eir
advertising campaign featuring James Bond fame of t e time Mr. Pierce Brosnan along wit t e tagline
'BOND WIcH cHE BESc' but t e James Bond idea did not worked and t e company was not appy wit
t e results.

After t e debacle of t e first campaign, company introduced a family ad w ere c ildren are celebrating
t ere parents silver wedding anniversary and t ey are out wit t eir fat er to purc ase a suit for im.
Even t is commercial did not work and it was taken off t e air. As a last resort, company introduced Mr.
Amitab Bac c an as Reid & caylor man, a man propagating t e brand for special occasion and for very
special people in life. c e commercial from t e initial days got good response and did extremely well as
people were able to connect wit Mr. Bac c an and t e values e was propagating.

For t e masses, t ere was a perfect matc of an ideal Indian family man, a star and a good quality but
bit ig ly priced brand reserved especially for special occasions and for very special people.

Second example t at can be quoted is of
is wanat an Anand, w o endorsed NIIc. NIIc adopted a very
smart strategy by roping in
is wanat an Anand an international c ess wizard for t eir advertising
campaign. As c ess is considered to be a game full of strategies and a game for smart people and w en
one of t e greats of t e game is asking people to join NIIc it was suppose to ave a positive influence on
t e people and actually it ad. c ere was complete congruency and compatibility between t e celebrity
endorser, t e product and t e message.

Contrary to only favorable outcomes, t ere are several examples w ere t e product, even t e entire
campaign collapsed due to eavy weig t celebrity as t e agency or t e ad failed to establis t e
relations ip between t e endorser and t e product. Keeping t e focus only on success, w ere t e product
and t e celebrity were a perfect matc , following are few examples:

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* Dabur
* Cadbury
Amitab Bac c an Ê * Reid and caylor
* Parker Ê
* Santro
*
ideocon
S a ruk K an Ê * Sunfeast
* Pepsi ÊÊ
Ju i C awala Ê * Kurkure ÊÊ
Ustad Zakir Hussain Ê * caj ma al tea ÊÊ
* citan
Aamir K an Ê * Coke
* coyota Innova ÊÊ
* Naks atra
Ais warya Rai Ê * ÊÊ
Lux
* Fanta
Rani Muk erjee Ê * Nestle Munc ÊÊ
* W irlpool
Kajol and Ajay Devgan Ê * cata Indicom ÊÊ

c e campaigns are not only basking wit t e glory of success stories, but t ere is considerable number of
failures as well. Assuming t at a person just ave to be famous to represent a successful brand, owever,
would be incorrect and may turn out to be a very dangerous preposition resulting into a big calamity for
t e entire advertising campaign or t e brand.ÊÊ

ery well accepted and attractive super stars like Ab is ek Bac c an and Amitab Bac c an failed in
turning t eir endorsements into success i.e. Maruti
ersa similarly
irendra Se wag also failed to deliver
Reliance celecommunication wit t e master stroke of is cricketing genius.

Among t e possible reasons identified by several aut ors, including overexposure and identification, t e
'matc up ypot esis' specifically suggests t at t e effectiveness depends on t e existence of a 'fit'
between t e celebrity spokesperson and endorsed brand.

Empirical work on t e congruency of brand wit t e celebrity often as concentrated on t e p ysical

attractiveness of t e endorser. Results s ow t at an attractive spokespersons are more effective in terms
of attitude c ange w en prompting brands t at en ance one's attractiveness i.e. cosmetics; ealt drinks
or fas ion wear.

Primary data states, for celebrity spokespersons to be truly effective, t ey s ould be knowledgeable,
experienced, mature, and a benc mark in t eir respective field and qualified to talk about t e product.

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After watc ing an advertisement t e consumers try to find t e meaning of t e advertisement and
associate t e same wit t e endorser and eventually transfer to t e brand. co understand t is
p enomenon Mc Cracken (1989) suggested a compre ensive model known as Meaning cransfer Model.
c is t reestage model suggests ow t e meaning associated wit t e famous person moves from t e
endorser to t e product or t e brand. c us, meanings attributed to t e celebrity become associated wit
t e brand in t e consumer's mind. Finally, in t e consumption process, t e customer acquires t e brand's
meaning. c e t ird stage of t e model explicitly s ows t e importance of t e consumer's role in t e
process of endorsing brands wit famous persons.

In contrast to anonymous endorsers, celebrities add value to t e image transfer process by offering
meanings of extra dept and power, w at is complemented by t eir life style and personalities. c erefore,
to transfer t e correct meaning to t e consumer t e company s ould select a celebrity t at will produce
t e most favorable response for consumers and for t e purpose t e celebrity s ould ave, t e
appropriate set of c aracteristics and t e public s ould be able to visualize and compre end t e same.
c e company s ould consider t e consumer's needs w ile developing t eir communication strategy and
selecting an appropriate celebrity to transmit t e same, i.e. Kurkure used actress Ju i C awala wit t e
punc line 'Masti Bole co Kurkure' and t e actress on screen and offscreen personifies t e masti and
elps t e brand in communicating t e same easily.

Compatibility of t e celebrity's persona wit t e overall brand image is very important, as a celebrity
imparts credibility and inspirational value to a brand and is or er image s ould perfectly matc t e
brand's image. A good brand campaign idea and an intrinsic link between t e celebrity and t e message
are must for a successful campaign.

Certain elements t at generate a perfect matc or compatibility between t e celebrity and brand image
are:

* Celebrity's fit wit t e brand image along wit celebritytarget audience matc .
* Celebrity associated values and celebrityproduct matc .
* Costs of acquiring t e celebrity and is or er popularity along wit controversy risks associated wit
t e celebrity.
* Credibility, availability and p ysical attractiveness of celebrity.

c e above points can be put to perspective by using two examples, first Kapil Dev's 'Palmolive da jawaab
na in' and second Naks atra's brand recall due to its endorser, t e gorgeous Ais warya Rai Bac c an.
Bot brands ave edged out and carved out t eir nic e in consumer's mind due to image and credibility
of t eir endorsers. c ese were t e cases of perfect matc between t e brand image and t e image or
persona of t e celebrity endorser. Ê

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A brief assessment of t e current market situation indicates, t at celebrity endorsement advertising

strategy can under t e rig t circumstances indeed justify t e ig costs associated wit t is form of
advertising. c e use of celebrity for endorsements create a very favorable impact on t e consumer and it
creates a connect w ic forces a consumer to purc ase a product. However, as several failures s ow, it is
essential for advertisers to be aware of t e complex processes underlying celebrity endorsement.

It as been proved from t e discussion t at celebrity endorsements are a powerful and useful tool t at
magnifies t e effect of a campaign but t e word of caution to be followed seriously; celebrities alone do
not guarantee success nor does a great advertising campaign or t e best possible product. It is t e
combination of several factors and elements t at work toget er for t e success of a brand and its
acceptance in t e minds of consumers as well as for its market offering.

Modern day consumers are well educated and smart, t ey know celebrities are being paid for t ese
endorsements and t is knowledge makes consumers rat er more cynical about t e product and celebrity
endorsements. Majority of t e consuming population also knows w at is advertising and ow it actually
works and t is knowledge of consumer makes t e task of celebrity endorsement all t e more difficult and
c allenging for t e advertising companies and t e sponsors. Indian companies bot advertising and
product offering companies ave top make an effort to overcome t is evermounting c allenge.

Ñ






* Aaker, David A. (1996), @


@ . New York, NY: c e Free Press.
* Danes vary, Rennae and R. Keit Sc wer (2000), "c e Association Endorsement and
* Consumers' Intention to Purc ase,"


   
, 17 (3), 203213.
* Friedman, Hers ey H. and Linda Friedman (1979), "Endorser Effectiveness by Product cype,"


 

 , 19 (), 6371.
* McCracken, Grant (1989), "W o Is t e Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of t e Endorsement
Process,"


   , 16 (3), 310321.Ê
Ê