BRAND AMBASSADORS AND BRANDS

BY SAHIL JAIN

WHO IS A BRAND AMBASSADOR

One Who Represent The Product On Behalf Of

The Entire Company. A Well-connected Person Or A Celebrity Who Is Used To Promote And Advertise A Product Or Service Intention Beyond Is To Market The Product A Brand Ambassador Can Also Be Called As An Marketing Agent Of A Company.

 Actors ( Shahrukh khan, Amitabh Bachchan ) Models ( Malaika Arora, Milind Soman) Sports athletes (Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer )

Pop Stars (Britney Spears, Lady Gaga)

Businessmen (Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya) Politicians (Barack Obama) Fictional celebrities (Ronald McDonald, Fido dido,

Amul Girl)

Six uses of Brand ambassadors

Establishes Credibility Attracts Attention Associative Benefit Psychographic Connect Demographic Connect Mass Appeal

MOTIVES BEHIND ENDORSEMENT BY BRAND AMBASSADORS

Helps to position and re-position existing brands. Brings global awareness to a brand and brand recall. Contributes extensive PR advantage and opportunities

for brands.
Famous personalities are a major influence

for our lifestyles.

To push the demand of the product To bring the reliability and retention of the product. Instant Credibility To refresh the brand image.

MAJOR FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Consistency and long-term commitment Prerequisites to selecting celebrities:

The endorser should be attractive, have a positive image in the society, and be perceived as having the necessary knowledge.
Celebritybrand match Trademark and legal contracts

Do not endorse competitors products in the same product category

MAJOR FACTORS SUCCESSFUL FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Constant monitoring:

Monitor the behavior, conduct and public image

Timing:

Constant lookout for emerging celebrities.

Brand over endorser (Vampire Effect):

Potential overshadowing of the brand by the celebrity

Celebrity endorsement is just a channel The celebrity trap:

Once into a celebrity, it is hard to get out of it

Selecting the right Brand ambassador

THE SOURCE CREDIBILITY MODEL

Used commonly to entail the communicators

positive attributes that affect the recipients acceptance of a message Source credibility refers to the perception of the sources expertise, objectivity and trustworthiness Expertise is the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertions and consists of knowledge, special experience and skills Trustworthiness is the degree of confidence in the communicators intent to communicate the assertions he considers most valid and consists of honesty, integrity and believability

The Source Attractiveness Model

Beauty is a greater recommendation than any

other introduction.~ Aristotle Attractiveness based on source valence model was identified as another dimension of source credibility. Mostly associated with physical attributes, such as familiarity, similarity and likeability Attractiveness includes any number of attributes such as intellectual skill, personality properties, lifestyle or athletic prowess It is not necessary that attractiveness should necessarily translate into actual behavior, cognitive attitudes and purchase intention

Match-up Hypothesis
There are certain parameters that postulate compatibility between brand image and the celebrity Celebrity prior endorsements. Whether celebrity is a brand user. Celebrity profession Celebritys fit with the brand image. CelebrityTarget audience match CelebrityProduct match. Celebrity associated values.

THE MEANING TRANSFER MODEL

According to McCraken (1989), the previous

models discussed above are not capable of capture the success factors of the endorsement process The central premise is that celebrities encodes unique sets of meanings which might be transferable to the endorsed product.
Culture

Endorsements
Consumption

Meaning Acquisition

Endorsement

Consumption

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Note:

Path of Meaning Movement

Stage of Meaning Movement

Establishing a Perfect Match Effectiveness depends on the existence of a 'fit Effective match: Reid & Taylor and Amitabh Bachhan,

Accenture and Tiger Woods

 FIT HEALTHY PERFECT BODY SPORTS PERSON

FOR FITNESS FOR HEALTH

CONSCIOUS
SPORTS SHOE

 BEAUTIFUL SLIM LIGHT WEIGHT ZERO FIGURE STYLISH

SLIM LIGHT WEIGHT STYLISH SLEAK

 YOUNG STYLISH ENERGETIC CHOICE OF YOUTH

FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ENERGETIC

 FAIR SOFT SKIN BEAUTIFUL BEAUTY ICON

FAIRNESS SOAP FEMALE PRODUCT

Dearth of salesman
Amitabh bacchan is one man brand industry.Nobody has that 6-to-60 universal appeal who can sell anything to India, and to Bharat. .

Revolutionized the psychological trend of using Cadbury from 5-55age group.

A gift that helps foster relationships.

MULTIPLE CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

Endorsing a product with multiple celebrities as it

leads to attracting and connecting to the different and diverse sets of target audience to the product. Multiple celebrities may lead to confusing consumers about the brands identity It should be assured that each and every celebrity possesses compatible meanings that are sought for brands

Prevalence of Multiple brand ambassador endorsement in India

CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE
Consumer holds by and large a positive attitude

towards celebrity endorsements. Celebrity endorsement can have an impact on the consumers recall evaluations, attention but it does not necessarily always translates into purchase intentions Individuals with higher levels of education might be less influenced by any form of advertising than those with less education The celebrities are often looked upon by the young as their role model.

Indian Consumer Mentality

They look up to certain public faces and aspire to be one among them. Brand Ambassadors connect with a sense of attachment. Brands have temptation to use celebrity ambassadors.

Different stages of consumer purchase decision making

CONSUMER Problem Recognition Information Search

BRAND AMBASSADOR

Generation of Alternatives

Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post Purchase Decision

COUNTRY CONTEXT: INDIA

Brand endorsements by celebrities are a widespread

phenomenon in India and worldwide Celebrities in India live a very public life Few of the brands have been established without celebrity endorsement like Rejoice, Lifebuoy, Close Up, Fevicol etc. There is a great potential for celebrity endorsement in India like successful endorsements done by Shah Rukh Khan includes brands like Santro, Nokia , Nerolac paints, Lux, Pepsodent, Frooti to name a few

PROS OF BRAND AMBASSADORS

To stand out from the clutter

Image polishing
Celebrity as a persuasive source Improves the level of product recall Strong impact on learning style and memory Underpin global campaigns

CONS OF BRANDS AMBASSADORS

1. Negative publicity

2. Overshadowing
3. Overexposure

4. Extinction
5. Celebrity Trap

6. Celebrity credibility

Conclusion
Before choosing the Brand ambassadors the

marketer has to decide how far the benefits outweigh the risks associated. Because it can create a buzz and make a consumer feel better about the product but it can not itself guarantee sales.