Jamie Oliver at Sainsburys

Analysis of a brand alliance

amie Oliver launched his career as a TV chef in the late 1990s with The Naked Chef. Soon loved for his cheeky persona and approachable demeanour, he attracted the attention of Sainsburys, a UK supermarket chain whose reputation had become outdated. The consumer market at the time understood the Sainsburys demographic as middle aged and middle class. Olivers charisma, his good, simple cooking, and his wide appeal to young people made him the perfect choice to revitalize their brand. In 2000, he became the face of the chain in a deal worth 2m a year. The Sainsburys/Oliver partnership is one of the longest standing brand alliances in the UK, and has therefore attracted much analysis.

After having Oliver appear in TV advertisements for two years, Sainsburys sales had increased by $1bn. The benet was reciprocal: Oliver won big contracts in TV and publishing. But in 2004, he appeared in a new Christmas ad, in which he visited a sh farm in Scotland. In the ad, Oliver endorsed Sainsburys sourcing of salmon from a Scottish loch, claiming the cold water made the sh healthy. Yet Oliver also reportedly refused to serve any farmed sh in his restaurant, Fifteen, which prompted backlash in the press. Elina Halonen-Knight, a Market Research Consultant from London, and Leila Hurmerinta of the Turku School of Economics in Finland, have analysed the press response. The six articles written on Oliver and sh farming as a result of the Sainsburys ad makes clear what they describe as a reversed image transfer process. Whereas celebrity endorsements are often understood as a one way transfer of values from the celebrity to the brand, Olivers is one of many cases that suggest something more like a brand alliance, where values are shared in both directions through a campaign. Analyzing the language of the press articles, Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta claim that Oliver was portrayed as having been contractually pushed into a situation where he had to endorse something he would not choose to use in his everyday life. He was accused by another TV chef of selling his soul, and both he and Sainsburys were criticized by environmentalists for killing off wild salmon stocks. There was debate as to whether Oliver was a victim or an opportunist. What particularly interests Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta is that the negative portrayal of Oliver in the press had an impact on other aspects of his brand. While some articles referred to him directly as the face of Sainsburys, others mentioned his restaurant and TV show. Thus, they argue, negative meanings had an impact not only on Sainsburys but their endorser. Because of this reverse image transfer process, the authors describe what they call an endorsement action between brand and endorser, which means that marketing managers should plan campaigns with celebrities as they do brand alliances. Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta call for a new theoretical perspective on the persuasive process behind celebrity endorsement. Celebrities, in their view, should be considered as brands, who come with associative networks. Traditionally, reputation endorsement has

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STRATEGIC DIRECTION

VOL. 27 NO. 2 2011, pp. 16-17, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 0258-0543

DOI 10.1108/02580541111103927

 The six articles written on Oliver and sh farming as a result of the Sainsburys ad makes clear what they describe as a reversed image transfer process.

been the limited understanding of a collaboration between celebrity and company, yet if understood as a brand alliance, this relationship can potentially bring further strategic opportunities. It is important that the celebrity is chosen for more than attractiveness: the market has become cynical about endorsements that appear to be about money alone. The celebrity must be perceived to have integrity and credibility, and to have values similar to those of the company. If this is the case, then both sides of the arrangement can build image and reputation through the linking and integration of the values of their two brands.

Comment
This is a review of Who endorses who? Meanings transfer in celebrity endorsement by Elina Halonen-Knight and Leila Hurmerinta. The article suggests that celebrity endorsement should be considered as a brand alliance. Using the case of Jamie Olivers controversial endorsement of farmed salmon for Sainsburys in 2004, the authors argue that meaning transfer between brand and celebrity is reciprocal. As Olivers reputation was adversely affected by the advertisements, Halonen-Knight and Hurmerinta put forward a new thesis for brand management: the current model for celebrity endorsements needs to be changed to incorporate elements of brand alliances.

Keywords: Product endorsement, Brands, Retailing, Case studies

Reference
Halonen-Knight, E. and Hurmerinta, L. (2010), Who endorses who? Meanings transfer in celebrity endorsement, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 452-60.

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