An investigation into the use of celebrities by companies - impact on brand image

Résumé du document

Celebrity Marketing represents a marketing vehicle, which is nowadays frequent. This study explores different ways to use a celebrity, but especially the impact they have on the brand image. The celebrity endorsement is not without risk, and the case of negative match between brand and celebrity is a well-known phenomenon. Celebrity marketing has become a new trend, which needs to be study in order to see where it stands in the advertising world.

Traps are real, so the literature review will examine everything that makes companies using a celebrity endorser. The impact of celebrity on the consumers behavior must be understood, as well as all the step by step approach. Understanding the steps of this risky technique helps to avoid traps and allows clauses in contracts to be well established.

This study involves the collection of both primary and secondary data. Primary data were established through qualitative method, an interview and a focus group gathering six respondents in order to discuss more deeply the subject and share opinions were used. Concerning the secondary data collected, several academic references or articles were used all along the investigation.

One of the conclusions of the findings was that celebrity marketing is still effective as long as the celebrity is well selected, and is well integrated into the advertising campaign. It is however more effective in terms of brand awareness than sales. It was further concluded that the audience's view on advertising has changed: they may remind more the celebrity than the product or the brand; therefore advertisers must pay attention to the choice of the celebrity.

Extraits

[...] Falling in this trap, consumers no longer consider neither the personality as credible, nor the product and brand. Mark Spitz, Olympic swimming champion who won seven medals, has shown these risks by signing agreements with several different brands. Consumers thought it was money grubber” The second problem that may be faced by a company is when the star is in a scandal (sex, drugs . The famous model of 31 years, Kate Moss, was photographed taking cocaine. The pictures were published as a series over three days by the Daily Mirror. [...]

[...] The risk of bad behavior of a celebrity (alcohol, drugs . ) can have catastrophic effects on the brand and become a real threat to the company. In fact, negative information about a celebrity endorsement may have a direct impact on the product or brand. Many companies were forced to end the contract with their celebrity because of a behavior that did not fit with the image of the company. The hazard may also result from the loss of reputation of the personality. [...]

[...] There are several reasons which explain the reason why companies are investing huge sums of money to link a celebrity to their brand. Celebrities are used in advertisements because they transmit values. Companies expect that these qualities are associated with the product and the brand. As Black said (1983), a celebrity is an accelerator of notoriety. Enterprise thinks that celebrities can influence beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and/or behavior through the process of internalization, which occurs when receivers accept a source influence in terms of their personal attitude and value structures (Kelman, 1961). [...]

[...] How can celebrities ruin companies image? How can risks be minimized? The first hypothesis investigates the effect of celebrity congruity in advertising on brand image building, that is to say that celebrities can build the brand image and can ruin it. The second hypothesis seeks to examine ways to reduce the risks of using a celebrity. This hypothesis is inextricably linked to the first hypothesis. The objective of this study is to understand and evaluate the use of celebrities by companies. [...]

[...] - Interesting? - Funny? - To pass the time? - Shocking? What do you think of this technique? - A lot of companies use it? - It is effective? - It's not effective? What made a good celebrity endorsement? - Attractiveness? [...]