Celebrity endorsement
One of the most common types of endorsement is from a celebrity: one in four US adverts and one in five UK adverts feature celebrities (De Pelsmacker et al., 2017). Celebrities often cut across the different types of persona (expert, endorser and everyday) and, due to their wider exposure in the celebrity zeitgeist, as a social group, they are often deemed to have more of the TEARS characteristics than any other group.
So why are celebrities so widely used in marketing materials?
- First, we tend to notice or recognise celebrities more readily compared to other types of source, so are more likely to pay attention to those messages.
- Celebrity endorsements can often lead to more earned media coverage, especially when integrated with a social media campaign.
- Marketers hope that the social status or popularity of the celebrity will transfer on to the brand, creating an association between the two through the message. This is especially useful for aspirational products but is also used increasingly for everyday goods and services as part of wider lifestyle marketing approaches.
In the following activity, you will evaluate the benefits and risks of using a celebrity endorser when developing an IMC campaign.
Activity 4 Assessing the benefits and risks of celebrity endorsement
When used successfully, celebrity endorsers can bring numerous benefits to the brand and the IMC campaign. However, the use of celebrities is not without its risks and challenges.
Use the table below to note down as many benefits and risks as you can think of when assessing whether to employ a celebrity endorser as part of an IMC campaign. Try to find examples to support each of your suggestions.
| Benefits | Example |
|---|---|
| Risk | Example |
|---|---|
Feedback
Here are some possible benefits and risks you may have identified. It is also possible you may have identified others. That is great, but try to make sure you have used examples to support your answer – it will make your answers more persuasive and using evidence to support your claims is good academic practice.
| Benefits | Example |
|---|---|
| Celebrities bring visibility and exposure to the brand amongst their fans. This has become especially advantageous with the rise of social media, and many individuals have become very wealthy by sharing their endorsements with their followers. | Kylie Jenner can earn more than $1 million per sponsored Instagram post. Indeed, for many younger consumers, online ‘influencers’ are becoming a more trusted source than the celebrities of film, television and music. |
| Their high profile means that celebrities can improve recall and recognition levels, helping the message cut through clutter and noise. | Nike’s use of celebrity athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan and Rafael Nadal has helped the brand stay noticed and relevant in a highly competitive market. |
| As potential experts, celebrities can be very persuasive and lend legitimacy to a brand. | UNICEF is well known for employing a wide range of celebrity ambassadors to help communicate its message. |
| In an integrated campaign, celebrity endorsement can be leveraged across different promotional tools, including public relations and in-store promotions. | In 1997, Pepsi’s use of the Spice Girls (a UK all-female music group) in an integrated campaign saw worldwide sales increase by 2 per cent. |
| Risks | Example |
|---|---|
| Does the celebrity fit with the brand identity? The use of a celebrity purely for its own sake will not necessarily improve the quality or impact of a campaign. | Whilst sprinter Usain Bolt is a fine endorser for running shoes, the decision to use him to promote Virgin Media is less obvious, with the only association being the notion of speed that is played on in the advert. |
| Celebrity endorsers can be extremely expensive. These costs need to be considered and the |
The actor George Clooney’s endorsement of Nespresso has cost the organisation over $60 million by 2020. |
| Some celebrities take on so many endorsements that they lose credibility amongst the target audience due to overexposure. | Former professional footballer David Beckham has been criticised for excessive endorsements, having endorsed everything from clothing to underwear to grooming products and fragrances as well as soft drinks, food, whiskey, and even Sainsbury’s supermarket. |
| Celebrities are under constant media scrutiny and little of what they do goes unreported. A scandal (proven or otherwise), illegal activity or other wrongdoing can potentially damage a brand by association. | Suzuki dropped the UK TV presenter Ant McPartlin as an endorser following his arrest for drink driving in 2018. |
| Celebrities being caught out not using the brands they endorse is increasingly common. | Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho was released from his $1million Coca-Cola endorsement after appearing with a can of Pepsi during a press conference at Atletico Mineiro. |
Having determined the source of the message, marketers next need to consider the balance of the message.