Effect Of Celebrity Endorsement On Customers Buying Behaviour Towards Gold Ornaments: A Descriptive Study Conducted At Kottayam, Kerala.

By

Mr. Ajai Krishnan G Assistant Professor, Department of Management studies, MACFAST, Tiruvalla, Kerala & Mr. Ligo Koshy Assistant Professor, Department of Management studies, MACFAST, Tiruvalla, Kerala.

Introduction
Possessing gold is firmly embedded in Indian customs and traditions. The south Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka shares the 40% of the Countrys Total Gold Consumption (The Indian Gold Market-Statistics from The World Gold Council). A jeweller may use one or a combination of two or more of the promotional tools available to reach out to its targeted customers.

Purpose of Research
The main purpose of this study is to find out the effect of celebrity endorsement on consumers buying behaviour towards Gold ornaments in Kerala context.

Research Objectives
The Primary objective of this work is to study the effects of celebrity endorsement on consumer buying behavior towards gold jewellery in Kerala context. To identify the demographic profile of the customers of gold jewellary in Kottayam District. To identify the factors other than celebrity endorsement affecting the buying behaviour. To identify the characteristics of the celebrity which have an influence on buying behaviour.

Research Methodology
The study was descriptive in nature. Sample size Sample size was 200 customers. Sampling method Convenient sampling technique was used. Data collection tool A structured questionnaire was used for collecting the responses of the customers. To identify the various characteristics of the Celebrity which affects the buying behaviour a five point Rating Scale ranging from 5=Strongly Agree to 1=Strongly Disagree was used. Tools for Analysis Along with the usual statistical tools such as tables, percentages, Ranking, hypothesis testing were used for analyzing the data and arriving at the conclusion.

Demographic profile of the respondents

Characteristics Gender Male Female Total Age <=25 26-35 36-45 46-55 >55 Total Marital status Married Unmarried Total Occupation Self employed Government Private Total Monthly Income (in INR) <=20000 21000-30000 31000-40000 41000-50000 >50000 Total Frequency 98 102 200 26 30 40 44 60 200 138 62 200 52 72 76 200 20 24 44 48 64 200 percentage 49% 51% 100% 13% 15% 20% 22% 30% 100% 69% 31% 100% 26% 36% 38% 100% 10% 12% 22% 24% 32% 100%

Gender of respondents
Male Female

Marital status

Unmarried 31% 49%

51%

Occupation of Respondents
Self employed 26%

Married 69%

Private 38%

Age of respondents
<=25 26-35 36-45 46-55 >55

Governme nt 36%

Income Level of respondents

<=20000 13% 30% 15% 32% 22% 20% 22% 24% 10% 12% 41000-50000 21000-30000 >50000 31000-40000

Analysis & Intrepretation

51% respondents are female and 49% respondents are male. 13% respondents fall in the age group of below 26 years, 15% respondents fall under the age group of between 26-35 years, 20% of respondents fall under the age group of 36-45 years, 22% of respondents fall under the age group of 46-55, and 30% respondents were above 55 years. 69% respondents were married, 31% respondents were unmarried. 26% respondents were self employed, 36% respondents were Government employees and 38% respondents belonged to private sector. 10% respondents belongs to the income bracket of below Rs. 21,000, 12% respondents were from the income group of Rs. 21,000-30,000, and 22% respondents were from the income group of Rs.31,000-40,000, 24% respondents were from the income group of Rs. 41000-50000, and the majority of respondents, 32% is having monthly income above Rs. 50,000.

Factors affecting the selection of a jewellery shop by the respondents

Characteristics Quality Price Word of Mouth Advertisement Endorsing Celebrity Years of existence Total Frequency 20 16 34 60 40 30 200 Percentage 10% 8% 17% 30% 20% 15% 100%

Factors affecting the selection of a jewellery shop by the respondents

Quality 10% Years of existence 15% Price 8%

Endorsing Celebrity 20%

Word of Mouth 17%

Advertisement 30%

Celebritys characteristics which influence the buying behaviour

Characteristics Celebrity popularity Total Score 774(14.62%) 771(14.56%) 659(12.45%) 535(10.10%) 610(11.52%) Rank Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 8 Rank 5

Celebrity physical attractiveness Celebrity credibility

Celebrity prior endorsement Celebrity profession

Celebritys fit with product

Celebrity- target audience match Celebrity associated values

832(15.71%)
537(10.14%) 577(10.90%)

Rank 1
Rank 7 Rank 6

Celebrity's charectiristics which affects the buying behaviour

18.00% 16.00% 14.00% 12.00% 10.00% 10.10% 8.00% 6.00% 4.00% 2.00% 0.00% Celebrity popularity Celebrity Celebrity physical credibility attractiveness Celebrity Celebrity Celebritys fit prior profession with product endorsement Celebritytarget audience match Celebrity associated values Series1 15.71% 14.62% 14.56% 12.45% 11.52% 10.14% 10.90%

Hypothesis Testing
H0: There is no significant influence of celebrity advertisement on buying behaviour. tabulated= 12.5; Number of degrees of freedom= 1; Table value of at 5% level of significance = 3.841 Conclusion H0 is rejected since the calculated value of (12.5) is greater than the table value of (3.841), hence there is a significant influence of celebrity advertisement on buying behaviour.

Hypothesis Testing
H0: There is no significant influence of gender of the celebrity on buying behaviour. tabulated= 5.768; Number of degrees of freedom= 1; Table value of at 5% level of significance = 3.841 Conclusion H0 is rejected since the calculated value of (5.768) is greater than the table value of (3.841), hence there is a significant influence of gender of the celebrity on buying behaviour.

Hypothesis Testing
H0: There is no significant influence of credibility of the celebrity on buying behaviour. tabulated= 9.524; Number of degree of freedom= 1; Table value of at 5% level of significance = 3.841 Conclusion H0 is rejected since the calculated value of (9.524) is greater than the table value of (3.841), hence there is a significant influence of credibility of the celebrity on buying behaviour.

Major Findings
There is a significant influence of celebrity advertisement on the buying behaviour. There is a significant influence of gender of the celebrity on the buying behaviour. While selecting a jewellery shop the customers give much more importance to advertisement, celebrity in the advertisement and the years of existence than any other factor. Among the characteristics of the celebrity which influence the buying behavior, the celebrity-product fit ranks highest.

Managerial Implications
The managers should take immense pain and care to ensure that the celebrity chosen to endorse the product is right in terms of age, gender, personality, attractiveness, trustworthiness and all the other symbolic properties associated with the celebrity.