Más contenido relacionado La actualidad más candente (20) "A Project Report on The Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand Personality: An Empirical Study on Unilevers’s Brand Lux on Being Beauty Bar of Film Stars!”5. ABSTRACT"
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What"Is"The"Project"About?"
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Celebrity"endorsement"is"a"highly"researched"field"in"marketing."Having"its"
roots" in" psychology" and" the" source" credibility" of" communication" (Hovland"
and" Weiss," 1952;" McCroskey" and" Young," 1981)" it" has" come" up" a" long" way"
since" the" early" research" was" done" in" the" seventies" (Friedman," et" aI.," 1976;"
Kamen"et"aI.,"1975)."Researchers"have"delved"into"various"issues"of"celebrity"
endorsements" such" as" source" credibility" of" the" celebrity," celebrityAbrand"
congruence" and" meaning" transfer" model" (McCracken," 1989)." Research" in"
Brand"Personality"is"relatively"new."The"works"of"Aaker"and"Fournier"(1995),"
Aaker" (1997)" and" Ourgee" (1998)" initiated" the" interest," which" ultimately"
resulted" in" the" construction" of" a" Brand" Personality" Scale" by" Aaker" (1997)."
However,"researchers"have"not"looked"into"the"issue"of"Celebrity"Personality"
affecting"the"Brand"Personality"even"in"congruence"studies."In"this"paper"we"
try"to"address"the"issue"of"celebrity"personality"affecting"brand"personality."
Following"which"we"have"tried"to"see"whether"celebrity"endorsement"has"an"
effect" on" brand" personality" &" image" and" impact" on" consumer" buying"
behavior."The"study"is"supposed"to"generate"research"interest"because"of"its"
novelty"of"idea.""
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What"Is"The"Goal"Of"The"Project?"
"
Celebrity"endorsement"has"been"established"as"one"of"the"most"popular"tools"
of" advertising" in" recent" time." It" has" become" a" trend" and" perceived" as" a"
winning"formula"for"product"marketing"mix"and"brand"building."For"example"
when" it" comes" to" celebrity" endorsement," the" first" brand" that" comes" to" the"
Indian" mind" is" that" of" Unilever’s" one" of" the" most" popular" brand" LUX," the"
Beauty" Bar" of" the" Stars." Since" its" inception," Lux" the" brand" has" grown"
positioning" itself" thus." It" is" probably" the" only" brand" that" has" had" an"
endorsement" from" nearly" 50" Indian" film" stars" and" lot" of" stars" all" over" the"
world." Based" on" an" empirical" study," we" try" to" find" out" whether" the" same"
personality"dimensions"exist"for"the"celebrity"and"the"brand"Lux"respectively."
It"is"easy"to"choose"a"celebrity"but"it"is"tough"to"establish"a"strong"association"
between"the"product"and"the"endorser."While"the"magnitude"of"the"impact"of"
celebrity" endorsement" remains" under" the" purview" of" gray" spectacles," this"
paper"is"an"effort"to"analyze"the"impact"of"celebrity"endorsements"on"brands."
Objective" of" this" project" is" to" examine" the" relationship" between" celebrity"
endorsements" and" brands," and" the" impact" of" celebrity" endorsement" on"
consumeris" buying" behavior" as" well" as" how" consumer" makes" brand"
6. preferences"with"a"study"on"Unilever’s"Lux"brand,"which"is"today"perceived"
as"a"‘Beauty"bar"for"film"stars’"
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Thus" we" define" the" objective" of" the" study," which" is" to" examine" whether"
celebrity"personality"has"an"impact"on"the"brand"personality"with"the"example"
of" the" celebrities" endorsing" Lux" brand" that" has" a" positive" impact" on" the"
personality" of" a" brand" and" how" it" has" helped" create" an" image" that" it" is" a"
beauty"bar"of"film"stars."Hence,"we"define"our"hypothesis,"which"states:"
"
Hypothesis:" The" personality" of" a" celebrity" endorsing" brand" have" a" positive"
impact" on" the" personality" of" a" brand" taking" example" of" the" Celebrities"
endorsing"Lux"brand"had"a"positive"impact"on"the"personality"of"a"brand"and"
has"helped"create"a"image"that"it"is"a"beauty"bar"of"stars."
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7. DECLARATION"
I"wish"to"state"the"work"embodied"in"this"project"titled"“THE!IMPACT!OF!
CELEBRITY! ENDORSEMENT! ON! BRAND! PERSONALITY:! AN!
EMPIRICAL!STUDY!ON!UNILEVER’S!LUX!ON!BEING!BEAUTY!BAR!OF!
FILMSTARS!;! Submitted" to" Vivekanand" Education" Society’s" Institute" of"
Management" Studies" and" Research" College," Chembur," Mumbai" during" the"
academic" year" 2012" –" 2014" forms" my" own" contribution" to" management."
Wherever" reference" have" been" made" to" intellectual" properties" of" any"
individual/" institution/" government/" private/" public" bodies/" universities,"
research" paper," text" books," reference" books," research" monographs" and" any"
other" source" of" intellectual" properties" viz." speeches," quotations," conference"
proceedings,"extracts"from"website,"working"paper,"seminal"work"et"al,"have"
been"clearly"indicated,"duly"acknowledged"and"included"in"the"bibliography."
Raj Bhambhani
Roll no. - 63
PGDM (Marketing)
"
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9. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT"
"
This"project"bears"the"imprint"of"many"people."The"satiation"and"euphoria"that"
accompany" the" successful" completion" of" the" project" would" be" incomplete"
without"the"mention"of"the"people"who"made"it"possible."I"would"like"to"thank"
my" sister" and" parents" for" inspiring" me" to" show" an" ability" I" never" really"
envisaged."Without"their"blessing,"carrying"out"this"research"would"have"been"
rather"difficult."
"
I"would"like"to"take"the"opportunity"to"thank"and"express"my"deep"sense"of"
gratitude"to"my"project"mentor"Prof."Debjani"Banerjee."I"am"greatly"indebted"
to" her" for" providing" his" valuable" guidance" at" all" stages" of" the" study," her"
advice," constructive" suggestions," positive" and" supportive" attitude" and"
continuous"encouragement,"without"which"it"would"have"not"been"possible"to"
complete"the"project."Thank"you,"Dear"Ma’am!"
"
I"would"also"like"to"sincerely"thank"all"the"interviewees"for"their"precious"time"
and"useful"insights"on"the"research"topic"and"who"have"patiently"expressed"
their"views"to"help"me"carry"on"with"my"dissertation."
"
I"consider"myself"very"lucky"and"honored"to"have"so"many"wonderful"people"
lead" me" through" in" completion" of" this" project" and" I" owe" my" wholehearted"
thanks" and" appreciation" to" the" all" professors" of" my" college" for" their"
cooperation"and"assistance"during"the"course"of"my"project.""
"
I"hope"that"I"can"build"upon"the"experience"and"knowledge"that"I"have"gained"
and"make"a"valuable"contribution"towards"this"industry"in"coming"future."
"
10. TABLE&OF&CONTENTS"
Index" Page"No."
1."Executive"Summary" 1A2"
2."Introduction" 3A6"
3."Celebrity"Endorsement"&"Brand"Personality" 7A21"
4."Research"Objectives" 22"
5."Literature"Review" 23A29"
6."Research"Methodology"
• Sampling"Technique"
• Sample"Design"
• Data"Collection"&"Analysis"Methods"
30A32"
7."Industry"Profile"
• Industry" Analysis" and" Opportunities" in" Next" 10"
Years"
• Head"room"for"growth"
• Competitors"and"Major"Players"
33A37"
8."Company"Introduction"
• History"
• Product"Portfolio"and"Performance"
• Financial"Performance"&"Analysis"
1. Ration"&"Trend"Analysis:"
• P/E ratio"
• P/BV ratio"
• EPS
• ROE (Return on Equity)
• ROCE (Return on Capital Employed)
• Operating Profit Margins
• Current Ratio
• Sales Growth
• Working Capital
• Return on Assets/Assets Turnover Ratio
38A47"
9."Lux"Overview" 48A53"
11. • Origins," History" and" Brand" Image" Through" The"
Years"
10."Lux"Branding"Strategies"&"Brand"Equity"
• Lux"Brand"Elements:"Form,"Feature,"Style"
• Leveraging"Secondary"Brand"Associations"
• Brand"Equity:"Awareness,"Image"&"Loyalty"
• Lux"Brand"Identity:"Core"and"Extended"
54A61"
11."Lux"Marketing"Mix:"The"4P’s"
• Product,"PLC,"Product"Mix"
• Promotion:" The" Integrated" Marketing"
Communication"Promotion"mix"
1. Advertising:" LUX" ADVERTISEMENTS"
THROUGH"THE"AGES,"Ad"Analysis"
2. Sales"Promotion"
3. Public"Relations"
• Price"
• Place:"Distribution"Channel"
62A82"
12."Lux"Analysis"
• Market"and"Segmentation"
• BCG"Matrix"
• Porter’s"5"Forces"of"Lux"soapSales"Promotion"
• Ansoff"model"for"Lux:Price"
• Perceptual"Mapping"of"Soap"Brands"
• SWOT"Analysis"
83A94"
13."Data"Analysis"
• Questionnaire"Analysis"&"Interpretation"
95A106"
14."Findings"and"Managerial"Implications"
• Recommendations"
107A111"
15."Limitations"of"the"Project" 112"
14. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!1!
EXECUTIVE(SUMMARY!
Aristotle)said,!“Beauty!is!a!greater!recommendation!than!any!letter!of!
introduction.”! This! could! aptly! summarize! why! innumerable! products! are!
endorsed!by!celebrities,!with!or!without!a!significant!need!or!benefit!from!the!
same.!Similarly!every!product!has!an!image.!The!consumer!tries!to!consume!a!
brand,!which!has!the!maximum!fit!with!his/her!own!personality/image.!The!
celebrity! endorser! fits! in! between! these! two! interactions,! where! he! tries! to!
bring!the!image!of!the!product!closer!to!the!expectation!of!the!consumer,!by!
transferring! some! of! the! cultural! meanings! residing! in! his! image! to! the!
product.!
Now,!despite!the!potential!benefits!derived!from!celebrity!endorsements,!they!
increase!a!marketer’s!risk!manifolds!and!should!be!treated!with!full!attention!
and! aptitude.! A! brand! should! be! cautious! when! employing! celebrities! to!
ensure!promise!believability!and!delivery!of!the!intended!effect.!The!growing!
importance!of!mythical!characters!as!celebrities!and!their!sway!over!the!target!
segments!are!ample!proof!of!public!demand!for!icons!to!look!up!to.!As!the!
celebrities! traverse! from! a! mere! commercial! presence! to! public! welfare!
message!endorsements,!a!whole!new!dimension!is!added!to!this!process!and!
helps!us!in!achieving!a!holistic!view!of!the!impact!which!celebrities!generate!
in!every!sphere!and!segment!through!their!wellEversed!endorsements.!
!
Endorsements!by!celebrities!have!started!since!a!long!time.!The!very!fact!that!
their! use! has! continued! for! so! long! is! proof! enough! of! its! immense!
advantages,! but! they! have! several! disadvantages! too.! Living! a! seemingly!
luxurious! life! as! that! of! a! celebrity! is! everybody’s! hidden! desire,! and! by!
adopting!the!same!product/service!as!endorsed!by!one’s!favorite!celebrity,!the!
consumers!feel!like!being!in!the!same!league!as!the!celebrity.!It!is!but!obvious!
that!marketing!firms!are!aware!of!this!inherent!desire!of!people,!and!so,!more!
and! more! Indian! firms! are! competing! to! showcase! their! celebrityEendorsed!
brands!on!TV.!When!it!comes!to!celebrity!endorsement,!the!first!brand!that!
comes!to!the!Indian!mind!is!that!of!Unilever’s!one!of!the!most!popular!brand!
LUX,!the!Beauty!Bar!of!the!Stars.!Since!its!inception,!Lux!the!brand!has!grown!
positioning! itself! thus.! It! is! probably! the! only! brand! that! has! had! an!
endorsement!from!nearly!50!Indian!film!stars.!The!brand!promise!has!evolved!
from!“the!beauty!bar!of!film!stars”!to!“brings!out!the!star!in!you”.!
They!segment!LUX.’s!market!according!to!geographical!locations.!It!further!
differentiates!these!segments!into!Socio!Economic!Cluster!(SEC),!which!takes!
into! account! the! criteria! of! education! and! profession,! which! ultimately!
measures! the! financial! ability! of! consumers.! HUL! leads! the! market! in! the!
toilet!soap!category!with!54.3%!market!share.!Lux!has!inched!up!to!be!on!par!
with!Lifebuoy!in!HULVs!soaps!portfolio.!The!Lux!brand!now!has!an!almost!
15. 2! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
equal! market! share! as! Hindustan! LeverVs! largest! selling! soap! brand! E!
Lifebuoy.!This!report!gives!an!overview!of!the!history!of!the!Soap!industry,!
company!and!the!brand!XLuxX,!the!various!strategies!adopted!to!survive!in!
the! market! for! over! the! years! and! the! various! competing! brands.! The!
promotional!activities!adopted,!the!brandVs!strengths!and!weaknesses,!threats!
faced!are!also!analyzed.!!A!Compressive!and!empirical!study!of!Secondary!
and! Primary! data! (Surveys/Interviews)! was! collected! through! specific!
questionnaires!for!consumers!to!find!out!whether!celebrity!personality!has!an!
impact!on!the!brand!personality!with!the!example!of!the!celebrities!endorsing!
Lux!brand!that!has!a!positive!impact!on!the!personality!of!a!brand!and!how!it!
has!helped!create!an!image!that!it!is!a!beauty!bar!of!film!stars.!The!conceptual!
model!explaining!how!does!it!actually!happen!is!given!below:!
!
Well,! it! sure! brings! out! the! star! in! Indian! consumer’s! mind! so! to! speak! as!
living!a!seemingly!luxurious!life!as!that!of!a!celebrity!is!everybody’s!hidden!
desire,! and! by! adopting! the! same! product/service! as! endorsed! by! one’s!
favorite! celebrity,! the! consumers! feel! like! being! in! the! same! league! as! the!
celebrity.!What!therefore!seems!relevant!by!the!study!is!that,!yes,!definitely!
celebrity!personality!does!have!an!impact!on!the!brand!personality!and!the!
personality! &! meaning! transfers! from! the! celebrity! to! the! consumer’s! mind!
about!the!brand.!And,!the!Lux!brand!has!been!enjoying!a!positive!impact!on!
the! personality! of! a! brand! after! being! endorsed! by! celebrities! and! it! has!
helped!create!an!image!that!it!is!a!beauty!bar!of!stars.!Also,!celebrity!endorsee!
influence! consumer! buying! behavior! and! brand! building! but! while! using!
celebrity! endorsee,! marketer! has! to! take! care! of! all! the! aspect! that! whether!
they! brought! personality! and! image! of! celebrity! matches! or! not,! whether!
celebrity!endorsee!has!deep!penetration!among!the!masses!or!not,!whether!he!
is!considered!as!credible!source!or!not!and!so!forth.!
!
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16. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!3!
INTRODUCTION!
The!practice!of!using!celebrities!in!advertisements!to!promote!products!
dates!back!to!more!than!a!hundred!years!and!continues!till!date.!Some!studies!
have!found!out!that!as!much!as!25!%!of!the!total!advertisements!aired!use!
celebrity! endorsements! (Shimp! 2000).! The! scenario! is! not! too! different! in!
India.! Celebrities! from! the! field! of! sports! and! movies! have! a! string! of!
endorsements! under! their! belt.! Products! ranging! from! cement! to! pens! use!
celebrities! for! communication.! A! top! celebrity! can! get! as! many! as! 21!
advertisers! to! endorse! products! (AdEx! India! Report! 2007).! Thus! celebrity!
endorsements! become! a! relevant! field! of! research! in! India.! One! of! the! key!
streams! of! research! in! celebrity! endorsements! is! the! Xsource! credibilityX!
research!that!primarily!looked!into!finding!out!the!dimensions!of!a!celebrity!
source! which! affect! the! consumer! in! the! communication! process.! The! other!
important!stream!of!research!is!the!celebrityE!brand!congruence!studies.!The!
congruence! studies! have! delved! into! the! similarities! or! correspondence!
between!the!product!or!brand!and!the!celebrity!which!is!popularly!known!as!
the!XmatchEupX!hypothesis!(Kamins!1990;!Kamins!and!Gupta!1994;!Kirmani!
and! Shiv! 1998;! Misra! and! Beatty! 1990;! Mittelstaedt! and! Riesz! 2000).! Again,!
each! and! every! celebrity! has! a! personality! of! his/her! own.! Through! the!
endorsement! a! part! of! that! is! supposed! to! rub! off! onto! the! brand.! The!
Meaning! Transfer! Model! of! McCracken! (1989)! suggests! this,! though! not!
directly.!However,!this!aspect!of!the!effect!of!celebrity!personality!on!Brand!
Personality! has! not! been! studied! yet! in! consumer! research.! Even! in! case! of!
Brand! Personality! (BP)! research,! there! are! not! many! studies! as! in! celebrity!
endorsements.!The!BP!construct!however,!has!been!studied!from!a!conceptual!
(Durgee!1998;!Gardner!and!Levy!1955)!and!at!an!empirical!level!(Aaker!1997;!
Diamantopoulos,! Smith! and! Grime! 2005;! lohar,! Sengupta,! and! Aaker! 2005;!
etc).!Aaker!(1997)!had!constructed!and!validated!a!scale!to!measure!BP!which!
was! loosely! based! on! the! Big! Five! personality! traits! (Goldberg! 1990).!
However,!there!has!been!no!effort!as!per!the!knowledge!of!the!researchers!to!
integrate! both! aspects! of! celebrity! endorsements! and! BP.! Thus! the! current!
study! aims! to! fill! such! a! gap! in! the! literature.! The! study! tries! to! examine!
whether!the!personality!of!a!celebrity!endorsing!brand!have!a!positive!impact!
on!the!personality!of!a!brand,!taking!example!of!the!celebrities!endorsing!Lux!
brand! has! a! positive! impact! on! the! personality! of! a! brand! and! has! helped!
create!a!image!that!it!is!a!beauty!bar!of!film!stars.!
McCracken’s!(1989)!view!also!suggests!that!a!symbolic!“match”!should!
exist! between! the! celebrity! image! and! the! brand! image! in! order! for! the!
celebrity! endorsement! to! be! effective.! Consumers! with! strong! selfE
enhancement! goals! tend! to! form! selfEbrand! connections! to! brands! used! by!
aspiration!groups,!that!is,!groups!for!which!the!consumer!wishes!to!become!a!
member!(Escalas!and!Bettman!2003).!On!the!other!hand,!selfEenhancers!will!
17. 4! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
be!more!likely!to!reject!brand!associations!created!by!a!celebrity!endorsement!
where!the!celebrity!associations!are!rejected!(i.e.,!a!nonEaspirational!celebrity),!
compared! to! consumers! who! do! not! have! active! selfE! enhancement! goals.!
Companies!invest!large!sums!of!money!to!align!their!brands!and!themselves!
with!endorsers.!Such!endorsers!are!seen!as!dynamic!with!both!attractive!and!
likeable! qualities! (Atkin! and! Block,! 1983),! and! companies! plan! that! these!
qualities! are! transferred! to! products! via! marcom! activities! (Langmeyer! &!
Walker,! 1991a,! McCracken,! 1989).! Furthermore,! because! of! their! fame,!
celebrities!serve!not!only!to!create!and!maintain!attention!but!also!to!achieve!
high! recall! rates! for! marcom! messages! in! todayVs! highly! cluttered!
environments!(Croft!et!al,!1996,!Friedman!and!Friedman,!1979).!Some!brands!
can!reject!celebrity!endorsement!outright!and!emerge!in!a!better!off!position!
than! their! rivals.! An! example! of! a! brand! that! has! got! it! right! is! Singapore!
Airlines.! Statistically! the! airline! provides! no! more! legroom! than! any! other!
carrier.!Yet!in!survey!after!survey!flyers!consistently!vote!Singapore!Airlines!
the!best!carrier.!Could!this!be!in!part!due!to!the!branded!fragrance!that!has!
been!subtly!infused!in!all!its!planes?!This!smell!is!integrated!into!the!hand!
towels!and!sprayed!in!all!the!cabins!before!passengers’!board.!The!reason!is!
that!smell!has!a!direct!emotional!impact!on!consumers,!bypassing!the!rational!
part!of!the!brain,!making!consumers!feel!good.!A!branded!fragrance!–!now!
isn’t!that!cheaper!than!paying!a!celebrity?!
The! celebrity’s! role! is! the! most! explicit! and! profound! in! incarnating! user!
associations!among!the!aboveEmentioned!points.!To!comprehend!this,!let!us!
analyze!the!multiplier!effect!formula!for!a!successful!brand:!S)=)P)*)D)*)AV!
Where!! S) is! a! Successful! Brand,! P) is! an! Effective! Product,! D) is! Distinctive!
Identity,!AV)is!Added!Values!
IMPACT)OF)CELEBRITIES)ON)CONSUMER)WORLDWIDE)
Celebrity!endorsement!may!not!be!as!effective!as!many!believe,!and!in!
some!major!western!markets,!has!no!strong!influence!on!a!consumer!to!make!
a!purchase,!according!to!a!poll!conducted!by!GMI!Inc.,!the!world’s!leading!
provider!of!global!online!market!research!services!and!software!(Couzens!and!
Ablett,!2005).!The!effectiveness!of!Celebrity!endorsement!in!promoting!brands!
varies! across! the! globe! reveals! the! research.! Western! nations! were! most!
indifferent! to! the! use! of! Celebrities! in! advertising.! In! the! US,! 79%! of!
respondents!said!that!Celebrity!endorsement!does!not!have!any!effect!on!how!
valuable!they!think!a!product!is!and!only!13%!thought!that!it!made!a!product!
more! valuable.! 79%! of! German! and! 71%! of! French! and! British! also! said!
Celebrity!endorsement!did!not!work!for!them.!In!China!and!Japan,!however,!
there!is!a!stark!contrast.!In!Japan,!60%!of!respondents!think!that!the!use!of!
Celebrities! in! advertising! makes! a! product! more! valuable! and! a! similar!
number!of!respondents!in!China!(52%)!and!in!Russia!(58%)!agreed.!The!GMI!
poll!also!found!that!Celebrity!endorsement!was!rated!below!other!techniques!
18. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!5!
(like!free!samples,!wordEofEmouth,!testEruns,!etc.)!to!influence!the!purchasing!
decision! of! consumers.! The! country! which! most! valued! Celebrity!
endorsement!was!Russia!with!12%!of!respondents!claiming!it!influenced!their!
buying!decisions,!making!it!the!third!most!popular!form!of!promotion!there!
after!free!samples!(46%)!and!wordEofEmouth!promotion!(30%).!
Global!media!can!make!global!stars,!but!it!does!not!mean!they!translate!into!
universal!marketing!assets!that!can!transform!any!brand’s!value!and!market!
share! in! any! country! anywhere.! Worldwide,! people! are! becoming! more!
sophisticated! consumers! who! are! less! ready! to! accept! simple,! uniform!
marketing!messages.!Very!strong!indifference!to!the!power!of!the!Celebrity!in!
some!western!markets!may!even!point!to!how!overt!Celebrity!endorsement!
may! be! working! in! the! reverse,! turning! consumers! away! from! the! very!
products!being!endorsed!and!so!having!a!negative!impact.!
The! use! of! a! Celebrity! is! one! of! the! most! successful! ways! of! gaining! the!
consumer’s!attention!and!getting!him!or!her!to!infer!the!right!message!in!a!
limited!amount!of!space!and!time.!Celebrities!are!used!by!marketers!to!build!
their!brands.!Branded!products!are!successful!because!consumers!prefer!them!
to!„ordinary‟!unbranded!products.!In!addition!to!the!psychological!factors,!
brands! give! consumers! the! means! whereby! they! can! make! choices! and!
judgements.!The!secret!to!successful!branding!is!to!influence!the!decisions,!i.e.!
the!way!consumers!perceive!the!product,!and!brands!can!affect!the!minds!of!
the!consumers!by!appealing!to!the!information!acquired!and!analysed.!And!
this! is! what! a! Celebrity! does.! He/she! tries! to! manipulate! the! purchase!
behavioral! intention! of! a! customer! by! promoting! the! endorsed! brand.!
Friedman! and! Friedman! (1979)! suggested! that! the! promotion! of! branded!
luxury! goods! by! Celebrity! endorsers! would! lead! to! a! significantly! more!
positive!purchase!intention!than!advertisements!using!an!“expert”!or!“typical!
consumer”!endorser.!Further,!in!a!study!concerning!adolescents,!Bush,!et!al.!
(2004)! advocate! that! Celebrity! sports! athletes! have! a! positive! influence! on!
adolescents‟!favorable!wordEofEmouth!and!brand!loyalty.!Though!studies!are!
in!disagreement!that!whether!it!is!the!physical!attractiveness!of!the!Celebrities!
or!perceived!expertise!that!affect!purchase!intentions,!they!broadly!converge!
in! suggesting! that! use! of! Celebrities! in! brand! endorsements! resulted! in!
stronger!purchase!intention.!
Celebrity! endorsements! cannot! replace! the! comprehensive! brand! building!
processes.! As! branding! evolves! as! a! discipline! companies! must! be! extra!
cautious!to!utilize!every!possible!channel!of!communication!rather!than!just!a!
celebrity!endorsement.!When!all!steps!in!the!branding!process!is!followed!and!
implemented,!then!channels!such!as!celebrity!endorsements!can!provide!the!
cutting!edge!as!it!did!for!Nike!endorsement!romance!with!Tiger!woods.!What!
Nike! did! was! to! use! celebrity! endorsement! as! one! of! the! main! channels! of!
communicating! its! brand! to! a! highly! focused! set! of! customers.! So,! Nike’s!
association! with! Tiger! Woods! was! one! of! the! parts! of! an! entire! branding!
19. 6! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
process!that!Nike!has!been!practicing!consistently.!
There! are! hundreds! of! wellEknown! examples! of! celebrity!
endorsements,! most! of! which! were! hugely! successful! due! to! proper!
endorsement! strategy.! Italian! luxury! brand! Versace! has! used! music! icon!
Madonna! and! Hollywood! stars! Demi! Moore! and! Halle! Berry! in! its! print!
adverts!between!2005!and!2006.!Likewise!Julia!Roberts!appears!in!Gianfranco!
Ferres!adverts,!Sharon!Stone!in!Dior!and!Jennifer!Lopez,!Scarlett!Johansson,!
and! Uma! Thurman! in! Vuitton! ads.! Also,! nonEluxury! brand! Gap! has! used!
television! star! Sarah! Jessica! Parker! to! promote! its! brand! in! the! recent! past.!
Similarly!Catherine!Zeta!Jones!for!TEMobile,!Emmitt!Smith!for!Just!For!Men,!
Jason! Alexander! for! KFC.! In! India,! probably! the! first! ad! to! cash! in! on! star!
power!in!a!strategic,!longE!term,!mission!statement!kind!of!way!was!for!Lux!
soap,!a!brand!which!has,!perhaps!as!a!result!of!this,!been!among!the!top!three!
in!the!country!for!much!of!its!lifeEtime.!In!recent!times,!we!had!the!Indian!cine!
star! Shahrukh! Khan! –! Hyundai! Santro! campaign! with! the! objective! of!
mitigating! the! impediment! that! an! unknown! Korean! brand! faced! in! the!
Indian!market.!Think!of!great!cricket!star!Sachin!Tendulkar.!He!means!Pepsi!
in!soft!drinks,!Boost!in!malted!beverages,!MRF!in!tyres,!Fiat!Palio!in!cars,!TVS!
Victor! in! twoEwheelers,! Colgate! Total! in! toothpastes,! Britannia! in! biscuits,!
Visa!in!credit!cards,!Airtel!in!mobile!services!and!BandEaid.!
Businesses!have!long!sought!to!distract!and!attract!the!attention!of!potential!
customers!that!live!in!a!world!of!everEincreasing!commercial!bombardment.!
Everyday! consumers! are! exposed! to! thousands! of! voices! and! images! in!
magazines,! newspapers,! and! on! billboards,! websites,! radio! and! television.!
About!20%!of!U.S.!ads!feature!celebrities!(Solomon!2009),!and!the!percent!of!
ads!using!celebrities!in!other!countries,!such!as!Japan,!is!thought!to!be!even!
higher.!
So,! use! of! celebrities! as! part! of! marketing! communication! strategy! is! fairly!
common!practice!for!major!firms!in!supporting!corporate!or!brand!imagery.!
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20. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!7!
CELEBRITY) ENDORSEMENTS)
AND$BRAND$PERSONALITY!
Definition)Of)A)Brand)
Kotler! and! Keller! (2006:274)! acknowledge! the! American! Marketing!
Association’s!definition!of!a!brand!as!a!“name,!term,!sign,!symbol,!design,!or!
a!combination!of!them,!intended!to!identify!the!goods!or!services!of!one!seller!
or! group! of! sellers! and! to! differentiate! them! from! those! of! competitors”.! A!
brand!is!thus!a!product!or!service!that!adds!dimensions!which!differentiate!it!
in! some! way! from! other! products! or! services! designed! to! satisfy! the! same!
need.!
Jack) Welch,! the! former! CEO! of! General! Electric,! once! said,! “Our! most!
valuable! assets! are! our! intangible! assets.”! The! intangible! asset! he! was!
referring!to!is!a!brand.!The!Dictionary!of!Business!&!Management!defines!a!
brand!as:!“a!name,!term,!sign,!symbol,!or!design,!or!a!combination!of!them,!
intended!to!identify!goods!or!services!of!one!seller!or!a!group!of!sellers!and!to!
differentiate!them!from!those!of!competitor”.!
The)History)of)Brands)
Branding!is!not!a!new!concept.!Branding!has!been!used!since!earliest!times!by!
producers!wanting!to!identify!their!products.!According!to!Van!den!Heever!
(2000:9),!the!word!brand!comes!from!the!old!German!word!“brandr”,!which!
means! to! burn.! Branding! has! from! earliest! times! been! associated! with!
proclaiming! ownership! of! property,! and! although! the! concept! of! branding!
has!become!considerably!more!complex!in!the!last!hundred!years,!the!idea!of!
ownership! still! exists.! Consumers! soon! began! to! have! preferences! for! the!
goods! of! particular! manufacturers! or! began! to! develop! loyalties! to! certain!
merchants!whose!wares!were!of!satisfactory!quality.!
Brands! as! they! are! known! today! are! more! than! just! convenient! ways! to!
distinguish!one!product!from!another.!Keller!(2003:2)!states!that!organizations!
have!come!to!the!realization!that!one!of!their!most!valuable!assets!is!the!brand!
associated!with!their!products!or!services.!Brands!have!become!sophisticated!
marketing!tools,!as!well!as!having!considerable!monetary!value!in!their!own!
right.!Brands!provide!functional,!emotional!and!selfEexpressive!benefits!and!
provide!value!to!the!consumer,!as!well!as!the!reason!for!making!one!brand!
choice!over!another.!
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21. 8! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
Brand)personality)
A!set!of!human!characteristics!that!are!attributed!to!a!brand!name.!A!
brand! personality! is! something! to! which! the! consumer! can! relate,! and! an!
effective! brand! will! increase! its! brand! equity! by! having! a! consistent! set! of!
traits.! This! is! the! addedEvalue! that! a! brand! gains,! aside! from! its! functional!
benefits.! There! are! five! main! types! of! brand! personalities:! excitement,!
sincerity,! ruggedness,! competence! and! sophistication.! Customers! are! more!
likely!to!purchase!a!brand!if!its!personality!is!similar!to!their!own.!Examples!
of!traits!for!the!different!types!of!brand!personalities:!!
Excitement:!carefree,!spirited,!youthful!!
Sincerity:!genuine,!kind,!familyEoriented,!thoughtful!!
Ruggedness:!rough,!tough,!outdoors,!athletic!!
Competence:!successful,!accomplished,!influential,!a!leader!!
Sophistication:!elegant,!prestigious,!pretentious!
!
Most!brands!start!a!life!without!personality.!LetVs!be!honest,!a!brand!by!itself!
will!never!walk,!talk!and!get!photographed.!But!by!tying!it!with!a!celebrity,!
the! name! of! a! product! or! a! company! can! take! on! instant! glitz,! glamour,!
charm,!sex!appeal!and!aspiration.!D.!Reeder!(Greenlight!L.A)!said,!XPeopleVs!
fascination!with!celebrities!isnVt!going!away.!The!use!of!celebrities!is!here!to!
stay.!But!in!what!form!is!the!open!question.X!Now!to!derive!some!strategic!
path!of!the!endorsement,!endorsing!brand!need!to!assess!the!impact!of!the!
chosen!celebrity!on!the!particular!brand.!
Definition)of)a)Celebrity)
Per!se,!a!dictionary!meaning!of!this!word!is!“a!famous!personX.!A!person!who!
has!excelled!in!his!/!her!field!of!action!or!activity.!In!our!dayEtoEday!activity,!
we! perform! many! acts,! may! at! home,! at! work! place,! on! field! in! sports,! in!
social!life.!But!these!acts!may!be!daily!routine!or!just!XactsX!per!say!giving!no!
extraEordinary! results,! not! noticed! by! anybody! surrounding,! and! not! taken!
into!notice!by!Media.!
But! by! all! means! these! acts! should! be! with! good! cause,! positive! results,!
morally!good!and!acceptable!results.!Eg.!A!bandit!queen!of!Chambal!valley!
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was!very!famous,!but!was!terror!before!her!surrender!to!police.!But!she!never!
becomes! celebrity.! But! an! actress! Ms! Seema! Biswas! who! acted! in! film! on!
XBandit!QueenX!on!life!of!that!bandit,!became!very!famous!and!a!Celebrity.!
A!celebrity!is!perceived!as!god!by!masses.!They!touch!their!feet,!create!idols!
and! worship,! garland! their! photographs,! perform! XYagnyasX! for! their! idols!
performance,! wait! for! their! XDarshanX! in! hot! sun! or! heavy! rains! for! hours!
together,!follow!fashions!of!them!E!wear!similar!clothes!or!have!similar!hair!
style!as!that!of!celebrity,!and!on!wrong!side!even!commit!suicide!if!celebrity!
FAILS!to!deliver!results.!
They! have! tremendous! mass! followings.! They! pull! crowds! with! their!
presence! only.! If! it! is! understood! that! Amitabh! Bachchan! is! coming! for!
shooting!a!film,!to!a!particular!location!on!a!particular!day,!then!there!is!big!
commotion!in!that!area.!
According!to!Friedman)and)Friedman,!a!“celebrity!endorser!is!an!individual!
who!is!known!by!the!public!for!his!or!her!achievements!in!areas!other!than!
that! of! the! product! class! endorsed”.! Compared! to! other! endorser! types,!
famous!people!always!attach!a!greater!degree!of!attention,!recall!and!loyalty.!
In! this! age! of! intense! competition,! where! capturing! a! position! in! the!
consumers’! mind! space! is! extremely! tough,! celebrity! endorsements! give! an!
extra!edge!to!the!companies!for!holding!the!viewers’!attention.!Celebrities!can!
catalyze!brand!acceptance!and!provide!the!enormous!momentum!that!brands!
require!by!endorsing!the!intrinsic!value!to!the!brand.!Like:!
a.)Actors) (e.g.,! Amitabh! Bachchan,! Shahrukh! Khan,! Aishwarya! Rai,,! Preity!
Zinta,!Aamir!Khan!and!Pierce!Brosnan).!
b.)Models) (e.g.,! Mallaika! Arora,! Milind! Soman,! etc),! c.)Television)
Personalities!(Husain,!Smriti!Irani),!
d.)Sports) figures) (e.g.,! Sachin! Tendulkar,! Sania! Mirza,! Anna! Kournikova,!
Michael!Schumacher,!Tiger!Woods,!etc),!
e.)Entertainers) (e.g.,! Cyrus! Broacha,! Oprah! Winfrey,),! f.)PopOstars) (e.g.,!
Madonna,!Shakira).!
Basically,!celebrities!act!as!spokesEpeople!in!advertising!to!promote!products!
and!services,!which!is!referred!to!celebrity!endorsement.!
WHAT)IS)PRODUCT)ENDORSEMENT?!
A!product!endorsement!is!a!form!of!testimonial!from!someone!which!
indicates! that! they! like! or! approve! of! a! product.! Commonly,! product!
endorsements!are!solicited!from!people!who!are!socially!prominent,!allowing!
companies!to!advertise!their!products!with!statements!like!“as!used!by!suchE
23. 10! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
andEsuch!an!actress,”!or!“the!official!product!of!company/event!X.”!ItVs!hard!
to!miss!a!product!endorsement!on!product!packaging!and!in!advertisements;!
most! companies! keep! their! endorsements! front! and! center! so! that! they! are!
always!in!the!public!eye.!
The! concept! of! the! product! endorsement! is! quite! ancient.! In! England,! for!
example,! several! companies! have! been! advertising! themselves! as! “by!
appointment!to!the!Queen”!for!hundreds!of!years,!indicating!that!they!enjoy!
the!patronage!of!the!British!royal!family.!Consumers!are!often!seduced!by!the!
idea! of! purchasing! a! product,! which! is! endorsed! by! someone! wealthy! or!
famous,! as! though! by! buying! the! product,! the! consumer! also! becomes!
affiliated!with!the!person!who!endorses!it.!Modern!product!endorsements!can!
come!with!contracts!worth!substantial!amounts!of!money.!For!example,!many!
sports!stars!agree!to!participate!in!product!endorsement!campaigns!with!the!
understanding!that!the!company!will!compensate!them!for!the!trouble;!some!
stars! donate! the! proceeds! to! charities! they! support,! using! the! product!
endorsement!as!a!public!relations!campaign.!In!exchange!for!an!endorsement!
contract,!someone!may!agree!to!use!the!product!publicly!whenever!possible,!
and!they!may!be!restricted!from!using!products!made!by!a!competitor.!
A!product!endorsement!doesnVt!necessarily!mean!that!a!product!is!good.!It!
just! means! that! the! company! has! managed! to! work! its! public! relations!
connections!to!get!a!big!name!associated!with!it.!Some!endorsements!take!the!
form! of! written! testimonials,! where! people! write! about! how! the! product!
changed!their!lives.!Historically,!such!testimonials!were!often!printed!on!the!
product! packaging! directly;! modern! testimonials! are! more! commonly!
included! in! advertising! campaigns,! with! excerpts! only! on! the! packaging.!
Many!companies!also!use!photographs!of!famous!people!on!their!products!to!
create! a! visual! connection! between! the! endorser! and! the! product,! which! is!
why!sports!stars!appear!on!various!sports!merchandise.!
WHAT)IS)CELEBRITY)ENDORSEMENT?!
The!use!of!celebrities!in!order!to!increase!the!sales!and/!or!the!recall!
value!of!a!brand!is!called!celebrity)endorsement.!
The!late!V80s!saw!the!beginning!of!celebrity!endorsements!in!advertising!in!
India.!Hindi!film!and!TV!stars!as!well!as!sportspersons!began!encroaching!on!
a!territory!that!was,!until!then,!the!exclusive!domain!of!models.!There!was!a!
spurt! of! advertising,! featuring! stars! like! Tabassum! (Prestige! pressure!
cookers),!Jalal!Agha!(Pan!Parag),!Kapil!Dev!(Palmolive!Shaving!Cream)!and!
Sunil!Gavaskar!(Dinesh!Suitings).!Of!course,!probably!the!first!ad!to!cash!in!
on!star!power!in!a!strategic,!longEterm,!mission!statement!kind!of!way!was!for!
Lux!soap,!a!brand!which!has,!perhaps!as!a!result!of!this,!been!among!the!top!
three!in!the!country!for!much!of!its!lifetime.!
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Endorsements!by!celebrities!have!started!since!a!long!time.!One!of!the!first!
sports! endorsements! in! India! was! when! Farokh! Engineer! became! the! first!
Indian!Crickets!to!model!for!Brylcream!The!Indian!cricket!teams!now!earns!
roughly! Rs.! 100! crore! through! endorsements.! There! was! a! spurt! of!
advertising,! featuring! stars! like! tabassum! (Prestige! Pressure! cookers).! Jalal!
Agha!(Pan!Parag).!Kapil!Dev!(Palmolive!Shaving!cream)!and!Sunil!Gavaskar!
(Dinesh! Sutings).! The! very! fact! that! their! use! has! continued! for! so! long! is!
proof!enough!of!its!immense!advantages,!but!they!have!several!disadvantages!
too.!When!it!comes!to!celebrity!endorsement,!the!first!brand!that!comes!to!the!
Indian!mind!is!that!of!Lux,!the!Beauty!Bar!of!the!Stars.!Since!its!inception,!Lux!
the!brand!has!grown!positioning!itself!thus.!However,!recently!Lux!has!tried!
to!change!its!positioning!from!being!a!woman’s!soap!to!being!soap!for!men!as!
well.! Sticking! to! its! strategy! of! using! celebrities! to! appeal! to! its! target!
audience,!this!time!around!it!has!used!Shah!Rukh!Khan!to!endorse!Lux!and!
response!has!been!confusing.!!
RISE)OF)CELEBRITY)CULTURE!
The! modern! mass! media! has! increased! the! exposure! and! power! of!
celebrity.!Often,!celebrity!carries!with!it!immense!social!capitals!that!is!highly!
sought! after! by! some! individuals.! High! paying! jobs! and! other! social! perks!
unavailable!to!most!people!are!readily!available!to!celebrities,!even!for!wok!
not!connected!to!the!talents!or!accomplishment!that!made!them!famous.!For!
example!a!retired!athletes!might!receive!high!‘speaking!fees‘!or!compensation!
for! public! appearances,! despite! his! talent! having! been! sports.! Often,!
celebrities! cannot! escape! the! public! eye! &! risk! being! followed! by! fans.! As!
well,! child! celebrities! are! notorious! for! having! poor! emotional! health! in!
adulthood,!and!often!turn!to!drug!and!alcohols!abuse!when!their!fame!fades.!
In!India!today,!the!use!of!celebrity!advertising!for!companies!has!become!a!
trend! and! a! perceived! winning! formula! of! corporate! image! building! and!
product! marketing.! Associating! a! brand! with! a! topEnotch! celebrity! can! do!
more!than!perk!up!brand!recall.!It!can!create!linkages!with!the!stars!appeal,!
thereby!adding!refreshing!and!new!dimensions!to!the!brand!image.!
In! a! world! filled! with! faces,! how! many! do! you! remember?! Admittedly! the!
ones! that! evoke! some! kind! of! feel! in! you,! whether! it’s! humors,! acceptance,!
appreciation!or!recognition.!These!are!the!faces!you’d!turn!to!look!at,!the!ones!
that!would!stop!you!in!your!tracks.!And!that’s!when!you!have!more!than!just!
a!face.!You!have!personality.!“Personality!that’s!reflective!of!the!brand!and!
promises!to!take!it!that!extra!mile”.!
As! existing! media! get! increasingly! cluttered,! the! need! to! stand! out! has!
become!paramountE!and!celebrities!have!proved!to!be!the!ideal!way!to!ensure!
brand! prominence.! Synergizing! personality! with! product! and! message! can!
create!an!instant!breakthrough.!Result?!Brand!buzz.!People!begin!to!notice,!
25. 12! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
opportunities!come!about.!People!want!to!be!part!of!the!brand.!“Touch!it.!Feel!
it.!Experience!it.”!
!‘Celebrities!as!brands’!is!a!conceptEselling!challenge,!as!the!current!notion!of!
celebrity! management! is! far! from! ideal! –! it’s! perceived! as! a! business! that!
merely!attaches!celebrity!to!the!brand!to!get!that!added!advantage.!However,!
the!actual!job!is!not!mere!brokerage!EEE!it’s!about!selecting!a!celebrity!whose!
characteristics’!are!congruent!with!the!brand!image.!
Using!celebrities!in!advertising!dates!back!to!the!late!nineteenth!century!and!
this! common! advertising! practice! has! drawn! a! considerable! amount! of!
academic! and! practical! attention.! Most! academic! investigations! of! celebrity!
endorsement!have!been!contextualized!in!the!realm!of!source!credibility!and!
attractiveness! models,! and! suggest! that! celebrities! exert! their! influence! on!
consumer! through! perceived! attributes! such! as! expertise,! trustworthiness,!
attractiveness,!familiarity,!and!likeability.!
Celebrities! embody! a! collection! of! culturally! relevant! images,! symbols,! and!
values.!As!the!images!of!the!celebrity!become!associated!with!the!products!
through!endorsement,!the!meanings!they!attach!to!the!product!are!transferred!
to!consumer!through!and!consumption.!Therefore,!the!practice!for!celebrity!
endorsement! should! be! closely! related! to! the! cultural! context! in! which! the!
images!of!celebrities!are!formed!and!individual!celebrities!are!selected!to!be!
linked!with!particular!products.!
For!advertising!practitioners,!employing!an!appropriate!celebrity!endorser!to!
promote!a!product!is!important!and!difficult!tasks.!Familiarity,!as!well!as!the!
fit!between!celebrity!and!the!product,!as!important!factors!for!choosing!the!
appropriate!endorsers.!
Other! highly! ranked! decision! factors! include! celebrity/! targetE! audience!
congruence,!costs!of!securing!the!celebrity,!the!celebrity’s!risk!of!controversy,!
and!the!celebrity’s!prior!endorsement.!As!suggested!by!Erdogan,!Baker,!and!
Tagg!(2001),!the!perceived!importance!and!the!actual!use!of!endorser!selection!
criteria! may! vary! from! culture! to! culture.! Differences! in! the! entertainment!
industry! and! the! agency! business,! and! more! broadly,! in! the! cultural!
environments! are! likely! to! influence! the! execution! of! the! celebrity!
endorsement!strategy!across!countries.!
Arguing! for! standardized! advertising! across! countries,! some! contend! that!
consumer!demands!and!tastes!have!become!similar!on!a!global!scale!(and!that!
using! celebrities! with! world! wide! recognition! in! advertising! is! an! effective!
means! of! overcoming! cultural! difficulties.! Others! claim! that! despite! some!
observed! convergence! among! consumer! around! world,! fundamental! values!
still! remain! divergent! across! cultures.! Therefore,! international! advertisers!
cannot! assume! that! the! same! advertising! technique! should! be! uniformly!
26. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!13!
applied!or!that!it!will!be!equally!effective!in!different!countries.!
Celebrity! endorsements! are! very! expensive.! Therefore! their! use! in! an! ad!
should!be!justified.!In!other!words,!the!message!strategy!for!a!brand!should!
strongly! warrant! the! use! a! known! face! in! an! idea.! Sadly,! very! often! the!
celebrity!is!hired!first!and!an!idea!is!then!weaved!around!his!or!her!presence.!
The!important!thing!to!remember!is!that!putting!a!celebrity!in!an!ad!is!not!an!
idea! in! itself.! Unfortunately,! this! is! how! most! celebrities! are! being! used! in!
Indian!advertising,!where!they!just!become!a!prop.!Ideally,!there!should!be!an!
idea!that!makes!the!celebrity!relevant!to!the!product!and!the!consumer.!
A!celebrity’s!presence!in!the!ad!should!be!contextual.!When!Sachin!Tendulkar!
declares,!“Boost!is!the!secret!of!my!energy,”!it!doesn’t!seem!out!of!context.!
Internationally,!Nike’s!association!with!Michael!Jordan!is!legendary!and!also!
logical.!
Celebrity!endorsements!work!best!when!the!celebrity!is!not!introducing!the!
brand.!When!the!product!already!has!a!strong!identity!and!a!USP!that!is!well!
established,!then!a!celebrity!can!come!in!and!give!the!brand!an!added!fillip!
and! generate! some! more! interest! value.! However,! what! is! of! paramount!
importance!is!to!find!a!complete!fit!between!the!values!of!the!brand!and!the!
values!of!the!celebrity.!One!needs!to!create!a!unique!situation!or!story!that!
links!the!celebrity!to!the!product.!
IS)IT)SMART)TO)USE)CELEBRITY)ENDORSEMENT)FOR)BRANDING?!
Stars,! who! are! known! to! shape! destinies,! cast! an! enormous! influence.! No,!
we’re!not!talking!about!astrology!here.!We’re!referring!to!the!powerful!effect!
of!celebrities!on!destinies!of!brands.!One!approving!nod!from!a!famous!face!
can!translate!into!millions!in!brand!sales.!Perhaps!that’s!why!the!world!over,!
companies! have! been! using! stars! to! endorse! everything,! from! food! to! food!
chains,! from! soft! and! hard! drinks! to! health! drinks,! from! clothes! and!
accessories!to!cars!(and!the!tyres!on!which!they!run).!Even!political!parties!are!
awestruck!by!the!charisma!of!stars.!Such!is!the!magnetism!of!celebrities!in!this!
country!that!in!the!recent!general!elections,!major!political!parties!fielded!a!
record! number! of! film! stars! and! cricketers! to! contest! from! important!
constituencies!around!the!country.!
CELEBRITY)ENDORSEMENTS)AS)A)STRATEGY!
Signing! up! stars! for! endorsements! is! a! timeEtested! strategy! and! has! been!
effectively!used!by!some!of!the!top!brands!in!the!world!including!Nike!and!
Pepsi.! In! India! too,! HLL! has! used! Hindi! film! stars! to! endorse! their! beauty!
soap!Lux!since!the!fifties.!Vimal,!Thums!Up,!Gwalior!and!Dinesh!are!some!of!
the!other!brands!that!used!starEappeal!in!the!early!days!of!mass!advertising.!
And!who!can!forget!Kapil!‘Palmolive’!Dev?!
27. 14! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
Marketers! believe! that! star! endorsements! have! several! benefits,! key! among!
them!being!building!credibility,!fostering!trust!and!drawing!attention!or!any!
or!all!of!which!can!translate!into!higher!brand!sales.!
So! how! does! one! decide! whether! to! put! a! celebrity! in! an! ad?! Ideally,! this!
should!be!dictated!by!the!communication!idea.!MG!Parmeswaran,!Executive!
Director! of! FCB! Ulka! says,! “As! advertising! professionals,! we! recommend!
celebrity!endorsements!when!the!case!is!justified.!There!are!many!cases!where!
you! need! to! use! the! celebrity! to! break! out! of! a! category! clutter.! At! times!
celebrity!endorsement!is!used!to!build!credibility!to!the!brand!offer.”!
Most!experts!concur!that,!when!used!judiciously,!celebrity!endorsements!can!
be! an! effective! strategy.! According! to! Mohammed! Khan,! Chairman! of!
Enterprise!Nexus,!“Using!a!celebrity!by!itself!is!not!a!bad!idea!provided!it!is!
done! intelligently.”! And! there! are! many! examples! of! good! and! bad! use! of!
celebrities.!
Take!Amitabh!Bachchan,!who!has!been!used!by!some!companies!like!Parker!
Pens!and!ICICI!Home!Loans!remarkably!well!while!some!others!have!been!
unable!to!exploit!his!Big!B!status!too!well.!Shah!Rukh!Khan’s!endorsement!of!
Hyundai!i10!too!seems!to!have!worked!well.!
Parmeswaran!adds,!“We!used!cricketers!like!Rahul!Dravid!for!Castrol!in!an!
attempt! to! break! out! of! the! clutter,! as! well! as! have! an! image! rub! off! of!
‘dependability’!on!to!the!brand.”!
Yet,!there!are!some!who!don’t!have!much!conviction!in!star!endorsements.!
Adrian!Mendonza,!Executive!VP!and!Creative!Director!of!Rediffusion!DY&R!
does! not! recommend! celebrity! endorsements! because! he! thinks! that! to! be!
really!successful,!a!brand!needs!to!have!a!strong!identity!of!its!own.!It!should!
ideally! not! piggyback! on! the! identity! of! a! celebrity! and! hope! to! achieve!
success.!Mendonza!adds,!“I!somehow!get!this!feeling!that!not!much!effort!is!
put!in!to!think!through!an!ad!with!a!celebrity.!Most!times!it!seems!like!it!is!
just!the!celebrity!saying!‘I!use!this!product,!so!why!don’t!you’!kind!of!thing!
and!the!ad!agency!thinks!it!has!done!its!job.”!
CELEBRITY)ENDORSEMENTS:)KEY)TO)MARKETING)SUCCESS!
When!you!tell!people!that!a!product/service!can!help!them,!they!may!or!may!
not!believe!you.!After!all,!you!have!a!vested!interest!in!selling!your!services.!
But!when!celebrities!say!that!the!particular!product/service!has!helped!them,!
and!it!could!help!others,!people!tend!to!listen!—!and!believe.!After!all,!most!
people!assume!Xhe!wouldnVt!say!it!if!it!werenVt!true.X!
As!Marketing!expert!Patrick!Bishop!—!coEauthor!of!XMoney!Tree!Marketing:!
Innovative!Secrets!That!Will!Double!Your!SmallEBusiness!Profits!in!90!Days!
28. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!15!
or!LessX!—!noted:!0When)you)get)a)celebrity)to)endorse)your)company)or)sign)a)
licensing)agreement,)you)benefit)from)customers9)awareness)of)the)property,)[which])
could)include)the)perception)of)quality,)educational)value)or)a)certain)image.0!
After!researching!the!impact!of!celebrity!endorsements,!Melissa!St.!James,!a!
doctoral! fellow! and! marketing! instructor! at! The! George! Washington!
University!concluded,!
0Studies) show) that) using) celebrities) can) increase) consumers9) awareness) of) the) ad,)
capture) [their]) attention) and) make) ads) more) memorable0) (quoted! in! XCelebrity!
Endorsements,X! by! Kimiko! L.! Martinez,! Entrepreneur9s) StartBUps) magazine,!
May!2001).!
If! youVre! not! convinced! yet! of! the! effectiveness! of! celebrity! endorsements,!
hereVs!what!Jonathan!Gaines,!president!and!CEO!of!top!marketing!firm!DMS!
Strategies!has!to!say:!
0HighBprofile)endorsements)from)athletes)and)celebrities)will)set)you)apart)from)your)
competitors,) and) you) can) become) a) contender) in) the) playing) field) —a) celebrity)
spokesperson)can)work)for)companies)of)all)sizes.0))
XMany! companies! have! had! considerable! success! using! celebrities! as!
spokespersons,! especially! athletes,X! stated! researchers! Amy! Dyson! and!
Douglas! Turco,! in! XThe! State! of! Celebrity! Endorsement! in! Sport,X! for! the!
CyberBJournal)of)Sport)Marketing.)They!found!that,!in!1995,!U.S.!companies!paid!
more!than!$1!billion!to!2,000!athletes!for!endorsement!deals,!and!that!sport!
endorsers! were! featured! in! 11%! of! all! television! advertisements! that! same!
year.!XResearch!has!indicated!that!customers!are!more!likely!to!choose!goods!
and!services!endorsed!by!celebrities!than!those!without!such!endorsements,X!
they!concluded.!
Their!research!shows!that!one!of!the!advantages!to!celebrityEbased!marketing!
campaigns!is!that:!
“Famous)people)hold)the)viewer9s)attention.)In)this)era)of)soundBbytes)and)channel)
surfing,)there)is)a)demand)for)people9s)time)and)focus.”)
Of! course,! any! marketing! material! —! even! with) a! powerful! celebrity!
endorsement!—!must!be!a!combination!of!both!education!and!sales.!
CELEBRITY)BRANDING)AND)ITS)EFFECT)ON)CONSUMERS!
It! is! a! known! fact! that! the! best! endorsements! achieve! an! effective! balance!
between!the!product!(brand)!and!the!celebrity.!Giving!a!brand!a!VfaceV!is!more!
than!just!a!marketing!strategy!to!increase!sales!or!gain!market!share,!it!is!a!
decision!that!can!change!the!future!of!the!brand!forever.!
Choice!of!the!celebrity,!hence,!is!of!utmost!importance!and!is!usually!done!
29. 16! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
based!on!many!different!parameters!E!appeal,!looks,!popularity!or!even!just!a!
fantasy!figure!to!endorse!a!brand.!
In!todayVs!highly!competitive!markets,!big!brands!are!at!loggerEheads!when!it!
comes! to! products,! each! having! a! similar! product! to! that! of! a! rival.! Where!
does! one! brand! gain! that! competitive! advantage! E! advertising,! service,! or!
promise! of! trust.! Advertising! seems! to! be! the! best! platform! where! brands!
prefer! to! compete! on! E! right! from! hiring! the! best! advertising! agencies! to!
getting! the! biggest! celebrities.! What! would! be! the! formula! to! success! then?!
Well,!a!good!creative!agency,!a!large!enough!promotional!budget!and!a!huge!
star!to!endorse!your!brand!would!definitely!ensure!in!the!minds!of!a!brand!
management! team! a! feeling! of! security,! success! and! a! triumph! over! the!
competitors!brand.!
The!general!belief!among!advertisers!is!that!brand!communication!messages!
delivered! by! celebrities! and! famous! personalities! generate! a! higher! appeal,!
attention! and! recall! than! those! executed! by! nonEcelebrities.! The! quick!
messageEreach!and!impact!are!all!too!essential!in!todayVs!
The!importance!of!a!celebrityEbrand!match!and!the!various!roles!played!by!
them!as!brandE!associates!show!the!momentum!this!strategy!has!gained!in!the!
last!decade!or!so.!India!is!a!country!where!people!are!starEstruck!by!film!stars,!
cricketers,!politicians,!and!even!criminals.!Why?!Populations!of!1!billion!and!
ticking,!everyday!people!need!something!or!someone!to!look!up!to.!A!sense!of!
security,!admiration,!comfort,!familiarity,!and!above!all,!someone!they!aspire!
to!be!at!some!hidden!level!in!their!lives.!A!clever!marketer!leverages!this!very!
celebrity!appeal!and!successfully!carries!out!his!job!by!giving!the!brands!what!
they!want!E!profit,!market!share!and!even!recall.!But!how!much!star!power!is!
too!much?!XDoes!Salman!really!use!Wheel,X!asked!a!6!year!old!to!her!mother.!
Her!mother!laughs!and!says,!XNo!way,!just!a!gimmick.X!What!does!that!do!to!
the!brand?!
Now,!despite!the!potential!benefits!derived!from!celebrity!endorsements,!they!
increase! a! marketerVs! risk! and! should! be! treated! with! full! attention! and!
aptitude.!A!brand!should!be!cautious!when!employing!celebrities!to!ensure!
promise! believability! and! delivery! of! the! intended! effect.! As! the! celebrities!
traverse! from! a! mere! commercial! presence! to! public! welfare! message!
endorsements,!a!whole!new!dimension!is!added!to!this!process!and!helps!us!
in!achieving!a!holistic!view!of!the!impact!which!celebrities!generate!in!every!
sphere!and!segment!through!their!wellEversed!endorsements.!
The!most!important!thing!to!remember!is!that!putting!a!celebrity!in!an!ad!is!
not!an!idea!in!itself.!Unfortunately,!this!is!how!most!celebrities!are!being!used!
in!Indian!advertising,!where!they!just!become!a!prop.!Ideally,!there!should!be!
an!idea!that!makes!the!celebrity!relevant!to!the!product!and!the!consumer.!A!
30. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!17!
celebrityVs!presence!in!the!ad!should!be!contextual.!
Celebrity! endorsement! cannot! guarantee! foolEproof! success.! The! celebrity!
endorsement!strategy!must!be!integrated!with!target!market!characteristics,!
and! the! other! elements! of! the! marketing! mix! such! as! product! design,!
branding,! packaging,! and! pricing.! The! message! execution! that! will! be!
mouthed! by! the! celebrity! must! likewise! be! made! clear! and! singleEminded.!
This! can! be! done! by! aligning! the! spirit! of! the! brand! to! the! product,! or! by!
using!a!celebrity!because!it!ensures!that!people!will!notice!you,!and!hopefully!
remember!what!the!brand!is!saying.!
! !
Relationship)between)a)Celebrity)&)a)Brand!
It!is!also!important!to!view!the!consumer!in!their!social!and!cultural!setting!to!
further!see!how!celebrity!endorsements!increase!sales!and!impact!brands!over!
time.! Celebrities! usually! form! a! very! good! example! of! a! reference! group!
appeal.!This!is!particularly!beneficial!to!a!marketer!and!a!brand!who!can!cash!
in!on!the!success!of!the!star!and,!hence,!push!his!brand.!People!who!idolize!
their! celebrities,! hence,! have! a! biased! affinity! to! the! brand! their! favorites!
endorse.!As!time!passes!on,!they!believe!that!they!by!adopting!the!brand!that!
their!celebrity!endorses!are!becoming!more!like!them.!Celebrities!can!be!used!
in!four!ways!namely:!testimonial,!endorsement,!actor!and!spokesperson.!
Right!now!the!current!hot!favorite!in!India!is!roping!in!celebrities!for!social!
causes!like!AIDS,!polio!etc.!This!has!shown!to!be!having!a!positive!effect!on!
the!people.!In!India,!Bollywood!and!sport!personalities!rule!the!mindEspace!
and!airwaves.!
THE)SCOPE)OF)A)CELEBRITY)ON)THE)INCUMBENT)BRAND!
Simply! stating,! a! brand! is! a! differentiated! product! and! helps! in! identifying!
your!product!and!making!it!stand!out!due!to!its!name,!design,!style,!symbol,!
color!combination,!or!usually!a!mix!of!all!these:!Before!we!can!scrutinize!the!
effects!of!celebrity!endorsement!on!the!overall!brand,!we!have!to!ferret!the!
implicit!factors!that!act!as!sources!of!strong!brand!images!or!values:!E!
Experience)of)Use:)This!encapsulates!familiarity!and!proven!reliability.!!
31. 18! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
User)Associations:)Brands!acquire!images!from!the!type!of!people!who!are!
seen! using! them.! Images! of! prestige! or! success! are! imbibed! when!
brands!are!associated!with!!glamorous!personalities.!!
Celebrity)Endorsements)&)Brand)Building)
Belief) in) Efficiency:) Ranking! from! consumer! associations,! newspaper!
editorials,!etc.!!
• Brand) Appearance:) Design! of! brand! offers! clues! to! quality! and! affect!
preferences.!
• Manufacturer’s) Name) &) Reputation:) A! prominent! brand! name! (Sony,!
Kellogg’s,!!Bajaj,!Tata)!transfers!positive!associations.!!The!celebrity’s!role!is!
the! most! explicit! and! profound! in! incarnating! user! associations! among! the!
above! mentioned! points.! To! comprehend! this,! let! us! analyze! the! multiplier!
effect!formula!for!a!successful!brand:!E!!S)=)E)*)D)*AV)EE!the!multiplier!effect!
!Where!!
S)is!a!Successful!Brand!E)is!an!Effective!Product!D)is!Distinctive!Identity!AV)
is!Added!Values!
The!realm!of!the!celebrity’s!impact!is!confined!to!bestow!a!distinctive!identity!
and! provide! AV! to! the! brand;! the! celebrity! does! not! have! the! power! to!
improve!or!debilitate!the!efficiency!and!features!of!the!core!product.!Thus,!we!
are!gradually!approaching!an!evident!proposition!claiming,!XThe!health!of!a!
brand! can! definitely! be! improved! up! to! some! extent! by! celebrity!
endorsement.!But!one!has!to!remember!that!endorsing!a!celebrity!is!a!means!
to!an!end!and!not!an!end!in!itself.X!
An! appropriately! used! celebrity! can! prove! to! be! a! massively! powerful! tool!
that!magnifies!the!effects!of!a!campaign.!But!the!aura!of!cautiousness!should!
32. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!19!
always! be! there.! The! fact! to! be! emphasized! is! that! celebrities! alone! do! not!
guarantee! success,! as! consumers! nowadays! understand! advertising,! know!
what!advertising!is,!and!how!it!works.!People!realize!that!celebrities!are!being!
paid!a!lot!of!money!for!endorsements!and!this!knowledge!leads!them!to!think!
twice!about!celebrity!endorsements.!
IS)CELEBRITY)ADVERTISING)EFFECTIVE?!
What!are!the!benefits!of!representing!India!in!the!national!cricket!team?!It!is!
an!opportunity!to!compete!with!the!best!in!the!world!and!pitch!oneVs!talent!
against!the!best.!
It!is!an!opportunity!to!travel!around!the!world.!It!is!an!opportunity!to!uphold!
national!pride.!And!make!good!money!from!every!match!played.!
But!there!is!more,!a!ticket!to!modelling!in!the!advertising!world!(and!a!future!
perhaps!in!Bollywood).!Not!surprisingly!itVs!a!very!attractive!profession.!As!
advertisers!pour!crores!of!rupees!every!year!into!celebrity!advertising.!
Think!of!Sachin!Tendulkar.!He!means!Pepsi!in!soft!drinks,!Boost!in!malted!
beverages,! MRF! in! tires,! Fiat! Palio! in! cars,! TVS! Victor! in! twoEwheelers,!
Colgate!Total!in!toothpastes,!Britannia!in!biscuits,!Visa!in!credit!cards!&!Airtel!
in!mobile!services.!
Clearly,!an!overload!of!brands!and!categories!associated!with!one!star.!
In! the! advertising! world,! celebrity! advertising! is! seen! as! a! substitute! for!
Vabsence! of! ideasV! EE! and! actually! frowned! upon.! Yet! it! appears! again! and!
again.!The!reasons)are!quite!insightful.!
Celebrity!Endorsements!&!Brand!Building!
!
There!is!no!doubt!that!celebrity!advertising!has!its!benefits!–!
The)four)Qs:)Quick)saliency:)It!gets!cut!through!because!of!the!star!and!his!
attention!getting!value.!Nerolac!has!ensured!high!saliency!for!its!brand!with!
the!inclusion!of!Amitabh!Bachchan!in!its!advertising.!
33. 20! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
Quick)connect:)There!needs!to!be!no!insight!but!the!communication!connects!
because! the! star! connects.! Sachin! Tendulkar! &! Shah! Rukh! Khan! ensure! an!
easy!connect!for!Pepsi!with!the!youth.!
Quick) shorthand) for) brand) values:) The! right! star! can! actually! telegraph! a!
brand! message! fast! without! elaborate! story! telling.! Kapil! Dev! and! Sachin!
Tendulkar!seem!to!have!done!that!successfully!for!Boost!in!the!early!V90s.!And!
helped!to!differentiate!it!in!the!malted!beverages!market.!
Quick)means)of)brand)differentiation:)In!a!category!where!no!brand!is!using!
a!celebrity,!the!first!that!picks!one!up!could!use!it!to!differentiate!itself!in!the!
market.!Boost!did!it!in!the!malted!beverage!category.!
And!Preity!Zinta!does!all!the!above!four!for!Perk!EE!connecting!with!the!youth!
and!reinforcing!the!brandVs!youthful,!spontaneous,!energetic!values.!
In! general! celebrity! endorsements! are! impelled! by! virtue! of! the! following!
motives:!
• Instant!Brand!Awareness!and!Recall.!!
• Celebrity!values!define,!and!refresh!the!brand!image.!!
• Celebrities!add!new!dimensions!to!the!brand!image.!!
• Instant!credibility!or!aspiration!PR!coverage.!!
• Lack! of! ideas.! !An! appropriately! used! celebrity! can! prove! to! be! a!
massively!powerful!tool!that!magnifies!the!effects!of!a!campaign.!But!
the! aura! of! cautiousness! should! always! be! there.! The! fact! to! be!
emphasized! is! that! celebrities! alone! do! not! guarantee! success,! as!
consumers! nowadays! understand! advertising.! They! know! what!
advertising! is! and! how! it! works.! People! realize! that! celebrities! are!
being!paid!a!lot!of!money!for!endorsements!and!this!knowledge!makes!
them!to!think!twice!about!celebrity!endorsements.!!
Celebrity!endorsements!are!impelled!by!virtue!of!the!following!motives:!
!
• Instant!Brand!Awareness!and!Recall.!
• Celebrity!values!define,!and!refresh!the!brand!image.!
• Celebrities!add!new!dimensions!to!the!brand!image.!
• Instant!credibility!or!aspiration!PR!coverage.!
• Lack!of!ideas.!
• Convincing!clients.!
!
Certain! parameters! that! postulate! compatibility! between! the! celebrity! and!
brand!image!are:!
35. 22! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
RESEARCH'OBJECTIVES!
Objective! of! this! study! was! to! reveal! and! reEestablish! the! positive!
impact! of! celebrity! endorsement! on! brand! image! and! find! out! the! most!
prominent!factors!those!play!the!key!role!in!the!success!of!an!endorsement.!
The! research! objective! was! to! explore! the! link! between! brands! and! the!
consumer! psyche! and! determine! a! model! which! can! help! any! brand! to!
identify!the!critical!key!areas!to!concentrate!on!while!going!for!any!celebrity!
endorsement.!The!newly!evolved!model!should!lead!any!brand!towards!the!
success!of!strategic!branding!from!endorsement!aspect.!
)
The!main!objectives!of!the!study!are:! ! !
!
• Primary! Objective:! Effects! of! celebrity! endorsement! on! brand!
personality!of!Lux!soap.!
• Secondary!Objective:!!
1. To! study! the! consumer! perception! of! celebrity! personality! has!
an! effect! on! brand! personality! and! buying! behavior! taking!
example! of! the! celebrity! endorsing! Lux! brand! have! a! positive!
impact! on! the! personality! of! a! brand! and! how! it! has! helped!
create!a!image!that!it!is!a!beauty!bar!of!stars.!
2. To!understand!buyer!behavior!of!Lux!soap!use.!
3. To! extract! consumers! opinion! regarding! various! in!
advertisement!for!celebrity!endorsement!of!Lux!soup.!
Taking!the!purpose!of!the!study!and!the!objectives!into!account,!a!qualitative!
research!was!conducted,!which!was!exploratory!in!nature.!Text!data!analysis!
was!the!method!used!to!analyze!the!content!and!context!of!the!data!collected!
by! means! of! an! openEended! questionnaire.! The! data! was! collected! in! two!
phases.!In!the!initial!part!of!the!study,!focus!groups!were!conducted!among!
members!of!the!target!market!to!gain!an!initial!understanding!of!consumer!
perceptions!of!the!brand.!The!focus!groups!assisted!the!author!in!developing!
questions! that! were! used! in! the! openEended! questionnaire! in! the! second!
phase.!In!this!way,!relevant!and!meaningful!data!was!retrieved!ensuring!that!
the! research! objectives! were! met.! A! comparison! study! was! conducted! by!
means! of! the! focus! groups! to! assess! whether! the! responses! were! of! similar!
nature!compared!with!the!responses!derived!from!the!questionnaire.!
!
!
!
36. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!23!
LITERATURE(REVIEW!
Discovering!the!Consumer:!Market!Research,!Product!Innovation,!and!
the!Creation!of!Brand!Loyalty!in!Britain!and!the!United!States!in!the!Interwar!
Years,! This! paper! discusses! the! use! of! market! and! consumer! research! at!
Unilever!and!its!advertising!agency!in!Britain!and!the!United!States,!J.!Walter!
Thompson!(JWT),!in!the!interwar!period.!Research!surveys!conducted!by!JWT!
in! the! 1920sand! 1930s! helped! Lever! reposition! its! international! soap! brand!
Lux.!The!article!also!shows!that!marketing!cultural!practices!often!predate!its!
conceptualization!and!academic!theorization.!
The!Brand:!Lux!Soap!Flakes!One!of!Lever‘s!earliest!product!innovations!was!a!
production!technique!developed!in1889,!which!allowed!soap!to!be!produced!
in!forms!of!flakes.!The!resulting!product,!soap!flakes,!made!washing!easier!
and!preserved!the!garments!as!women!did!not!have!to!rub!clothes!with!the!
hard! soap! bar.! In! 1900,! Lever‘s! product! came! on! the! market! as! “Lux! soap!
flakes”.!
Moreover,! the! product! was! positioned! as! a! problem! solver! (Levitt1960);! if!
consumers! were! rich! enough! to! buy! expensive! clothes,! they! also! had!
problems!which!lowEincome!groups!did!not!have,!that!is,!the!preservation!of!
silk! or! other! expensive! clothes.! Lux! helped! solve! these! problems.! In! 1906,!
Lever! began! to! export! Lux! soap! flakes! to! the! United! States.! There,! its!
advertising!agency!JWT!suggested!that!the!traditional!positioning!of!Lux!as!a!
product!to!be!used!to!wash!woolen!garments!(see!slogan!in!fig.!1:‗‗Lux!won‘t!
shrink!woolens‘‘)!should!be!widened!so!that!consumers!saw!Lux!as!product!
that! could! be! used! for! all! fine! fabrics.! Its! advertisements! often! followed! an!
aggressive! market! expansion! strategy! for! their! products;! by! suggesting! a!
wider!framework!of!possible!uses!for!a!given!product!both!the!customer!base!
and!the!usage!rate!of!a!product!could!be!increased!(Ansoff!1957).!For!its!client!
Lever!Brothers,!this!strategy!resulted!in!increased!sales!from!10,000!cases!in!
1915! to! over! one! million! cases! in! 1918! (The! history! of! LuxFlakes‘‘1950;!
Lovett1970).! This! strategic! marketing! orientation! of! JWT‘s! advertising! is!
further!exemplified!in!its!decision!to!use!advertisements!in!1922!to!promote!
the!use!of!Lux!for!the!washing!of!dishes.!
In!the!early!1920s,!the!Lux!advertising!campaign!in!the!American!market!took!
a! crucial! turn! toward! dialogic! consumer! engagement.! In! 1924,! JWT! invited!
American! housewives! to! submit! testimonials! for! Lux! soap! flakes.! These!
letters,!of!which!about!53,000!arrived!at!the!JWT!headquarters‘,!were!used!by!
the! agency! to! conduct! a! survey! of! consumer! habits.! It! turned! out! that!
consumers!had!independently!begun!to!use!the!flakes!for!the!washing!of!their!
hands,!for!baths,!for!theirbabies,!and!for!washing!their!hands!and!hair.!
37. 24! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
Source!Credibility!of!Communication!
The! concept! of! celebrity! endorsement! has! its! origin! in! Psychology.!
Researchers! in! psychology! have! extensively! studied! the! communicatorE
messageEreceiver! relationship! and! its! sub! issues! such! as! the! impact! of!
communicator/source!capabilities!on!making!the!message!credible,!effects!of!
the!communicator!in!attitude!change!of!the!receiver,!communicator!message!
match!etc.!
One! of! the! most! studied! areas! is! that! of! Xsource! credibilityX! which! is! very!
similar!to!the!XXethosX!of!Aristotle!(Hovland!and!Weiss!1952:!McCroskey!and!
Young!1981).!Source!credibility!has!been!defined!as:!
XAttitude! toward! a! source! of! communication! held! at! a! given! time! by! a!
receiverX!
(McCroskey!and!Young!1981,!24)!!Psychology!literature!has!identified!three!
dimensions! of! source! credibility,! in! particular! when! the! source! is! an!
individual;! trust,! expertness! and! attractiveness.! !Giffin! (1967)! defined!
interpersonal!trust!in!the!communication!process!as:!
“...Reliance!upon!the!communication!behavior!of!another!person!in!order!to!
achieve!a!desired!but!uncertain!objective!in!a!risky!situation.X!(lOS)!llovland,!
Janis,!and!Kelly!(1953)!defined!expertness!of!a!source!as:!
XThe! extent! to! which! a! communicator! is! perceived! to! be! a! source! of! valid!
assertionsX! (21)!Thus! the! implication! which! can! be! drawn! is! that! more!
trustworthy!the!source,!or!the!more!expert!the!source!is!perceived!to!be,!the!
more! impact! the! message! communicated! by! him/her! will! have! on! the!
recipient.!! Though! the! dimensions! of! Trust! and! Expertness! were!
simultaneously!studied!the!dimension!of!source!attractiveness!was!studied!in!
isolation! but! almost! parallel! to! the! former! one.! The! concept! of! the!
attractiveness!of!a!communicator!affecting!the!attitude!change!of!the!receiver!
was! first! discussed! by! McGuire! (1969! ref.! 1985)! who! postulated! three!
components!of!source!valence:!credibility,!attractiveness!and!power.!McGuire!
argued!about!the!inclusion!of!the!attractiveness!of!the!source!as!a!component!
of!source!along!with!trustworthiness!and!expertise.!He!further!argued!about!
the! three! components! of! source! attractiveness;! Similarity,! Familiarity! and!
Liking,!where,!similarity)referred)to)the)supposed)resemblance)between)the)source)
and)the)receiver,)the)message;)familiarity)means)the)awareness)or)knowledge)about)the)
source)which)comes)from)exposure)and!likeability)was)the)acceptance)of)the)source)by)
virtue) of) its) attractiveness) and) appearance.) While! discussing! about! liking,!
McGuire!(1969)!opined,!
Xit!would!seem!unobjectionable!to!hypothesize!that!the!more!the!subject!liked!
the! source! of! a! persuasive! message,! the! more! he! would! change! his! belief!
toward!the!position!the!source!is!advocating.X!
38. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!25!
A! literature! review! of! experimental! studies! on! attractiveness! of! the! source!
(Joseph! 1982)! suggested! that! physically! attractive! sources! were! able! to!
generate! 11)l0re! favorable! response! from! the! consumer! in! the! context! of!
advertising.! It! is! interesting! to! note! that! studies! which! involved! the!
attractiveness!construct!in!terms!of!celebrity!endorsements!in!the!later!years!
(Baker! and! Churchill! 1977;! Bower! 2001;! Kamins! 1990;! Kamins! and! Gupta!
1994;!Misra!and!Beatty!1990;!Mowen!and!Brown!1981;!Till!and!Busler!1998,!
2000)!mostly!tested!the!effects!of!physical!attractiveness!rather!than!the!three!
components!mentioned!by!McGuire!(1969).!In!effect,!the!research!focused!on!
physical!attractiveness!instead!of!attractiveness!as!a!whole.!
Definitions!
Celebrity!has!been!defined!by!Friedman,!Termini,!and!Washington!(1976)!as!
someone!who!is,!
X.......known! to! the! public! for! his! accomplishment! In! areas! unrelated! to! the!
product!class!endorsed.”!
One!of!the!reasons!of!using!a!celebrity!is!his/her!wide!recognition!which!has!
an! impact! on! the! credibility! of! the! product! endorsed.! According! to!
McCracken!(1989),!a!celebrity!endorser!can!be!defined!as,!
.....any!individual!who!enjoys!public!recognition!and!who!uses!this!on!behalf!
of!a!consumer!good!by!appearing!with!it!in!an!advertisement.X!The!role!of!the!
celebrity! spokesperson! can! be! multiple! and! not! necessarily! mutually!
exclusive,!such!as:!
Testimonial:)Here!the!individual!attests!to!the!superiority!or!excellence!of!a!
product!or!service!on!the!basis!of!personal!experience!with!it.!
!Endorser:) Here! the! individual! is! merely! associated! with! the! brand,! which!
implies! an! endorsement.! In! this! case! the! individual! mayor! may! not! be! an!
expert!in!the!field!of!the!brand.!
Actor:)Here!the!individual!is!merely!a!character!in!a!dramatic!presentation.!
Spokesman:)The!individual!represents!the!company!or!brand,!much!as!does!a!
salesman.!(Kamen,!Azhari!and!Kragh!1975.!17)!
The!celebrity!selected!for!the!endorsement!sometimes!may!be!an!expert!in!the!
product/related!area,!such!as!Michael!Jordan!endorsing!basketball!shoes!for!
Adidas.! However,! the! celebrity! may! not! be! an! expert.! Sometimes,! the!
celebrity!may!also!have!a!longEterm!association!with!the!product!or!brand.!
39. 26! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
)
The)Meaning)Transfer)Model.!Because!of!the!lack!of!explanatory!power!of!
the! source! models! (both! source! credibility! and! source! attractiveness),!
McCracken! (1989)! proposed! the! meaning! transfer! model.! McCracken!
postulated! that! celebrities! stand! for! a! set! of! meanings! to! the! consumer.! In!
addition,!they!offer!a!range!of!personality!traits!and!lifestyles!that!cannot!be!
explained! by! the! source! models.! McCracken,! therefore,! suggested! that! a!
general!objective!of!an!ad!should!be!to!transfer!the!meaning!from!the!celebrity!
to! the! product.! The! roots! of! the! meaning! transfer! model! can! be! found! in!
McCrackenVs! (1986)! work! on! cultural! movement! of! meaning! in! consumer!
goods.!The!meaning!transfer!model!was!tested!in!a!derived!form!in!various!
areas!in!marketing!literature!such!as!Branding!(OVReilly!2005),!Cause!Related!
Marketing! (Cornwell! and! Smith! 2001),! Advertising! (Till! and! Priluck! 2001),!
Consumer! Behaviour! (Hogg! and! Banister! 2000;! Roster! 2001)! and! Event!
Sponsorships!(Gwinner!1997).!The!number!of!studies!related!to!the!concept!of!
meaning! transfer! proposed! by! McCracken! (1989)! was! few! compared! to! the!
source! credibility! and! congruence! studies.! The! early! studies! did! some!
progress! in! testing! out! the! meaning! transfer! phenomenon! Langmeyer! and!
Walker! 1991;! Walker,! Langemeyer,! and! Langemeyer! 1992)! but! after! that!
interest! dwindled! in! that! area.! Some! of! the! later! studies! have! used! source!
dimensions!to!explain!meaning!transfer!such!as!Expertise!(Peetz,!Parks,!and!
Spencer! 2004)! or! Attractiveness! and! Trustworthiness! (Charbonneau! and!
Garland!working!paper).!
Traditional! explanations! of! celebrity! endorsement! persuasion! effects! are!
based!on!the!source!effects!literature!and!find!that!1)!celebrity!endorsement!
increases!the!attention!paid!to!an!ad!(Buttle,!Raymond,!and!Danziger!2000);!2)!
celebrities!are!generally!attractive,!which!helps!persuasion!when!consumers!
are! worried! about! social! acceptance! and! others’! opinions! (DeBono! and!
Harnish! 1988)! or! when! the! product! is! attractivenessErelated! (Kahle! and!
Homer!1985,!Kamins!1990);!3)!celebrities!may!be!credible!sources!if!they!have!
expertise!in!a!particular!area,!such!as!an!athlete!endorsing!shoes!(Ratneshwar!
and! Chiaken! 1991)! or! a! beautiful! model! endorsing! makeEup! (Baker! and!
Churchill! 1983);! and! 4)! celebrities! are! often! wellEliked,! possibly! leading! to!
identification! and! consumer! persuasion! in! an! attempt! to! seek! some! type! of!
relationship! with! the! celebrity! (Belch! and! Belch! 2007).! In! traditional! dual!
process!models!(e.g.!ELM;!Petty,!Cacioppo,!and!Schumann!1983),!celebrities!
are!most!often!considered!a!peripheral!cue:!they!are!important!in!persuasion!
40. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!27!
only! when! consumers! are! not! involved! in! the! product! category! or! in!
processing! the! ad.! However,! celebrities! may! provide! central! information!
when!an!aspect!of!the!celebrity!matches!the!product!(as!with!beauty!products!
and!attractiveness;!Kahle!and!Homer1985).!Also,!as!affective!peripheral!cues,!
celebrity!endorsements!may!lead!media!weight!to!have!an!impact!on!sales!in!
mature!categories!(MacInnis,!Rao,!and!Weiss!2002).!The!company!makes!use!
of!the!celebrityVs!characteristics!and!qualities!to!establish!an!analogy!with!the!
products!specialties!with!an!aim!to!position!them!in!the!minds!of!the!target!
consumers.! To! be! successful,! brands! need! to! convince! consumers! that! they!
carry! a! different! image! and! value! from! other! competing! products! (Sadhu!
Ramakrishna,!Santhosh!Reddy,!2005).!In!other!words,!brands!have!to!show!
their!true!personality!to!the!potential!consumer(s).!It!was!not!until!the!1920s,!
however,! that! advertisers! used! famous! people! for! product! endorsements.!
Actresses!Joan!Crawford,!Clara!Bow!and!Janet!Gaynor!were!among!the!first!
celebrities!to!promote!products!(Fox,!1984).!At!that!time,!the!rationale!given!
by! advertising! agencies! for! using! celebrities! was! Xthe! spirit! of! emulationX!
(Fox,! 1984,! p.90).! About! a! decade! ago,! one! in! three! television! commercials!
used! celebritiesV! endorsements! (Business! Week,! 1978),! and! today! this!
advertising!approach!appeared!to!be!on!the!increase!across!all!media!types!
(Sherman,!1985!and!Levin,!1988).!Friedman!et!al.!(1977)!found!that!celebrities!
are! featured! in! 15! percent! of! the! primeEtime! television! commercials.! In! the!
United! States,! it! was! reported! that! about! 20%! of! all! television! commercials!
feature! a! famous! person,! and! about! 10%! of! the! dollars! spent! on! television!
advertising! are! used! in! celebrity! endorsement! advertisements! (Advertising!
Age,! 1987;! Sherman,! 1985).! Thus,! celebrity! endorsement! has! become! a!
prevalent!form!of!advertising!in!United!States!(Agrawal!and!Kamakura,!1995)!
and! elsewhere.! Today,! the! use! of! celebrity! advertising! for! companies! has!
become!a!trend!and!a!perceived!winning!formula!of!corporate!image!building!
and! product! marketing! (Media,! JulyEAugust! 1997).! This! phenomenon! is!
reflected! by! the! recent! market! research! findings! that! 8! out! of! 10! TV!
commercials!scoring!the!highest!recall!are!those!with!celebritiesV!appearances!
(Media,! Nov.! 14,! 1997).! Brands! have! become! embedded! in! the! consumer!
psyche! and! offer! consumers! the! opportunity! for! selfEexpression,! selfE
realization! and! selfEidentity.! This! effect! is! particularly! strong! in! fashion!
categories.! Barriers! including! cynicism! and! increasing! advertising! literacy!
threaten! traditional! approaches! to! brand! communications,! which! have!
traditionally! relied! on! verbal! communications! and! storytelling.! Celebrity!
endorsement! is! recognized! as! a! potentially! potent! tool! in! communications,!
with! celebrities! viewed! as! more! powerful! than! anonymous! models! and!
campaigns!tending!to!verbalize!the!meaning!of!the!celebrity!in!relation!to!the!
brand! (Brian! Moeran,! 2003).! To! the! manufacturer,! brands! offer! a! means! of!
identification! for! ease! of! handling! and! tracking,! legal! protection! and! the!
ability!to!be!distinctive.!In!addition,!branding!is!a!sign!of!quality!and!can!be!
used! for! competitive! advantage! and! increased! financial! returns! and! high!
customer!loyalty.!For!consumer,!brand!functions!as!a!means!of!identification,!
41. 28! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
reduces!search!costs,!effort!and!perceived!risk,!thereby!facilitating!a!shortcut!
in! decision! making,! and! represents! a! guarantee! of! quality! and! reliability.!
Silvera!and!Austad!note!that!the!celebrity!system!is!primarily!an!American!
cultural! enterprise! and! that! Americans! identify! especially! strongly! with!
celebrities!and!are!thus!more!willing!to!accept!and!internalize!endorsement!
messages.!Consumers!from!other!cultures!may!not!show!correspondent!bias,!
believing! that! endorsers! like! the! product! less! than! most! people.! This! was!
evident!in!a!sample!from!Norway,!where!cultural!norms!based!on!Janteloven!
suggest!that!an!individual!should!never!try!to!be!different!or!consider!himself!
more! valuable! than! others.! The! set! of! associations! consumers! have! about! a!
brand! is! an! important! component! of! brand! equity! (Keller! 1993),! and! we!
believe!that!forming!a!selfEbrand!connection!is!a!psychological!manifestation!
of! such! equity! at! the! consumer! level.! When! consumers! appropriate! or!
distance!themselves!from!brand!associations!based!on!celebrity!endorsement,!
they!do!so!in!a!manner!that!is!consistent!with!selfErelated!needs,!such!as!selfE
enhancement! (Escalas! and! Bettman! 2003).! Recent! research! indicates! that!
consumers! construct! their! selfEidentity! and! present! themselves! to! others!
through! their! brand! choices! based! on! the! congruency! between! brandEuser!
associations! and! selfEimage! associations! (Escalas! and! Bettman! 2005,! 2003).!
Brands! can! be! symbols! whose! meaning! is! used! to! create! and! define! a!
consumer’s!selfEconcept!(Levy!1959).!McCracken’s!(1986)!model!of!meaning!
transfer! asserts! that! such! meaning! originates! in! the! culturally! constituted!
world,!moving!into!goods!via!the!fashion!system,!word!of!mouth,!reference!
groups,! sub! cultural! groups,! celebrities,! and! the! media.! The! meaning! and!
value!of!a!brand!is!not!just!its!ability!to!express!the!self,!but!also!its!role!in!
helping! consumers! create! and! build! their! selfEidentities! (McCracken! 1989).!
McCracken,!highlighting!the!limitations!of!the!VsourceV!models,!puts!forward!a!
threeEstage!Meaning!Transfer!model,!which!has!been!adopted!as!the!model!
that! comes! closest! to! conceptualizing! the! process.! Dwane! Hal! Dean! (1999)!
studied! the! effects! of! three! extrinsic! advertisement! cues! viz.! third! party!
endorsement,! event! sponsorship! and! brand! popularity! on! brand! /!
manufacturer! evaluation.! It! was! observed! that! endorsement! significantly!
affected! only! product! variables! (quality! and! uniqueness)! and! one! image!
variable!(esteem).!The!third!party!endorsement!hence!may!be!perceived!as!a!
signal! of! product! quality.! Goldsmith! et! al.(200)! assessed! the! impact! of!
endorser! and! corporate! credibility! on! attitudeEtowardEtheEad,! attitudeE!
towardEtheEbrand,! and! purchase! intentions.! 152! adult! consumers! were!
surveyed! who! viewed! a! fictitious! advertisement! for! Mobil! Oil! Company.!
They!rated!the!credibility!of!the!adVs!endorser,!the!credibility!of!the!company,!
and! attitudeEtowardEtheEad! (Aad),! attitudeEtowardEtheEbrand! (AB),! and!
purchase! intentions.! It! was! observed! that! endorser! credibility! had! its!
strongest!impact!on!Aad!while!corporate!credibility!had!its!strongest!impact!
on!AB.!The!findings!suggest!that!corporate!credibility!plays!an!important!role!
in! consumersV! reactions! to! advertisements! and! brands,! independent! of! the!
equally!important!role!of!endorser!credibility.!
42. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!!!!!!!29!
Advertising! is! one! of! the! major! factors! behind! the! economic! activity! of! a!
country!as!it!not!only!helps!to!stimulate!consumption!but!also!give!models!for!
lifestyles! and! value! orientation! (Polly! and! Mittal,! 1993).! Celebrity! ads! are!
becoming! very! common! and! prominent! phenomena! in! advertising!
everywhere.! Almost! 25%! of! all! American! ads! have! celebrities! in! them!
(Stephens!and!Rice,!1998)!and!this!percentage!is!more!than!double,!up!to!70%!
in!Japan!(Kilburn,!1998).The!effectiveness!of!a!celebrity!endorsement!strategy!
may!be!mediated!by!variables!such!as!the!celebrity/product!fit,!the!product!
and!usage!occasion,!societal/cultural!conditions!and!the!volume!of!repetitive!
advertisements! featuring! celebrities.! While! brand! marketers! with! positive!
experiences! would! tend! to! believe! that! celebrity! endorsements! work! and!
some!would!disagree,!but!one!would!be!sure!that!the!magnitude!of!its!impact!
is!difficult!to!measure!even!if!sales!figures!are!at!our!disposal.!As!Ajzen!and!
Fishbein!(1980,!p.5)!put!it,!XHuman!beings!are!usually!quite!rational!and!make!
systematic! use! of! the! information! available! to! them...! People! consider! the!
implications!of!their!actions!before!they!decide!to!engage!or!not!to!engage!in!a!
given! behavior.X! Celebrity! endorsement! has! a! big! impact! on! purchase!
decision.!As!per!Neha!Taleja!(2005),!Markets!in!which!advertising!coordinates!
consumer! purchases,! celebrity! endorsements! are! more! likely! chosen! for!
products!that!have!either!of!the!following:!E!
v!High!priceEcost!margins!
v!Large!potential!customer!pools!
v!The!need!to!coEordinate!across!diverse!sets!of!customers.!
CONCEPTUALIZATION!
From! the! literature! review! on! celebrity! endorsements! and! BP,! it! is!
obvious!that!researchers!have!not!yet!looked!into!the!effects!of!the!celebrity!
personality! on! the! brand! personality.! However,! given! the! context! of!
incremental! use! of! celebrities! to! promote! brands,! this! becomes! very!
important.!Both!the!congruence!studies!in!celebrity!endorsements!(Friedman!
and!Friedman!1976;!Kamins!1990;!Kamins!and!Gupta!1994;!Mittelstaedt!and!
Riesz! 2000)! and! the! meaning! transfers! (McCracken! 1989;! Langmeyer! and!
Walker!1991;!Walker,!et!al.!1992)!studies!have!hinted!on!the!congruence!or!
transfer! of! attributes! from! the! celebrity! to! the! brand! endorsed.! Even! if! we!
infer! from! Misra! and! Beatty! (1990),! the! associative! network! of! a! celebrity!
(which! includes! his/her! personality! attributes)! should! affect! the! brand!
personality!he/she!endorses.!This!very!point!could!well!explain!the!questions,!
which!were!raised!against!the!generalizability!of!the!BP!scale!(Austin,!Siguaw,!
and!Mattila!2003;!Azulay!and!Kapferer!2003).!This!point!is!even!supported!by!
Durgee!(1998)!that!the!researchers!need!to!delve!into!the!sources!of!BP.!Thus!
we!define!the!objective!of!the!study,!which!is!to!examine!impact!of!celebrity!
endorsement!on!brand!personality!of!Lux!soap.!
43. 30! [CELEBRITY!ENDORSEMENT!&!BRAND!PERSONALITY!WITH!UNILEVER’S!LUX:!RAJ!BHAMBHANI]!
RESEARCH'METHODOLOGY!
Questionnaire!based!sample!analysis!was!the!base!of!this!study.!The!
sample! was! believed! to! be! quite! representative! of! the! population,! but!
nonetheless!it!was!a!convenience!sample!which!may!be!defined!as!‘a!form!of!
nonEprobabilistic!or!purposive!sample!drawn!on!a!purely!opportunistic!basis!
from! a! readily! accessible! subgroup! of! the! population! (Baker! 1990).! A! well!
framed! set! of! questioned! were! circulated! through! email! to! the! target!
personnel!or!some!interviews!were!conducted.!The!idea!was!to!probe!and!get!
deeper!insight!into!sales!promotion!scenario!of!Lux!!!and!to!tap!perceptions!of!
retailers!and!consumers.!In!order!to!address!above!mentioned!objectives!,!A)!
Study!of!secondary!sources!was!carried!out,!B)!Responses!of!consumers!were!
taken! using! structured! questionnaire.! Data! analysis! is! done! using! software!
packages!like!SPSS!&!MSEEXCEL.!
!
SAMPLING)TECHNIQUE))
For! my! survey! I! used! Cluster! Sampling,! Convenience! sampling! and!
Target!Sampling!technique.!I!selected!a!sample!of!200!people!around!the!area!
and! either! conducted! an! online! survey! or! interviewed! them! in! person!
according! to! the! questionnaire.! In! the! survey! I! tried! to! find! out! their!
preferences! &! tastes,! their! purchasing! habit,! are! they! brand! loyal! or! they!
consider! their! friends! advice! or! some! reference! group! during! purchasing.! I!
also!tried!to!find!out!that!are!they!satisfied!with!the!quality!or!present!stature!
of!product,!did!they!want!any!change!in!the!existing!product.!
Cluster! sampling,! where! whole! population! was! divided! based! on! different!
areas!such!as!Thane,!South!Mumbai,!NaviEMumbai!and!Mumbai!central.!And!
detailed!interview!was!done!with!different!respondents!in!each!area.!
Convenience! sampling,! where! respondents! were! selected! based! on! as! per!
convenience!of!the!researcher.!
Target! sampling,! where! target! respondents! are! identified! first! such! as!
architects,!carpenters!and!company’s!different!stockiest!and!distributors!and!
then!interview!was!done.!
Sample)Design:)
Sampling!size!=!200!Respondents!!
Sampling!technique!=!Hypothesis!Method!
Research!Instrument:!!Questionnaire,!Interview!personally!
Types!of!Questionnaire:!―!structure!
!