Research on Brand Endorser and Consumer Perception

Introduction

 Celebrities, or endorsers, are personified by the public as heroes or idols, and are recognized by a large population.  These celebrities are widely known for their popularity, lifestyles, attractiveness, personalities, or appeal.  Celebrity endorsements for products can have both positive and negative ramifications in advertising.   

Research on Brand Endorser and Consumer Perception

 The best endorsements achieve the right balance of product and celebrity match-ups.  Choosing the right endorser for a specific product can have a strong appulse on consumer perception.  Therefore, by matching up the right endorser for a product can be beneficial in that the persuasive message will initiate consumer/product congruency.  These endorsements give a company’s brand a recognizable face, that in return, will build a brand’s image, generate consumer awareness, and finally, create product success.  Choosing the right celebrity for the right product is imperative for successful endorsements, which is based on celebrity appearance, level of popularity, personality, or appeal.  Moreover, advertisements that are endorsed by celebrities have a higher recall rate, than products that are not endorsed by celebrities.

Most of the American population is obsessed with celebrities, from what they wear, to the houses they live in, the cars they drive, and their relationship statuses.  People want to know all about their celebrity favorites.  These celebrities have become idols that are depicted in tabloids, magazines, entertainment television, talk shows, internet gossip columns, as well as endorsers for advertisements.  Celebrity endorsements can affect a consumer’s perception about the brand being endorsed.

A celebrity’s image plays an integral role in a product’s advertisement, especially since audiences feel as though they know them personally.  Some people idolize their favorite celebrities to a point where they emulate them, therefore, positive influence is associated with the persuasive message that celebrities can portray with the advertised product.  The positive effects that celebrity endorsers generate are the unique attention to an advertisement and brand that a non-celebrity can formulate.  The unique qualities of a celebrity can have a positive impact on a brand, such as revamping, creating, or enhancing a brand’s image.  On the other hand, the lifestyle of a celebrity (endorser) can have a negative impact on a brand’s image, if the endorser has created an image that is indubitably scandalous, especially in the eyes of the consumer, hence, placing a negative implication on the brand’s image.

One of the factors that celebrity endorsers can give to an advertisement message is credibility, through their recognizable, high profile image.  Celebrity endorsers are considered more credible than an endorser that is a non-celebrity, which in turn, may influence consumer purchases and attitudes toward a particular brand.  However, careful consideration of celebrity/product match must be implemented, for a celebrity may be the right choice to endorse one brand, but not for another brand, this is based on consumer perception of a celebrity’s unique image.

Furthermore, the celebrity’s unique image is transferred onto the products they endorse.  Those consumers that emulate their celebrity idols may be influenced to purchase products that are endorsed by the celebrities, in order to create their ideal self-image, as becoming like the celebrity idols they want to emulate.  There is a Para social interaction between celebrities and consumers, which is channeled by “fantasy relationships” that have been created by consumers because of mass media’s repetitive imagery of celebrities, thus creating fictitious interpersonal relationships with celebrity figures.  These fictitious interpersonal relationships can steer consumer’s attitudes and behaviors toward the celebrity endorser, the product endorsement, and the product itself.  Thus, favorable responses are generated when consumers perceive the images and meanings of the represented celebrity endorsement as desirable.

      Example of a good product-endorser match and its implications.

 Endorser/product match-ups, good or bad, have significant implications on a brand’s short- term health.  One of the best product-endorser matches is of sports celebrity, and National Basketball Association (NBA) legendary point-guard, Michael “Air” Jordan, who was an endorser for the sporting goods company, Nike, Inc., during the 1990s.  Jordan was renowned for his ability to defy gravity, while dunking a basketball from the foul line.  His Nike basketball shoes “Air Jordan”, and apparel, accounted for 5% of Nike’s revenue, approximately $370 million.  The good match-up between Michael Jordan and Nike produced an extremely positive outcome for the company’s brand image, as well as increased sales of Nike products, and winning against the advertising clutter.  Michael Jordan’s sports icon image was a perfect match for sporting good products.  This product/endorser match had a positive impact on the brand’s image because of its incontrovertible promotion, as well as the good fit between product and endorser, thus cultivating a brand’s short- term health. 

    Example of a bad product-endorser match and its implications.

 Product/endorser congruency is the gateway to the success of product endorsements.  A deleterious effect can infiltrate a product endorsement, if a product endorser has negative characteristics, such as overexposure, which may lead to the loss of the endorser’s creditability.  An example of an endorser with this negative characteristic is Tiger Woods, infamous for his expert skills in professional golf.  Even though Tiger is considered the world’s best professional golfer of all time, his endorsement deals, at one time, included Rolex, Nike, Target, American Express, EA Sports, Titleist, Accenture, Buick, Tag Heuer, simultaneously.  Even though some of these product/celebrity match-ups made sense, such as Titleist, Nike, and EA Sports, too many endorsements at one time, leads to over exposure, in return, consumers may not believe the endorser, and the endorser’s usage of the product, which could have a negative impact on a product’s short-term health.

 Conclusion

            Celebrities (endorsers) have an influential power in the advertising arena.  A celebrity’s popularity, as well as admiration among consumers influences consumer purchasing behavior, as well as consumer perception of a product or brand.  However, endorser selection is critical in promoting a brand, hence; the wrong selection can have severe ramifications on a brand’s image and promotion in the short-term, whereas a good selection can constitute a positive brand image and promotion, in addition to, benefiting a brand’s short- term health, as well as consumer believability of the endorser/product dynamic.