THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

NEW DELHI

THESIS ON

DETAILED STUDY ON CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

SUBMITTED BY:

MEGHA JAIN

ALUMNI ID NUMBER: TS12-M-167

BATCH: ISBE-B, Spring Summer 10-12 /SM1

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. ANGSHUMAN PAUL

i

ABSTRACT

The thesis focuses on celebrity endorsement and its use by

marketers. It also explains the problems that marketers face when

they do not choose the right celebrity for their brands.

Celebrity endorsements pull in hundreds of crores every year, and

are widely preferred by marketers to promote their products. Today

FMCG sector is 4th

largest sector in the

economy. Using celebrities for endorsing brands has become a trend for

building the brands as well as the company's image. Who are these

celebrities? And what does celebrity endorsement mean? A celebrity

is a person who is well recognized by the public, and has a

reputation for his/her expertise in his/her chosen silos. Sports

persons and film stars fit the bill perfectly. Promotion of a

company's products through these celebrities is termed as celebrity

endorsement. The company makes use of the celebrity's

characteristics and qualities to establish an analogy with the

products specialties with an aim to position them in the minds of the

target consumers. Celebrity endorsement, thus, is one of the

powerful tools adopted by companies/marketers to consolidate their

brand(s) in the crowded marketplace.

Consumers prefer to own a brand that has a good reputation, and

when someone like a famous film star or a sport star is associated

with that particular brand, it is obvious that the consumers will get

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attracted to it, because the consumer wants to maintain some

status, and feels that using a brand promoted by a star can satisfy

that longing.

There is a myth that celebrity endorsement is used to give a brand

advantage over its competitors. However, choosing a celebrity for

this purpose requires considerable amount of calculations. There

should be something common between the brand and the celebrity

promoting it. Let us come to the main question as to why marketers

use celebrities to promote their brands. Is there a real need to

associate a celebrity with the product? Yes seems to be the

resounding answer. This is because a company needs to create

awareness and interest in the consumers mind when it unveils a

new brand or product. To be successful, brands need to convince

consumers that they carry a different image and value from other

competing products. In other words, brands have to show their true

personality to the potential consumer(s).

TOPIC APPROVAL LETTER

ISBE –B     (SS 10-12 )

PROJECT THESIS TOPIC APPROVAL

Dear MEGHA JAIIN,

This is to inform you that the approved topic for project thesis is - “DETAILED STUDY ON CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS”.

This email is an official confirmation that you would be doing your project thesis work genuinely and shall try to achieve the said objectives

mentioned in the synopsis.

You must always use the thesis title as approved and registered with us.

iii

Your project thesis id Number is TS12-M-167.

You are required to correspond with your Internal Guide MR.ANGSHUMAN PAUL (angshuman.paul@iipm.edu) at regular intervals before sending the

thesis final draft to him.

Regards,

Dipti Sharma

The Indian Institute of Planning and Management

dipti.sharma@iipm.edu

Phone: 011 – 42789995

THESIS SYNOPSIS

Name Megha Jain

Batch ISBE-B, SS 10-12

Section SM1

Contact no. 9891665262

Email_id ku.meghajain@gmail.com

Thesis Topic: “Detailed Study On Celebrity Endorsements”.

Specialization: Marketing

Introduction:

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Three of humankind's greatest inventions (cinema, radio &

television) have extended the scope of endorsement as an

advertising technique. Today use of celebrities as a part of

marketing communications strategy is fairly common practice for

major firms in supporting corporate or brand imagery.

Research Objectives:

a. To know the impact of celebrity endorsements on brands.

b. To know whether celebrity endorsements increase the sales of the company.

c. To know & understand whether celebrity endorsement work in India.

d. Does celebrity endorsement always have a positive effect on the brand?

Research methodology:

Secondary data – Books, Newspaper, Magazines, journals, market

reports & internet

Primary data- Tool used, Sampling method, sample size,

Target Audience

Questionnaires, Simple random Sampling used, Sample size-100

respondent, Target Area- New Delhi & Gurgaon [Malls, retails

outlets etc.]

Justification of choosing the topic:

As know day celebrity endorsement is used as effective tool for

effective market penetration and this effect the consumer behavior,

So as a Market student I like to understand the effect of this topic on

consumer.

v

Summer training details:

Topic: Employment morals in FCI Head Quarters.

Company name: FCI, Delhi

Area of specialization: HR

vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satiation and euphonies that accompany the success

completion of a task would be incomplete without a mention of

people who made it possible. So, with immense gratitude, I

acknowledge all those, whose guidance and encouragement served

as a beacon light and crowned my effort with success.

It is entrenched fact that behind every achievement lays an

unfathomable sea of gratitude to those who have extended their

support and without whom the project would ever have come into

existence.

I express my gratitude to IIPM, New Delhi for providing me an

opportunity to work on this thesis as a part of the curriculum.

I would like to thank Prof. Angshuman Paul for his guidance and

supervision to completion of my thesis project.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENT

ABSTRACT..........................................................................................ii

TOPIC APPROVAL LETTER..................................................................iii

SYNOPSIS..........................................................................................iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT..........................................................................vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................vii

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................1

REVIEW OF LITERATURE...................................................................24

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES…………………………………………………….....30

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..............................................................31

COCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK................................................................32

DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS……………………………………………..

.........................................................................................................35

FINDINGS.........................................................................................44

SUMMARY.........................................................................................45

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………........46

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................. ...47

ANNEXURE.......................................................................................48

viii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1 35

TABLE 2 36

TABLE 3 37

TABLE 4 38

TABLE 5 39

TABLE 6 40

TABLE 7 41

TABLE 8 42

TABLE 9 43

LIST OF FIGURES

FIG 1 35

FIG 2 36

FIG 3 37

FIG 4 38

FIG 5 39

FIG 5 40

FIG 6 41

FIG 8 42

ix

FIG 9 43

x

INTRODUCTION

The present is era of mass production and mass distribution. Similar

products are taken to market. This involves stiff competition

amongst the producers. Many firms adopt the vigorous means to

maintain their existence in the market, as there are many

substitutes in the market. This tendency is a struggle for the

producers for their survival in the modern business world. All

businessmen aim to make profit by increasing the sales at a

remunerative price policy. Public must know when we manufacture

good quality products or offer expert services, these. For this mass

communication is needed as the population is great or the market

area is wide. We can adopt sales promotion and advertising as tools

to mobilize the marketing machinery. In the present business world,

suitable publicity is done through advertising, which is adopted by

commercial and industrial undertakings and almost all types of

concerns. Therefore advertisement is a method of publicity.

Advertisement has the prominent place among the techniques of

mass education and persuasion on the public. It is not a modern

origin. It has been used for immemorial period. In earlier periods,

advertisement was displayed in the form of sign boards, writing on

historical buildings or inscriptions on stones, stone pillars, stone

walls etc. The development of printing has greatly boosted the ideas

of advertising through newspapers, magazines, handbooks etc. In

earlier period it was used only in a limited manner. The evolution of

printing technology and the changing of the marketing policies have

been greatly utilized and many are benefited from advertising. Now,

manufacturers, businessmen, employers, institutions, new shop

owners, marketers etc. are benefited greatly by displaying the

advertisement. Increasing literacy, modern techniques of printing,

stiff competition etc. add to the necessity of advertisement.

1

Advertising is a non-personal form of promotion that is delivered

through selected media outlets that, under most circumstances,

require the marketer to pay for message placement.  Advertising

has long been viewed as a method of mass promotion in that a

single message can reach a large number of people.  But, this mass

promotion approach presents problems since many exposed to an

advertising message may not be within the marketer’s target

market, and thus, may be an inefficient use of promotional funds. 

However, this is changing as new advertising technologies and the

emergence of new media outlets offer more options for targeted

advertising.

Advertising also has a history of being considered a one-way form of

marketing communication where the message receiver (i.e., target

market) is not in position to immediately respond to the message

(e.g., seek more information).  This too is changing.  For example, in

the next few years’ technologies will be readily available to enable a

television viewer to click a button to request more details on a

product seen on their favorite TV program.  In fact, it is expected

that over the next 10-20 years advertising will move away from a

one-way communication model and become one that is highly

interactive.

Another characteristic that may change as advertising evolves is the

view that advertising does not stimulate immediate demand for the

product advertised.  That is, customers cannot quickly purchase a

product they see advertised.  But as more media outlets allow

customers to interact with the messages being delivered the ability

of advertising to quickly stimulate demand will improve.

The field of advertising is extremely broad and diverse. In general

terms, of course, an advertisement is simply a public notice meant

to convey information and invite patronage or some other response.

As that suggests, advertising has two basic purposes: to inform and

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to persuade and – while these purposes are distinguishable – both

very often are simultaneously present. Advertising can be very

simple – a local, even? Neighborhood, phenomenon – or it can be

very complex, involving sophisticated research and multimedia

campaign that span the globe. It differs according to its indented

audience, so that, for ex, advertising aimed at children raises some

technical and moral issues significantly different from those raised

by advertising aimed at competent adults. Advertising is

everywhere in today’s world, so that, as Pope Paul VI remarked, “No

one now can escape the influence of advertising”. We do not agree.

There is truth to the criticisms, and we shall make criticisms of our

own. But advertising also has significant potential for good, and

sometimes it is realized.

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Advertising

The activity of attracting public attention to a product or business,

as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic

media. Also defined as "the non personal communication of

information through various media, paid for by the advertiser and is

usually convincing in nature about the need to buy products and

services" - the advertisers of course. Advertising your company’s

products and services to your targeted audience is essential to

maintain a long lasting and prosperous relationship. If you’re not

continually winning your customers over than the competition will.

Advertising is defined in Webster's dictionary "as the action of

calling something to the attention of the public especially by paid

announcements, to call public attention by emphasizing desirable

qualities so as to arouse a desire to buy or patronize: promote."

Advertising is a mass-mediated communication. For communication

to be classified as advertising it must be:

1) Paid for,

2) Delivered to an audience via mass media, and

3) Be attempting to persuade.

Advertising, when properly understood, is a powerful tool for

marketing. It can be most effective with products that can be

differentiated from similar products based on consumer accepted

quality differences. However, regardless of the quality of a product’s

advertising, it is important to remember that a product has to

compete on its own. For example, brand preference cannot be

established if the product fails to meet consumer expectations. The

characteristic features of advertising are:

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It must be non-personal communication as differentiated from

personal selling.

It should persuade target audience with relevant information.

It may be presented in any form in any medium or in a

combination of forms suiting the media where it is carried.

It should be paid for.

It is controlled in the sense that the advertiser can control the

content, time and direction of the message.

The source and purpose of the message should be identifiable.

ROLE OF ADVERTISING:

Advertising plays a vital role in the society and on economy of

the society as:

Advertising is a strong communication tool for providing

information to both consumers and industrial

purchasers regarding product quality, price and new

technology.

It helps raising standards of life by bringing in

information about new products, services and concepts.

Advertising helps in generating employment and

improvement in GNP.

Advertising sponsors competitive market and indirectly

provides check and balance against market leaders and

monopolists.

Advertising subsidies media expenditure and helps

media to maintain independence to a great extent.

The role of advertising are many, there are three primary roles:

Give information

Generate needs

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Promise to fulfill needs

FUNCTIONS OF ADVERTISING:

Advertising is an important part of many marketers promotional

mix. As it can be cost- effective method for communicating with

large audiences.

General aim or focus of advertising is to provide a possible help to

sales. The most company’s objective is to:

Create awareness

Educate or convey information

Remind or reassume

Project a new brand image

Project a corporate image

CELEBRITY ADVERTISING:

The latest craze in advertisements to be to adopt the formula of

“Celebrity Advertising”. In their attempts to improve the

effectiveness of their advertising, a number of marketers utilize

celebrities to present their product and message. A well-chosen

celebrity can draw attention to product or brand. The primary

advantage of using celebrities is that they improve product

recognition in a promotional environment filled with hundreds of

competing commercials. As competition is increasing at greater

pace among marketers the need arises for them to attract

consumers and they are adopting this technique of using celebrities

in ads. The use of celebrities makes the viewers more comfortable

in adopting the product. It brings faster awareness in the first stage.

This is because of high recognition the celebrity has. In the second

stage the interest among consumers is created very quickly as it is

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being endorsed by the celebrity. A celebrity ad makes evaluation

easy for consumers so that the trial is automatic if the product is

well designed. The adoption may be for a longer period of time. The

use of celebrity reinforces the confidence of consumers.

The choice of celebrity is critical. The celebrity should have high

recognition, high positive effect and high appropriateness to the

product. Any celebrity who posses these factors will significantly

influence the consumer. These factors will help the marketer a lot in

establishing a brand in the minds of consumers. In today’s world,

where competing ad’s try to gain attention of viewers/readers, the

formula of celebrity advertising will click and these ad’s will have a

definite edge over other ad’s.

Because of high recognition of celebrity among masses, ad’s

carrying celebrity will make easy for the market to make a roadway

into the consumer’s choice set. Due to high recognition, celebrity

ads will create easy awareness and high recall of brand. Another

factor of high positive effect plays an important role. Because of the

high positive image celebrities have, consumers will feel the

genuineness of the product functionality. The celebrity should have

some sort of relationship with the product being endorsed.

Certain parameters that postulate compatibility between the

celebrity and brand image are:

Celebrity’s fit with the brand image.

Celebrity—Target audience match

Celebrity associated values.

Costs of acquiring the celebrity.

Celebrity—Product match.

Celebrity controversy risk.

Celebrity popularity.

Celebrity availability.

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Celebrity physical attractiveness.

Celebrity credibility.

Celebrity prior endorsements.

Whether celebrity is a brand user.

Celebrity profession.

Celebrity advertising is ineffective when there is no reasonable

relationship between the celebrity and the advertised product or

service. It is to be seen how far the celebrity resembles the product.

For a food item being endorsed by an expert like Sanjeev Kapoor

will have a significant effect, as he is considered being an expert in

his field. This way of relationship will definitely bring substantial

benefits to the advertiser.

Further if the celebrity is involved in a scandal it will crate a

negative image of the product. The trustworthiness of the product

will be at stake if such an incidents happen. As seen in the recent

past, some cricketers were found to be involved in a match fixing

scandal. And one of such cricketer’s ads was withdrawn immediately

after such incident. Similarly in a cigarette advertising in which an

actor, who expired because of throat cancer was also withdrawn.

With the advent of satellite TV channels, it can be said that there is

substantial increase in the number of ads. This made more scope for

consumers to watch the same ad and on different channels at

different points. Television is popular and essential media for ads.

As now a celebrity endorses various different kinds of products,

confusion will develop in the minds of consumers as to which

product the celebrity is associated. This will ultimately make

consumers forget the product and solely remember the celebrity

only. The real goal of celebrity advertising will be missed.

8

Celebrity endorsements are impelled by virtue of the following

motives:

Instant Brand Awareness and Recall.

Celebrity values define, and refresh the brand image.

Celebrities add new dimensions to the brand image.

Instant credibility or aspiration PR coverage.

Lack of ideas.

Convincing clients.

The realm of the celebrity’s impact is confined to bestow a

distinctive identity and provide AV to the brand; the celebrity does

not have the power to improve or debilitate the efficiency and

features of the core product. Thus, we are gradually approaching an

evident proposition claiming,

“The health of a brand can definitely be improved up to some extent

by celebrity endorsement. But one has to remember that endorsing

a celebrity is a means to an end and not an end in itself.”

An appropriately used celebrity can prove to be a massively

powerful tool that magnifies the effects of a campaign. But the aura

of cautiousness should always be there. The fact to be emphasized

is that celebrities alone do not guarantee success, as consumers

nowadays understand advertising. They know what advertising is

and how it works. People realize that celebrities are being paid a lot

of money for endorsements and this knowledge makes them cynical

about celebrity endorsements.

SUCCESSFUL CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS FOR A BRAND –

INDIAN PERSEPECTIVE

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The society that we live in can not only be called secular or

democratic, it should be more appropriately termed as over-

communicated these days. A typical super-market in USA displays

more than 12000 brands, an American family has at least one

television set and a consumer is exposed to around 1000 ads per

day1. Likewise, there are around 130 television channels in India

broadcasting over 3 million television commercials each year in

India. The media-explosion can thus be easily demonstrated.

Moreover, people forget 80% of the information in just 24 hours!

Just imagine the plight of the marketer to make his brand shout over

the deafening clutter of all the brands! Somewhere in the 80's,

Indian marketers found the solution, 'Celebrity Endorsement' for the

brand!

Firms endorse celebrity for a variety of reasons. It might be the life

experience of the celebrity that fits the advertising message or the

endorser's high appeal with the firm's consumer target group.

Studies associated with the market effect of celebrity endorsement

suggest that consumers positively value the use of celebrity

endorsers in the advertisements. Firms invest significant money in

putting together brands and organizations with endorser qualities

such as attractiveness, likeability, and trustworthiness. But today's

dynamic market conditions make these investments unviable. In

this paper we are attempting to discuss the positive and negative

effects of celebrity endorsement with few examples.

Indian advertising started with the hawkers who used to call out

their wares right from the days when cities and markets first began.

Since then, Indian advertising has metamorphosed into a strategic

tool that enhances sales, siphons more profits and helps in the

process of brand-building and product promotion. With this evolved

a strategy that tried to benefit from the emotional attachment of the

admirers or the fans of the celebrities; in the form of celebrity

endorsement.

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The latter part of the '80s saw the burgeoning of a new trend in

India– brands started being endorsed by celebrities. Hindi film and

TV stars as well as sportspersons were roped in to endorse

prominent brands. Advertisements, featuring stars like Tabassum

(Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev

(Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings)

became common. Probably, the first ad to cash in on star power in a

strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was Lux soap.

This brand has, perhaps as a result of this, been among the top

three in the country for much of its lifetime.

In recent times, we had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign with the

objective of mitigating the impediment that an unknown Korean

brand faced in the Indian market. The objective was to garner faster

brand recognition, association and emotional unity with the target

group. Star power in India can be gauged by the successful

endorsement done by Sharukh for three honchos- Pepsi, Clinic All

Clear and Santro. Similarly, when S Kumars used Hrithik Roshan,

then the hottest advertising icon for their launch advertising for

Tamarind, they reckoned they spent 40 - 50 per cent less on media

due to the sheer impact of using Hrithik. Ad recall was as high as 70

per cent, and even the normally conservative trade got interested.

In the Indian context, it would not be presumptuous to state that

celebrity endorsements can aggrandize the overall brand. We have

numerous examples exemplifying this claim. A standard example

here is Coke, which, till recently, didn't use stars at all

internationally. In fact, India was a first for them. The result was a

ubiquitously appealing Aamir cheekily stating Thanda matlab Coca

Cola. The recall value for Nakshatra advertising is only due to the

sensuous Aishwarya. The Parker pen brand, which by itself

commands equity, used Amitabh Bachchan to revitalize the brand in

India. According to Pooja Jain, Director, Luxor Writing Instruments

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Ltd (LWIL), post Bachchan, Parker's sales have increased by about

30 per cent.

To cite an instance , to overcome the resistance of a particular

community in the state of Uttar Pradesh which was inimical to the

administration of polio drops , personalities of the stature of

Amitabh Bacchan and Shahrukh Khan were brought in by the

government to endorse the efficacy and harmlessness of the polio

drops. Think of Sachin Tendulkar. He means Pepsi in soft drinks,

Boost in malted beverages, MRF in tyres, Fiat Palio in cars, TVS

Victor in two-wheelers, Colgate Total in toothpastes, Britannia in

biscuits, Visa in credit cards, Airtel in mobile services and Band-aid.

India is one country, which has always idolized the stars of the

celluloid world.

Therefore it makes tremendous sense for a brand to procure a

celebrity for its endorsement. In India there is an exponential

potential for a celebrity endorsement to be perceived as genuinely

relevant, thereby motivating consumers to go in for the product.

This would especially prove true if the endorser and the category

are a natural lifestyle fit like sportspersons and footwear, Kapil-

Sachin and Boost or film stars and beauty products.

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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. Companies use celebrity endorser because

they are considered to have stopping power, i.e., a celebrity can be

a very useful tool to draw attention to advertising messages in a

cluttered media environment. The overall popular image coupled

with exact product-image match enhances the consumer attention

resulting in greater brand recall.

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.

Certain other parameters that must be carefully considered before

engaging a celebrity are:

Celebrity’s fit with the brand image.

Celebrity - Target audience match

Costs of acquiring the celebrity.

Celebrity - Product match.

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Celebrity controversy risk.

Celebrity popularity.

Celebrity availability.

Celebrity physical attractiveness.

Celebrity credibility.

Compatibility of the Celebrity’s Persona with the Overall

Brand Image

A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspirational values to a

brand, but the celebrity needs to match the product. A good brand

campaign idea and an intrinsic link between the celebrity and the

message are musts for a successful campaign. Celebrities are no

doubt good at generating attention, recall and positive attitudes

towards advertising provided that they are supporting a good idea

and there is an explicit fit between them and the brand. On the

other hand, they are rendered useless when it comes to the actual

efficiency of the core product, creating positive attitudes to brands,

purchase intentions and actual sales.

ADVANTAGES OF A CELEBRITY ENDORSING A BRAND

Brands have been leveraging celebrity appeal for a long time.

Across categories, whether in products or services, more and more

brands are banking on the mass appeal of celebrities. As soon as a

new face ascends the popularity charts, advertisers queue up to

have it splashed all over. Witness the spectacular rise of Sania Mirza

and Irfan Pathan in endorsements in a matter of a few months. The

accruement of celebrity endorsements can be justified by the

following advantages that are bestowed on the overall brand:

1. Establishment of Credibility: Approval of a brand by a star

fosters a sense of trust for that brand among the target

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audience- this is especially true in case of new products. We

had the Shah Rukh-Santro campaign. At launch, Shah Rukh

Khan endorsed Santro and this ensured that brand awareness

was created in a market, which did not even know the brand.

2. Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target

group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making

the ad and the brand more noticeable.

3. PR coverage: is another reason for using celebrities.

Managers perceive celebrities as topical, which create high PR

coverage. A good example of integrated celebrity campaigns

is one of the World’s leading pop groups, the Spice Girls, who

have not only appeared in advertisements for Pepsi, but also

in product launching and PR events. Indeed, celebrity-

company marriages are covered by most media from

television to newspapers (e.g. The Spice Girls and Pepsi)

4. Higher degree of recall: People tend to commensurate the

personalities of the celebrity with the brand thereby

increasing the recall value. Golf champion Tiger Woods has

endorsed American Express, Rolex, and Nike. Actress

Catherine Zeta-Jones is used by T-Mobile and Elizabeth Arden.

007 Pierce Brosnan promotes Omega, BMW, and Noreico.

5. 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.

6. Mitigating a tarnished image: Cadbury India wanted to

restore the consumer's confidence in its chocolate brands

following the high-pitch worm’s controversy; so the company

appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job. Last year, when the

even more controversial pesticide issue shook up Coca-Cola

and PepsiCo and resulted in much negative press, both soft

drink majors put out high-profile damage control ad films

featuring their best and most expensive celebrities. While

Aamir Khan led the Coke fight back as an ingenious and

15

fastidious Bengali who finally gets convinced of the product's

`purity,' PepsiCo brought Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin

Tendulkar together once again in a television commercial

which drew references to the `safety' of the product indirectly.

7. Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored

by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalise on these

feelings to sway the fans towards their brand.

8. Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to

various demographic segments (age, gender, class,

geography etc.).

9. Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and

therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest among

the masses.

10. Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of

infusing fresh life into the stagnant chyawanprash category

and staving off competition from various brands, Dabur India

roped in Bachchan for an estimated Rs 8 crore.

11. Celebrity endorsement can sometimes compensate for

lack of innovative ideas.

BRAND IMAGE & CELEBRITY

Research has shown that there are three aspects that influence a

customer's attitude and, hence, the long term impact on the brand -

Attractiveness, Trustworthiness and Expertise. The matrix below

shows us the images and the celebrities:

Aspect of

BrandImage Celebrity Product

Attractiveness Elegance Renuka Shahane Whisper

Beauty Madhuri Dixit Emami

ClassySaif & Tiger

Pataudi

Asian Paints-

Royale

Stylish Fardeen Khan Provogue

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Amitabh Bachhan Reid & Taylor

TrustworthinessHonest Tarun Tejpal Tehelka

Reliable Sachin Tendulkar TVS Victor

Expertise

Knowledg

eSachin & Sehwag Reebok

Qualified Naina Balsavar Shampoo

Hence, we see, depending on the product and aspect of brand, the

choice of the celebrity is important so that the celebrity can reflect

that and not go against the brand.

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CELEBRITY SELECTION

There are various scientific ways in which the right celebrity is

selected for the product endorsement, which are discussed here

after

Stereotyping

Stereotypes are defined 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: it’s

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.

Physical Attractiveness: For example - Tennis player Anna

Kournikova who earns 10 Million dollars per year in just

endorsement.

Respect: For example - Former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and

the Eye donation campaign.

Similarity: For example - a child artist promoting a chocolate

brand.

18

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: -

1. Celebrity & audience match up,

2. Celebrity & brand match up,

3. Celebrity credibility,

4. Celebrity attractiveness,

5. Cost consideration,

6. A working ease and difficulty factor,

7. An endorsement saturation factor,

8. 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 10 TV

19

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.

DISADVANTAGES OF A CELEBRITY ENDORSING A

BRAND

1. The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after

he/she has endorsed the product: Pepsi Cola's suffered

with three tarnished celebrities - Mike Tyson, Madonna, and

Michael Jackson. Since the behaviour of the celebrities reflects

on the brand, celebrity endorsers may at times become

liabilities to the brands they endorse.

2. The vampire effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of

a celebrity overshadowing the brand. If there is no congruency

between the celebrity and the brand, then the audience will

remember the celebrity and not the brand. Examples are the

campaigns of Dawn French - Cable Association and Leonard

Rossiter - Cinzano. Both of these campaigns were aborted due

to celebrities getting in the way of effective communication.

Another example could be the Castrol commercial featuring

Rahul Dravid.

3. Inconsistency in the professional popularity of the

celebrity: The celebrity may lose his or her popularity due to

some lapse in professional performances. For example, when

20

Tendulkar went through a prolonged lean patch recently, the

inevitable question that cropped up in corporate circles - is he

actually worth it? The 2003 Cricket World Cup also threw up

the Shane Warne incident, which caught Pepsi off guard. With

the Australian cricketer testing positive for consuming banned

substances and his subsequent withdrawal from the event,

bang in the middle of the event, PepsiCo - the presenting

sponsor of the World Cup 2003 - found itself on an uneasy

wicket

4. Multi brand endorsements by the same celebrity would

lead to overexposure: The novelty of a celebrity

endorsement gets diluted if he does too many

advertisements. This may be termed as commoditisation of

celebrities, who are willing to endorse anything for big bucks.

Example, MRF was among the early sponsors of Tendulkar

with its logo emblazoned on his bat. But now Tendulkar

endorses a myriad brands and the novelty of the Tendulkar-

MRF campaign has scaled down.

5. Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another

(competitor): Sainsbury’s encountered a problem with

Catherina Zeta Jones, whom the company used for its recipe

advertisements, when she was caught shopping in Tesco. A

similar case happened with Britney Spears who endorsed one

cola brand and was repeatedly caught drinking another brand

of cola on tape.

6. Mismatch between the celebrity and the image of the

brand: Celebrities manifest a certain persona for the

audience. It is of paramount importance that there is an

egalitarian congruency between the persona of the celebrity

and the image of the brand. Each celebrity portrays a broad

range of meanings, involving a specific personality and

lifestyle. Madonna, for example, is perceived as a tough,

intense and modern women associated with the lower middle

21

class. The personality of Pierce Brosnan is best characterized

as the perfect gentlemen, whereas Jennifer Aniston has the

image of the ‘good girl from next door’

7. Negative publicity: If the celebrity is strongly associated

with the brand then the occurrence of the negative publicity

can spill over the brand. This can harm the trustworthiness

and credibility in the mind of the consumers. E.g., Salman

Khan lost his endorsement deal with Thumbs-Up after his

infamous incidents like buck-killing and rash-driving.

8. 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.

9. Overuse: Sometimes the company can use many different

celebrities to appeal to different market segment. But

multiplicity of endorser might blur the image of the brand and

reduce the effectiveness of the means of persuasion.

10. Extinction: The favourable 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.

11. 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: -

22

The brand promise and the brand personality should be

clearly articulated.

The communication objectives for the campaign should be

frozen.

Focus must be on the synergy between the brand and the

celebrity image

Establish explicitly what the celebrity is going to communicate

Once these criteria are met, endorsements can work as a force

multiplier. A deeper insight in the impact of celebrity endorsement

on consumers' minds can be explained by the meaning transfer

model, explained in the next section.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT: 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.

23

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). It is said that endorsement of as many as four

products negatively influences the celebrity spokesperson's

credibility and likeability.

Also, the use of multiple celebrities to endorse a brand may hinder

the meaning transfer process, and thus, lead to confusion among

the consumers.

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.

The companies have to first clarify their business objectives, brand

values and then decide who the celebrities are who can carry them

forward. Otherwise, there can be unnecessary investments without

proper return. So the celebrity endorsement cost has to be weighed

up against the return on marketing investment.

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

24

endorsement. Another argument against celebrity endorsement

involves the behavior of the celebrity. The values that display

themselves in regrettable behavior could transfer themselves to the

brand. 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.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Establishment of 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.

Ensured Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target

group by breaking the clutter of advertisements and making

the ad and the brand more noticeable.

PR coverage: is another reason for using celebrities.

Managers perceive celebrities as topical, which create high PR

coverage.

Higher degree of recall: People tend to commensurate the

personalities of the celebrity with the brand thereby

increasing the recall value. Amitabh Bacchan promotes

Dairymilk, Aamir Khan promotes Titan watches.

25

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.

Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored

by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalise on these

feelings to sway the fans towards their brand.

Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to

various demographic segments (age, gender, class,

geography etc.).

Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and

therefore prove to be a good bet to generate interest among

the masses.

Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of

infusing fresh life into the stagnant chyawanprash category

and staving off competition from various brands, Dabur India

roped in Bachchan for an estimated Rs 8 crore.

Celebrity endorsement can sometimes compensate for

lack of innovative ideas.

Weakness

The reputation of the celebrity may derogate after

he/she has endorsed the product: Pepsi Cola's suffered

with three tarnished celebrities - Mike Tyson, Madonna, and

Michael Jackson. Since the behavior of the celebrities reflects

on the brand, celebrity endorsers may at times become

liabilities to the brands they endorse.

The vampire effect: This terminology pertains to the issue of

a celebrity overshadowing the brand. If there is no congruency

26

between the celebrity and the brand, then the audience will

remember the celebrity and not the brand.

Inconsistency in the professional popularity of the

celebrity: The celebrity may lose his or her popularity due to

some lapse in professional performances.

Multi brand endorsements by the same celebrity would

lead to overexposure: The novelty of a celebrity

endorsement gets diluted if he does too many

advertisements.

Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another

(competitor): Sainsbury’s encountered a problem with

Catherina Zeta Jones, whom the company used for its recipe

advertisements, when she was caught shopping in Tesco. A

similar case happened with Britney Spears who endorsed one

cola brand and was repeatedly caught drinking another brand

of cola on tape.

Mismatch between the celebrity and the image of the

brand: Celebrities manifest a certain persona for the

audience. It is of paramount importance that there is an

egalitarian congruency between the persona of the celebrity

and the image of the brand. Each celebrity portrays a broad

range of meanings, involving a specific personality and

lifestyle. Madonna, for example, is perceived as a tough,

intense and modern women associated with the lower middle

class.

Opportunity

27

Celebrity endorsement increase brand awareness through

popularity of the endorser

Profitable from positive image transfer due to the celebrities

attractive and likeable personality

Reinforces brand appeal through the endorsers credibility and

believability

Differentiate from the competition

Influence consumer behavior

Amplify consumer purchase intent

Lead to an increase in sales

Boost employee motivation by providing a role model to look

up to

Threats

According to a study, celebrity endorsement does not work. In

fact, they came second last on the list of “very important”

information channels that consumers used to judge products.

Consumers rely on is information on the package, views of

consumer groups, and friends and family. People also depend

on websites and blogs to judge information, because they

consider the motivation of those behind the claims. Formal

celebrities played an important role, but were not sufficient

alone.

28

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The Impact of Celebrity Endorsers on Consumers Product

Evaluations:

A Symbolic Meaning Approach

James B Hunt, University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Celebrities can be very effective in the endorsement of products;

however, they can also be dangerous. The advantages of using a

celebrity are that they can increase attention to and memorability of

the ad and product, enhance credibility of the message, and imbue

a product with positive image characteristics. The disadvantage, or

danger, is that if a celebrity has a negative image, it can be passed

on to the product being endorsed. As shown in this study, bed

sheets are perceived as ordinary, safe, reliable, and delicate. When

advertised by Deion Sanders,

However, bed sheets are perceived as unusual, risky, less reliable,

and somewhat rugged. This suggests that great care should be

taken in selecting a celebrity endorser. The celebrity's image must

be taken into account.

The results of this study indicate that the perception of the endorser

does affect the image of the product by moving it toward the image

of the endorser. However, this study does not support Langmeyer

and Walker (1991), who found that regardless of the endorser, the

pattern for the endorser/product combination was located closer to

the pattern for the endorser than to the pattern for the product. The

results of the present study indicate that the pattern for the

29

endorser/product combination is located closer to the pattern for the

endorser for Deion Sanders, But not in the case of Michael Jordan.

This suggests that evaluation of the endorser may, for some

endorsers, have a greater impact on the combination than the

evaluation of the product. Michael Jordan and Deion Sanders appear

to have more of an impact on a product that is high image, and has

been previously endorsed by celebrities. This finding is in sharp

contrast to Langmeyer and Walker (1991), who found Madonna and

Christie Brinkley to have only moderate effect on the image of

jeans. Whether celebrities are good for the endorsement of products

is a question that many advertisers face. The answer is, "It depends

on the endorser and the product." Future research needs to

Continue focusing on a variety of product categories and a variety of

types of endorsers (e.g., actors, athletes, entertainers). Different

types of audiences should also be studied to help advertisers better

understand the roles of celebrity image, product characteristics, and

consumer Profile on product evaluation.

Ads with Celebrities Draw Higher Recall- Study

Customer recall is higher in products whose ads feature celebrities,

according to a study on celebrity endorsement carried out by Indica

Research. Celebrities who feature in a wide range of ads and in

highly visible ones like Coke and Pepsi score on overall visibility.

Ergo, there are no surprises in the dominance of Sachin Tendulkar.

Shah Rukh Khan follows a close second. The real surprise is Kareena

Kapoor who seems to have made a very high impact entry with the

Pepsi ad. In comparison, coke endorsers like Hrithik Roshan (who

also figures in a range of other ads) does not seem to be that highly

visible. Amongst ads featuring celebrities with the highest recall,

Pepsi tops the heap. Archrival Coke, though, is lower across all

30

markets. It is likely that, given the high mention of Kareena Kapoor,

the current Pepsi ad has been something of a hit.

The research was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai , Chennai and

Bangalore. A total of 599 SEC A (upper class) adults in the age

group of 15-45 years were interviewed.

When the Versatility Index (how many categories does a celebrity fit

in?) was undertaken, it was seen that Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)

amongst the younger lot, emerges as the most versatile with cross

category association - strongly associated with cold drinks, mobile

services and cars - all of which he endorses. Also with branded

clothes, insurance and banks. Indeed, he is the most highly

associated male celebrity with female dominated categories like

perfumes and watches, the Indica research states

RECALL VALUE OF CONSUMERS AS SHOWN BY THE STUDY

31

Product Percentage

Pepsi 70

Coke 52

Thums Up 13

Lux 12

Limca 9

Palio 9

Fanta 8

Santro 8

ICICI 5

Hero Honda 5

VERSITALLITY INDEX OF DIFFERENT CELEBRITIES AS SHOWN BY STUDY

32

Shah Rukh Khan 80

Sachin 70

Amitabh Bachchan 50

Hrithik 30

Kareena 30

Aishwarya 30

Preity Zinta 20

33

Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Overall Brand

By

Sanyukta A. Kulkarni

Sahir U.Gaulkar

Today 'Celebrity Endorsement' has attracted immense debate on

whether it really contributes to the brand building process or

whether it is just another lazy tool to make the brand more visible in

the minds of the consumers. Although it has been observed that the

presence of a well-known personality helps in solving the problem of

over-communication that is becoming more prominent these days,

there are few undesirable impacts of this practice on the brand. The

theories like 'Source Credibility Theory, Source Attractiveness

Theory and Meaning Transfer Theory' provide a basis on which the

methodology of celebrity endorsement works and also explains how

the process of the celebrity endorsement influences the minds of

the consumers. Firms invest huge amounts as advertising

expenditure for hiring the right celebrity. However there lies

uncertainty with respect to the returns that the company might be

able to garner for the brand. The issue of matching the values of the

celebrity with the brand values is also very important, i.e. getting

the right celebrity to endorse the right brand. Consumers perceive

the brand as having superior quality because it has been endorsed

by a credible source. This makes endorsement as one of the

indictors of quality for any brand. Corporate credibility along with

endorser credibility plays a significant role in the attitude of the

consumer towards the brand and the advertisement respectively.

On the other hand, the over popularity of the celebrity sometimes

overshadows the brand. If the celebrity is involved in multiple

endorsements, it tends to create confusion among consumers and

hence negatively affects the perception of the advertisement and

34

the brand. Hence, to say clearly whether the practice of celebrity

endorsement impacts positively or negatively to the brand still

remains a debate.

Celebrity endorsements and brand celebrity mismatches

By: Dr R K Srivastava

The use of celebrities in order to increase the sales and/or the recall

value of a brand is called celebrity endorsements. Advertisers have

used celebrity endorsement for as long as advertisement has

existed. The fact of associating the product with a well known

individual acts to increase the positive view of the consumer as the

celebrity becomes the role model for consumers.

They have given six uses of celebrity endorsements-

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 Attracts

Attention: Celebrities ensure attention of the target group by

breaking the clutter of advertisements and making the ad and the

brand more noticeable

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.

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.

35

Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to

various demographic segments (age, gender, class, geography etc.).

Mass Appeal: Some stars have a universal appeal and therefore

prove to be a good bet to generate interest among the masses.

36

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To know the impact of celebrity endorsements on brands w.r.t

FMCG sector.

To know whether celebrity endorsements increase the sales of

the company.

To know & understand whether celebrity endorsement work in

India.

To study the impact of celebrities on the consumer

perceptions of product. .

To compare the two celebrities, which one is better in

advertising the product and making it more popular?

To examine the images evoked by individual celebrity

endorsers and products.

To explore the impact of combining celebrity and product

images.

37

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Selection of correct Methodology is the first step in getting a good

response or result from the research. It should be a mixture or a

method that helps in extracting the correct information from the

population using a sample.

In this research we are using Descriptive Research Design as this

area has some previous study. For this we are using Questionnaire

method i.e. using a standard questionnaire to extract primary data

as to what the viewer’s feel about the usage of animated

characters/brand mascots and celebrity endorsers and to highlight

the attributes that has a significant positive impact on their

perception towards an advertisement.

Sampling

SAMPLE SIZE

100

PRIMARY DATA

It is collected using structured questionnaire.

SECONDARY DATA – Books, Newspaper, Magazines, journals,

market reports & internet

BASIS OF SAMPLING

Questionnaire: The respondents were mainly those who had an

opportunity to watch both spokes characters and celebrity

endorsers in advertisements. It is a Probability, convenient sampling

Target Area – Delhi & Gurgaon

38

39

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The conceptual framework has been modified using the Conceptual

Model “Effects of Price, Brand, and Store Information on the Buyers’

Product Evaluation”.

This study is based on the hypothesis that the involvement of a

celebrity in a marketing communication of a brand positively

influences the consumer behaviour towards that brand and thus

piloting the chart to ‘Branding’ and enhancing the Brand’s value.

The brand is developed using a positioning strategy which is done

through a marketing communication strategy that the company

aims to use to spread the message. There are various strategies a

company can use, among which the most used are:

Country of origin whereby the company pitches its product

against the place from where it originated and that helps in building

the brand value. The expertise of a country in producing goods of

similar nature conveys a particular type of image.

Co-Branding is the company’s conscious effort to leverage the

success of an existing brand to introduce a new product and make

consumers associate the new product with the already successful

and established brand.

Company Branding Strategy refers to the corporate branding

strategy or the logo or name branding.

Licensing is when a product is sold under the famous name or logo

or character of another company’s brand.

40

Events and Sponsorships is a common strategy of many

companies to link its product to an event whose image they want to

portray for their product as well. Also the sponsorships for such

events help them reach their target audience easily.

Awards and Reviews of a company in a prestigious journal,

magazine, or newspaper or patronization by certain review

programs and television channels help build the product into a

brand.

Among all these strategies, Spokesperson is an increasingly used

strategy whereby an expert, an executive, a common man or even

more common – a celebrity is used to lure a consumer into believing

the message conveyed. Of the various spokespersons, celebrities

being highly eminent public figures draw enormous amount of

attention unlike any other spokesperson or even through various

other communication strategies.

They attract a larger audience simply because they are publicly

well-known individuals and it is due to this immense attracting

capability that they tend to have a larger impact and influence on

the consumers as compared to other spokespersons.

The influence and impact of the celebrity creates a certain image in

the consumers’ mind which is established due to the characteristics

of the product personified through the celebrity. This forms a

positive image of the brand in the minds of those consumers who

have a good image of the celebrity. Those consumers who dislike or

hold a negative opinion of the celebrity tend to distance themselves

with the brand.

41

The positively influenced consumers associate themselves to the

brand. They patronize, believe, support and recommend the brand

further which leads to higher purchases and thus brand building.

Those consumers who are not influenced by the celebrity or dislike

the celebrity are either not affected by the presence of the celebrity

in the advertisement or dissociate their selves from the brand.

42

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

1. Gender of the respondent

Table 1

Gender Percentage

Male 65

Female 35

Figure 1

65%

35%

Male

Female

Interpretation:

This pie-chart depicts that 65% of the respondents are males and

35% are females.

43

2. Age of the respondent:

Table 2

Figure 2

No. of respondent

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

18-25 26-32 33-39 Above 40

Age

Per

cen

tag

e

Percentage

Interpretation:

This pie-chart depicts that mostly respondents are young and while

rest are above 25 years.

44

Age Percentage

18-25 30

26-32 20

33-39 30

Above 40 20

3. Occupation of the respondent:

Table 3

Occupation Percentage

Business Class 25

Service Class 25

Student 30

Others 20

Figure 3

25%

25%30%

20%

Business Class

Service Class

Student

Others

Interpretation:

From this pie-chart it is clear that majority of the respondents are

students and rest of the share is occupied by service and business

class.

45

4. View of respondents on quality of products endorsed by

celebrity

Table 4

Figure 4

45%

15%

10%

20%

10%

Strongly Agree

Agree

Indifferent

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

46

Preference Percentage

Strongly Agree 45

Agree 15

Indifferent 10

Disagree 20

Strongly Disagree 10

Interpretation: This chart depicts that mostly people agree that

products endorsed by celebrities are of good quality, nearly 45% of

people strongly agrees to this statement and 20% of people

disagrees to this statement.

5. Factors affecting

purchase decisions

Table 5

Figure 5

20%

35%15%

30%

Price of the product

Celebrity Endorser

Brand Name

Opinion-leader

47

Factors Percentage

Price of the product 20

Celebrity Endorser 35

Brand Name 15

Opinion-leader 30

Interpretation:

This pie-chart depicts that 35% of the people consider celebrity

endorser while going for the purchase, followed by brand name-with

15%, opinion leader 30% and

20% people consider price.

Brand name usually covers all

aspects like functional aspects

viz.mileage, speed etc. As

people usually are more interested

towards well known brands and

if these brands are advertised by famous celebrity it creates a huge

impact.

6. Like to see any celebrity endorsing your brand

Table 6

55%

25%

20%

Yes

No

Can't say

48

Preferenc

e Percentage

Yes 55

No 25

Can't say 20

Figure 6

Interpretation:

This pie-chart clearly

indicates that 55% of

the respondents want

their products to be

advertised by

celebrities, 25% don’t

want and 20% of the

respondents weren’t

sure. So, this clearly

shows how much

important these celebrities are in the daily life of common man.

7. Celebrity endorser as an effective method of persuasion

Table 7

49

Preference Percentage

Strongly Agree 45

Agree 15

Indifferent 10

Disagree 20

Strongly Disagree 10

Figure 7

45%

15%10%

20%

10%Strongly Agree

Agree

Indifferent

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Interpretation:

This chart depicts that mostly people agree that Celebrity

endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion. 45% of people

strongly agree that celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of

persuasion and 20% of people disagree that it is one of the tool.

8. Persuasion of Celebrity Endorsement to purchase the

product.

Table 8

50

Figure 8

35%

15%20%

30%Film star

Famous personalities

Cricketer

Politician

Interpretation:

This chart depicts that mostly people agree that Celebrity

endorsement persuades them personally to purchase products.

35% of people strongly agree that celebrity endorsement is an

effective tool of persuasion and 15% of people disagree that it is

one of the tool.

51

Preference Percentage

Film star 35

Famous personalities 15

Cricketer 20

Politician 30

9. Respondents view on revenue generation because of

celebrity endorsement

Table 9

Figure 9

70%

20%

10%

Yes

No

Don’t know

Interpretation:

This chart depicts that mostly people agree that revenue is

generated because of Celebrity endorsement, approx 70% agrees to

this. 20% does not agree to this.

52

Preference Percentage

Yes 70

No 20

Don’t know 10

FINDINGS

1. Celebrity endorsement plays a very minute role in final

decision making for buying a new product. Celebrity might

help in easy reorganization and popularity of a product but not

in final decision making.

2. If a consumer wants to purchase a new product then latest

technology matters the most to him/her and brand

ambassador matters least to them.

3. Effect of brand ambassador differs with different products,

according to our survey results, it matters most in case of

clothing and food products. Because people tends to be more

choosy in case of high attachment and costly products like

cars.

4. A common man feels that a celebrity helps an organization in

increasing their total sales and hence the revenue.

5. A brand ambassador also helps in increasing the market share

of the product.

6. But vast majority of the surveyed people feels that celebrity

themselves don’t use their endorsed products.

7. Film stars are the most popular celebrities among all, followed

by cricketers.

8. The high cost of a celebrity is the biggest drawback of

celebrity brand endorsement followed by celebrity vampire

effect.

9. In final decision making, a value for money is most important

for a consumer and a brand ambassador matters the least.

53

SUMMARY

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when used

consistently over time to increase the strength of the link

between the celebrity and the endorsed brand.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when the ad

execution is simple, clean, and free of irrelevant design

elements. Focus on the celebrity and the brand together.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when using a

celebrity who is not already strongly associated with another

product or service.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when using a

celebrity with a high “fit”, “congruence”, or “belongingness”

with the endorsed brand.

Celebrity endorsers can be used to effectively reinforce and/or

create an image for a product or service.

Test potential brand/celebrity combinations to ensure that the

impression and image of the celebrity is positive for the target

audience.

Celebrity endorsements will be more effective for less familiar

brands.

Celebrity endorsers will be more effective for brands for which

consumers have limited knowledge/facts.

Celebrity endorsers will be more effective when integrated

across the elements of the marketing mix.

Caution in choice of celebrity endorser is warranted given the

potential risk of tarnishing the brand’s image.

54

CONCLUSIONS

Celebrity endorsement can be a goldmine or a minefield for a

company’s brand building process. There have been extensive

studies relating to the process of celebrity endorsement and brand-

building. These studies indicate that celebrity endorsement has

worked well in some consumer segments while failing others. Few

celebrities have been more successful than those with almost

parallel fame. So the role of celebrity endorsement in the

advertising space is equivocal and cannot be seen as a assured

strategic tool to win profits, market share, revenues, etc.

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. Eg, 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 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.

55

BIBLIOGRAPHY

JOURNALS:-

Ohnian. Roobina (1991), "The Impact of Celebrity Spokespersons'

Perceived Image on Consumers' Intention to Purchase," Journal of

Advertising Research, 31 (February/March), 46-54.

BOOKS:-

1. Principles of marketing by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong.

2. Marketing Management (12th edition) by Philip Kotler and

Kevin Lane Keller.

3. Marketing Research by David A. Aaker.

4. Advertising and promotion, an integrated marketing

communications perspective by

George E Belch, Michael A Belch and Keyoor Purani .

WEBSITES:-

www.thedayaftertomorrow.com

www.indiantelevision.com

www.magindia.com

www.blonnet.com

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

indiainfoline.com – article 'Celebrity Endorsements in

brands.

www.coolavenues.com

56

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

Name of the respondent……………………

1) What is your gender?

Male Female

2) What is your age?

18-25

26-32

32-39

More than 40

3) What is your occupation?

Business Class Service Class Student Others (Please Specify)

_________

4)

5)

6)

57

7)

8)

9)

58