Celebrities Endorsement - Essay Example

Celebrities Endorsement Contents Introduction 2 Background of study 2 Literature Review 3 Consumer decision process model 3 Need recognition 4 Information search 4 Pre-purchase evaluation of alternatives 5 Purchase 5 Consumption 6 Post-consumption evaluation 6 Effects of trustworthiness 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction The main objective of this report is to analyse and examine the direct and indirect relationships and linkages between brands and celebrity endorsements, study the outcomes of celebrity endorsements in relation to their impacts in the consumer buying behaviour and purchase decisions and the role of celebrity endorsement as an advertising strategy in the process of developing brand perceptions and brand preference among the target audience groups. This paper uses a 20 point model for analysis which is used as the primary blue print for the assessment and evaluation of celebrity endorsement as a strategic technique of marketing and advertising. this model can be employed by the brand managers of a company for the selection of entities for their respective celebrity endorsement initiatives and also for capitalizing and leveraging on the accessible celebrity resources through the use of a 360 degree model of brand communication which acts as the primary platform for assessing the impact and outcomes of celebrity endorsement on the popularity and positioning of a company. Background of study Celebrity endorsement has emerged as one of the most popular techniques used in advertising in the contemporary corporate world. Celebrity endorsement is perceived as a metaphorical trend and a winning formula in the domain of marketing, advertising and brand perception building for a wide category of companies. The choice of a celebrity for the advertisement of any particular product or service is one of the most crucial and tough decision that is faced by the brand manager of a company. This is because, once a celebrity is chosen for the endorsement of the brand or the product, then the customers and stakeholders of the company automatically establish a direct sense of association between the enduring celebrity and the company and its products (Oyserman, Coon and Kemmelmeier, 2002). Literature Review Celebrity endorsement is a commonly used marketing and branding strategy that is employed by different marketing and branding managers of a company to promote brands, services or products. Though initially, the celebrity endorsement strategy of marketing was significantly used in the skincare and cosmetic brands, nowadays, celebrity endorsements have become an important marketing strategy in all types of industries and companies. celebrity endorsement are considered to be highly effective marketing strategies because they can easily trigger public interest and awareness and also draw their attention for buying the particular product or service of a company (Money, Shimp and Sakano, 2006 ). The fact that the celebrity endorsement are done by popular celebrities and public figures like artists, models, sportsperson, singers and actors and actresses ensures that the companies are directly associated with the celebrities which results in higher brand value and brand recognition levels among the target and potential customer groups of the company (Hofstede, 2001). Consumer decision process model The consumer decision process model is used for analysing the roadmap of the way customers make their purchase decisions and thus, can be used by the brand managers for formulating suitable product mix, sales and communication and other marketing strategies for a particular product or service. This model schematically analyses the activities that take place when the customer buying decisions are taken (Biswas, Hussain and O'Donnell, 2009). This model also helps to understand how various internal and external factors can be combined o impact the thinking, evaluation and final decision making processes of a customer. A consumer decision making model includes the following steps: Need recognition Information search Evaluation of alternatives Choice of product or service Consumption Post purchase evaluation (Endogen, Baker and Tagg, 2001). Need recognition Need recognition is the primary stage of the consumer decision making model. The needs and demands of the consumers should be carefully and exactly determined so that the celebrities can also be chosen to fit the image of the brand while at the same time capture the attention and interest of the customers in an effective manner. The need recognition also creates scopes for opportunity recognition for the company and can enable the marketing managers to streamline the needs of the customers with the way the celebrity endorsements are used for advertising and marketing the product. Information search Information search is done by the consumers to compare and evaluate the alternatives available for fulfilling their needs. Customers collect information from both internal and external sources. Information along with the experience and judgement of the customer play an important role in the process of customer purchase decision making. Celebrity endorsement initiatives act as one of the most common external information source for the target audience and customer groups. This is because the celebrity endorsers act as a key reference group and representative of the company in front of the consumers which also sufficiently influence the evaluations, behaviours and aspirations of the customers. The fact that the consumers might choose to imitate the activities and behaviours of the celebrities for enhancing their self-esteem through the identification of the desirable actions and images. As such, celebrity endorsement acts as one of the most effective and persuasive external information source that directly impact the way purchase decisions are made for buying any product or service. Pre-purchase evaluation of alternatives The search process is followed by evaluation of alternatives and options as per the way standards are set for the company and industry. Although the process of evaluation may vary according to the standards set by the customers, yet the decision rules can be based on personal style, aesthetic quality and other individualistic factors (Gurel-Atay and Kahle, 2010). Therefore, the celebrities who act as endorsers can impact the evaluation process of the consumers to a larger extent. Purchase The purchase decisions of consumers are taken on the basis of different internal and external factors. The celebrity endorsements and the ways in which they endorse the product as propagated in the advisement directly reinforce and influence the purchase decisions of the countries (Holden, 2004). Consumption The consumption of products and services is also much dependant on the celebrity endorsements. This is because, after a customer purchases the products, he tries to utilize these products in away such that their needs are adequately satisfied. The positive or negative outcomes derived from the consumption of a product can stem for the expectations and perceptions of a customer towards the celebrity endorsement of the same product. This may lead to satisfaction or disappointment among the customers depending on the outcomes derived from product usage (Singh, 2004). Post-consumption evaluation The level of customer satisfaction in important in marketing because, a high level of satisfaction can result in repeat buying behaviour and enable the creation of a loyal base of customers. Also the fact that meeting the expectations of the products would also contribute to the popularity of the celebrity endorsement and vice versa, suggests that the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsements is also critically evaluated in the post consumption stage of the consumer purchase behaviour model (Solomon, 2004). Effects of trustworthiness Trustworthiness related to a brand is necessary for ensuring customer loyalty and repeat buying. Since, the celebrity endorsers of a company act as the key communicators and representatives of the company and its products, therefore, it can be inferred that if the endorser is perceived as trustworthy, then the message of the company and the perceptions regarding the products are automatically enhanced in terms of value and effectiveness (Misra and Beatty, 2001). Conclusion Thus, it can be identified that there may be a variety of impacts of celebrity endorsements on the wide customer and stakeholder groups of a company. These outcomes may include both the positive and negative consequences for the companies, endorsers as well as the customers and audience groups of these endorsements. The magnitude of the influence of celebrity endorsements in the social constructs and consumer buying behaviours are important factors that are to be considered in assessing the success level of a particular celebrity endorsement. Thus, the credibility and trustworthiness of the brand and its products are also directly linked to the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsements used by the company. References Biswas, S., Hussain, M., & O'Donnell, K., 2009. Celebrity endorsements in advertisements and consumer perceptions: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Global Marketing, 22, 2, pp. 121-137. Elberse, A., & Verleun, J., 2012. The economic value of celebrity endorsements. Journal of Advertising Research, 52, 2, pp. 149-165. Endogen, B., Baker, M. & Tagg, S., 2001. Selecting celebrity endorsers: The practitioner's perspective. Journal of Advertising Research, 41, 3, pp. 39-48. Gurel-Atay, E., & Kahle, L., 2010. Celebrity endorsements and advertising effectiveness: The importance of value congruence. Advances in Consumer Research, 37, 1, pp. 807-809. Hofstede, G., 2001. Culture's consequences: comparing values, behaviours, institutions and organizations across nations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 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