Celebrities endorsement of products, events, and issues

Celebrities are progressively getting to be marked, utilizing their status to fabricate individual realms. This incorporates profiting from appearances, permitting their names, embracing different brands, propelling their very own items and supporting foundations. Big name supports can appear as giving master feelings, being a representative or model for an item, or just being related to a brand or specifying it in internet-based life. Underwriting by competitors has turned into a basic piece of the advertising systems of significant sportswear organizations, for example, Nike, Adidas, and Panther. In 2012, Nike purportedly spent a considerable US$909 million on support contracts. What’s more, competitors generally underwrite a scope of different items, from extravagance watches to soda pops.

For sure, best sportspeople these days acquire more from supports than they do from their game itself. Celebrity endorsement is a time-honored strategy for drawing attention to a brand. More than 250 years ago, the English pottery company Wedgwood was exploiting its links with royalty to give its products a “ feeling of quality”. The practice of celebrity endorsements has come a long way since then, with significant shifts in both the advertising and celebrity worlds opening a range of new possibilities. This whitepaper explores the state of celebrity endorsement today, including its benefits and the risks involved when things go wrong. While celebrity endorsements have not lost the original pulling power that Wedgwood was exploiting all those years ago, developments in both celebrity culture and marketing have created new opportunities. The purpose of this study is to get a better understanding of how celebrity endorsement affects consumers’ perception of brand image and purchase intention. The purpose of this thesis has led into following research questions: How do the attributes of the celebrity endorser affect consumers’ perception on brand image? How does celebrity endorsement affect consumers’ purchase intention? (THESIS). Celebrities are also becoming more involved in the creation and marketing of their own products, from fashion, sport, and beauty to electronics and packaged foods. Many big stars have a ready-made market of dedicated fans who will buy anything associated with their name. One of the most common areas in which celebrities become involved is fragrances.

The trend has recently intensified, with hundreds of fragrances being launched annually by anyone from A-listers to reality TV stars. Many celebrities have also put their names to make-up and skin care lines, fashion collections, and, in the case of chefs, foodservice menus and kitchen appliances. Products generally reflect the styles or values of the celebrity. There have never been more celebrities than there are now. With reality show contestants, internet personalities, athletes and socialites swelling the ranks that were once reserved for musicians and movie stars, companies looking for a celebrity endorsement now have a wide range to choose from. This also means that while some celebrities can still charge astronomical fees, others are within reach of even small businesses. Celebrities fall into different categories according to their brand power, and each category has its own pricing structure. Evan Morgenstein, President & CEO of CelebExperts, a company that helps businesses of all sizes secure the right celebrity spokespeople, states: “ as a rule of thumb, if a person’s fame has no way to sustain itself (like a reality TV contestant on a show like Survivor), you can expect fees to start at $5, 000 while a celebrity from Iron Chef America may command $100, 000 or more for the same marketing program”.

A drawback to Celebrity underwriting is that organizations chance to harm their brands when they set up a nearby association with a star who drops out of support with people in general because of contrary exposure or an individual embarrassment (e. g. Spear Armstrong and Oscar Pistorius). Despite golfer Tiger Woods’ transgress in 2009, after disclosures of a progression of additional conjugal issues, he and tennis player Roger Federer still drove the world as far as underwriting salary in 2013, gaining an aggregate of US$65 million from backers. With the end goal to relieve the danger of superstar endorsers getting to be entangled in outrages, a few organizations have started to utilize specific protection designs and undoing statements in support bargains. Numerous big-name culinary experts likewise work with the foodservice business, aircraft and retail nourishment organizations to deliver signature dishes. This encourages organizations to separate their contributions or reposition themselves, for instance with a more moral or more upmarket picture. Superstar culinary experts can affect national dietary patterns. And additionally, acquainting the general population with new kinds of ethnic food, they can likewise bring into vogue certain fixings or effectively crusade for more advantageous eating or more practical creation strategies. The celebrity endorsement model is essentially simple: a person with high visibility (or ‘ fame’) features in a campaign to draw attention to the product or service it is promoting. The idea behind this is that positive brand qualities, such as likability, reliability, and attractiveness, are transferable between the brand of the celebrity and the brand they are advertising, and will, therefore, generate desirable campaign outcomes (Khandai and Agrawal, 2010).

A celebrity endorsement was traditionally a long-term contract between the celebrity and the company to promote a brand, product or service through adverts, campaigns, and appearances. However, technological advances have enabled this practice to expand: a celebrity endorsement can now range from being a spokesperson or model for the product, to simply mentioning it on social media. Currently, in the USA, millennials make up 21% of consumer discretionary purchases, with an estimated excess of a trillion dollars in direct buying power and a huge influence on older generations Hence, millennials (commonly defined as those born roughly between the early 1980s and the early 2000s) are a crucial market for many companies. This age group is known to value innovation and participation in marketing, leading companies to constantly look for new and smarter ways to reach them. Celebrity endorsements have been shown to be an effective method for reaching this market. Studies have found that millennials get just as star stuck as other generations. When Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake appeared in an advert for the Apple iPhone 6, the advert gained 2 million views on YouTube within mere hours of its launch (Business Insider, 2014). This is because millennials particularly identify with celebrities who share their outlook (Ad Week, 2013). Both Fallon and Timberlake are known for their grounded personalities and sense of humor. As Vision Critical points out, shows like Jimmy Fallon’s are widely watched by millennials, who also engage with him through commenting and sharing. Traditional endorsements have evolved as celebrities are taking a more proactive role in product development and marketing. Big companies have begun to offer an increasing number of “ creative director” titles to megastars.

Another new celebrity sponsorship model involves smartphone companies buying temporary exclusivity on new album releases. This gives the artist guaranteed album sales, marketing buzz and a free mobile distribution channel, while the sponsor gains massive publicity. Many well-known personalities have distinctive speaking voices and, in addition to being employed in radio advertisements or the animated film business as voice-overs, they are increasingly being used for satellite navigation systems and other speaking apps. Most charities and NGOs cultivate relationships with celebrities, due to their ability to increase public awareness of their causes and thus encourage more donations. Celebrities can be spokespeople, board members or even founders of their own charities. Celebrity endorsement has become a buzzword in the Advertising industry today. The obvious reason for going in for celebrities is the fact that they have a mass appeal and once identified with a product, they can trigger an instant recall in the mind of the consumer. Maybe therefore both Corporates, as well as MNC’s, are in a race to sign up sportspersons and film stars to endorse their brands. This study was undertaken to identify the relationship between select parameters associated with celebrities and their effect on consumer buying behavior. The following conclusions were drawn after a vigorous statistical analysis involving these parameters. Celebrity Controversy, Gender, and Profession have no significant influence on consumer behavior whereas Celebrity Attractiveness, Credibility, Performance, Popularity and Territory significantly influence consumer behavior.

Hence, marketing firms must preferably select those celebrities who command a high credibility in the minds of consumers. These outcomes clearly show that various dimensions engaged in celebrity studies have both positive and negative effects on the buying behavior of consumers. The results reinforce the view of advertisers that celebrities do influence consumer behavior in some way or the other. Even after their favorite celebrities are embroiled in a major controversy, still, the consumers (whom it seems to have a very short memory) ignore these issues and go ahead with purchasing branded products and services endorsed by them. The consumers also do not pay much attention towards the gender or profession of a celebrity. These results without any doubt underline the loyalty of consumers towards their idols and emphasize the idea that celebrities are here to stay in the advertising world and nobody dare to ignore their major influence on consumer behavior.