The field of consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups / organization, and processes. Although, numerous factors affect the purchase decision process, but the use of the correct celebrity has a great influence on consumers.
Marketers pay celebrities millions in the hopes that they will bring magic to the brands they endorse and make them more attractive and successful. The effectiveness of using a celebrity to endorse a company’s product can generally be improved by matching the celebrity’s image to the product’s personality and the actual or desired concept of the target market. There is a high correlation between the appearance, knowledge, liking, credibility and credibility of advertising and purchase intentions.
The theory behind the use of celebrity is that featuring stars in advertising has a special cultural significance, stemming from the unique way they have built an image through various forms of media. By associating celebrities with the product, these special meanings are transmitted to the products or brands. In a competitive market, a famous face can give a brand additional appeal and help it stand out. Celebrities have particular configurations of meaning found nowhere else.
Sports celebrities are often popular, selections and sponsors of everything from clothing to vehicles. For example, Nike used basketball star Michael Jordan as a spokesperson since 1985 and the Air Jordan line was still being sold. In December 2000, Venus Williams signed the most lucrative endorsement deal for a female athlete when she accepted a three-year deal with Reebok International worth $ 40 million.
Another popular industry to get famous sponsors from is the music industry. One of the famous singers Britney Spears sang in Pepsi commercials in 2005. Adnan Sami performed the same process in the Asian market for Pepsi Ad. Along the same lines, companies often use actors, actresses and supermodels to promote their products.
However, in addition to the exorbitant costs, there are risks and dangers associated with the use of celebrities in advertising. The best-crafted plan can still backfire. Pepsi hired Madonna for several million dollars to feature her in the Pepsi campaign. Then the controversy over the religious images in Madonna’s “Prayer” video led to the threat of a consumer boycott and Pepsi lost $ 10 million. Cybill Shepherd’s ad for the beef industry fell through when he publicly admitted that he rarely ate red meat. These examples are just a few of the problems with celebrity endorsements. Unfortunately, there are hidden dangers to wearing celebrities. The consumer appeal of a celebrity can fade if the celebrity disappears from the media spotlight before their contract ends.
If so many dangers abound, why turn to celebrities? Many advertisers feel that celebrities make an ad more effective. Celebrity usage has been shown to lead to higher ad recall. For example, in early 2001, Revlon stopped using celebrity models and recruited relatively unknown people for its ad campaigns, thinking that women wanted models they could more easily relate to. In November 2001, they reversed this decision and began hiring celebrities like Julianne Moore and Halle Berry, after losing 10.6 percent of the cosmetics market share during the previous year.
The above examples reflect the importance of celebrities in product association and its effects. Marketers need to understand each other before selecting celebrities. For example, a makeup company may target both young women and older women, and the aspirational celebrity chosen for younger women may not be aspirational for older women.
Consumers who have used brand associations to build their own identity may be more loyal to brands and less likely to switch to competing brands in response to price cuts, special displays, bundling tactics, and coupons.
To assess the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, all three elements must take into account the celebrity’s image, brand image, and consumer aspirations.
Celebrities can be used to reduce conflict between nations or a country. Adnan Sami lives in India and Annie in Pakistan; they both appeared together in the Pepsi commercial. Pepsi introduced this ad in the Pakistani and Indian markets. This type of advertisement shows the good relationship between countries or nations.
The correct use of Celebrity plays a vital role in the success of the brand throughout its advertising in the target market. Selecting Celebrity requires detailed study to predict its effects on the target market. Companies should carry out the full research process before selecting the celebrity for their desired association with the product, especially in the Fast Consumer Goods (FMCG) celebrity selection, which becomes more critical.
[Article by Abdullah Nazir]
