Demystifying Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrity Endorsement.. What is it all about?

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.   Eg: - 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.

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. The business firms, thus, resort to celebrity endorsement to perk up brand recall and product sales. This has now become a trend and is being perceived as a strategic means of brand building exercise. For example, when actor Shah Rukh Khan endorses Santro-Zip drive; the consumers are made to think that he is giving his opinion to go for this car. Two reasons why advertisers need celebrity endorsement are to increase the credibility & attractiveness of their advertisement.

 Brand ambassador vs 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. For example, Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador of Tag Heur, John Abrahm is the brand ambassador for Garnier Men.

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 Sona Chandi Chawanpryash using Sourav Ganguly for a while in its commercials. Brand faces are easily forgotten and fade away with the campaign’s end.

Why Celebrity Endorsements? 

    1) Establishes Credibility Approval of a brand by a star fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the target audience- this is especially true in case of new products. The role of a celebrity endorser in an advertising campaign is, without doubt, linked to the reputation of the celebrity. If the reputation is damaged, more often than not for reasons other than professional ,then the quality of his reputation dos suffer: particulary if it is to do with his (or her) public behavior. Example: Dyna ad by Katrina Kaif.

2) Attracts Attention
Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the brand more noticeable. Example: Ranbir Kapoor in Pepsi, Salman Khan in Dixcy Scott.

3) Associative Benefit A celebrity’s preference for a brand gives out a persuasive message because the celebrity is benefiting from the brand, the consumer will also benefit. Example: Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Dabur Chwyanprash’.

4) Psychographic Connect

    Stars are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalize on these feelings to sway the fans towards their brand. Example: Dhoni in 7Up.

5) Demographic Connect
Different stars appeal differently to various demographic segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.). Example: Amitabh Bachchan with child in Dadur Honey, Sunny Deol in Lux cozi ad.

6) Mass Appeal
Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest among the masses. Example: Sharukh khan And Amitabh Bachchan in Polio Promotion.

7) Mitigating a tarnished image
Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer’s confidence in its chocolate brands following the pitch following the high-pitch worm’s controversy; so the company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job.

8) Rejuvenating a stagnant brand
With the objective of infusing fresh life into the stagnant Chyawnprash category and staving off the competition from various brand , Dabur India roped in Bachchan for an estimated project of 8 crore.

But the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows...

The various risks associated with celebrity endorsements are as follows

Ø 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.

Ø Overshadowing - When celebrity endorser is used, the risk of consumers focusing on the celebrity and not on the brand exists.

Ø Overexposure- This risk arises when the celebrity chooses to endorse several different products simultaneously which might leave the consumers confused.

Ø Overuse - Sometimes the company can use many different celebrities to appeal to different market segment. But multiplicity of endorser might blur the image.

Ø 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.

Ø 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.

§  The communication objectives for the campaign should be frozen.

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