Impact of Brand Ambassadors On

Impact of brand ambassadors on
Purchase behaviour of soft drinks

Impact of brand ambassadors on
Purchase behaviour of soft drinks
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of
Postgraduate Degree in Master of Business Administration of Bangalore
University
Submitted by:
KRISHNA RAO S
Register no. :
04 XQCM 6043
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Prof. Nandini Vaidyanathan
(Adjunct faculty-MPBIM)
2005 2006
MP Birla Institute of Management
Associate Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
BANGALORE 560 001.
M P Birla institute of Management 1
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this research work embodied in this entitled
dissertation Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft
drinks has been carried out by me, under the guidance of
Prof .Nandini Vaidyanathan, Adjunct faculty, MPBIM, Bangalore
I also declare that this dissertation has not been submitted to any
University or Institution for the award of any Degree or diploma.
PLACE: Bangalore
DATE: (Krishna Rao)
PRINCIPAL S CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this report is the result of Dissertation work done by
Mr. Krishna Rao S bearing Reg No 04XQCM6043, under the guidance
and supervision of Prof Nandini Vaidyanathan. This has not formed a
basis for the award of any other Degree/Diploma for any other
University/Institution.
PLACE: Bangalore Dr.Nagesh Mallavali
DATE: (Principal MPBIM)
GUIDE S CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this report is the result of Dissertation work done by
Mr. Mr. Krishna Rao S bearing Reg No 04XQCM6043, under my
guidance and supervision. This has not formed a basis for the award of
any other Degree/Diploma for any other University/Institution.
PLACE: Bangalore Prof.Nandini Vaidyanathan
DATE: (Adjunct faculty -MPBIM)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to many people whose timely help and guidance has helped
me to conduct this research successfully.
I would also like to express my thankfulness to Dr.Nagesh Mallavalli,
Principal M.P.Birla Institute of Management for giving me an opportunity
to pursue this project.
I take immense pleasure to express my heart-felt gratitude to Prof.
Nandini Vaidyanathan for her guidance and supervision.
I also wish to thank all those respondents who were patient enough in
giving answer to my questionnaire.
Finally, I would like to extend my grateful thanks to all my friends and
faculty members of MPBIM, Bangalore whose assistance has a lot to me
personally for the completion of this research.
PLACE: Bangalore
DATE: (Krishna Rao)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The MBA course offered by the Bangalore University has its own unique
syllabus which requires its MBA students to undertake a dissertation
project during the fourth semester. The purpose of this dissertation project
is to enable the students to appreciate and understand the nuances of the
practical world vis--vis the theoretical input administered during regular
academic sessions. This helps in creating Managers who are equipped
with the experience of linking the theoretical inputs with those of practical
exposure and come out with creative solutions / ideas in enhancing the
business.
In partial fulfillment of MBA degree of Bangalore
University, I took up a Dissertation project titled Impact of brand
ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks. India is soon
adapting to marketing products with a blend of celebrity endorsement.
Hence, I thought it would be a right time to take such a project and
present the findings of what impact it has made. I have also specified in
the end of the dissertation the road for further study, which other
interested persons, can take up a project and augment to the findings of
this project.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
INTRODUCTI
ON
1
2
RESEARCH
DESIGN
1
6
CONCE
PT OF
BRANDI
NG
2
0
I
MPACT OF
CELEBRITY
ENDROSEMENT ON
30
THE OVERALL
BRAND
SOFT DRINKS
INDUSTRY: AN
OVERVIEW
40
IMPACT OF BRAND
AMBASSADORS IN
SOFT
51
DRINK
INDUSTRY
ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
SUMMARY OF
FINDINGS,
59
8.
9. 10.
106
RECO
ANNEXURE
BI BLOGRAPHY 117
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS:
CHART TITLE
NO.
1 CHART SHOWING GENDER SPLIT UP
2 CHART SHOWING BRAND RECALL
3 CHART SHOWING COMPARISION BETWEEN TOTAL
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS AND THE PERCENTAGE
OF PEOPLE WHO COULD ASSOCIATE IT WITH THE
CELEBRITY
4 CHART SHOWNG BRAND AMBASSADOR AND
CHANCES OF BUYING
5 CHART SHOWING CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT AND
CHANCES OF VIEWING A TELEVISION AD
6 CHART SHOWING CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT AND
CHANCES OF VIEWING A PRINT AD
7 CHART SHOWING CHANCES OF RECOMMENDING A
SOFT DRINK BRAND IF ENDORSED BY THEIR
FAVORITE CELEBRITY
8 CHART SHOWING CHANCES OF RESTRAINING A
FRIEND/COLLEAGUE FROM BUYING A SOFT DRINK
BRAND IF ENDORSED BY THEIR HATED CELEBRITY
9 CHART SHOWING CHANGE IN PURCHASE
BEHAVIOUR AFTER A NOT-SO-FAVORITE BRAND
AMBASSADOR STARTED ENDORSING THE BRAND
10 CHART SHOWING COMPARISION BETWEEN TOTAL
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS AND THE PERCENTAGE
OF PEOPLE WHO COULD ASSOCIATE IT WITH THE
CELEBRITY
11 CHART SHOWNG BRAND AMBASSADOR AND
CHANCES OF BUYING
CHART TITLE
NO.
12 CHART SHOWING CHANCES OF RESTRAINING A
FRIEND/COLLEAGUE FROM BUYING A SOFT DRINK
BRAND IF ENDORSED BY THEIR HATED CELEBRITY
13 CHART SHOWING CHANGE IN PURCHASE
BEHAVIOUR AFTER A NOT-SO-FAVORITE BRAND
AMBASSADOR STARTED ENDORSING THE BRAND
14 CHART SHOWING PREFERENCE AMONG TWO
BRANDS HAVING SAME ATTRIBUTES WHEN
ENDORSED BY THEIR FAVORITE CELEBRITY
15 CHART SHOWING PREFERENCE OF PURCHASE OF A
SOFT DRINK AFTER IT BECAME POPULAR DUE TO
CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
16 CHART SHOWING ASSOCIATION OF RESPONDENTS
BETWEEN BRAND AMBASSADOR AND STATUS
SYMBOL
17 CHART SHOWING THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND
AMBASSADOR
18 CHART SHOWING MAJOR REASONS FOR THEIR
SHIFT FROM THE PREVIOUS BRAND
19 CHART SHOWING ASSOCIATION AND
EFFECTIVENESS OF AISHWARYA ROY ENDORSING
COCA COLA
EFFECTIVENESS OF AAMIR KHAN ENDORSING
COCA COLA
CHART TITLE
NO.
EFFECTIVENESS OF RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE
ENDORSING COCA COLA
EFFECTIVENESS OF SHAHRUKH KHAN ENDORSING
PEPSI
EFFECTIVENESS OF KAREENA & PRIYANKA
ENDORSING PEPSI CAFECHINO
EFFECTIVENESS OF JOHN ABRAHAM ENDORSING
DIET PEPSI
EFFECTIVENESS OF MALIKA SHARAWAT
ENDORSING 7UP
EFFECTIVENESS OF SANIA MIRA ENDORSING
SPRITE
EFFECTIVENESS OF TRISHA ENDORSING FANTA
EFFECTIVENESS OF ASIN ENDORSING MIRINDA
EFFECTIVENESS OF AKSHAY KUMAR ENDORSING
THUMPS UP
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Today 'Celebrity Endorsement' has attracted immense debate on whether
it really contributes to the brand building process or whether it is just
another tool to make the brand more visible in the minds of the
consumers. Although it has been observed that the presence of a well-
known personality helps in solving the problem of over-communication
that is becoming more prominent these days, there are few undesirable
impacts of this practice on the brand. The theories like 'Source Credibility
Theory, Source Attractiveness Theory and Meaning Transfer Theory'
provide a basis on which the methodology of celebrity endorsement works
and also explains how the process of the celebrity endorsement influences
the minds of the consumers. Firms invest huge amounts as advertising
expenditure for hiring the right celebrity. However there lies uncertainty
with respect to the returns that the company might be able to garner for
the brand. The issue of matching the values of the celebrity with the brand
values is also very important, i.e. getting the right celebrity to endorse the
right brand. Consumers perceive the brand as having superior quality
because it has been endorsed by a credible source. This makes
endorsement as one of the indictors of quality for any brand. Corporate
credibility along with endorser credibility plays a significant role in the
attitude of the consumer towards the brand and the advertisement
respectively. On the other hand, the over popularity of the celebrity
sometimes overshadows the brand. If the celebrity is involved in multiple
endorsements, it tends to create confusion among consumers and hence
negatively affects the perception of the advertisement and the brand.
Hence, to say clearly
whether the practice of celebrity endorsement impacts positively or
negatively to the brand still remains a debate
WHY BRAND AMBASSADORS
There is a management saying that when the product is good,
you no longer have to be a very good marketer. But the saying is soon
becoming outdated. There are many product categories and many brands
flooded in the market in each category. Hence attributes like quality, value
for money alone doesnt count. There has to be an effective media to
make the product reach towards the customer. The media here can be
termed as the celebrity who endorses the product. When a product is being
endorsed by a famous celebrity then it will result in better brand recall and
better brand awareness. People also start associating their status symbol to
that of the product that they consume and the celebrity associated with it.
Hence in many ways the company can capitalize on celebrity
endorsement. That is the reason why companies shell out millions to
promote their product with the celebrities.
DOES CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT REALLY WORK
Does celebrity endorsement really work? Theoretically yes, because the
qualities associated with the endorser are associated with the brand and
the brand therefore remains at the top of the consumer's mind. However
one needs to realize that the impact of an endorser cannot be sustainable
in all product categories and in all the stages of brand life cycles. It really
depends upon the type of product. If it is a 'functional brand', then the
product itself is the hero. Here any celebrity association with the brand
without corresponding performance of the product will not be sustainable.
While incase of 'image brands', like the categories of soaps, soft drinks,
cigarettes etc., where it is difficult to distinguish between the products,
celebrity endorsements help to distinguish between the brands at an
emotional level. A research conducted by Synovate7, a global market
research firm, revealed that 47% people would be more likely to buy a
brand that was endorsed by their favorite celebrity.
Pepsi Co. has used a variety of celebrities including Aishwarya Rai,
Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Khanna,
Fardeen Khan, Sachin Tendulkar etc. Amongst advertisements featuring
celebrities, Pepsi tops the heap with the highest recall of 70%, while arch
rival Coke is lower across all markets with 52% recall. This proves that
Pepsi has really exploited the use of celebrities in their advertisements and
has worked.
Whether Celebrity endorsement has a positive or a negative impact on the
brand is a debate that is open to interpretation. But till the time the
corporate world continues to foot fancy bills of celebrity endorsers and till
consumers continue to be in awe of the stars, the party is not likely to
break up. And in the chapters to come it can be learnt more on this
grounds and at the end interpretation is on impact of brand ambassadors
towards their perception and purchase behavior of soft drinks.
CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH DESIGN
PROBLEM STATEMENT
To study the impact of celebrity endorsement towards the purchase
behavior of soft drinks.
On the basis of this problem statement, the following specific
objectives have been crystallized.
OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH
1To identify whether celebrity endorsement has any impact in the
purchase behavior of soft drinks.
2To find out the importance of celebrity endorsement in the
promotion of a product.
3To find out whether celebrity endorsement constitutes for brand
recall and brand awareness.
4To identify the fissures and faults in celebrity endorsement.
RESEARCH DESIGN
The research study first examines the various facets of
celebrity endorsements and the impact on the purchase behavior of the
soft drinks. A thorough literature survey has been made in light of all the
things surrounding the celebrity endorsement. Then a survey is taken
among the general public with a sample to arrive at several conclusions
regarding the impact of brand ambassadors towards the purchase behavior
of soft drinks.
SAMPLE SIZE
The chosen sample size is of 100 consumers of soft drinks between
the ages 17-30.
SAMPLE DESCRIPTION
The data taken for study is a convenient sample representing the youth of
today, so that a proper conclusion can be reached. The target is youth aged
between 17-30
INSTRUMENTATION TECHNIQUES
The questionnaire technique is used for the survey and the reasons for
using this approach are
1 It covers !"e area
2 It !s not an e#$ens!ve affair
3 %r!&!na' "ata cou'" be obta!ne"
4 It !s (ree (ro) a'' b!as
5 *as+ to tabu'ate an" un"erstan"
COLLECTION OF DATA
Data has been collected from both primary and secondary sources.
Primary data is collected by the questionnaires and personal observation.
Secondary data is collected by the referring to several journals, books,
internet, magazines, etc,
LIMITATION
1 The data is restricted to Bangalore
2 Time constraint
3 Results are purely based on primary information
4 The analysis and interpretation is made under the
assumption that data are accurate
CHAPTER 3
CONCEPT OF BRANDING
BRANDING
BRAND
A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of
them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of
sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors.
REVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF BRAND:
INCUBATION OF THE CONCEPT OF BRAND EQUITY:
The 1980 marked a turning point in the conception of brands.
Management came to realize that the principal asset of a company was in
fact its brand names. A lot of writing followed this incubation of the idea
of ,ran" *-u!t+./ or the (!nanc!a' value of the brand. In fact, the
emergence of brands in activities, which previously had resisted or were
foreign concepts e.g. in Industry, banking, the service sector etc vouched
for the new importance of brands. This is confirmed by the importance
that so many distributors place on the promotion of their own brand.
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Brands vary in the amount of power and value they have in the market
place. David Aaker distinguished five levels of customer attitude towards
their brand, from lowest to highest namely:
1. Customers will change brands, especially for price reasons.
2. Customer is satisfied. No reason to change the brand.
3. Customer is satisfied and would incur costs by changing brand.
4. Customer values the brand and sees it as a friend
5. Customer is devoted to the brand.
Brand equity is highly related to how many of a brands custo)ers are !n
classes 3, 4 and 5.Moreover it is also, related, according to Aaker, to the
degree
,ran" na)e reco&n!t!on
0erce!ve" -ua'!t+ o( bran"
1tron& )enta' an" e)ot!ona' assoc!at!on
%ther assets such as $atents/ Tra"e)ar2s and emotional associations.
Brand Equity is therefore an intangible asset i.e. it cannot be seen, tasted,
heard or smelled before it is bought.
Example:
According to a study conducted in 2006, about 84 percent of the market
value of ten of the leading FORTUNE 500 companies was attributed to
intangible assets. Similarly an indicative analysis by the agency Price
Waterhouse Coopers, of listed companies with a turnover of more than Rs.
100 crores, identified 25 companies which in todays market command a
market value which is more than 4.5 times the book value of tangible
assets.
A B%"& 's )!+ t1%" % P!&.(t
Chart: Chart showing that a Brand is more than a product
BRANDING AND BRAND ASSET MANAGEMENT
Brand management is still in a nascent stage even though brands are a
business asset. At present, in many cases, the tendency is to manage
products, which happen to have a name. Yet brand management involves
different and specific reasoning and approaches. Till date the management
books and marketing bibles have not yet assimilated the full implication
of the brand revolution. Marketing books focus on the process of
launching new products, when marketing the brand is considered merely
as a tactical and final decision, which is developed through
communication such as advertising, packaging and
the logo. Yet the reality of the situation is very different. From now on
companies will be faced with the strategic issues of whether or not growth
should come about through existing brands by developing their sphere of
activity or through new brands. Classic strategy models talk about product
portfolios, whereas in reality companies have
to manage their brand portfolios. Several companies have product
managers but few have brand managers. This may cause problems in so
far as more and more brands are being extended to more and more
differentiated products, resulting in the delegation of the management of
value to several decision centers. In the medium term this may diminish
brand equity because decisions are taken without any integration of the
decision centers. The brand is not the product but it gives the product
meaning and defines its identity in both time and space. Companies are
discovering that this brand equity has to be managed, nourished and
controlled.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF BRAND
IDENTITY
BRAND IDENTITY
It is the common element sending a single message amid the wide
variety of its products, actions and slogans.
Brand identity is a recent concept; however researchers have already
delved into the concept of corporate identity by the late 80s so to s!)$'+
put it
CORPORATE IDENTITY
It is what helps organization, or a part of it; feel that it truly exists and that
it is a coherent and unique being, with a history and a place of its own,
different from others. Thus we can infer that an identity means being true
to yourself, driven by a personal goal that is both different from others
and resistant to change. Thus a brand identity will be clearly defined once
the following questions are answered:
1. What is the brands $art!cu'ar v!s!on an" a!)3
2. What makes it different?
3. What need is the brand fulfilling?
4. What is its permanent nature?
5. What are its values?
6. What are the signs, which make it recognizable?
This type of official document would help better brand management in the
medium term, both in terms of form and content, and so better address
future communication and extension issues.
Why speak of identity and not image?
Brand image is on the receivers s!"e. I)a&e research (ocuses on the way
in which certain groups perceive a product, a brand etc. The image refers
to the way in which these groups decode all of the signals emanating from
the product, services and communication covered by the brand. Identity is
on the senders s!"e. The purpose in this case is to specify the brands
)ean!n&/ a!) an" se'(-image. Image is both the result and
interpretation thereof. In terms of brand management identity precedes
image. Before projecting an image to the public,
we must know exactly what we want to project.
Branding is raising new questions for managers:
1. How many brands do we need?
2. How do we manage our brand portfolio?
3. What extensions can we give the brand and which products and
services could and should these encompass?
4. Into what areas should we not extend the brand even if you expect it to
sell?
5. Going too far may weaken brand equity. How do we manage brands
over time and keep them up to date, as technology, products and
customers change?
6. How do we change while still staying the same?
7. How do we manage coherently and benefit from the synergy of a
range of products sold under a single brand?
8. How do we optimize image in the relationship between products and
their brand?
9. How far can a brand be extended geographically?
10. Does it have the potential to become a homogeneous global brand
in all countries?
11. Several companies have the same name as their brand (e.g. Coca-cola,
Pepsi, etc) so what is the difference between managing a brand image, a
corporate image and an institutional image?
12. Given that brands have a value, how can this be measured so as to
survey and control it?
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks xiii.
Should it be included on the balance sheet to indicate its true economic
value to shareholders, investors and financial partners?
These are some very crucial questions that requires significant amount
of attention from the brand management perspective, for a long time the
answers to these questions were found intuitively and the decisions made
on a trial and error basis. However, now these questions are addressed
based upon some latest strategic models that have evolved based
upon continuous and persistent research that continues to be undertaken in
this field. Another impediment to brand management is that too often
brands are examined through their component parts: the brand name, its
logo, design or packaging, advertising or sponsorship, the level of image
and brand awareness and a more recently evolved concept of financial
valuation. Real brand management, however, begins much earlier, with a
strategy and a consistent, integrated vision.
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE BRANDING STRATEGY
W1%t (!"st't.t+s % $%"& st%t+#02
Organizations undertake a bran"!n&. $rocess +et the net outco)e closely
resembles a public relations face-lift. Why does this occur? One
possibility might be the framework that guides the process. Another may
simply be the viewpoint of the agency or consultant that is employed. In
any case, valuable money is spent each year on brand strategy endeavors
and frequently the outcome does not yield the tangible results
organizations are seeking.
W1%t 's % B%"&'"# St%t+#02
David Aaker implies the ob4ect!ve o( a bran"!n& !s to create a bus!ness
that resonates with customers5. 6a2er a'so su&&ests th!s $rocess )ust
involve an analysis from three perspectives: customer, competitor, and
self analysis. Another expert suggests a ,ran" strate&+ !s the $rocess
whereby the offer is positioned in the customers )!n" to $ro"uce a
perception of advantage (David Arnold, 1992)..
OBJECTIVES OF THE BRAND STRATEGY:
It is imperative to understand that branding is not about getting your target
market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your
prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their
problem.
The objectives that a good brand will achieve as a result of
branding excercise:
1Deliver the message clearly
2Confirms your credibility
3Connects your target prospects emotionally
4Motivates the buyer
5Concrete User Loyalty
To succeed in branding the organization must understand the needs and
wants of their customers and prospects. You do this by integrating your
brand strategies through your company at every point of public contact.
The brand must reside within the hearts and minds of customers, clients,
and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions,
some of which you can influence, and some that you cannot.
A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies
day by day. It's important to spend time investing in researching,
defining, and building thier brand. After all, the brand is the source
of a promise to your consumer. It's a foundational piece in your
marketing communication and one you do not want to be without.
For example, in case of soft drinks the market is flooded with brands
and an organization must spend time investing in researching,
defining, and building their brand
CHAPTER 3
IMPACT OF CELEBRITY
ENDROSEMENT ON THE
OVERALL BRAND
IMPACT OF CELEBRITY ENDROSEMENT ON THE
OVERALL BRAND
Celebrity endorsements are an omnipresent feature of present day
marketing. The modern corporation invests significant amounts of money
to align itself and its products with big-name celebrities in the belief that
they will (a) draw attention to the endorsed products/services and (b)
transfer image values to these products/services by virtue of their celebrity
profile and engaging attributes. The consumer of today is becoming
smarter and takes well informed decisions
He is not easily swayed by the charms of his favorite celebrity be it a film
star or a sportsperson. This makes Marketing Communications using
celebrity endorsements all the more challenging.
Since this field is very vast, the paper looks at important factors driving
the celebrity's impact on the brand such as Attribute Matching, Celebrity
Power, Effect of Cardinality, Choice of Media Vehicle, Brand Risks posed
by Celebrities and the ultimate fight of Brand Vs Celebrity
Before we draw conclusions on how celebrity endorsements impact the
brand, some important questions that mandate an answer are: -
How do you quantify the effectiveness of a celebrity endorsement? What
metrics determine the success of a celebrity endorsement? What
parameters do you consider?
INTRODUCTION
Celebrity endorsement has been recognized as "a ubiquitous feature of
modern marketing". Celebrity appeal is prevalent as a method of
persuasive communication. There is so much clutter in the market that
companies are constantly looking at ways to cut through it. Corporates
believe celebrity endorsements are the easy way out, with their mass
appeal. However there are chances of their Backfiring if there is a basic
mismatch between the star personalities and the brands in question.
FACTORS DRIVING THE CELEBRITY4S IMPACT ON
THE BRAND
ATTRIBUTE MATCHING
Impact of the celebrity used on the brand will be determined by the
process chosen to select the celebrity for the concerned product. The kind
of celebrity chosen will depend on the objective of endorsing and the kind
of product. Attribute matching is one of the most important factors when
it comes to choosing a celebrity for the above objectives and also has a
positive or negative impact on a brand.
A) OBJECTIVE OF ENDORSING
Breaking the clutter: When the objective is to break the clutter among
the deluge of advertisements, the impact on the brand will depend on the
kind and quality of the message conveyed to the consumer. The celebrity
is used to garner attention.
To match the attributes:
Endorsement for this particular reason might give you the brand recall
hence having significant positive impact on the brand. The celebrity
should be used to catch the attention of the viewer and associate him/her
with the brand.
Celebrity used to represent or pass on attributes: The use of
celebrity in such a situation should be linked with the objective and the
strategies of the organization promoting the product. If the objective is to
portray leadership then the celebrity chosen should reflect the same or else
there would be no impact or possibly a negative impact on the brand.
Example:
When a spotsman,lets sa+ 7hon! ho !s believed to consume 2 liters of
milk everyday and who is so conscious about health endorses any healthy
drink then it makes more sense.
To achieve the objectives of the communication, attribute match-up
should be done with great care. The steps are as below: -
clearly define the objective
Identify attributes of the product and the celebrity
Match the attributes of the product Vs personality and decide which
attributes need to be transferred from the celebrity to the product
Decide the right media for the communication
Design the right kind of advertisement considering the factors like
exposure of the celebrity, his image, other brands endorsed and
attributes already exploited.
B5 KIND OF PRODUCT
Apart from objective the kind of product is also important when it comes
to matching the right attributes. For example: If it's a high involvement
product, the right message from the celebrity will have a significant
impact and a consumer might wait for sometime if the product is not
available readily. On the other hand if it's an impulse product an attractive
celebrity might play a big role depending upon the availability of the
brand at the outlet when the consumer wants to buy it. So it becomes the
integrated work of a supply chain to support the positive affects of the
celebrity endorsement.
CELEBRITY POWER
Tom et al. (1992) suggest that celebrities possess different types of social
powers - expert power, referent power, legitimate power, coercive power
and reward power - that enable them to have an effect on consumers.
Apart from that a celebrity attains a power to influence the consumers by
his/her various attributes. We shall classify these attributes into: -
1ource Credibility
1ource Attractiveness
1ource credibility: It is the extent to which the recipient perceives the
source as having relevant knowledge and/or experience and therefore
trusts the source to give unbiased information. From a study by Hovland
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks and
Weiss, credibility has two components (refer exhibit) has two components
that effect believability and persuasiveness: -
*#$ert!se Trustorth!ness
Source Attractiveness: Society throughout the ages has determined that
particular features of persons are attractive. It is therefore to be expected
that physical attractiveness as a source attribute would affect the
receptivity of the message. Two discrete elements of source attractiveness
are generally identified by researchers:
8!2eability
1!)!'ar!t+.
Trustworthiness, likeability, attractiveness and personality of the celebrity
endorser play an important role in attracting attention to both the
endorsement and the brand, fulfilling a requirement in successful
advertising. Once attention had been gained, other source characteristics
could come into play and have a more persuasive impact on the audience.
The source characteristics with the greatest impact on consumers'
intention to purchase were those of credibility and expertise.
THE EFFECT OF CARDINALITY
The following observations can be made regarding number of celebrities
and brands endorsed:
1 Celebrity 1 Brand - The association between the two would be
high but this also has a flipside as in over dependence on one celebrity for
brand success
1 Celebrity n Brands - The audience may perceive the celebrity to
possess little focus and may not be able to recall the combination. But
different brands may be harnessing different attributes of the celebrity, in
which case it is either baneful or beneficial to the celebrity depending on
what effect overexposure has on him. This case would again lead to
confusion in the minds of the audience who may fail to correlate the
advertisement with the brand.
The effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement in such cases
will depend on how effectively the advertiser correlates and projects the
attributes of the celebrity and passes on to his product. From a study
(Tripp, Thomas and Carlson, 1994) it was observed that a celebrity who
endorses more than one brand is generally perceived to be more credible
with the consumers than a celebrity who endorses only a single brand but
on the other hand the perceived likeability of a celebrity who endorses
multiple brands is lower than celebrity who endorses only one brand. On
the other hand, consumers might become skeptical and accuse them of
slack endorsements. So this tradeoff should be handled by the advertiser
efficiently and effectively.
n celebrities 1 Brand - The brand is at an obvious advantage if all the
n celebrities are in the scene simultaneously. But sometimes these
celebrities need to have a strong interlinking factor amongst them as in
"The Indian Cricket Team" endorsing Samsung, "Film stars with Youth
Appeal" Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan and Rahul Khanna for Lays.
Nevertheless, multiple celebrities in distinct active endorsements may lead
to low recall among the targets. According to the attribution theory
(Kelley, 1967), people assign causality to events on the basis of either
their own behavior or the behavior of others. In the context of celebrity
endorsement advertising, consumers might ask whether an endorser
recommends a product because he/she actually believes the positive
characteristics of the product (an internal attribution) or because he/she is
paid for endorsing it (an external attribution). Since consensus is one of
the attribution cues, using multiple celebrities may create a consensus and
help advertisers to positively affect consumer perception. A brand has a
wide range of consumers and sometimes the use of multiple celebrities is
needed to cover the whole target audience, though it must be made sure
that each celebrity's values reflects core brand values. Studies have shown
that multiple celebrities help marketers reduce audience boredom which
may be caused by a single celebrity. However it should be assured that
"each and every celebrity possesses compatible meanings that are
sought for brands".
CHOICE OF MEDIA VEHICLE
The effectiveness of the celebrity depends to a great extent on the media
vehicle. Celebrities are of various types and are brands in themselves. If
the celebrity is a model, in which case "looks" are the attention grabbers,
then the print medium would probably be almost equally effective as
television. But if the celebrity's character is to be portrayed, wherein
audience identify with the celebrity not by mere looks but by talent or
ideology, as in a sportsperson or a social activist, it makes more sense to
project him or her on television to leverage on maximum impact
BRAND RISKS POSED BY THE FAMOUS
The celebrity may cease to denote the same set of brand values after a
point in time. Cases are aplenty wherein a celebrity endorsing a brand has
been accused of nefarious activities. To quote a few instances,
Salman Khan (Thums Up), OJ Simpson (Hertz car) and Mike Tyson
(Pepsi) were all subject to allegations. They were not only accused of
tarnishing their brand image, but also that of the product.
A contradictory testimony to this conventional belief is Martha Stewart
Living Omnimedia (MSO). When people had started to tire of Martha's
"perfect" home-maker image and the Company turnover was plummeting,
the imprisonment of Martha rejuvenated the brand MSO and culminated
in a shining stock value. This leaves us to ponder whether infamy spells
bad omen for a brand or if it depends on the mindset of the target
population.
However such surprises are few in number. There have been plenty of
reminders for marketers in recent months of the potential danger of
aligning their brand with a personality. Halos are easily tarnished and
golden boys - and girls - can slip up and instantly lose their sparkle. While
things do not always turn out too badly for the person concerned, the
brands they were endorsed by can find it harder to make people forget
their alliance. To avoid some of these risks, some Companies safely go in
for cartoon characters or dead celebrities.
Another risk is the transference of unintended meanings to a product
through a celebrity endorsement. Celebrities and products have numerous
attributes, and there may be congruity on certain ones and incongruity on
others. In the selection of a celebrity endorser, one has to consider not
only the product attributes that are to be established, but also the broader
meanings associated with an endorser. Although the endorser may have
certain attributes that are desirable for endorsing the product, he or she
may also have other, even more closely associated
attributes that are inappropriate for a specific product For instance,
marketers of bath towels who want to promote only the luxurious and
sexy nature of their towels may be indifferent to the selection of Madonna
or Christie Brinkley as an endorser. However, using this narrow definition
may result in the selection of Madonna, which would also transfer a low-
class meaning to the product. The totality of the endorser's symbolic
meaning should be considered.
As a Concluding remark, Celebrity endorsements may not always give a
positive return on expectation. Product endorsements for international
brands must be managed cautiously. Also, using celebrities has been
commoditized now to the extent that the same people are chased. Quite
often, having a celebrity in an advertisement in a meaningless fashion
without developing a clear strategy leads the celebrity to act as a vampire
to the brand proposition so that the advertisement is remembered; not the
brand name. The larger question is how to make best use of celebrity
advertising. People who have done this successfully such as Lux using
film stars in India and Nike using well-known American sportsmen are
two great examples wherein the celebrities act as a support to the main
advertising communication. No wonder these two examples use celebrity
endorsement as a core part of their advertising and the brand has grown in
importance and improved in terms of its quality over time. Celebrity
Endorsement should be a strategic decision taken after weighing all the
risks associated with it.
CHAPTER 6
SOFT DRINKS INDUSTRY-
AN OVERVIEW
A soft drink is a drink that does not contain alcohol, as
opposed to hard drinks, that do. In general, the term is used only for cold
beverages. Hot chocolate, tea, and coffee are not considered soft drinks.
The term originally referred exclusively to carbonated drinks, and is still
commonly used in this manner
MAJOR SOFT DRINK BRANDS:
Of late, there will be almost very few people who dont 2no bran"
names like Coca Coal or Pepsi. The soft drinks industry is cluttered with
many brands and the companies are struggling to maintain their market
share. They resort to several marketing strategies to entice the customers
towards them. Some of the famous soft drink brands are
Coca cola Fanta
Miranda Thumbs up
Pepsi 7UP
Sprite Fanta
Miranda Thumbs up
There has been a war going on between these brands and several
strategies has rather confused consumers to buy a brand rather than
making him loyal towards the brand. As a result brand loyalty is soon
fading among the brands available in the market and he is loyal to more
than one brand.
To retain a customer the companies undertake several strategies like
pricing strategy, advertising strategy, etc.But one welcome trend that
companies have seen is that the volumes is increasing and as a result the
market penetration is going up.
CHINA VERSUS INDIA- SOFT DRINK INDUSTRY
China is the bigger market. And the beverage brands operating here are
doing better in China in terms of profitability. And just last year, the
growth rate in China has been higher than India. China has a national
policy on FDI, and all the provinces get right in line. The market looks
spectacular. The economy looks spectacular. It looks like a clean New
York transplanted into China many times over.
It will be infact a pipe dream for India to reach that level. But not that it is
Unacheivable.The scene is so, because we have a democratic regime and
everything has to go through a consensus process. Also, our core
infrastructure is aged, and we can replace all of them if there is enough
political will. But the growth of India will catch up with that of China in
the next two or three years. The administration now is rolling out the
welcome mat for FDI and that will yield in the long term.
MARKETING STRATEGIES OF SOFT DRINK BRANDS-
Creating a brand is a time-consuming process because it involves
organizational commitment and orchestrating the resources in the right
manner and channel for building the brands !)a&e !n the )!n" o(
consumers. In other words, branding creates predictability. Its about
creating a relationship with consumers. What the brand does today should
help you anticipate what it will do tomorrow.
Promotion, on the other hand, is a short-term phenomenon. ACT NOW is
the definition of sales promotion; tomorrow will be too late!
Whether it is price reduction, larger packaging, a tie-in with another
product, a coupon or some other incentive, it is temporary. Does this mean
that you shouldn't run promotional campaigns? What should happen is
this: Promotions should help build a strong brand.
Building a brand works towards building a strong consumer base. Think
beyond coupons, giveaways and free trials! Sales promotions can attract a
different audience and encourage people to try a product for the first time.
You have the opportunity to influence peoples $erce$t!ons o( a brand, and
then, through on-going activity, retain those customers.
Marketers must recognize where sales promotions fit into the marketing
mix and what goes beyond the promotion. There should be a synergy
between brands and promotions. For example, when the cola war was
intense and the market was cluttered with many soft drink brands the
companies came up with pricing strategy, which is reducing the price to
Rs 5, it worked. It gave good results to the companies.
The companies which posses the brands have understood that an ideal
promotion should result in increasing short-term sales and building the
brand in the long run. There is nothing as such a !nn!n& $ro)ot!on./ its
a'' ho the $eo$'e $erce!ve it. For example, many of the marketers
comment that the concept of Pepsi TV in which Pepsi Advertises itself
recommending people to consume Pepsi while watching television seems
ridiculous. But some people like it. Hence its a'' $erce$t!on.
The companies keep changing their strategies to suit the consumers
mind. Brand ambassadors, in that aspect come handy for brand recall and
Brand Awareness.
PESTICIDE ISSUE- THE DEATH KNELL FOR SOFT
DRINK BRANDS
The following is the report released by Centre for Science and
Environment alleging that there is pesticide content in soft drinks which
rocked the nation completely.
After bottled water, its aerate" ater that has $'u&&e" the
purity test. In another expos9/ 7on To *arth has (oun" that 12 major
cold drink brands sold in and around Delhi contain a deadly cocktail of
pesticide residues. The results are based on tests conducted by the
Pollution Monitoring Laboratory (PML) of the Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE). In February this year, CSE had blasted the bottled
water industrys c'a!)s o( be!n& :$ure hen !ts 'aborator+ ha" (oun"
pesticide residues in bottled water sold in Delhi and Mumbai.
This time, it analyzed the contents of 12 cold drink brands sold in and
around the capital. They were tested for organochlorine and
organophosphorus pesticides and synthetic pyrethroids ; all commonly
used in India as insecticides.
The test results were as shocking as those of bottled water.
All samples contained residues of four extremely toxic pesticides and
insecticides: lindane, DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos. In all samples,
levels of pesticide residues far exceeded the maximum residue limit for
pesticides in water used as :(oo"/ set "on b+ the *uro$ean *cono)!c
Commission (EEC). Each sample had enough poison to cause ; in the
long term ; cancer, damage to the nervous and reproductive systems,
birth defects and severe disruption of the immune system;
WHAT WE FOUND
Market leaders Coca-Cola and Pepsi had almost similar concentrations of
pesticide residues. Total pesticides in all PepsiCo brands on an average
were 0.0180 mg/l (milligramme per litre), 36 times higher than the EEC
limit for total pesticides (0.0005 mg/l). Total pesticides in all Coca-Cola
brands on an average were 0.0150 mg/l, 30 times higher than the EEC
limit.
While contaminants in the :7!' )an&e )ore 0e$s! ere 37 t!)es h!&her
than the EEC limit, they exceeded the norms by 45 times in the :Than"a
matlab Coca-Cola $ro"uct.
Mirinda Lemon topped the chart among all the tested brand samples, with
a total pesticide concentration of 0.0352 mg/l
.
The cold drinks sector in India is a much bigger money-spinner than the
bottled water segment. In 2001, Indians consumed over 6,500 million
bottles of cold drinks. Its &ro!n& $o$u'ar!t+ )eans that ch!'"ren an"
teenagers, who glug these bottles, are drinking a toxic potion.
PML also tested two soft drink brands sold in the US, to see if they
contained pesticides. They didnt.
The question, therefore, is: how can apparently quality-conscious
multinationals market products unfit for human consumption?
CSE found that the regulations for the powerful and massive soft drinks
industry are much weaker, indeed non-existent, as compared to those for
the bottled water industry. The norms that exist to regulate the quality of
cold drinks are a maze of meaningless definitions. This "food" sector is
virtually unregulated.
The Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act of 1954, or the Fruit
Products Order (FPO) of 1955 ; both mandatory acts aimed at regulating
the quality of contents in beverages such as cold drinks ; do
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks not
even provide any scope for regulating pesticides in soft drinks. The
FPO, under which the industry gets its license to operate, has standards
for lead and arsenic that are 50 times higher than those allowed for the
bottled water industry.
Whats )ore/ the sector !s a'so e#e)$te" (ro) the $rov!s!ons o(
industrial licensing under the Industries (Development and Regulation)
Act, 1951. It gets a one-time license to operate from the ministry of food
processing industries; this license includes a no-objection certificate from
the local government as well as the state pollution control board, and a
water analysis report. There are no environmental impact assessments, or
sitting regulations. The industrys use o( ater/ there(ore/ is not regulated.
It is clear that the regulations have been designed in total disregard for
public health. But what is unfortunate is that the global players ; two
giant corporations, who swear by the principles of corporate responsibility
and global standards ; have been caught in the act, taking
advantage of the weak and nonsensical regulatory standards in India. Or,
may we say, by fixing the standards to compromise our health.
The above given is the complete report given by CSE and as a result of
which there were several controversies regarding whether to allow soft
drinks in our country to continue or not was triggered. The sale of
carbonated water (soft drinks) was badly hit.
COLA WARS
Cola Wars is the term used to describe the campaign of mutually-targeted
television advertisements and marketing campaigns between Coca-Cola
and Pepsi-Cola.
CHART SHOWING MARKET SHARE
OF SOFT DRINKS
Coca-Cola
1% 2% Pepsi
36
%
Regional
Brands
others
61%
Whether its business or product strategies or the critical
distribution game plan, the arch-rivals are taking roads that do not meet;
Of late, in one of the interviews with Business Line Indra Nooyi, the
president and CFO of PepsiCo commented The co'a ars are a'!ve an"
kicking. That's what makes us both great companies.. True to the words
of Indra Nooyi, the cola wars have stayed for decades and several
strategies were implemented by both the companies to woo customers.
Global cola war is age old. They both have been fighting tooth and
nail to gain the market share. Some people have even compared that to
two kindergarden school children fighting it out in the road. Lets come to
another phase of the coal wars. With the sweltering April-July summer
months now under way in India, the country's version of the global cola
wars, featuring perennial combatants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, is heating
up fast. With health consciousness on the rise, the health-drinks business
has picked up as well, with several players, including the aforementioned
cola giants, wading into the fray.
One of the most visible battle fronts in India's cola wars is celebrity
endorsements, and Pepsi and Coke have rolled out the biggest categories
of celebrities in the country, film stars and cricketers, signed up as brand
ambassadors at humongous cost. Their well-known faces are splashed on
billboards and newspaper pages, even as television spots roll out by the
dozens featuring the stars. The Coke-Pepsi rivalry is so intense that there
is a fight to win ad space at every shop, bus-stop stall and roadside eatery.
Each transnational company marks out its territory in either bright red or
blue, the colors associated with the two brands.
Top film stars Kareena Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai,
Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Priyanka Chopra, Akshya Kumar,
Aamir Khan and cricketers Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender
Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and many more have been offered contracts that are
sometimes worth more than their earnings from films or cricket.
According to reports, Aamir Khan's contract for Coca-Cola is worth more
than $4 million over three years. For that money, Aamir sets aside a few
days every year for the commercials. Shahrukh Khah, who rivals Aamir in
the movies, charges a similar amount for Pepsi, while among
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks the
ladies, Aishwarya Rai leads with more than $2 million.
Coca-Cola is reported to have roped in the maximum number of 15
celebrities, followed by eight for Pepsi. Other brands such as Thums Up
(Coca-Cola's local brand) have three, while 7Up (a Pepsi brand) has Yana
Gupta and, this year, the hot Mallika Sherawat.
The advertising strategies have changed over the years,
moving on from print ads to TV commercials to promotions at restaurants,
events, the Internet, contests, and tie-ups with shops and movie theaters.
India's total advertising market (print plus TV) is more than $2.5 billion,
with print ads accounting for 45% of the total.
There will strategies, and there will celebrities and the war will continue
for the ages to come. The onus is on the part of the companies to
showcase their features and woo the customers towards them.
CHAPTER 7
IMPACT OF BRAND
AMBASSADORS IN SOFT
DRINK INDUSTRY
SOFT drinks, chocolates, biscuits, paints, cars, tyres, scooters,
suitings, footwear, watches, pens, hair oil, chyawanprash, insurance
packages, diamonds, liquor, photo films ... The list could go on. It appears
that, of late, corporate India does not want to sell anything to the
consumer without using either a movie star or a sports hero.
If we are rapidly turning the pages of glossy magazine or
channel surfing, an advertisement featuring :6!sar+a <a! or 6a)!r
Khan (or coca-cola or shahrukh Khan for Pepsi its sure e !'' s'o
down. Then again, we might find the exasperating ad lines or jingles
buzzing in our head all the day. Celebrity endorsements ensure that the
product lingers I the memory long after the advertisement has been seen
and phrases like :Than"a )at'ab coca-cola or :Yeh Dil Maange More
are often discussed in informal circles. Such is the power of celebrities
that they are increasingly finding their way in almost all then product lines
in the business world. Before really getting into the discussion of what
impact have the brand ambassadors made towards softdrink brands,lets
have a overview on
DO CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS HELP SELL
PRODUCTS2
What is more insulting to the consumer: A celebrity who thinks you
should buy anything he endorses or the marketing gurus who expect you
to buy their product just because of the presence of a celebrity in the ad?
The cult of celebrity endorsements does a disservice both to the brand as
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks well
as the consumer. A brand which is confident of its positioning in the
market will not require the services of a
celebrity.
A strong brand identity would not really need a big name to help advertise
it. After all, the only person who benefits from celebrity
endorsement is the celebrity himself.
Celebrities are used supposedly to stand out from the clutter, but these
days it's the celebrities themselves who are adding to that clutter. Take any
big star like Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan.
It's likely that one will recall them with their overwhelming personalities
and not the product they were paid big bucks to endorse. End result:
Celebrity becomes richer and there is little recall for the brand.
As the consumer has matured advertisers can no longer fool the consumer
by sticking in a celebrity to push up sales. With celebrities themselves
becoming akin to commodities willing to put their names to just about any
product, the consumer today is smart enough to distinguish between a
genuine endorsement and a case of poor brand-and-celebrityfit.
This skepticism in the mind of the consumer can be further aggravated if
there is a complete disconnect between the product and the celebrity.
By placing a celebrity in an ad without thinking through as to whether
there is any synergy between the two is lazy advertising. A company also
runs the risk of a celebrity losing his shine overnight especially if he has
run-ins with the law, a la Salman Khan.
As a gimmick, celebrity endorsements have lost their luster. It's time then
for advertising and marketing professionals to come up with some real
ideas rather than depending on celebrities to sell products.
BRAND AMBASSADORS AND SOFT DRINKS-
Brand ambassadors have ruled the soft drinks industry.
Their presence has become inevitable that the companies now feel without
the celebrities the brand cannot be promoted. Name a icon, let it be
shahrukh Khan or Amair khan, Aiswarya Rai or Priyanka Chopra from
Tinsel Town, or Sachin Tendulkar or Sania Mirza from Sports arena, they
are now a face of some brand or another.
Last year, when the controversial pesticide issue shook up
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and resulted in much negative press, both the top
brands sat with fingers crossed. Both soft drink majors put out high-
profile damage control ad films featuring their best and most expensive
celebrities. While Aamir Khan led the Coke fight back as an ingenious
and fastidious Bengali who finally gets convinced of the product's `purity,'
PepsiCo brought Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar together once
again in a television commercial which drew references to the `safety' of
the product indirectly.
The success that the Aamir Khan thanda matlab commercial brought
Coca-Cola is universally acknowledged. A creation of Prasoon Joshi,
National Creative Director, McCann-Erickson, the ad has been exported
to foreign markets as well. The way that the soft drink companies carried
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks away
the pesticide controversy makes the common public feel that, Is he
made gullible?
BRAND AMBASSADORS- SAFE BET FOR THEIR SOFT
DRINK BRANDS2
Points out R. Bal Krishnan, Executive Creative Director, Lowe, "It
depends on how well or how badly brands use celebrities. Sometimes, a
good brand uses a celebrity ineffectively, and there are times when a
smaller brand does extremely well with good use of a celebrity endorser."
As for overkill, Balki says, "It is not that the consumer gets tired or
confused about the same star endorsing various products. If an ad film is
told well with a differentiated story, it works. Otherwise, it doesn't. It is as
straightforward as that."
Lets ta2e the e#a)$'e o( 6a)!r =hans 6ssoc!at!on !th >oca >o'a. It
clicked. The association had a positive correlation. In this case the brand
used the celebrity effectively. But in some cases people may feel that the
association is not proper and rather the brand value has gone down after
such an association with the celebirity.Sometimes a bad spell can also
affect the brand value.
The following attributes can be discussed
TESTIMONIALS
If the celebrity has personally used the product, that is the soft drink
brand that he endorses and is in apposition to attest to its quality, he or she
may give a testimonial citing its benefits.for example,in one of the
interviews with Aamir Khan,he told that he consumes only Coca Cola
Impact of brand ambassadors on Purchase behaviour of soft drinks and
not any other brand. This in some way or other will augment the sale of
the brand.
SPOKESPERSON
A celebrity who represents a soft drink brand over an extended period
of time, often in print and television advertisements and in personal
appearances, becomes the spokesperson of the brand. For example, Sania
Mirza who endorses Sprite is the spokesperson of the brand and she must
like Sprite, which will add value to the brand;
BREAKING THE CLUTTER
When the objective is to break the clutter among the deluge of
advertisements, the impact on the brand will depend on the kind and
quality of the message conveyed to the consumer. The celebrity is used to
garner attention. Further the celebrity chosen must be so popular among
the general public.Aamir khans assoc!at!on as )ent!one" ear'!er is one
such good example. It has helped Coca Cola to break the clutter.
WHICH ONE TO BET ON- THE IDEA OR THE BRAND
Celebrity endorsement is mainly carried out for better brand
recall and better brand awareness. There are many soft drink brands
flooded in the market and umpteen numbers of advertisements to promote
it. Hence consumers get sick of these advertisements. Hence to make the
consumer look on the advertisement, it must be innovative or use a
charming celebrity and the rest will be done. But when the
advertisement is both innovative and the celebrity is charming, then its
likely that the advertisement will become a very big hit.
Advertising agencies use famous icons to get the job done. They are
paid a lot to do it. Trustworthiness, likeability, attractiveness and
personality of the celebrity endorser play an important role in attracting
attention to both the endorsement and the brand, fulfilling a requirement
in successful advertising.
ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED IN CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENT
When the pesticide issue rocked the country and the cola companies
were in affix to set the sales graph right they had to do lot of home work.
They knew that the tarnished image can be only rebuilt with the celebrity
endorsement as they posses high trustworthiness among the general
public. But some of the celebrities were fearing on the ethical grounds.
Gopi chand, The famous Badminton player was offered at the time of
pesticide issue a huge sum to endorse one of the soft drink brands, which
he refused to do on ethical grounds. But later the companies roped in
famous celebrities and showcased to the public that the soft drink brand
can be consumed as there is no harm in doing so.
ALL MARKETERS ARE LIARS
Seth Godin, in his famous book a'' )ar2eters are '!ars. sa+s a
very different line of idea for selling products. He says that all the
marketers are liars and a perfect marketer must know to address the
irrational wants of the consumer. Any advertisement can tell about the
features that the product has and any agency can do it. Further people are
least interested in hearing to it. Rather fantasize him and address that his
irrational wants will be fulfilled after he buys the brand. That its shon in
an advertisement that a boy gets a Girlfriend after he consumes a
particular brand of soft drink may look ridiculous. But it actually clicks.
The above thought can be best materialized by effectively using a
brand ambassador. Because the message is easily reached. He would be
earlier in no mood to watch an advertisement or see a print advertisement
if it were ordinarily done. But now it looks different. It can fantasize him
to a different world. But brand Gurus say that it results in better brand
recall and better brand awareness. The purpose is clearly served with the
help of the celebrity that is used to endorse the product.
CHAPTER 8
ANALYSIS AND
INTERPRETATION
INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
9F!) 10*!t1+s's5
FAVORITE BRAND AMBASSADOR
AND CHANCES OF BUYING
Chances of buying No. of
respondent
s
Very less 47
Less 11
Neutral 32
High 8
Very high 2
Ho: There is no significant difference between brand ambassadors
and expected number of respondents to buy the soft drinks. (Ps = P)
H1: There is significant difference between brand ambassadors and
expected number of respondents to buy the soft drinks. (Ps > P)
Ps: sample population; Ps = 0.58
P : expected
population P
=
0.20
Level of significance
5%
Zt
ab
=1.645 (one tailed
test)
Test stastistic
Z
= | P Ps |
PQ /
n
DATA: P =0.20 Ps =0.58 n =100
PQ / n = 0.04
TEST: Z cal = | .2 ? 058 |
1@ 9.5
0.04
Since Z cal > Z tab, Ho is not accepted.
That is Ps > P
INTERPRETATION-
This means that the sample observed is more than that of expected.
Generally due to brand endorsement it is expected that less should be
unlikely to buy the brand and more should be likely to buy the brand.
This means that the consumers in the case of soft drinks give much
importance to other attributes like quality, value for money etc.
UDY
BRAND
AMBAS
SADOR
S AND
ADVERTISEMEN
T REACH
AMONG
CUSTOMERS
Chances of buying
Very less
Less
Neutral
High
Very high
Ho: There is no
significant
difference
between impact
of brand
ambassadors and
expected number
of respondents
viewing the soft
drinks
advertisement.
(Ps = P)
H1: There is
significant
d
Ps: sample
population; Ps = 0.69
P : expected population P
=
0.80
5%
Zt
ab
=1.645 (one tailed
test)
Test stastistic
Z
= | P Ps |
PQ /
n
DATA: P =0.80
Ps
=0.69
n
=100
M P Birla institute of
Management 61
PQ / n = 0.04
TEST: Z cal = | .8 ? 0.69 |
1@ 2.75
0.04
That is Ps < P
INTERPRETATION
This means that the sample observed is less than that of the expected. The
companies which use brand ambassadors and celebrities to endorse their
brand expect large number of people to view the ad. Although 69 % is
very good proportion, by the test it is less than the expected/hence some
creativity should also be coupled with celebrities to make the
advertisements more reachable.
RECOMMENDATION AMONG THEIR
FRIENDS:COLLEAGUES
Chances of No. of
recommending
respondent
s
Most unlikely 40
Unlikely 35
Neutral 13
Likely 9
Most likely 3
and expected number of respondents unlikely to recommend the
brand. (Ps = P) (The persons that the company expects that they are
unlikely to recommend being small).
expected number of respondents unlikely to recommend the brand.
(Ps >P)
Ps: sample population; Ps = 0.75
P : expected
population P
=
0.20
5%
Zt
ab
=1.645 (one tailed
test)
Test stastistic
Z
= | P Ps |
PQ / n
DATA: P =0.20 Ps =0.75
n
=100
PQ / n = 0.04
TEST: Z cal = | .2 ? 0.75 |
1@ 13.75
0.04
That is Ps > P.
INTERPRETATION:
The company always expects that the number of people unlikely
to recommend the brand should be less, or in other words, there should
be large number of persons who should recommend the brand. In case of
soft drinks this can be seen that there is no such trend. This means that
people give importance to other factors. And they think that they can
recommend a brand only after they are thoroughly satisfied. Hence
attribute like :sat!s(act!on can be cons!"ere" (or recommendation of a
brand.
BRAND AMBASSADORS AND DETRACTORS
Chances of No. of
recommending
respondent
s
Most unlikely 62
Unlikely 25
Neutral 9
Likely 2
Most likely 2
and expected number of respondents not detracting someone from
buying. (Ps =P)
expected number of respondents not detracting someone from
buying. (Ps < P)
Ps: sample
=
0.80
5%
Zt
ab
=1.645 (one tailed
test)
Test stastistic
Z
= | P Ps |
PQ /
n
DATA: P =0.80
Ps
=0.85
n
=100
Management 65
PQ / n = 0.04
TEST: Z cal = | .8? 0.85 |
1@ 1.25
0.04
Since Z cal < Z tab, Ho is accepted.
That is Ps = P.
INTERPRETATION:
In this case the observed number of people from the sample who say that
they will not detract is more than that of the observed. This is a good
sign. Hence it implies that the respondents will not detract another person
because their hated celebrity endorses the product.
IMPORTANCE OF BRAND AMBASSADOR
Importance No. of
respondent
s
Most important 8
Important 51
Neutral 22
Less important 19
Not at all important 0
Ho: There is no significant difference between observed and
expected number of respondents who think that brand ambassadors
are important. (Ps =P)
H1: There is significant difference between observed and expected
number of respondents who think that brand ambassadors are
important. (Ps < P)
Ps: sample
=
0.80
5%
Zt
ab
=1.645 (one tailed
test)
Test stastistic
Z
= | P Ps |
PQ /
n
DATA: P =0.80
Ps
=0.85
n
=100
Management 67
PQ / n = 0.04
TEST: Z cal = | .80 ? 0.81 |
1@ 0.25
0.04
Since Z cal < Z tab, Ho is accepted.
That is Ps = P.
INTERPRETATION:
It is obvious from the analysis that there is no significant difference
between observed and expected number f respondents who think that
brand ambassadors are important. The rules of marketing are changing.
Although companies use several strategies to make products reach the
people, brand ambassadors also constitute one of the important attributes.
INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
9F!) #%*1s %"& (1%ts5
A questionnaire was prepared keeping in mind all the criteria to assess the
impact of celebrity endorsement towards purchase behavior of soft drinks
and the data is analyzed for interpretation of results
Sample size: 100
Gender
Sample
size
Male 54
Female 46
Total 100
GENDER SPLIT UP
GENDER SPLIT UP
46%
Mal
e
54%
Fe
mal
e
Most of them were students, as the study was done with a convenient
sampling. The students community are from various states who under go
their education at Bangalore and they are from different states so that the
sample represents different taste and preferences to get an unbiased result.
BRAND RECALL OF SOFTDRINKS
With the response from the sample population the brand recall is being
analyzed. It was asked to mention top six brands which they like from
which such information is being taken up.
BRAND RECALL
NAME NUMBER
OF THE BRAND OF MENTIONS
Coca-cola 97
Pepsi 96
Sprite 87
Mirinda 85
7up 80
Fanta 83
Thumpsup 90
Mountain Dew 63
Limca 65
Others* 61
*others include brands like Mazza,Slice
CHART SHOWING BRAND RECALL
100
90 Coca-cola
M
EN
TI
O
NS
80 Pepsi
70 Sprite
60 Mirinda
50 7up
40 Fanta
OF
Thumpsup
NU
M
BE
R
30
20
Mountain
Dew
10
Limca
Others*
0
BRANDS UNDER STUDY
BRAND AND CELEBRITY ASSOCIATION
The respondents were asked to specify top 6 brands that come to their
mind and in the order of preference and also asked to specify the name of
the brand ambassador of the soft drink brand if they know. And the
response was as follows
NAME P+(+"t%#+ !, *+!*/+ ;1!
OF THE BRAND (!./& %ss!('%t+ ;'t1
(+/+$'t'+s
Coca-cola 58
Pepsi 54
Sprite 50
Mirinda 40
7up 53
Fanta 36
Thumpsup 49
Limca 30
CHART SHOWING COMPARISION BETWEEN TOTAL NUMBER
OF RESPONDENTS AND THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO
COULD ASSOCIATE IT WITH THE CELEBRITY
120
R
E
S
P
O
N
D
E
N
T
S
100
80
60
40
N
O
20
0
i
t
e a
l
a
s
o
p
i
d
e
r
in c p
-
P S
i
r
a
M
c
o
BRAN
DS
C
TOTAL
NO.OF
RESPOS
DENTS

PERCENT
OF
PEOPLE
WHO
ASSOCIA
TED
WITH
BRAND
AMBASS
ADOR
FAVORITE BRAND AMBASSADOR
AND CHANCES OF BUYING
The respondents were asked what the chances are of buying a soft drink
brand if it is endorsed by their favorite icon. And the response was as
follows:
Chances of buying No. of
respondent
s
Very less 47
Less 11
Neutral 32
High 8
Very high 2
CHART SHOWNG BRAND AMBASSADOR AND CHANCES OF BUYING
BRAND AMBASSADOR AND
CHANCES OF BUYING
8% 2%
Very
less
Less
47%
32%
Neutral
High
Very
high
11%
INTERPRETATION-
It is obvious from the above chart that above 47% of the
respondents say that the chances are very less that they will buy a soft
drink brand when it is endorsed by their favorite icon while 11% say the
chances are less, and 32% remain neutral. On the other hand about 8% say
that their favorite icon influences them in buying the brand to high extent
and about 2% say that it influences to very high extent. Since the majority
say that celebrity endorsement doesnt !n('uence the) to bu+ the soft
drinks they have in mind also other attributes like quality, value for money
etc.
UDY
B
ADVERTISE
MENT
REACH
AMONG
CUSTOMERS
The respondents
were asked what the
chances that they
will view a
television ad of a
soft drink brand if it
is endorsed by their
favorite icon. And
the response was as
follows:
Chances of buying
Very less
Less
Neutral
High
Very high
CHART
SHOWING
CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENT
AND CHANCES
OF
VIEWING
A
TELEVISI
ON AD
INTERPRETATION-
From the chart it can be clearly seen that about 28% of
respondents say that there is a very high and 41% high chances of viewing
a television ad, given the ad is featured with their favorite icon.
Advertisement is one of the important modes for brand awareness and
brand recall. Hence if the celebrity endorsement can do that effectively,
then it will have a positive influence on the buying behavior. On the other
hand only 4% say that there is less chance of viewing and again another
4% say that there is very less chance of viewing. And the remaining 23%
remain neutral.
UDY
B
ADVERTISE
MENT
REACH
AMONG
CUSTOMERS
The respondents
were asked what the
chances that they
will see a print
ad/hoarding of a
soft drink brand if it
is endorsed by their
favorite icon. And
the response was as
follows:
Chances of buying
Very less
Less
Neutral
High
Very high
CHART
SHOWING
CELEBRITY
ENDORSEMENT
AND
CHAN
CES
O
F
V
I
E
W
I
N
G

A
P
R
I
N
T
A
D
BRAND AMBASSADOR AND PRINT AD/HOARDING
INTERPRETATION-
From the chart it can be clearly seen that about 19% of
respondents say that there is a very high and 51% high chances of viewing
a print ad or a hoarding, given the ad is featured with their favorite icon.
Advertisement is one of the important modes for brand awareness and
brand recall. Hence if the celebrity endorsement can do that effectively
when, then it will have a positive influence on the buying behavior. On
the other hand only 9% say that there is less chance of viewing and
another 2% say that there is very less chance of viewing. And the
remaining 17% remain neutral.
BRAND AMBASSADORS AND SOFT DRINK BRAND
RECOMMENDATION AMONG THEIR
FRIENDS:COLLEAGUES
The respondents were asked what are the chances that they will
recommend a soft drink brand to their friends/colleague/spouse because
their favorite icon endorses it. And the response was as follows:
Chances of No. of
recommending
respondent
s
Most unlikely 40
Unlikely 35
Neutral 13
Likely 9
Most likely 3
Chart showing chances of recommending a soft drink brand if endorsed by
their favorite celebrity
3%
9%
13%
35
%
40%
Most
unlikely

U
nli
ke
ly

N
eu
tra
l

Li
ke
ly

M
ost likely
INTERPRETATION:
From the chart it is obvious that about 40% respondents say
that they are most unlikely and 35% unlikely to recommend the brand if
endorsed by their favorite icon. On the other hand 9% of respondents are
likely and 3%most unlikely to recommend the brand. This can be
interpreted that although they like the brand for several reasons, most of
them may recommend the brand taking into consideration some other
attributes but not celebrity endorsement. For example the consumer can
find quality as one of the important attribute and hence can recommend a
soft drink brand. About 13% remain neutral in the response.
BRAND AMBASSADORS AND DETRACTORS
The respondents were asked what are the chances that they will restrain
their friends/colleague/spouse from buying a soft drink because the brand
is endorsed by their hated icon. And the response was as follows:
Chances of No. of
recommending
respondent
s
Most unlikely 62
Unlikely 25
Neutral 9
Likely 2
Most likely 2
CHART SHOWING CHANCES OF RESTRAINING A
FRIEND/COLLEAGUE FROM BUYING A SOFT DRINK BRAND
IF ENDORSED BY THEIR HATED CELEBRITY
2%
2%
9%
Most unlikely
62%
Unlikely
Neutral
25%
Likely
Most likely
INTERPRETATION:
From the chart it is obvious that about 62% respondents say
that they are most unlikely and 25% unlikely to restrain their
friend/colleague from buying a soft drink brand when it is endorsed by
their hated icon. On the other hand only 2% of respondents are likely and
another 2% most unlikely not to detract. This can be interpreted that most
of the respondents have the idea that they wont restra!n so)ebo"+ from
buying asoft drink brand because it is endorsed by their hated icon. About
9% remain neutral in the response.
CHANGE IN PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR AFTER A NOT<
SO<FAVORITE BRAND AMBASSADOR STARTED
ENDORSING THE BRAND
The respondents were asked, after their not-so-favorite icon started
endorsing the soft drink that they consume did their purchase behavior
change and their response was as follows
ATTRIBUTE No. of
(Did they feel
respondent
s
like...)
Shifting to another 2
brand
Remain in same in 42
any case
Not sure 2
Do not care about 54
these attributes
CHART SHOWING CHANGE IN PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR
AFTER A NOT-SO-FAVORITE BRAND AMBASSADOR
STARTED ENDORSING THE BRAND
R
E
S
P
O
N
D
E
N
T
S
10
0
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
N
O
.
O
F
20
10
0
ATTRIBUTES1
Shifting to
another
brand
Remain in
same in
any case
Not sure
Do not
care about
these
attributes
INTERPRETATION:
It can be interpreted from the above chart that about 54
respondents (54%) do not care about attributes like change in brand
ambassador. While about 42 respondents (42%) say that they will remain
in the same soft drink brand in any case. Hence it can be said that change
in the brand ambassador doesnt have )uch e((ect as on'+1A sa+ that they
will shift if such a change happens.
BRAND AMBASSADOR AND PREFERENCE AMONG
TWO BRANDS HAVING SAME ATTRIBUTES
The respondents were asked whether they will prefer to buy a particular
brand among two brands having same attributes because that brand is
endorsed by their favorite celebrity. And their response was as follows
Chances of No. of
preference
respondent
s
Most unlikely 31
Unlikely 17
Neutral 20
Likely 28
Most likely 4
CHART SHOWING PREFERENCE AMONG TWO BRANDS
HAVING SAME ATTRIBUTES WHEN ENDORSED BY THEIR
FAVORITE CELEBRITY
4%
31%
Most
unlikely
28% Unlikely
Neutral
Likely
Most
likely
17%
20%
INTERPRETATION:
It is obvious from the chart that here are mixed reactions.
About 31% of respondents say they are most unlikely and 17% unlikely
that they will prefer one brand among two if it is endorsed by their
favorite icon. On the other hand about 4% of respondents say they are
most likely and 28% likely that they will prefer one brand among two if it
is endorsed by their favorite icon. Hence there is a mixed reaction from
the respondents. About 20% remain neutral in the response.
PURCHASE OF A SOFT DRINK AFTER IT BECAME
POPULAR DUE TO CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
The respondents were asked whether they have bought a soft drink which
was not much popular, and then it became popular after an icon started
endorsing it. And the response was as follows
Chances of No. of
purchase
respondent
s
Yes 37
No 63
CHART SHOWING PREFERENCE OF PURCHASE OF A SOFT DRINK
AFTER IT BECAME POPULAR DUE TO CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT
100
RESPONDE
NTS
90
80
70
60
Y
e
s
50
N
O
40
NO.OF
30
20
10
0
PREFERENCE OF PURCHASE
1
INTERPRETATION-
The above chart showing about the purchase behavior of a soft
drink after it became popular due to celebrity endorsement clearly
indicates that most of the people havent sh!(te" to another bran" a(ter
they felt that a particular brand has become popular after the brand was
advertised aggressively.
BRAND AMBASSADOR AND STATUS SYMBOL
The respondents were asked whether they associate a brand ambassador
endorsing their favorite brand with that of their status symbol. And the
response was as follows:
Chances of No. of
association
respondent
s
Most unlikely 30
Unlikely 20
Neutral 16
Likely 30
Most likely 4
CHART SHOWING ASSOCIATION OF RESPONDENTS BETWEEN
BRAND AMBASSADOR AND STATUS SYMBOL
4%
30%
Most
unlikely
Unlikely
Neutral
30% Likely
Most
likely
16%
20%
INTERPRETATION:
The product under study in this research is soft drinks. And it
must be noted that for different product and for different celebrities the
association of the brand that they use and the status symbol differs. In this
case, it is obvious that nearly 30% say that they are most unlikely and
20% unlikely that they will associate the brand ambassador of the soft
drink brand they use and status symbol. On the other hand about 30% of
the respondents say that they are likely and 4% most likely to associate
the brand ambassador of the brand that they consume with that of status
symbol.
IMPORTANCE OF BRAND AMBASSADOR
The respondents were asked that other than brand attributes like quality,
value for money, how much is celebrity endorsement important. And the
response was as follows:
Importance No. of
respondent
s
Most important 8
Important 51
Neutral 22
Less important 19
Not at all important 0
CHART SHOWING THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND AMBASSADOR
0%
8%
19%
51
%
22%
Most important Important
Neutr
al
Less important Not at all important
Management 90
INTERPRETATION:
From the chart it is obvious that most of the respondents feel that apart
from attributes like quality, value of money brand ambassadors are also
important for a brand. A consumer wants to get the most out of a brand, at
the same time he feels that the brand that he uses must also be aware
among his friends and others. Because, only in the case of premium
brands there will be few users. Except for that it usually forms a clutter. It
can be seen from the chart that 51% feel important and 8% feel most
important that there must be brand ambassadors. On the other hand only
19% say that brand ambassadors are not important.
MAJOR REASONS FOR SHIFT FROM THEIR BRAND
The respondents were asked what was the major reason for shifting from
their previous brand and the response was as follows:
Reasons for the No. of
shift
respondent
s
Non-availability 20
Offer/Price 10
For a change 40
Quality 27
Others 3
CHART SHOWING MAJOR REASONS FOR THEIR SHIFT FROM THE
PREVIOUS BRAND
3%
20%
Non-
availability
27% Offer/Price
10% For a
change
Quality
Others
40%
INTERPRETATION-
There are various reasons for shift from a brand. And it is obvious
from the chart that nearly 40% of respondents say that they would shift
for just a change. About 27% of the respondents say that they would shift
for seeking better quality.20% of the respondents say that they would shift
because of non-availability of the brand. It can be inferred that the brand
loyalty status can have a shift. Since the market is flodded with several
soft drinks brand there is more kind of chances that are available to the
consumer to shift from one brand to another.
EFFECTIVE ASSOCIATION OF THE CELEBRITY
AND THE BRAND THEY ENDORSE
The respondents were asked how they rate the association between the
celebrity and the brand that they endorse. Eleven such associations were
asked to be rated and the response was as follows:
1. COCA COLA AND AISHWARYA ROY
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 6
Fair 30
Good 35
Very good 21
Excellent 8
Chart showing association and effectiveness of Aishwarya Roy endorsing
Coca Cola
8%

6%
Poor
30%
21%
Very good
35%
2. COCA COLA AND AAMIR KHAN
Rating No. of
responden
ts
Poor 2
Fair 4
Good 22
Very good 31
Excellent 41
Chart showing association and effectiveness of
Aamir Khan endorsing Coca Cola
2% 4%
Poor
22%
Fair
Good
41%
Very
good
31%
Excellen
t
3; COCA COLA AND RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 26
Fair 33
Good 33
Very good 6
Excellent 2
Rajyavardhan Rathore endorsing Coca Cola
6%
2%
26%
Poor
33% Fair
Good
Very
good
Excellen
t
33%
<; PEPSI AND SHAHRUKH KHAN
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 6
Fair 6
Good 15
Very good 35
Excellent 38
Shahrukh khan endorsing Pepsi
6%
6% Poor
38%
Fair
15%
Good
Very
good
35%
Excellen
t
=; PEPSI CAFECHINO AND KAREENA = PRIYANKA
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 9
Fair 11
Good 40
Very good 20
Excellent 20
Kareena & Priyanka endorsing Pepsi Cafechino
9%
Poor
20%
Fair
11%
Good
Very good
Excellent
20%
40%
>; DIET PEPSI AND JOHN ABRAHAM
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 9
Fair 25
Good 21
Very good 27
Excellent 18
John Abraham endorsing Diet Pepsi
9%
18%
Poor
Fair
Good
25%
Very
good
Excellen
t
27%
21%
8>8.* AND MALIKA SHARAWAT
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 8
Fair 26
Good 28
Very good 21
Excellent 17
Malika Sharawat endorsing 7up
8%
17% Poor
Fair
Good
26%
Very
good
Excellen
t
21%
28%
8. SPRITE AND SANIA MIRZA
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 6
Fair 30
Good 35
Very good 22
Excellent 7
Sania Mirza endorsing Sprite
7% 6%
Poor
Fair
Good
22%
30%
Very
good
Excellen
t
35%
?> FANTA AND TRISHA
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 26
Fair 33
Good 33
Very good 5
Excellent 3
Trisha endorsing Fanta
3%
5%
Poor
33%
26%
Fair
Good
Very
good
Excellen
t
33%
1@>MIRINDA AND ASIN
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 18
Fair 27
Good 29
Very good 17
Excellent 9
Asin endorsing Mirinda
9%
Poor
18%
Fair
Good
17%
Very good
Excellent
29%
27%
11>THUMS UP AND AKSHAY KUMAR
Rating No. of
respondent
s
Poor 2
Fair 16
Good 38
Very good 23
Excellent 21
Akshay Kumar endorsing Thumps Up
2%
21%
16%
Poor
Fair
Good
Very
good
Excellen
t
23%
38%
CHAPTER A
SUMMARY OF FINDINGSB
RECOMMENDATIONS AND
CONCLUSION
SUMMARY OF FINDINGSB CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
INPUTS FROM THE RESEARCH-
This happened in my uncles house. I as !tness!n& so)eth!n&
unusual in their living room when I sitting there with two of my young
cousins. They were seeing advertisements which were featuring in the
television and counting something immediately. I was highly puzzled and
asked them what they were doing. One of them told me that they were
counting in how many advertisements is Amithab Bachan featuring and in
how many Shahrukh khan is appearing. And the elder among the
both said !( 1hahru2h =han a$$ears )ore t!)e then 6)!thab then I !n
and he will help mum in household cores, or I will have to do that.. I
didnt 2no hether to a$$rec!ate the!r creat!v!t+ o( creat!n& such &a)es
or pity on them for celebrity endorsement has made such an impact.
This incident is more related to our research. Its no "!((!cu't to
find any advertisement without a celebrity endorsing it. The entry of
brand ambassadors has, of late become huge. And the advertisers have
used it effectively to their stride.
This research aims to find out whether there is any impact that these
brand ambassadors have made on the purchase behavior of soft drinks. A
questionnaire was prepared and response was carefully taken. Then
graphs and pie charts were drawn to arrive at certain conclusions which
are discussed in this chapter.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The below given points are summary of findings and such
findings have been reached by
1Analysis done with the help of response from the respondents
2Conversation with the respondents
3Research in internet
4Study from various books, journals, research findings related to
this topic.
Brand endorsement by celebrities is mainly done
To make an appeal among the consumers
That the consumers should notice the brand
The brand ambassadors would set a trend among the consumers
To influence the consumers
To bring a trust about the brand among the consumers
To achieve high brand recall
To establish high brand awareness
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS FROM THE ANALYSIS
The following are summary of findings from the analysis made on the
response given by the respondents.
Most of the respondents could recall many brand of soft drinks
which are in the market. Among all coca cola and Pepsi had about
97 and 96 mentions.
On an average about 40-50 % of the respondents could associate
the soft drink brand with that of the ambassadors/celebrities. This
shows that there has been a very good reach of the advertisements
featuring with celebrities
More than half of the respondents (58%) said that there are less
chances that they would buy a particular soft drink brand because it
is endorsed by their favorite icon. They also look into other
attributes like quality, value for money etc.
With reference to the above point, in a study conducted at
Columbia business school, it reveals that if a person prefers a
particular brand then he will prefer the advertisement mostly for
some reason or other.
Many respondents, nearly 68% of the respondents told that there is
high chance of viewing of television ad of a particular soft drink
brand if it endorsed by their favorite brand.
Also, nearly 60% of the respondents say that there are huge chances
that they will see a print ad or a hoarding of a soft drink brand ad, if
it features their favorite icon.
With reference to the above points (previous two), brand awareness
and brand recall can be effectively established by advertisements
only. And if brand ambassadors can help to do those, then it can be
inferred that brand ambassadors indirectly help in creating good
brand awareness and brand recall.
Nearly 65% of respondents replied that they are unlikely that they
will recommend a soft drink brand to their friends /colleague only
because it is endorsed by their favorite icon. Actually a consumer
will recommend a brand only if he thinks that he is satisfied from
the brand and that the brand is worth recommending.
Almost all respondents, that is, nearly 87% of them replied that
they will not detract their friend/colleague from buying a particular
soft drink brand because it is endorsed by their hated icon. This
shows a very good sign. Because in any brand detractors must be
given due importance to curb them. They not
only dont bu+ the bran" but a'so "etract others (ro) bu+!n&.
Many of the respondents replied that they wont care about
attributes like change in the brand ambassador to a not-so-favorite
icon. And they told that they would persist to remain in the same
brand.
There were mixed reactions when the respondents were asked,
among two soft drink brands having same attributes will they prefer
a particular soft drink brand because it is endorsed by their favorite
icon. Partly told that they would prefer and partly took the other
view.
There are some soft drink brands which were not much popular
earlier and then became popular after it was being endorsed by a
famous icon. Hence the respondents were asked whether they tried any
such brand, for which 63% of respondents told that they havent tr!e".
Brand ambassador who endorse the soft drink brand and the status
symbol of the consumer is of immense importance. In such a
question put to respondents they told that they wont assoc!ate the
status symbol with that of the brand ambassador who endorses the
brand.
Nearly 60% of the respondents felt that apart from attributes like
quality, value for money brand ambassadors is also important.
Most of the respondents told that, that is, nearly 40% of the
respondents that they would shift from their previous soft drink
brand for just a change. Next nearly 20% say that they will shift
due to non-availability and about 27% on account of quality. It can
be noted that even attributes like quality doesnt ta2e the "r!vers
seat. This result also synchronizes with that of a study conducted
recently on this subject in Tamilnadu.
The respondents were also asked to rate the effectiveness of the
association between the celebrity and the brand ambassador that
they endorse. There were mixed reactions among the respondents
RECOMMENDATION AND ROAD FOR FURTHER
STUDY
Celebrity endorsement is mainly undertaken because to create
brand awareness and brand recall. The selling proposition is no longer the
same. Earlier people were only concerned about quality. But now things
have changed. There are umpteen numbers of products which floods the
market. To stand out from the clutter brand ambassadors can be better
tool.
Hence
Articulate with clarity on the brand promise (What am I?) and the
brand personality
Create consensus among the brand team on what the
communication objectives for the campaign are
Focus single-mindedly on the characteristics the chosen celebrity
should possess, in order to provide synergy with the brand to be
advertised
Overtly establish what the celebrity is going to communicate
Celebrities must be associated properly to the brand that they
endorse
Once when these criteria are met, endorsements can work as a
force multiplier. On the flip side, the greatest danger is that
because celebrities already carry a strong brand character, a
mismatch could be counterproductive to the brand. It is very
tempting to be carried away by the short-term exposure and
interest that an endorsement could generate.
ROAD FOR FURTHER STUDY:
Having carried out a research study in the impact of brand
ambassadors towards the purchase behavior of soft drinks, there
can be a study conducted on brand loyalty of Indian consumers
towards soft drinks. As mentioned earlier there are many brands
which have flooded the market. Hence an emerging trend can be
found among the consumers, that is, they dont remain loyal to a
single brand and they are loyal to many brands,
Hence further study could be made in areas like
Brand loyalty of Indian consumers towards soft drinks
Brand loyalty among Indian consumers: myth or reality
CONCLUSION-
There is an old advertising adage which says, "The medium is the
message." This is also applicable to celebrity endorsement too. In almost
all the industries in the advertisement field there has been a sea change
and of late there is plethora of celebrity endorsement. The soft drinks
segment is no exception to it. There are many brands in the market and
celebrity endorsement can be effectively used to establish a good brand
recall and brand awareness.
The companies have started understanding that celebrities can catalyze
brand acceptance and provide the enormous momentum that brands
require. In case of soft drink segment which has been taken for study,
there are many success stories. Stories where brands in trouble were
rescued after they were endorsed and taken to the general public by
celebrities. Celebrity endorsement also gives new opportunities for the
brand. But with much hype being made in celebrity endorsement a million
dollar question arises in the minds of marketers: isnt !t t!)e (or the
stockholders to start asking basic questions in brand investment.
Finally, it can be conclude that brand ambassadors or celebrity
endorsement is the order of the day, and it depends on the company or a
brand how effectively to use it and establish brand recall brand awareness.
CHAPTER ?
BIBLOGRAPHY
BOOKS:
Marketing Management by Philip H Kotler
Consumer Behavior by Schiffman
Statistics for management, P N Arora , N Arora.
22 immutable laws of branding, Al ries.
MAGAZINES:
Indian Journal of Marketing Published by ICFAI
4 P s by IIPM publications
WEBSITES:
1. www.google.com
2. www.brandchannel.com
3. www.magindia.com
4. www.blonnet.com
5. www.coolavenues.com
6. www.wikipedia.com
CHAPTER 1@
ANNECURE
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a student of M P Birla Institute of Management and
presently conducting a research on Impact of Brand ambassadors in
the purchase behavior of soft drinks.
I request your valuable participation. Your participation is
voluntary. There are no foreseeable risks associated with this project.
However if you feel uncomfortable answering any questions, you can
withdraw from the survey at any point. Your opinion is highly
appreciated.
Your responses will be kept strictly confidential and will be used for
academic purpose only. Please answer the following questions.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Name _______________________ Age ___________
Gender _______________
Income per annum:
<50,000 50,000-1L 1L-3L >3L Not Applicable
1. Can you specify top 6 brands of Soft Drinks that come to your mind? (In order
of brand preference with their brand Ambassador. 1- highest preference, 6- least
preference)
Brand Ambassador (if you know)
1.___________________ ________________________
2.___________________ ________________________
3.___________________ ________________________
4.___________________ ________________________
5.___________________ ________________________
6.___________________ ________________________
Management 117
2. What are the chances that you will buy a Soft Drink because it is endorsed by
your favorite actor/actress/icon?
Very less Less Neutral High
Very
High
3. When a soft drink brand is being endorsed by your favorite
actor/actress/icon what are the chances that you will
Very less Less Neutral High Very High
a) Watch the advertisement
b) See a print ad/see a hoarding
4. Will you recommend a soft drink brand to your friend/colleague/spouse because
it is endorsed by your favorite actor/actress/icon?
Most unlikely
Unlikel
y Neutral Likely
Most
Likely
5. Will you restrain your friend/colleague/spouse from buying a soft drink
brand because it is endorsed by your hated actor/actress/icon?
Most unlikely
Unlikel
y Neutral Likely
Most
Likely
6. After my not-so-favorite actor/actress/icon started endorsing the soft drink
I consume I feel like
Shifting to another brand
Not sure, because you feel the icon will be
soon changed
remain in
same in any
case
do not care
about these
attributes
about these
7. Among two soft drink
brands x and y almost
having the same features,
will you prefer to buy
brand x because its
en"orse" b+ +our (avor!te
actorBactressB!con3
Most unlikely
Unlikel
y
8.
Hav
e
you
boug
ht a
soft
drin
k
that
you
were
not
muc
h
aware
of,
and
then
the
brand
beca
me
popul
ar
after
an
icon
starte
d
endorsing it?
Yes
N
o
9. (If your answer is :+es (or the $rev!ous -uest!on cont!nue/ or $ass to the
ne#t question)
After doing so, you
have
Continued to buy that brand continued for 3 months
continued for 6
months
More than 6 months (specify)
______
tried once, and then shifted to
my
previous brand.
10. Will you associate a Brand Ambassador endorsing your favorite brand to that
of your status symbol?
Most unlikely
Unlikel
y Neutral Likely
Most
Likely
11. Other than brand attributes like quality, value for money, how much do you
think celebrity endorsement is important?
Most
important
Importan
t
Neutra
l less important
Not at
all
important
12. Due to celebrity endorsement which brands do you think has reached
more masses? ( specify the brands giving rank from 1 to 6)
1.___________________
2.___________________
3.___________________
4.___________________
5.___________________
6.___________________
13. What are your major reasons for shifting from your previous brand, if you did?
Non availability offer/price for a change
Quality others (specify)
14. Which soft drink brand among the following do you think has made effective
use of their Brand ambassador association?
BRAND AMBASSADOR poor fair
good Very
Good Excellent
Excellent
1. Coca Cola Aishwarya Rai
2. Coca Cola Aamir Khan
3. Coca Cola
Rajyavardhan
Rathore
4. Pepsi Sharukh Khan
5. Pepsi cafechino Kareena & Priyanka
6. Diet Pepsi John Abraham
7. 7UP Mallika Sharawat
8. Sprite Sania Mirza
9. Fanta Trisha
10. Mirinda Asin
11. Thumbs UP Akshay Kumar

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