Celebrity Endorsement
How are celebrities chosen?
In advertising brands should be congruent with the message that the celebrity endorses (Mathys et al. 2016). There are associative networks in a customer’s memory between brands and celebrities, and when the two networks join up they increase the effectiveness of the endorsement (Ilicic and Webster 2013; Zipporah and Mberia 2014). Acknowledging the associative networks between celebrities and brands are important to distinguish competitive advantages over other brands (Ilicic and Webster 2015).
For example, the British comedian John Cleese was used to promote the low prices at Sainsburys in the campaign "Value to shout about", but it was deemed unsuccessful because the celebrity did not fit the brand and resulted in a lack of predicted boosted sales (Teather 1999). In contrast, Jamie Oliver was used in Sainsburys advertisements successfully because he “fit” the brand (Angela et al. 2003). The direct of brand management at Sainsburys at the time, Andrew Ground, mentioned his thoughts on the matter: “Your ultimate protection is when the celebrity has the same intentions as the brand” (Reynolds 2000).
Celebrities should be chosen dependent on their trustworthiness and credibility. It is important that brands trust their celebrities to discourage bad coverage on the brand (Bradic 2015). In addition, the celebrity should be like any other customer of the brand to create positive credibility. According to Muda et al.’s research (2014), celebrity and advertising credibility have positive impacts on attitudes towards the advertisements and brand, and subsequently purchase intentions.
Another way that advertisers increase the trustworthiness of celebrities is through enhancing celebrity brand authenticity (Ilicic and Webster 2015). Muda et al. (2014) mention that celebrity credibility is built up of attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. Another researcher mentioned some additional factors that influence the believability and credibility of celebrities: appearance, liking and knowledge. For instance, before choosing a celebritity they should be likable by the target audience of the brand (Zipporah and Mberia 2014). In addition, celebrities should have some link in terms of knowledge to the brand.
What is it?
Celebrity endorsement is a marketing strategy to use celebrities to endorse a certain brand. Brands have found celebrity endorsements a successful way of creating brand recognition, competitive advantage and in boosting sales (Karniochina 2011; Ilicic and Webster 2015). According to a Marketwatch one endorsement in the sports industry can equal an increase in sales by 4% (Sager 2011).
This is because the more frequent the celebrity is exposed to consumers the more likely it will influence their purchasing habits. However, the exposure theory predicts that once the celebrity is overexposed consumers will begin to begin to get bored in the "wear out" period (Ilicic and Webster 2013; Mathys et al. 2016).
Contestant from the Great British Bake Off promoting baking products and equipment: Kenwood, spatula ect.
