Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on a Brand
"A sign of a celebrity is that his name is often worth more than his services.”
- Daniel J Boorstin
INTRODUCTION
Marketers acknowledge the power of celebrities in influencing consumer-purchasing decisions. If a celebrity can aggrandize the merits of a brand, he or she can also exacerbate the image of a brand.
A celebrity is used to impart credibility and inspirational 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.
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. The accruement of celebrity endorsements can be justified by the following advantages that are bestowed on the overall brand: * 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. * 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. * Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers use stars to capitalize 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