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Executive Summary
An endorser is a person, character or organization that speaks or
appears in an ad in support of the ad or its claim. The term endorser
includes the term spokesperson or model. Endorsers can be grouped
into three main classes – experts, celebrities and laypersons. This
project exclusively focuses on celebrities.
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But like the two sides of the coin it has its own pros and
cons.The biggest one from the advertisers' point of view is that of
vampiring — the celebrity being bigger than the brand.The other
problem is that of duration of endorsement, and a possible
mismatch between the celebrity's life cycle and that of the brand.
Multiple endorsements are the other problem.There is
unfortunately a limited pool of celebrities who can resonate with
consumers.So you have the same celebrity endorsing several
categories,as in Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin, who are
completely over exposed — one would assume a fair degree of
confusion and little room for credibility,and hence a possible
devaluing amongst customers.
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has been his association with the brand that has today carved a
niche for itself.
INTRODUCTION
Sachin Tendulkar does’nt mind sharing the secret of his (and later
Virender Sehwag‘s too) energy
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THEN…
The transformation came with the boom of consumer
goods,rise of aspiration levels.Suddenly, the heavy duty wooing and
seduction of the consumer took center stage.It was easy to realize that
mass production needed mass consumption.What better way then the
mass media to have a healthy swipe at those delectable purse strings?
And what better route into the home and hearts of the teeming
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In the Cricket World Cup ,2003, all the members of the Indian team were
busy singing hosannas to Samsung, Sahara, Himalayas and what not!From
Sachin to Yuvraj,from Kumble to Kaif,they are all hooked and booked.
Something similar happened in Bollywood,ever on the lookout for a quick
‘sting’, zoomed in at 24 seconds per frame! Queen of Hearts,Sridevi swung
gamely for Cema bulbs while the lovely Poonam Dhillon endorsed hair oil.As did
Jaya Prada.Dimple Kapadia of the drop-dead looks, huskily confessed the secret
of her deadly mane-Crowning Glory, while macho men Vinod Khanna and Imran
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Khan wowed the joys of Centhol soap.From another wing two hottest bubble-
gum stars of generation next,Aamir Khan and Salman Khan leapt into the
fray.While the baby-faced,pint-sized hero of “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak”
hawked Hero Puch,the golden boy of “Maine Pyar Kiya” invited the world “to
taste the thunder” via Thums-Up.Govinda promptly flexed his muscles to plug a
brand of massage oil.Meanwhile, the hottest Khan, Shah Rukh, sashayed into
the frame with deadly cool—Hero Puch, Mayur, Pepsi—he swung through them
all,charming one and all as only he can!Aamir Khan,Akshay Kumar and Juhi
Chawla also hit the Pepsi trail while the “Mast-mast” Raveena Tandon took time
out to coo the bliss of writing with Rotomac.
AND NOW…
In the year 2009 clearly the days of innocence are over with companies, stars, products,ad-
spends and star-fees going berserk!Our top cricketers are “scoring” like never before with
Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni get around Rs 5 crore… (Rs 50 million)leading the
pack, with an overall package that makes him the richest cricketer in the world!
The devastating Kareena Kapoor leads the heroine-brigade with Airtel,Boro Plus,Head
& Shoulders and top-lining her endorsement package.Genelia D’souza replacing Rani
Mukherjee in Munch and Fanta and, are others riding this wave.
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INTRODUCTION TO ENDORSERS
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Experts
Lay person
Celebrities
EXPERTS:
They are individuals who the target audience perceives as having
considerable knowledge accumulated trough experience, training or
study in a particular area. For example: Priyanka Chopra endorsing
Sunsilk shampoo,Sachin endorsing boost. An expert is the best choice
when the product is technical or the consumer needs to be reassured
that the product is safe to consume(high involvement decision).An
expert can allay the fears in the audience concerning the product
whether those fears arise from not knowing how something
works,concerning about side effects, concern about fulfilling a roles such
as father, mother, housewife and so on or health related concerns about
product use.Doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and other kind of
experts can be chosen and at considerably less cost than a national
celebrity. The purpose is to protect consumers from misleading
advertisements. A seal of approval is a logo of the certifying organization
vouches for the merits if the product. For example:The Indian Dental
Associations for Colgate Dental Cream.
LAY PERSON:
A lay individual is often the best choice when it can anticipate that there
willbe strong audience identification with the role involved.
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CELEBRITIES:
Celebrities are individuals or characters who are known to a
large portion of the general population, primarily because of the
publicity associated with their lives. Most celebrities are associated
with the entertainment world (Aishwarya Rai), or the sports world
(Sachin Tendulkar), talk show hosts (not in India), business
personalities , politicians (Shahid Kapur & Amrita Rao for Anti-Non
vegetarian campaign} etc.
The term celebrity may exclude individuals who are controversial and
are discarded by the general population.Advertisers often use fictitious
characters to serve as spokesperson for their brand. Fictitious characters
could be animal personifications or fantasy creations. For e.g.:Nattu for
Asian paints or Louie for Mortein mosquito repellant.Friendly
personification of animal or fantasy characters can have wide appeal
across ages,ethnic groups and even nationalities. For eg: Disney ‘s
Mickey Mouse, Kellogg ‘s Tony the tiger, the Energizer
bunny,Zoo Zoo of Vodafone etc.We can classify these characters as
celebrities because their use involves an essential use of celebrity
endorsement: they have a distinct personality that communicates a
unique message to the target segment.
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packaging around these people to sell them properly, at the right price,
and at the right time.That is what packaging is all about.They package
their talent and their efforts. And then sell it to potential customers.But
becoming a celebrity is all about performance.If you perform hard, play
hard, then you become a celebrity.
It’s one which can personalise your brand is in sync with the
product/service and is the perfect match for it. The one that puts buzz
into your brand. Creates opportunities for advertising promotions and
events. And forms the fertile ground for clutter-bursting ideas Right from
Kapil Dev’s ‘Palmolive ka jawaab nahin’ celebrities have done wonders
for brand recall. The criterion in selecting an endorser must be the
appropriateness of the “match” or “fit “ between the needs of the
brand and the characteristics of the endorser. In an experiment
comparing the impact of using an expert rather than a typical consumer
or celebrity in advertising a low priced but fairly technical product
(electronic calculator, it was found that the expert was more effective
than either a typical consumer or a celebrity. In contrast, celebrities are
often more effective in situations where the product has high element of
psychological and “social” risk (e.g. costume jewelry).
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The term source includes the endorser who appears on behalf of the
advertiser, or the advertiser itself, who is the source of the message.
Before we move in to each of the models in detail let us know a few terms in
detail (which also serve as parameters for our case)
Dimensions of a source:
Other constructs such as unbiased ness, similarity (between the source and
receiver), and physical attractiveness have, have also been the focus of
the research. Similarity is sometimes important because a source that is being
presented as being similar to the audience members in terms of attitudes,
opinions, activities and background, social status or lifestyle could achieve both
liking and identification: there are many there are many situations in which
people will like those people wit whom they have things in common. A source
can be high on one dimension and low on another. Consider the competence
and unbiased dimensions. A doctor could be regarded very competent t in
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The Source credibility Model is based on the central premise that consumers
are more likely to accept a message if they find it credible. Consumers’ s
credibility in the message depends on two qualities of the source, expertise
and trustworthiness.
For example: the doctor as shown in the Complan ad which urges a normal
parent to think again about the nutrition his child is getting is perceived to be
more knowledgeable and twice taller compared to any other health drink the
claims are more likely be taken as true.
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The source attractiveness model posits that the acceptance of the message
depends on the attractiveness of the source, which in turn depends on three
central attributes: familiarity, likeability and similarity.
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This has come sharply into focus during the World Cup. Ganguly was
not the only one to face the wrath of advertisers - and fans. Irate cricket
lovers threw black paint and stones at the house of middle order
batsman Mohammed Kaif’s home in north India’s Allahabad town. The
car of batsman-wicket keeper Rahul Dravid - dubbed “The Rock” by his
teammates for his often rigid stand when the batting around him is
collapsing - was badly damaged. Effigies of the entire Indian cricket
team were burnt in the East Indian city of Kolkata and their mock
funerals taken out. Cut-outs and boxes of the products the cricketers are
modeling for were destroyed.
The fans’ logic ran thus: the cricketers stand to make huge amounts of
monies endorsing just about everything under the sun. So all that they
are interested in is ad campaigns and not cricket. SMS messages to radio
stations, spot TV interviews of the man-on-the-street, pocket cartoons in
leading newspapers, popular columns on websites, all parodied the
Indian cricketer’s greed for advertising moolah at the expense of
dedication to the game and, by extension, the country he was
representing.
Speaking to Times News Network, a senior executive of the Sahara
Group, which sponsors the Indian cricket team, had this to say, “They
only seem to be interested in money. They get hundreds of millions of
rupees in endorsement money, with companies like us even willing to
take on each other for their endorsements. But if the team continues to
play like it did in the match against Australia, it is not long before we will
see some sort of a backlash among the advertisers.”
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Stage 1
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Even off the field, the “Master Blaster” has come to symbolize
the qualities all middle class Indians - and advertisers - love:
shy, reserved, humble, a loving husband, a doting father.“He is
not only one of the most outstanding cricketers in the world today, he
possesses qualities that distinguish all great champions - sincerity,
determination and an indomitable drive to excel.
“Not that Palio sales will suddenly shoot up because Sachin has
endorsed the product. But doing it Sachin has increased the brand recall
value of Palio manifold”, a marketing expert said.
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Stage 2:
For example,when there was the realization that one brand of apparel
couldn’t be very different from the others, and what would make the difference
was the packaging. So in came teen heartthrob Hrithik Roshan.The brand
personality of Milanomatches that of Hrithik —Milano being a new
brand and Hrithik the new heartthrob. The idea behind Milano is the
‘flavor you would like to taste’ — a brand catering to the fun-loving
and adventurous youth. And the ambassador chosen is a successful
and extremely exciting personality — a youth icon of today’s times. So
the breakfast is apt and justified.
The best advertising comes from a deep understanding of the consumer and
how he/she connects with your brands. Therefore, the jhatka of Mirinda needs a
personality with a sense of humour. That’s Amitabh for you. His rustic appeal is
also prompt for he being used for Navratna Tel made targeted at the rural
masses. There’s one fact that advertisers using celebrity endorsements need to
keep in mind — never let the celebrity become your brand. In doing so, one
runs the risk of killing the brand no sooner has the hype and hoopla around the
celebrity faded.
Stage 3:
This stage is known as consumption, consumers buy the endorsed product
with the intension of capturing some of the desirable meaning with which the
celebrity has imbued the product. The meaning transfer models assume that
consumers purchase products not merely for their functional value but also
for their cultural and symbolic value. The consumer’s purchase for symbolic
value could be through explicit reasoning* Typically , socially visible products
would fit this category. For example, designer cloths, perfumes, premium cars,
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exclusive mansions or club memberships are often chosen more for their
functional value, Perfume designers often design a perfume on the image of a
celebrity. Examples include Titan raga by Rani mukherjee.
While the source attractiveness and credibility models rely on only a few
key characteristics of the source, the meaning transfer model is richer because
it focuses on a wide spectrum of meaning that can be transferred .However,
the task of the transferring key meaning is challenging and requires creativity
in identifying , profiling and selecting celebrities and skillfully using them to
exploit their useful meaning for the brand.
Application of Models
The above discussion should not suggest that only one model applies to
each add more than one type of model can explain the effectiveness of any
particular ad. *
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Motivation To
Process Information
High Low
Ability to
Process
Information Low Experts Celebrities
Some tests of the elaboration likelihood model provide partial support for
this explanation.
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For example, one study found that the attitude of subjects after
exposure to an add in a low involvement condition was much more positive if
add used a famous endorser rather then a non-famous endorser.However,
attitude of subject in a high involvement condition after exposure to the same
message did not defer by a type of endorser.In contrast, strong argument were
more effective then weak arguments in enhancing attitude to the message in
the high-involvement condition.The results suggests that the use of celebrities
is probably more effective in low involvement condition and that of strong
arguments in high involvement conditions.
Communication Modes
Ad can use endorser in different modes or presentation style. The most
commonly used modes are :
Imperative: “You use this product”. Explicit: “I endorse this product”
Implicit: “ I use this product”
Passive: Mere appearance with the product.
The type of endorser and role he or she plays in the add are key factors
that determine the mode of endorsement. The imperative mode needs to be
used carefully because it requires a measure of submission or receptivity from
the audience that one rarely ends. One possible use of this mode is with an
endorser acting as a caring parent or as a firm counselor. Experts can easily
adopt the explicit mode because of the authority vested in their knowledge or
experience. Celebrities can adopt the passive mode because their visibility
and appeal is so strong that they need to be associated with the brand.
Lay endorsers generally use the implicit mode because they have neither
the credibility of experts for an explicit endorsement nor the appeal of the
celebrity for a passive endorsement. The testimonial is a type of implicit
endorsement in which endorser describe his or her experience with the
product. The primary appeal of these adds lies in the audience’s identification
with the spokesperson. For, this reason , advertiser should choose a
spokesperson who is reasonably attractive but with whom a average person
can identify in terms of demographics and lifestyle. Further, the plot or scene
depicting the lay endorser should appear natural or be unrehearsed. Example
would be the use of candid interview of the lay endorser , or a hidden camera
observing the lay endorser’s pleasant surprise with using a particular product.
However, over use of testimonials often in phony plots coupled with the
audience ‘s knowledge that all spokespersons are carefully screened and paid
has diminished the efficacy of this type of endorsement.
COST EFFECTIVENESS
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Movie-star endorsements are a different ball game. The Big B leads the way
blazing unprecedented trails in his wake. Nerolac, Dabur Chawanprash,, Reid &
Taylor Maruti Versa, Pepsi, Parker Pens, brand Ambassador of ICICI Prudential -
the born-again KBC champ is flying real high with pay packets that must surely
wake up the dead! Shah Rukh Khan with Omega, Pepsi, Hyundai and a
rumoured mind-blowing Rs.4 crores for Videocon’s new Internet TV
commercial, appears solidly hot-wired into red-hot bucks! Aamir Khan has Coke
for which he is said to have charged - ready to die - Rs.7 crores! Then there is
Hrithik Roshan, the green-eyed “dude” with the sculpted body and Greek-god
looks. He is said to have raked in over Rs.20 crores from advertisement
endorsements alone in his short career - something that not all the big stars of
the fifties and sixties even remotely dreamt of!
Rather than pursuing a popular endorser advertiser can do well by looking
for a lesser-known person who matches the message of the brand and appeals
to the target segment. In this sense picking endorsements may be like picking
stocks. Much is gained by discovering a new personality, which brings value to
one s brand or message.
Secondly, many celebrities endorse multiple products ,switch brands and
compete with other celebrities sometimes in the same product category. As a
result one study found that although one study found that consumers could
correctly identify the endorsers they were less accurate in matching the brands
that they endorsed. Thus the pay off from any one-endorsement contract is
uncertain.
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It was argued that answers to the following questions would help agencies in
deciding how many celebrities to utilise for a campaign. Is it better to have
different celebrities who appeal to different people within the target audience?
Is one celebrity enough? How long is the campaign supposed to run? How much
money is going to be spent? What media it is going to be run in?
Merits
In the case of using multiple personalities, none of the celebrities may be
specifically associated with the endorsed brand or vice versa. An
interviewee claimed that if a campaign has a large advertising and
media budget, multiple celebrities would be introduced in order not to
bore target audience.
According to the same manager, people change and the way they relate
to brands also changes. Therefore, the sort of personality used to
endorse a product should be different for different age groups. For
example, two celebrities may be used to give slightly different attitudes
to brands.
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Demerits
On the contrary, another manager believed that a celebrity is the
mouthpiece for a brand in communicating messages to target audiences rather
more effectively than any other voice. The personalities of celebrities are very
strong and they can rapidly change perceptions of a brand. If a campaign has
two or three celebrities, then whose personality is the brand trying to take? In
this case, there is a great chance of confusing consumers about the brand’s
identity.
For e.g.: Let’s face it - would anyone ever buy a Videocon TV or Versa car
because killer Khan said ‘yeah’ or Bachchan Senior and Junior endorsed it?
Does anyone in their right mind believe that Shah Rukh drives around the city
in a Santro! Or Hrithik Roshan drops his Merc and hits the road in Hero Honda?
Or Madhuri Dixit uses Emami cosmetics? So, they should too!
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Movie and cricket stars are so revered that they acquire cult figure personas.
The result: marketers cash in on their popularity and use them to promote
everything from colas to financial products. It is the rare non-movie or non-
cricket celebrity, like Zakir Hussain (percussionist), Cyrus Broacha (TV funny
man) or Vishwanathan Anand (world chess champion), who is called on to say
good things about products.
”Celebs add to the buzz around an ad,” proclaims Shailendra Singh, the 37-
year-old managing director of the Rs 6 billion (US$125 million) multimedia
company, Percept IMC. He should know. He has got leading Indian sportsmen
to endorse his clients’ products.
Cricket
It is a question of passion. It has got to do with the passion of the people
involved. Athletics does not have as much of a mass following as cricket does
or for that matter, as football in Kolkata and Cochin, or hockey in Punjab.
Athletics is more of an individual sport. You get into cricket not only because
you like the sport, but also because you like the package surrounding the sport.
You like the fan following, the crowds, the money. There are a lot of other
things that attract you to the sport than the sport itself. This is not the case
with being an athlete. Maybe that is one reason why there is no diehard,
passionate following.
Again, passion about a sport has a lot to do with recurrence of a sport. How
often do you see the sportsperson? It is the visibility factor. How many people
see you, or the team, day in and day out? People like to be involved in what
happens on a day-to-day basis. Cricket, as a sport, happens very frequently.
That is why there is so much following. That is not true with many other sports.
On the other hand, in the United States, you have seasons for baseball. It
happens very often. So with basketball. They do not wait for China or Japan to
come and play basketball or for an event to take place. Their internal leagues
are interesting enough. Why is that? Because it happens so often. Imagine
Maharashtra playing Karnataka in basketball or badminton. Nobody cares a
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Take Formula One racing. It is a very niche sport, but there is a very small
niche that is regularly following Schumacher. They actually follow races lap by
lap, second by second. Why? Because it happens on a regular basis. Every
sport that happens on a regular basis has a certain element of passion and
emotion. If we can package that emotion and passion, the sport will turn out to
be a winner as well.
If you popularise a sport, like golf - today, Jeev Milka Singh has won a place
in the US Open (golf) - then you expand the market. If there are sportsmen who
play hard and try hard, and they get some good packaging around them
through companies such as ours which can attach some values to their talent,
and through media support, there is enough reach that one can create for
these celebrities. That will lead to a fan following that creates the celebrity.
For example, right now (Pullela) Gopichand is a winner. Right now, Leander
Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have done quite a bit but they can still not match
the fan-following of cricket, because cricket is played all round the year.
The minute you increase the frequency levels in other sports, and people start
performing, and sportsmen bring laurels to them and to their country,
automatically their fan following will increase. They will become celebrities in
their own right. Take Mahesh Bhupathi and Paes. It’s unfortunate they have
split, but in 1999 to 2000 there was tremendous demand for them. They were
Grand Slam finalists, they were two Grand Slam winners. We created that
demand, because they were in the news, and it was easy for us to create the
demand.
Basically what do clients look at? Fan following. Only then can you convince
fans to use the product that they are endorsing. So if you do not have a fan
following you are not a celebrity.
What do you need to have a fan following? Play on a regular basis and win as
much as possible. Then you have a fan following. Let us think even beyond the
fans. Think about brand recognition. Today most of these players are not
celebrities, unfortunately because they are seen very little, and they win very
little.
Every time there is a drop or increase in performance, there is a drop or
increase in the value of the celebrities. They go hand in hand. You perform, you
bring laurels for you and the nation, and then there is no stopping you.
Apart from Tendulkar, other cricketers are also much in demand. Nearly every
member of the present Indian cricket team plugs some product or the other,
including Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, who are not even three seasons
old to Test cricket. So closely are cricketing stars identified with the branding
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game that now advertisers have roped in even the mothers of Virendra Sehwag
and Yuvraj Singh to endorse some products.
Films
Says Shailendra Singh Of Percept Advertising, “Indians are emotional and
servile to celebrities. They make demi-gods out of them.”
Arch rival Coca-Cola has just renewed (for three years at a cost of Rs 30
million), the contract of Aamir Khan, whose Lagaan was nominated for the last
Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category. Actor Saif Ali Khan, son of former
Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and movie queen of yesteryears
Sharmila Tagore, have recently got into the endorsement game. On the other
hand, veteran actor Jackie Shroff is an old hand, modeling mainly for cigarettes
and whiskey.
Insurance joint venture Tata AIG has roped in Naseeruddin Shah to sell its
personal life products. And wonder of wonders, the Indian screen’s macho man,
Sunil Shetty, is plugging, of all the things, Lux underwear. Among the
actresses, Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukherjee, Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta and Juhi
Chawla are also often seen on TV extolling the virtues of various products.
Pepsi has always been on the uptake to rope in contemporary film stars. These
days, Shah Rukh Khan, an idol of the young crowd, is its brand ambassador.
Khan, who introduced the concept of the anti-hero in Hindi movies, also models
for Clinic All Clear shampoo, Top Ramen noodles, Santro cars, Mayur suits and
Omega watches.
Originally from the Indian capital of New Delhi, Khan stormed Mumbai’s
Bollywood world and was soon one of the richest actors around - on the back of
his film and advertising earnings. Within a decade of appearing on the scene he
was able to buy a fancy bungalow costing a whopping Rs 130 million in
Mumbai’s upmarket Bandra area. Khan was the beneficiary of a peculiarly
Indian trait, their love for their heroes and heroines - on-screen as well as off.
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Indians always believe that their heroes can do no wrong. They attribute to
their stars certain special qualities. Khan, for example, is expected to possess
dynamic qualities like attractiveness, likability, sexiness, appeal and manliness.
These qualities, it is believed, will be transferred to the products he endorses.
So, night after night, when Khan tells a believing TV audience that they can get
rid of the dandruff in their hair by using Clinic All Clear shampoo, they are all
ears and it sends the sales of the product soaring.
The crowning glory for Pepsi came last summer when it managed to rope in two
of the biggest Indian celebrities, Bachchan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, for
the same campaign. Shown on TV and celluloid screens, it was a well-received
one minute film shot in picturesque Jodhpur in the desert state of Rajasthan.
So movie and cricket stars are shining on earth, all involved - the marketing
companies, the advertising agencies, the advertisers and the stars themselves
- are making pots of money and all is right with the world of celebrity
advertising, right?
Not really, if you ask Hrithik Roshan.
But then, Roshan is not the only star to have been unceremoniously dropped
from an ongoing campaign. Pepsi dumped cricketer Vinod Kambli, a childhood
friend of Tendulkar, when he failed to tote up the runs. Another hero, Akshay
Kumar, replaced Actor Salman Khan from the Thums Up cola campaign after
the former was involved in a fatal hit-and-run case with his Landrover. A series
of consumer product campaigns were pulled after cricketers Mohammed
Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja were embroiled in a cricket corruption scandal.
Actor Fardeen Khan, too, nearly lost his Provogue textile campaign after he was
caught red-handed by the Mumbai police while concluding a deal with a drug-
pusher. But Provogue decided to continue with the star since “the actor had the
strength of character to own up to his mistake”, according to a press release
issued by the company. Sourav Ganguly, the Indian cricket team’s current
captain, was not so lucky. After the insipid performance of his team in the
opening two matches at the ongoing Cricket World Cup in South Africa, mobile
company Airtel pulled the plug.
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Local celebrities or actors and actresses who are not so well known
can often be used in local or regional market situations to good
effect. (Pepsi roped in Kyunki fame Amar Uphadhay for their
campaigns in Gujarat)
Not convinced that celebrity endorsements always help, some companies are
now eschewing big names to drum up their products. Thus, Idea Cellular Ltd
(formerly Birla Tata AT&T Ltd) has decided not to adopt the celebrity
endorsement route to promote its newly launched brand, !dea. Similarly, the Rs
950 million Parrys Confectionery Ltd’s new communication will not take the
celebrity endorsement path. “There are divided opinions on celebrity or
non-celebrity. Sometimes, the celebrity becomes more important than
the product itself,” a company spokesman revealed.
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Furthermore, celebrities not only cost a lot but are hard to get, and
if they are already are chosen to by other advertisers, they maybe
losing credibility at the time they are chosen. Endorsers are
usually prohibited from endorsing similar or competing products
through exclusivity clauses in contracts, but they still may be over
exposed.
Virender Sehwag is the only current cricketer as a Coke endorser while Sunil
Gavaskar is the only ex-celebrity on board.
According to Mr Suhel Seth, who heads Equus Red Cell, ad agencies and
marketers work together as a team to arrive at the right choices as far as
celebrity endorsement deals are concerned, given that the stakes
sometimes run into crores.
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Never let the celebrity become your brand. In doing so, one
runs the risk of killing the brand no sooner has the hype and
hoopla around the celebrity faded. A classic example of the above
is Dinesh Suitings, where Sunil Gavaskar, the brand spokesperson,
was allowed to rule the brand, thus becoming bigger than it. No
sooner had the association ceased than the brand lost its identity,
thereby creating confusion in people’s minds. Therefore, the use of
a celebrity must be proportionate to the objective.
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Meaning of Effectiveness
The terms effects of advertising or advertising effectiveness refer to the
changes advertising causes in the mental or physical state or activities
of the recipient of an ad.
On the hand , some promotion agencies would like firms to believe that
sales promotion, not advertising , increases sales, so firms would spend
more of their fixed budgets on sales promotions. Firms themselves
believe that the effects of advertising are grossly exaggerated . Firms
that operate in an environment of tight budgets often take a hard look at
advertising budgets in order to trim ineffective advertising expenditure.
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Reviving all these measures is beyond the scope of this report. On the
hand, three posters measures have become important benchmarks for
the performance of advertising : recall, recognition and inquiries. The
importance of these measures is due more to their historical impact
than to their ability to predict the sales effectiveness of advertising.
However the most important indicators of advertising effectiveness are
the outcome variables, such as brand choice, purchase intensity, market
share and especially sales. So, after reviewing the three benchmark
measures, the section focuses on measuring the sales effectiveness of
advertising.
HEARACHY OF EFFECTS
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CASE STUDY
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CHOICE OF CASE
The case that has been studied for analysis is that of Tabla maestro
Zakir Hussain and his long time association with Hindustan Lever ‘s
Taj Mahal Tea.
(Even though HLL has now brought its entire tea business under one
umbrella brand of Brooke Bond and given it a new look all together, this
change could not be incorporated as the survey has been conducted in
June 2003)
No relation to either films or Cricket: Since films and cricket are the
two main obsessions in this country, in spite of not being from either of
the two fields, here is a celebrity who has been associated with the
brand for so long that the brand has become synonymous with his name.
But right since its inception Taj Mahal has been associated With Zakir
Hussain making a unanimous perception in the minds of the consumer.
The product: Tea being a cheap product does not require too much of
decision making and since tea drinkers are plenty ,the sample for the
survey would be easily obtained.
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MMS
started importing tea from China only in the 17th century. The British
developed India as a sourcing base in the 19th century to reduce their
dependence on China. During the late 19th century and early 20th
century, tea cultivation became popular in other colonies like Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, etc. In the last four decades, world production
had a growth of 3% pa, which decelerated to 1.5% pa in the last decade.
Indian scenario
India is the largest producer and consumer of tea in the world. India also
leads in global R&D in tea industry. India is the largest manufacturer and
exporter of tea machinery. Other major tea producers (also developing
nations) source equipment and technology from India. The tea
plantations were started in the middle of the 19th century under the
British management. The farm ownership, however, is fragmented. The
listed companies account for about 40% of total tea production. Also,
there are a large number of small players. Some 80% of the farms are of
the size less than 8 hectares and contribute only 10% of the production.
The annual per capita consumption in India is low at 650gm compared to
other countries like Pakistan (950gm), Sri Lanka (1.2kg), UK (2.5kg) and
Ireland (3.16kg).
Industry growth
The annual tea production has been around 800mn kg for the last 2
years. The tea production grew at an average annual rate of 2.3% during
last four decades and at 1.4% pa in the last decade. For the first 10
months of 2000 the production has increased by 6% on yoy basis. The
consumption is currently around 600mn kg. But over last one year the
consumption growth has slowed down, this coupled with falling exports
has led to surplus supply and falling prices in the market. Tea plantations
in India are concentrated in the North-East (Upper Assam, West Bengal)
and the South (Kerala, Tamil Nadu). The North-Eastern region with 82%
of area accounts for 76% of total tea production. In the North East, the
yield is lower but quality of tea is superior.
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MMS
Launched in 1966, Taj Mahal Tea has literally defined the premium tea
market in the country and is relished by millions of Indians for its
'Hazaroon-mein-ek' aroma & taste. It was the first brand in India to
launch tea bags in 1979.
Beginning with its launch in 1966 as a premium leaf tea brand to its
advertisements with Ustad Zakir Hussain in 1988, Taj Mahal Tea went
through a metamorphosis, from "Ah! Taj" to "Wah! Taj", in its
communication. It was in 1987 that the need to build a stronger
association for Taj Mahal Tea with the Indian tradition and culture was
identified, following which Ustad Zakir Hussain, the renowned Tabla
maestro, was selected to endorse the brand.
Taj Mahal Tea has been associated with the world of art and culture
for over a decade. The association started with the first endorsements of
the brand by Ustad Zakir Hussain fourteen years back and over the
years, Taj Mahal Tea has been actively supporting cultural events and
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MMS
classical music across the country. In its endeavour to offer the best quality
and tea experience to the consumers, Taj Mahal was relaunched in 1996 with
an enhanced aroma and taste. This decision was based on consumer research,
which had identified aroma as a prime characteristic that consumers sought in
tea.
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MMS
A renowned Tabla Maestro and the Son of Ustad Allah Rakha. Zakir
Hussain needs no introduction. He has been partner to the likes of John
McLaughlin, George Harrison and Jim Morrison. One of the best
percussionists in the world. He is also a artist and composer par
excellence. He has been voted the sexiest man in India by “Gentleman”
magazine.
ZAKHIR S GENIUS
The following points illustrate Mr Hussain ‘s genius:
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• He has over 145 albums to his credit and currently teaches music
at Washington and California Universities
• Albums of his jugalbandis with maestros like Ravi Shanker and Ali
Akbar Khan saw record sales both in the Indian and overseas
markets
• The first musician to bring classical music to the masses in an
easily digestible form.
• He wears jeans and T-shirts for home and churidars with those
vibrant silk kurtas for public appearances.
• Has endorsed only one brand all his life. He is articulate with a
sense of humour,likes to poke fun at himself while giving
interviews
• He is a national icon who has made a mark for himself in the
international music scene. Has shown the world what Indian
rhythm is all about.
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THE AIM
The main aim of the case study was that to study how effective was
the use of Zakir Hussain in people buying Taj Mahal tea and
whether people bought Taj because of him and if people did not buy
because of him then why had HLL continued him for so many years.
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THE METHODOLOGY
The methodology used was mainly that of a survey based on a
questionnaire (annexure 1) prepared to test various parameters . As
mentioned earlier there are two types of variables outcome variables
and process variables .
A quick recap of the variables shall be done.
Outcome variables An outcome is the change in consumer behaviour
desired by an advertiser, such as a consumer’s trial of brand or a brand’s
sales to all consumers. A vast number of behavioral variables exist. They
can be conveniently classified into four groups: brand choices, purchase
intensity, market outcomes and a firm’s accounting variables.
TRIAL
REPURCHASE
SWITCH
TIMING
ACCOUNTING VARIABLES (like sales, revenues, profit etc.)
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The process variables are very important for two reasons. First
outcome variables, such as sales or market share, are affected
by a number of variables besides advertising such as price or
promotion. Moreover, sales are not very sensitive to advertising,
but are sensitive to price and promotion. Thus, sales alone may
not be a good measure of advertising effectiveness. Second,
the process variables indicate why, how and where in the
sequence of decision that leads to consumer purchases, the
advertising is effective or ineffective. Thus they provide an
opportunity for advertisers to adjust to their ads. Third and most
important, the process variables can be measured more easily
and quickly during various stages of producing ad. To the extent
the process variables are related to sales, change in the process
variables caused by advertising may be used as an early
predictor of sales change.
PROCESS VARIABLES
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Sex Composition:
GENDER RATIO
SEX M
SEX F
As seen from the graph the sample consists of the approximately same
number of males and female’s 53 females and 47 males to be precise.
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Thus it has turned out quite a balanced sample as far as the sex ratio is
concerned.
Age Composition:
8%
AGE 20-30
45% AGE 30-40
33%
AGE 40-50
AGE 50<
14%
The age group was again a mixed composition where essentially the
majority has come from the age group of 20-30.With a close second
coming from the mid age group. Thus the majority consisted of the age
group which generally consumes tea on a large scale.
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NAME OF BRAND
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QUESTION
WHICH IS THE BRAND(S) OF TEA YOU DRINK?
IMPORTANCE:
To get a general feel about what were the brands of tea the
sample chose to drink on a regular basis that occupied the
mind space of the people when it came to tea or occupied the
consideration set of people when it came to tea
RESPONSES:
40.00
sample
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S
S
W
A
AR
TY
J
U
TA
ER
AZ
O
IE
N
TA
TH
EN
IR
C
TK
SO
O
IG
N
D
O
IN
D
brands of tea
It was found that about 20% of the respondents drank Taj tea. Surprisingly, 30% and
18%
of respondents were found to be drinking Society and Girnar tea respectively.
This fact is surprising only by the virtue of the fact that these brands are regional and
not
national players and are not as heavily advertised as Taj! Thus the regional brands
may be catering to the needs of the local population in a better way than national
brands.
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IMPORTANCE:
What is it that customers look for in a tea brand and that makes them
loyal to it?
RESPONSES:
2% TASTE
17%
PRICE
2% ADS
5% TEA BAGS
2% 63% OFFER
9% FAMILIARITY
OTHERS
Taste clearly came out as a winner when it cam to the reasons why
the respondents consumed a particular brand of tea with familiarity
(i.e. E the comfort level with the bran because they have seen it in
the house for a number of years) the coming a second. The price, ads
, offers were of miniscule importance for the reason why people chose
the brand of tea.
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QUESTION
Do you drink more than one brand? Why?
IMPORTANCE:
The purpose was to test whether the customer experiments with
change of brands or if he prefers to stick with just one brand.
RESPONSES:
16%
CHANGE
16% OCCASIONS
68% OTHERS
BRAND LOYALTY
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QUESTION:
IMPORTANCE:
Since the effectiveness of the brand was being tested it was very
important that the sample had experienced the brand for a considerable
period of time. This question tested the brand loyalty of the sample
towards the respective brands before I know what made them loyal to it.
RESPONSES
20< YEARS
10-20 YEAR
>10 YRS
0 10 20 30 40 50
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BRAND RECALL
QUESTION:
N A ME 3 T E A B RA N D S A S T H E Y C OM E T O YOU R MI N D .
IMPORTANCE:
RESPONSES:
BRAND RECALL
17%
FIRST
41% SECOND
THIRD
28%
NOT THERE
14%
It was surprising to find that 41 % of the sample did not recall Taj at all .
A considerable no of people placed it second where as only 17 % of the
respondents think Taj when they think tea.
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BRAND AWARENESS
QUESTION:
H AV E YO U E V E R H E A R D O F T H E B RA N D TA J M A H A L T E A ?
IMPORTANCE :
The reason was clearly to know whether the respondent knew the
subject of my research so that I could continue the survey with them.
RESPONSES:
NO
1%
YES
NO
YES
99%
Barring a miniscule 1 % there was hardly anyone who did not know about
the brand. This did not come as any surprise considering that the brand has
been around for quit some time now! (since 1966 to be precise)This was also
one of the reason I chose the brand since brand awareness was high.
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BRAND PERCEPTION
QUESTION:
W H AT D O YO U T H I N K O F W H E N YO U T H I N K O F T H E B RA N D ?
IMPORTANCE:
The perception they had about the brand essentially tested the
conception they had developed about the brand and what is that
associated Taj with? This would be later useful in finding out whether
the perceptions they had matched with the perceptions they had
about the endorser
RESPONSES:
BRAND PERCEPTION
OTHERS 17
NO 1 TEA BRAND 8
MONUMENT 15
ZAKIR HUSSAIN 67
QUALUITY 25
0 20 40 60 80
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BRAND EXPERIENCE
QUESTION:
Have you ever consumed Taj ?
IMPORTANCE:
All the findings made henceforth definitely had to be considered in
light of the fact that how many of the respondents interviewed had
ultimately been converted to final customers to make a further
analysis that how many of those that were converted were due to
Zakir Hussain.
FINDINGS:
BRAND EXPERIENCE
33%
YES
NO
67%
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TRIAL
QUESTION:
If yes, what prompted you to buy it ?
IMPORTANCE:
Aimed obviously at the 67 % who had experienced the brand the
question aimed to throw light on what made the respondents try
out the brand the first time they bought it.
TASTE
TRIAL
BRAND NAME
19%
35%
WORD OF
6% MOUTH
12% AD
9%
12% 7%
AT OFFICE
FUNCTIONS,GE
T TO GETHERS
FINDINGS: OUTINGS
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.
CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
AD AWARENESS
QUESTION:
IMPORTANCE:
The idea was obviously to check the awareness level the ads enjoyed
among the respondents so that the impact and effectiveness about
the ads could be assessed.
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MMS
FINDINGS:
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
YES NO
The ads definitely enjoyed a very high level of awareness . Though the sample could
not recollect the exact advertisements they was hardly anybody who had not
encountered a Taj Mahal ad campaign –either by means of print or television.
QUESTION:
The aim was to check the awareness level the brand ambassador
among the respondents so that the impact and effectiveness about
the ads could be assessed.
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MMS
FINDIN GS:
NO
7%
YES
93%
LIKEABILTY OF THE AD
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LIKEABILITY
2%
3%
15% YES
NO
OK
CAN T SAY
80%
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USTAD S MUSIC
8% DELIGHTS
LEAVES ME WID
GOOD FEELING
33% 48%
COMMUNICATES
WELL
11% OTHERS
BORING
41%
59% FOCUSES MORE
ON USTAD
The ad had definitely created for itself a favorable image in the minds
of the customer.80% of the people surveyed said that they really
liked the ad. Out of these 80 %, the proportion was almost the same
in both men and women (men -80% and women about 70 % of the
opinions surveyed). 12 years was quite some time to stick on with
simply one image.
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QUESTION
DO YOU LIKE ZAKIR HUSS AIN?
NEUTRAL
16%
NO YES
5% NO
NEUTRAL
YES
79%
79 % of the respondents really liked him and thought that the master
percussionist was the “pride of India”. Quite a number were neutral
about him and said that he evoked no strong feelings. On the whole it
just goes on to say in light of the todays scam-laden world here is
definitely one personality that still holds high regard in the opinion of
the public.
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ENDORSER PERCEPTION
QUESTION
Besides the Tabla & music, what do you associate him with?
IMPORTANCE
In link with the previous question, this question tried to explore the
Culture, in which each celebrity develops an image that
encodes a unique set of meaning. These meanings arise from the
type of people they are, the roles they have paid, the things they
have done and the stories that have developed around them.
SINCRETY
6% 20%
14% CULTURE
7% STYLE
14%
QUALITY OF
PERFORMNCE
21% TAJ MAHAL
18%
OTHERS
This was a very interesting aspect to compute. The tabla factor had
been purposely ignored because that would have made the results
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MMS
obvious. The focus was on getting the set of codes associated with
him besides the tabla.
But since Tabla and Zakir Hussain are two inseparable names there
were still many who had to be reminded that the question did not
include tabla. Not surprisingly culture does come out as a close
winner followed by success. Though Taj Mahal was attached to zakir
Hussain s persona ,his inimitable style and performance is what is
considered more relevant .
GOOD MATCH
This was to find out whether they thought the perception they had
about the brand matched with the celebrity perception and whether
this was an ideal choice for the brand. Respondents were also asked
to give alternative choices if thy felt he was not the match for the
brand.
24%
YES
NO
11%
65% CAN T SAY
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cultural aura around the man , there were some who felt that a
celebrity would never work for a petty commodity like tea and a lay
person ( say a common housewife , woman of today etc.) with whom
the audience could identify themselves would make a better match.
There was also a lot of ambiguity in the minds of the people as a no of
responses included “someone from” sports or “someone from” the
food and beverage industry. Although some celebrity alternatives
included names like Amitabh Bachchan ,Laloo Yadav,David Beckham
and even Shilpa Shetty!
IMPACT
This question tested the ultimate influence the endorser had on the
brand .
INFLUENCE
18%
YES
8%
NO
C' SAY
74%
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MMS
Although the question was a little hazy for some, the findings are
predictable with 74 % saying that they would continue to consume
Taj irrespective of Zakir Hussain. The findings have to be considered
in light of 3 things: -
Tea is a commodity which is cheap, so the customer does not
mind experimenting
The focus is on the taste in tea
Even if the respondent would be consuming Taj because of Zakir
Hussain it would be considered quite naïve to admit in public
Therefore it is very surprising when almost one fifth of the sample
could not make up their mind whether they would continue to
consume the same.This definitely proves that Zakir Hussain has no
direct influence over the purchase behavior of Taj Mahal.
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MMS
RELATED TO TEA
RELATED TO THE BRAND
RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN
RELATED TO TEA
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MMS
RECOMMENDATIONS. :
On the basis of the survey conducted and the inferences got
the following recommendations can be made :
-
⇒ The company HLL should first try and make the test a
little more strong as that is what majority respondents
were complaining about that.
⇒ Since the brand recall is poor but awareness is high , the
company could consider ,making the ads more attractive
considering all age groups of tea drinkers and break the
cliché ambience of the music
⇒ The company should engage in public relation activities
or certain brand building exercises rather than simply
concentrating on advertising.
⇒ As far as changing or continuing with the celebrity is
concerned . the company ideally should not change
the celebrity because Mr. Hussain has quite a favorable
image amongst the public, but since there are quite a few
who feel that a lay endorser could do the trick, HLL could
consider involving a lay celebrity.
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CONCLUSION
So finally is a celebrity effective enough for people to buy products
irrespective of the status right from pens to cars? Frankly, It is a no.
Nobody goes to a shop to buy a product because XYZ says we should
buy it. Neither are they so dumb to accept it even if they do! Why then
are companies blowing up millions on them? That is because people are
crazy behind them. They might not pull the customer to the shop but
definitely keeps the product at ht back of the mind when he is shopping.
The moment he spots the product (availability) , the quality, affordable
price, the benefits offered and good after sales service make him a loyal
customer. So the celebrity can be said as a initiating link of a series
of events that can make a loyal customer
But Gandhiji once said, "What I have done will endure, not what I have
said or written"! If only today's celebrities were as humble, or should one
say realistic? So much hoopla, so much money, so many aspirations…
this business of celebrity endorsement in marketing, is it worth it?
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Besides, none of the celebrities — who are ‘used’ for everyone’s benefit — give
anything back to society or the country in return for the adulation and love,
which millions give them without reserve. Eventually, if the money roles in,
there is respect and recognition. When the cash flow dries up, so does the
emotional hype created around a celebrity. It is important also to be realistic
about what the celebrity is doing in the ad — can he/she emote and act. Also if
one has the monies, one could balance risk by having more than one
celebrity. The endorsement should also be sustainable, and of course,
continuously research your offering. As someone truly said, celebrities may
come and go, but brands go on forever.
Ultimately, the question to be asked is, did you eat more Britannia biscuits
because Sachin and Sherry asked you to, or because you had a chance of going
to South Africa? I would say, the answer is ... 50-50!
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books :
Websites:
www.google.com
www.agencyfaqs.com
www.agencyfaqs.com
www.deccanheald.com
http://www.blonnet.com
http://www.etstrategicmarketing.com
http://www.hinduonnet.com
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