Post on 26-Mar-2015
INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Advertising The Effectiveness of Celebrity
Endorsements
M Aneeb Yasin Zeeshan Aslam
M Masood Khan Omair Mushfiq Siddiqui
This report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Advertising Course (elective) for MBA, at the IBA Karachi. We would like to thank Mr Ejaz A Mian for extending his support in making this report a possibility
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Table of Contents
List of Figures 4
Chapter 1: Introduction 5
1.1 Background 5
1.2 Statement of Problem 6
1.3 Research questions 7
1.4 Significance and Justification of the research 8
1.5 Scope of the Study 8
1.7 Key Terms 9
Chapter 2: Review of Literature 10
2.1 Introduction 10
2.2 Celebrity endorsers as Apparitional Groups 10
2.2.1 Theory of Attribution 11
2.3 Advantages of Celebrity Endorsements 11
2.4 Risks of Celebrity Endorsements 12
2.5 Fictional Celebrities 13
2.6 Cognitive Balance Theory 13
2.7 Source credibility and source attractiveness model 15
2.7.1 Endorsed brands – Consumer Involvement theory 16
2.7.2 The Elaboration Likelihood Model 18
2.8 The Meaning Transfer Model 21
2.9 Attitude towards the brand and Advertisement 22
Chapter 3: Research Methodology 24
3.1 Research Hypotheses 24
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3.2 Participants 26
3.3 Materials 26
3.4 Procedure 27
Chapter 4: Results 29
4.1 Impact of Source Factors on Ab 29
4.2 Impact of source factors on Aad 30
4.3 Impact of source factors on PI: 31
4.4 Descriptive Comparison of Ab, Aad and PI for print copies 33
Chapter 5; Discussion 39
Bibliography 41
Appendix A: Print Ads 43
Appendix B: Questionnaire 45
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List of Figures
Fig2.1 Cognitive Balance Theory
Fig2.2 Elaboration Likelihood Model
Fig2.3 McCracken’s Meaning Transfer Model
Fig2.4 Relationship between Feelings, Judgements and Ab, Aad
Fig3.1 Research Framework
Fig4.1 Relationship between Source factors and Ab (Celebrity)
Fig4.2 Relationship between Source factors and Ab (Non-Celebrity)
Fig4.3 Relationship between Source factors and Aad (Celebrity)
Fig4.4 Relationship between Source factors and Aad (Non-Celebrity)
Fig4.5 Relationship between Source factors and PI (Celebrity)
Fig4.6 Relationship between Source factors and PI (Non-Celebrity)
Fig4.7 Descriptive Statistics for Ab, Aad and PI
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Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background
Pakistani advertising industry has been using celebrity endorsement for
some time now. Imran Khan and Wasim Akram are famous examples from the
80s and 90s. Research has shown that the use of celebrities in advertisements
can have a positive influence on the credibility, message recall, memory and
likeability of the advertisements and finally on purchase intentions (Kak Yoon,
1998); (Silvera & Austad, 2004). Due to the declining effectiveness of the
different marketing communications (BlondE & Roozen, 2007) – the global
advertising industry is willing to pay the increasing rewards to the celebrities for
endorsing their product (David Beckham for Adidas $160 million; Gillette $68
million and Pepsi $25.5 million; Tiger Woods for Nike’s golf advertisements $18
million). Research also indicates that firms have a tendency to go towards
celebrity endorsements for their products when the products have a large
customer base and high price-cost margins (Clark & Horstmann, 2003).
1.2 Statement of Problem
A celebrity endorser is an individual who enjoys public recognition and
who uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in
an advertisement (or any other marketing communication). Celebrity endorsers
are typically expensive and there is a risk that the celebrity and or his/her
unexpected behavior over shadow the product. This suggests that the use of
anonymous models or even no celebrity (no picture) is still an option that should
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be investigated seriously. In the case of low-involvement products, advertisers
emphasize on the affect-based components, such as imagery, music, symbols etc.,
which leads them to employ celebrities to boost their brand’s image.
The question that needs to be answered is whether these endorsements
are able to justify the huge sums of money spent on them.
1.3 Research questions
When a brand and/or product is endorsed by a celebrity endorser, the
perceived celebrity image and the perceived brand image will interact with each
other and images will be transferred from the endorsed brand to the celebrity
endorser and vice versa (McCraken 1989). This raises the following questions:
1. What is the influence of the endorser towards the brand?
2. What is the influence of the celebrity endorser towards the advertisement?
3. What is the influence of the endorser towards the purchase intentions of the
consumer for the brand?
This study tries to answer these questions for celebrity endorsers in view of
consumer attitudes that are formed as a consequence of exposure to celebrity
endorsed advertisements. This paper takes an evaluative look at locally
produced product endorsement campaigns by measuring consumer’s attitude
towards the brand and its communication. The purchase intentions of the
consumer will also be measured to ascertain whether attitudes towards the
brand and advertisement are transferred to the consequent intentions to buy the
product.
The research phase attempts to analyze the congruency between the
celebrity endorser and the Credibility, Expertise & Attractiveness that he/she
brings to the advertisement. From thereon, the research will analyze the relative
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effectiveness of celebrity endorsement compared to “non-celebrity”
endorsement and no endorsement at all.
Advertisement effectiveness can be measured using a variety of indicators
ranging from Sales to Brand equity. However, these indicators cannot always be
directly traced back to the advertisement (Belch & Belch, 6th edition). This means
that the next method is to test the effectiveness of the advertisement directly on
the target audience. For the purpose of this study we measure the extent to
which marketing communications impact the attitude towards the brand (Ab),
attitude towards the advertisements (Aad) and finally purchase intentions (PI)
(Roozen 2004).
The research will attempt to find out whether these endorsements have
an effect on the target audience in a positive way and to what extent it does it
influence their buying behavior.
1.4 Significance and Justification of the research
Companies are investing heavy amounts on celebrity endorsements. With
the cost of doing business increasing at fast pace, businesses must rely on
research to ensure that their advertising money is well spent.
This research will investigate the phenomenon of celebrity endorsements,
to measure its effectiveness amongst the youth of the largest city in Pakistan,
Karachi.
By defining a clearly modeled approach to measuring celebrity
effectiveness, the results will help organizations who want to use celebrity
endorsements, as a part of their marketing communication strategy, analyze and
predict the relative effectiveness of celebrities.
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The research is based on written questionnaires obtained from a sample
of IBA Students. This limitation obviously implies that the study can only provide
some pointers to these research questions at hand, relevant to the Karachi youth.
However, once the analysis is replicated across different population segments to
analyze whether the results can be generalized and a better understanding of
advertisement effectiveness can attained.
Moreover, firms are investing huge sums of money in celebrity
endorsements. This research will help in determining whether the investment in
such advertisements is worthwhile.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The sample used for this study comprises students at the IBA. These
students are aged between 19 to 28 years of age and consist of both male and
female respondents.
The sample selection method used in this research is Convenience
Sampling, because of two reasons. Firstly, a list of students is not available, that
would have allowed us to select the sample in a systematic approach. Secondly,
this sample comprises students belonging to a variety of social and economic
segments, hence a fair representation of the
1.6 Limitations
Every research is prone to certain limitations, which confines its practical
application. Some of the major limitations of our research are discussed below:
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Time Constraints: The research had to be conducted within a span of 4
months. As time was a big constraint we had to use convenience sampling for
our questionnaire.
Financial Constraints: Since the researchers were personally financing the
research, it limited their options for traveling to various different places in
Karachi, and of conducting more questionnaire as it usually involves
providing incentives to the participants afterwards.
1.7 Key Terms
1. Ab: Attitude towards the brand
2. Aad: Attitude towards the advertisement
3. PI: Purchase Intentions
4. Celebrity Endorser: A publicly recognized individual who uses this
recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an
advertisement
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Chapter 2
Review of Literature
2.1 Introduction
According to McCracken's (1989) definition, a celebrity endorser is an individual
who enjoys public recognition and who uses this recognition on behalf of a
consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement (marketing
communication). Research has shown that in general celebrity endorsement
influences the feelings of the consumers and can also influence the attitude
consumers have towards the advertisement and attitude towards the brands,
which can increase the purchase intentions and, consequently, increase sales. A
large body of research on this topic exists, ranging from theories on how the
process of endorsements works, to the way their effectiveness can be measured.
2.2 Celebrity endorsers as Apparitional Groups
A celebrity endorser used in an advertisement can be interpreted as a
reference group. A reference group is defined as any person or group of persons
that serves as a point of comparison (or reference) for an individual by
communicating values, attitudes and providing a specific guide for behavior
(Mowen, 1998). An aspiration group is a derivative of the reference group: in this
case, the consumer does not belong to the group but is willing to be associated
with it. To become 'associated' with this group, consumers are willing to behave
like members of the aspiration group.
This means that consumers are trying to behave in the same manner, e.g.
try to use the same symbolic meanings – of the aspiration group. This means that
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a celebrity endorser can be interpreted as the 'personality' of the reference
group. The reference group 'rich and famous', which often correspond with the
way the ‘celebrities’ live, is frequently indicated as an aspiration group of which
consumers like to be part (Mowen, 1998).
2.2.1 Theory of Attribution
This theory suggests that when an audience is exposed to any form for
product endorsement they tend to form certain attributions to the celebrity.
Internal attributions are formed when a consumer perceives the endorser’s
endorsement as being honest, truthful and unbiased. External Attributions are
formed when an endorsement is perceived as only serving the endorser’s
purpose. Statements such as “he’s doing it for the money” or “he’ll endorse
anything that comes his way” are examples of external attributions.
External attributions are associated with a celebrity’s message in
situations where the celebrity has endorsed more than one product. This is
especially true for situations where the celebrity has endorsed products in the
same category over an extended period of time.
2.3 Advantages of Celebrity Endorsements
Potential advantages of utilizing celebrity endorsers are that it can
increase attention, polish the image of the brand, especially when a brand will be
introduced in the market or a repositioning of a brand will take place. However,
pre-testing and careful planning is very important and the life-cycle stage of the
celebrity has also to be taken into account (Ang, Dubelaar, & Kamakara, 2007).
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Celebrity endorsing has a potential advantage when a global campaign
will be organized and celebrities who are appropriate for a global target
audience can be used; however this can be also be very expensive.
2.4 Risks of Celebrity Endorsements
Companies invest large sums of money to align their brands and
themselves with celebrity endorsers. Research has shown that because of the
fame of celebrities, they do not only create and maintain attention of the
consumers but they also achieve high message recall (Clarks and Hortsman,
2003). However, companies have limited control over the celebrity's persona
which can also result in high risk and “no gain” situations (e.g. the “scandals”
surrounding celebrities like Meera, Mohammad Asif, and more recently, PEPSI
cancelled their endorsement deal with the Pakistani cricketers involved with the
spot-fixing scandel).
As a result, companies build characters (using people who are not
celebrities) which are congruent with their brands and target-audiences, and
ensure that these characters are endorsing only one particular product.
Examples of such Endorsements are Commander Safegaurd for P&G’s Safegaurd
Soap, and Fido-Dido for PepsiCo’s 7UP.
In general, potential hazards of celebrity endorsement are the costs and
that the possibility that the celebrity overshadows the brand, or that it can
change the image, that overexposure of the celebrity takes place (especially
when a celebrity become an endorser for many different products) (Schlecht,
2003)
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2.5 Fictional Celebrities
Literature suggests that created endorsers were more effective in creating
a link to the product than non-celebrity endorsers and that there were no
significant differences for the concepts ‘attitudes towards the advertisement
(Aad)’, ‘attitude towards the brand(Ab)’ and ‘intentions to purchase (PI)
endorsed brands’ between celebrity and non-celebrity endorsement
advertisements (Roozen, 2008).
When confronted with non celebrity endorsers, consumers were
significantly more focused on the brand and its features, whereas with celebrity
endorsers the subjects were significantly more concentrated on the celebrity in
the advertisement (Geuens & De Pelsmacker 1998). This finding augments
research on fictional-celebrity endorsements, by suggesting that fictional
characters, by their very existence, keep the consumer’s attention towards the
brand and its features.
In the literature, two general models are often used to analyze celebrity
endorsement: the source credibility model and the source attractiveness model.
Moreover, the Cognitive Balance Theory views the celebrity endorsement process
from the consumer’s cognitive perspective. These models will discussed in the
subsequent sections.
2.6 Cognitive Balance Theory
The balance theory was introduced by Fritz Heider in his book “The
Psychology of interpersonal Relations”. It deals with the cognitive relationships
between an observer (the audience), another person (the endorser) and an
object (the product being advertised) collectively known as cognitive elements.
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Each cognitive element is linked to another like apexes in a triangle via attitudes.
These attitudes are classified as positive (+) or negative (-).The Fig 2.1 shows
how these relationships are connected.
The balance theory states that people have a tendency to maintain
balanced states between these three cognitive elements (Mowen, 1998). Such a
balance exists when either all three attitudes or linkages are positive or two are
negative and one is positive or when all three are negative.
Advertisers use celebrity endorsers to introduce imbalance in the
framework which leads people to shift towards a balanced state. They choose an
endorser who is viewed favorably by the audience and introduce a positive link
between the endorser and the brand being advertised. This leads to an
imbalance which changes the attitude of the audience towards the brand.
Balanced States can be achieved in three ways which are not mutually
exclusive. First, the advertisers hire endorsers who are known to be experts so
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that people can really associate them with the product. Secondly, they hire them
for a longer period of time so that people can have a consistent image of the
brand and the endorser as being related to each other. Lastly, they have the
celebrity use and display the product in public so that the link between the
celebrity and the product is reinforced in the eyes of the audience.
2.7 Source credibility and source attractiveness model
These two models were originally defined to study the impact of the
‘source’ in the communication process (Sender MessageMediumReceiver).
They are designed to determine the conditions under which a source is
persuasive. The study of celebrity endorsements under these models is a lateral
application, since there are many types sources in a marketing communication.
The source credibility model developed by Carl Hovland and Walter
Weiss in the 1950s and is used to imply a communicator's positive
characteristics to affect the receiver's acceptance of a message. The research
concluded that the two factors trustworthiness and expertise underscore the
concept of Source Credibility (Hovland & Weiss, 1951).
Trustworthiness is defined as the degree of confidence in the
communicator's intent to communicate the assertions he considers most valid.
Research shows that when a communicator is perceived to be highly
trustworthy, an opinionated message is more effective than a non-opinionated
communication in producing attitude change. Expertise is defined as the extent to
which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertions (Roozen
2008).
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To create effective messages, celebrity advertisers also have to consider
the attractiveness of the spokesperson. McGuire’s Source attractiveness model
refers to the endorser’s physical appearance, personality, likeability, and
similarity to the receiver, thus to the perceived social value of the source
(Schlecht, 2003). The use of attractive people is common practice in television
and print advertising, with physically attractive communicators having proved to
be more successful in influencing customers’ attitudes and beliefs than
unattractive spokespersons (Ohanion, 1991). This behavior mainly goes back to
a halo effect, whereby persons who perform well on one dimension, e.g. physical
attractiveness, are assumed to excel on others as well, e.g. happiness and
coolness (Mowen, 1998).
2.7.1 Endorsed brands – Consumer Involvement theory
By analyzing the influence of celebrity endorsement on the brands and or
products shown in the advertisements, it is important to make a classification
between high and low involvement of the advertisement.
Broadly speaking, consumer involvement can exist in the following areas
of Advertisements, products, persons and personal interests (Zachkowsky,
1985). Involvement in any of these areas will lead the consumer to increase his
knowledge in the respective areas. This increase in knowledge is often
accompanied by an increase in the amount of time the person allocated to the
areas of involvement. Moreover, there is also an increase in the amount of
resources an individual is will to expend as a consequence of his involvement
(Zachkowsky, 1985).
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However, it is important to note that the level of consumer involvement is
determined by a number of internal factors (Belch & Belch, 2003). Personal
Factors, such as inherent interests, values systems, or needs that provide
motivation for certain behaviors. Characteristics of the product itself also
impacts Involvement, in the sense that if the product is relevant to the
consumers’ needs, the consumer will be more involved with the product. Finally,
situational factors, such as the environmental elements that stimulate the
generation of consumer interest in a particular object (for e.g. a flashy/eye-
catching advertisement).
Thus we can broadly classify consumers and products as high
involvement and low involvement. Involvement may also depend on the share of
disposable income the product in question requires. Expensive, durable and
capital goods (automobiles, big appliances, machinery) are generally perceived
to be high involvement product groups. High involvement may also result due to
far reaching implications of a product purchase (a nose job, joining a slimming
program, installing machinery critical to a factory) or the perceived importance
of the purchase.
When studying the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements of various
products’ print advertisement, the authors concluded that less physically
attractive or non celebrity endorsers can also have high persuasion powers
depending on the type of product (Phau & Lum, 2000). If the product is low
involvement, the use of a physically attractive celebrity endorser has a high
impact on persuading the audience.
The effectiveness of the celebrity endorser is then gauged in the following
order from most effective to least effective:
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Attractive endorser > No endorser > Unattractive endorser
If the product is high involvement, the use of a relatively unattractive
endorser can achieve the same or slightly less results as those achieved by highly
attractive celebrities. Here the effectiveness follows the order:
Attractive endorser > Unattractive endorser > No endorser
The Elaboration Likelihood Model deals with how consumers develop attitudes
and beliefs about particular endorsers and products within specific categories. It
incorporates aspects of consumer involvement and presents a model of how
consumer decision-making process differs with regards the level on
involvement.
2.7.2 The Elaboration Likelihood Model
We can link the above findings back to the Elaboration Likelihood model
ELM developed by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo which states that the
advertising message can follow one of the two routes i.e. central and peripheral
(Belch & Belch, 2003).Fig 2.2 shows the ELM in detail.
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If the product is high involvement, the central route is more likely to be
followed whereby the audience will process the information using cognition. The
information is then compared with the person’s existing attitudes about the
product. People may change their attitudes as a result of this cognition. Beliefs
and attitudes that are changed due to cognition are more enduring and
predictive of the behavior of the consumer (Mowen, 1998).
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Whether or not the central route is followed depends on the motivation
and ability to process the information. In this scenario, a highly attractive
celebrity endorser is less likely to exert a great influence over the audience. The
audience may not pay too much attention to the endorser or the mere presence
of such an endorser may obstruct the cognition process. In this case, a non-
attractive celebrity endorser may perform well.
If the product is low involvement, the audience may use a peripheral
route to process the information because they are not willing to weigh the pros
and cons of the product in question. Consumers may change their beliefs about a
particular product in this case but it is unlikely that their attitudes and feeling
will be affected as well (Mowen, 1998).
A highly attractive celebrity will be more effective when the audience is
most likely to take the peripheral route of persuasion because their involvement
is low and they do not possess the motivation to process the information. The
attractive celebrity endorser will provide the peripheral cues to the audience to
process the information. These peripheral cues bypass the cognition process and
are in the realm of affection.
The implications of the involvement and ELM theory can be translated
into monetary terms. If the product is high involvement, the advertisers need not
spend too much money on hiring attractive and well know celebrities to appear
in their ads. They can make do with an unattractive celebrity. However, they
need to fulfill the audience’s need for cognition by providing as much
information as possible and in a way that it can be processed by the audience.
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2.8 The Meaning Transfer Model
McCracken (1989) explains the process of celebrity spokespersons by
assessing the meanings consumers associate with the endorser and eventually
transfer to the brand. This perspective is shared by a number of researchers
(Kambitsis, Harahouso, & Theodorakis, 2002), who found the athletes’
personality as being an important factor in influencing “specific target groups, to
which such personalities are easily recognizable and much admired.” McCracken
suggests a meaning transfer model that is composed of three subsequent stages.
The meaning transfer process is shown in the figure below.
First, the meaning associated with the famous person moves from the
endorser to the product or brand. Thus, meanings attributed to the celebrity
become associated with the brand in the consumer’s mind. Finally, in the
consumption process, the brand’s meaning is acquired by the customer. The
third stage of the model explicitly shows the importance of the consumer’s role
in the process of endorsing brands with famous persons.
McCracken’s model is based on the concept of meanings. Celebrities
contain a broad range of meanings, involving demographic categories (e.g. age,
gender, and status), personality and lifestyle types. Madonna, for example, is
perceived as a tough, intense and modern western women, and is associated
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with the lower middle class American. The personality of Imran Khan is best
characterized as the perfect gentlemen, whereas Shoaib Akhter has the image of
the ‘Bad Boy’ or ‘Rebel’. Although these examples are based on individual
perceptions, is important to understand that the endorsers all have a set of
meanings that they bring to a product. In other words, a famous person
represents not one single meaning, but expresses a number and variety of
different meanings. According to Martin (1996), celebrity spokespersons are
useful in marketing because they provide a “set of characteristics” that supports
consumers in evaluating the presented brand.
In contrast to anonymous endorsers, celebrities add value to the image
transfer process by offering meanings of extra depth and power, what is
complemented by their lifestyles and personalities (McCracken 1989).
2.9 Attitude towards the brand and Advertisement
The Elaboration Likelihood Model suggests that consumers develop
attitude towards the advertisement by observing the degree of affect and
cognitive information from them. These attitudes influence their attitudes
towards the brand. ‘
Literature further explains that Attitude towards the ad refers to a
consumer’s liking or disliking for a particular advertising stimulus during a
particular advertising exposure. In the case of low-involvement products, the
decision making process is mainly effected by the peripheral cues in the
advertisement. Factors affecting the attitude towards the Brand include Content,
imagery vividness, consumer’s mood, emotions the advertisement elicits,
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consumer liking for the TV program in which the ad is embedded. The Figure
below shows the relationship between Ab and Aad.
When a consumer is exposed to an advertisement, she/he develops a set
of feelings and judgments about the advertisement. Moreover, the exposure to an
advertisement also impacts the consumers’ beliefs about the brand being
advertised.
The feelings developed for the advertisement in turn impact the attitude
toward the advertisement (Aad), and the judgments impacts the consumers
beliefs about the brand.
The attitude towards the advertisement and beliefs about the ad result in a
consumers Attitude towards the Brand (Ab).
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Chapter 3
Research Methodology
The model this research paper follows is defined below
The paper is going to determine whether there is a relationship between source
factors (i.e. credibility and attractiveness) and Ab, Aad and PI. Moreover, a
descriptive statistical analysis will be used to compare respondents’ score on Ab,
Aad and PI for all three print advertisements.
3.1 Research Hypotheses
On the basis of the review of the literature the conclusion can be drawn that
celebrity endorsement can be effective, but only under well defined conditions
(Clark & Horstmann, 2003). Celebrity endorsers are, however, typically
expensive and there is a risk that the celebrity and or his/her unexpected
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behavior overshadows the product. This suggests that the use of anonymous
models or even no celebrity (no picture) is still an option that should be
investigated seriously. Moreover, on the basis of research results, it is not always
significantly less effective (Roozen, 2008).
When a brand and/or product is endorsed by a celebrity endorser, the
perceived celebrity image and the perceived brand image will interact with each
other and images will be transferred from the endorsed brand to the celebrity
endorser and vice versa. This raises the following Hypotheses:
H1: Celebrity endorsements positively reinforce Brand Attitude
H2: Celebrity endorsements positively reinforce Attitude towards the Advertisement.
H3: Celebrity endorsements positively reinforce Purchase Intentions.
This study tries to test the three hypotheses for celebrity endorsers in respect of
low involvement product category product (Pantene Shampoo). The research is
based on written questionnaires obtained from a sample of the population of
IBA, Karachi
The study is articulated along two separate, but linked, areas of celebrity
endorsements. The first part attempts to analyze the congruency between the
celebrity endorser and the Credibility, Expertise & Attractiveness that she brings
to the advertisement. Here the researchers will assess the perceived fit between
the product and celebrity and compare it to the source factors of a non-celebrity
endorser. The respondents will be shown one celebrity endorsed and one non-
celebrity endorsed print advertisements, and will be asked to rate these models
on Likert scales for items that measure credibility, expertise and attractiveness
(Ohanian, 1990). An element of internal attribution will also be gauged to
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ascertain as to how the respondents attribute the celebrity’s endorsement as
being honest and credible.
In the second part the two print advertisements will be compared in
terms of their impact on the same audience’s Ab, Aad and PI. The second part will
also include in its assessment a print advertisement with no model at all.
The main objective of the second research phase is to analyze the relative
effectiveness of celebrity endorsement compared to “non-celebrity”
endorsement and “non-endorsement”.
The print advertisements used in the research have been made by the
researchers, and bear no connection with the advertisements of Proctor &
Gamble. Since this particular study deals with low involvement products, the
amount of verbalization has been kept constant for all three advertisements, to
ensure equal levels of elaboration.
3.2 Participants
The target population for the research are the people, between the ages of 18
and 25 year, living in Karachi. The sampling plan that will be used is Convenience
Sampling. This is due to time and cost restrictions. In convenience sampling,
members of the population are chosen based on their relative ease of access. A
total of 30 survey questionnaires were filled by IBA Students, belonging to the
same age bracket as the population, with 22 female respondents and 8 male
respondents.
3.3 Materials
The research is a study on the stochastic relationship between the Celebrity
Endorsements and attitude towards the brand, attitude towards the
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Advertisement and purchase Intentions of the consumers. The materials used
were a set of print advertisements for low involvement products. No other
materials were used (see appendix A)
The celebrity endorsed advertisement shows the Indian actress and model
Katrina Kaif. She has previously endorsed a number of products, ranging from
tea to hair-removal creams to beauty soaps.
The Non-celebrity endorsed ad shows as Brazilian ad for Pantene. The model is
unknown to most Pakistanis; therefore she was used to represent Pantene as an
anonymous endorser.
The unendorsed print ad shows a pair of broken scissors. Without any verbal
information, the consumer’s mind interprets the ad as saying that Pantene makes
your hair very strong.
3.4 Procedure
Respondents will be shown a set of print advertisements for Pantene Shampoo
(one each for Celebrity endorsed, Anonymous Model, and No Model) (see
Appendix A). Respondents will then be asked to assess these models with
regards to their fit with the product (Ohanian, 1990), after which they will
respond to a set of items that measure their Ab, Aad and PI (Roozen, 2008) (See
Appendix B). The Advertisements used in the research were of Pantene Shampoo,
due to its low-mid consumer involvement.
When measuring credibility, it is important to differentiate credibility with
regards to the brand and credibility as a characteristic of the endorser. To be
effective, an endorser must have credibility that goes beyond the realm of the
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brand. However, for low involvement situations credibility restricted to the
confines of the ‘brand universe’ are acceptable since the target does not process
too much cognition based communication.
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Chapter 4
Results
4.1 Impact of Source Factors on Ab
A simple regression analysis was conducted to assess the effect of source factors
(credibility and attractiveness) on the consumers’ attitude towards the brand. A
composite figure was used as the independent variable that represented the
combined scores of credibility and attractiveness. The dependent variable here is
the consumer’s Ab, measured on semantic differential scales.
For each advertisement, celebrity and non-celebrity, the source factors
composite was tested on the Ab. The results for the celebrity endorser are as
shown in Fig 4.1, and for non celebrity endorser in Table 4.2
Fig 4.1 Aad vs celeb
Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.604758677 R Square 0.365733057 Adjusted R Square 0.343080667 Standard Error 0.401509047 Observations 30
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value
Intercept 1.445019963 0.389797063 3.707108389 0.000916191
X Variable 1 0.259630949 0.064614706 4.018140196 0.00040025
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Fig 4.2
Aad vs non celeb Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.413861727 R Square 0.171281529 Adjusted R Square 0.141684441 Standard Error 0.458947286 Observations 30
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value
Intercept 1.884299197 0.464477693 4.056813113 0.000360767
X Variable 1 0.163526468 0.067976263 2.405640748 0.022995054
The R-square value suggests that 36.45% of changes in a consumer’s attitude
towards the brand are caused by the positive perception of the celebrity’s
credibility and attractiveness, as compared to 17.12% for Non-celebrity
endorser. The results also show that the coefficient for Ab is relatively higher
(0.259) for Celebrity endorsements as opposed to that for anonymous endorser
(0163). This clearly indicates that using celebrity endorsements has a stronger
impact on Attitude towards the brand than using a non-celebrity endorser.
4.2 Impact of source factors on Aad
Results for the effect of attitude towards the advertisements are shown in Fig 4.3
and Fig 4.4, for celebrity and non-celebrity endorsers, respectively.
Fig 4.3 Ab vs Celeb
Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.595592671 R Square 0.35473063 Adjusted R Square 0.331685295 Standard Error 0.774221387 Observations 30
31
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value
Intercept 0.312007662 0.751637418 0.415103951 0.004229466
X Variable 1 0.488831337 0.124595169 3.923357068 0.000515881
Fig 4.4 Ab vs non celeb
Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.239442099 R Square 0.057332519 Adjusted R Square 0.023665823 Standard Error 0.935780308 Observations 30
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value
Intercept 1.992730316 0.947056649 2.10413001 0.044473033
X Variable 1 0.180870877 0.138601644 1.304969205 0.202526688
Once again, the results show that attitudes towards the brands are influenced by
35.4% by celebrity endorsers as compared to only 5.7% for non-celebrity
endorsers. The coefficient is also higher for celebrities as compared to non
celebrities.
4.3 Impact of source factors on PI:
The results of regression for endorsers versus purchasae intention is tabulated
below.
Fig 4.5 Purchase intention vs celeb
Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.712874001 R Square 0.508189341 Adjusted R Square 0.490624675 Standard Error 0.684391046 Observations 30
32
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value
Intercept -
1.343449876 0.66442742 -
2.021966337 0.052828846
X Variable 1 0.592424733 0.110138805 5.378891986 9.85271E-06
Fig 4.6 PI vs non celeb Regression Statistics
Multiple R 0.525837491 R Square 0.276505067 Adjusted R Square 0.250665963 Standard Error 0.830086015 Observations 30
Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value
Intercept -0.53637984 0.840088719 -
0.638479994 0.528349543
X Variable 1 0.402189189 0.122946898 3.271243075 0.002841537
It is evident from the results that a celebrity endorser is much more
effective (50.8%) in increasing the purchase intention of conumsers than non-
celebrity endorsers (27.6%). The slope for celebrity endorsers is also much
steeper for celebrity endorser than for non-celebrity endorsers.
Based on the results obtained, it is safe to assume that celebrity
endorsements have a better impact in terms of attitude towards the ad, attitude
towards the brand and purchase intention.
33
4.4 Descriptive Comparison of Ab, Aad and PI for three print copies
The table below gives the average score of the three advertisements for attitude
towards the brand and advertisement and respondent’s purchase intentions.
Internal
Attribution Attitude towards
the Brand Attitude towards
the Advertisement Purchase Intentions
Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
Celebrity 2.74 1.02 3.43 0.59 3.21 0.90 2.17 0.92
Non Celebrity
3.00 0.96 3.76 0.78 3.44 0.80 2.30 1.16
No Model 3.72 1.18 3.65 0.85 3.00 0.42
Fig 4.7 Average scores for print copies
The internal attributions of the consumer for the celebrity was lower than that of
the non-celebrity endorser. This can be because of the fact that Katrina Kaif has
endorsed a number of products belonging to various categories, ranging from tea
to hair-removal creams.
The Ab score was lowest for the celebrity endorsed advertisement, whereas
these scores were relatively equal for the non-celebrity endorser and un-
endorsed advertisement. However, it is important to note that there is not much
of a difference in the consumer’s Ab across all three advertisements. This can be
attributed to the fact that Pantene is one of the most well know shampoo brands
in the Pakistani market.
Moreover, the Aad was significantly higher for Un-endorsed ad (no model used).
This indicated towards the notion that a creative execution can have relatively
greater impact on the consumer’s attitude.
Finally, the purchase intention was noted to be significantly higher for the un-
endorsed advertisement. It is also worth noticing that the standard deviation of
34
purchase intentions is also much lower that the two endorsed advertisements.
This can again be seen as a product of the creative approach used by the
marketers at P&G.
35
Chapter 5
Discussion
The purpose of this research was to analyze the effectiveness of celebrity
endorsements on the attitude towards the Brand and its advertisement along
with the consequent intentions to purchase that product. The research
hypothesized that celebrity endorsements positively affect the entire above
mentioned criterion. However, the results direct us in a different direction,
implying that celebrity endorsements have the same, or greater, effect as the
non-celebrity endorsed advertisements, however, there is evidence to suggest
that the use of a model-less creative execution can also have positive impact on
the attitudinal constructs measured in this research.
Moreover, it can be inferred from the results of the descriptive analysis on
attitudes and purchase intentions, that a creatively executed print copy also has
a strong influence. This means that creative ‘out-of-the-box’ executions can be a
better substitute for expensive celebrity endorsement campaigns. Investments in
creative executions can thus lead to effective usage of advertising dollars.
This research however was conducted with limited time and resources.
This means that various extensions to the original research problems are
required to enhance the understanding of the celebrity endorsement
phenomenon. There are various ways in which this could be undertaken.
First, a larger number of products should be analyzed. Moreover, in light
of the findings in this research, it would be interesting to explicitly analyze the
perceived nature (e.g. low involvement) of the products since this may differ
36
from standard categories found in the literature of the 1980s and 1990s which
may not be fully relevant to today’s product mix and young generations.
Secondly, it would be interesting to analyze to what extent generational
and cultural differences affect the relative effectiveness of different
advertisements. Extending the research to other age groups, introducing regional
variation (city vs. country-side) and covering nationals in more countries would
be necessary to obtain results that can be more easily generalized.
Thirdly, there are some indications in this research that the nature of the
pictures used for endorsers (revealing, sexy, and close-up vs. full frontal) may
have a significant effect. Given that such variations can be easily obtained at low
cost in designing real life advertisement campaigns, this extension could be
highly relevant.
Finally, this analysis has limited itself to youth of Karachi, leaving open
the question whether older people or different socio-economic classes perceive
celebrity endorsements differently for some product categories. This again,
should be addressed in follow up research.
37
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39
Appendix A: Print Ads
Celebrity Endorser
Anonymous Endorser
40
Unendorsed Advertisement
41
Appendix B: Questionnaire
SECTION 1
42
PART I
1. Do you recognize the celebrity in the advertisement?
a. Yes
b. No
If no, please move to the last page of this section
2. What is the Celebrity’s name?
a. Shilpa Shetty
b. Resham
c. Katrina Kaif
d. Mahnoor Baloch
3. What is the Celebrity primarily famous for?
a. Movies
b. Modeling
c. TV serials
d. Sports
43
PART II
Answer the following statement
Strongly
Disagree Disagree Indifferent Agree
Strongly Agree
1 The Model has expertise necessary to endorse this product.
2 The Model has experience necessary to endorse this product.
3 The Model has qualifications necessary to endorse this product.
4 The Model has knowledge necessary to endorse this product.
5 The Model is honest enough to endorse this product.
6 The Model is trustworthy enough to endorse this product.
7
The Model is reliable enough to endorse this product.
8
The Model is dependable enough to endorse this product.
9
The Model is attractive enough to endorse this product.
10
The Model is charismatic enough to endorse this product.
11
The Model is beautiful enough to endorse this product.
12 The Model is sophisticated enough to endorse this product.
13 If I think of The Model, I think almost directly of Pantene
14
The idea of The Model as an endorser for Pantene is according to me an optimum fit.
44
15 I think that The Model is a relevant endorser for Pantene
16
I think that The Model is a suitable endorser for Pantene
PART III
Answer the following statements by circling one of the five given options (1 “highly unlikely”, 2
“unlikely”, 3 “I don’t know”, 4 “likely” and 5 “Likely”)
The Model likes Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
The Model frequently uses Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
The Model views Pantene as a good product 1 2 3 4 5
Rate the Advertisement on the following criterion
Interesting [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Uninteresting Pleasant [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unpleasant Likeable [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unlikeable Good [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad
Rate Pantene on the following criterion
Interesting [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Uninteresting Pleasant [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unpleasant Likeable [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unlikeable Good [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad
Answer the following question by circling one of the five given options (1 “strongly disagree”, 2
“disagree”, 3 “indifferent”, 4 “agree” and 5 “Agree”)
I would buy a Pantene every time
I purchase a shampoo 1 2 3 4 5
The presence of the model has further motivated me to purchase Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
I would prefer to buy another shampoo
besides Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
45
SECTION 2
46
PART I
Please check the relevant box
Strongly
Disagree Disagree Indifferent Agree
Strongly Agree
1 The Model has expertise necessary to endorse this product.
2 The Model has experience necessary to endorse this product.
3 The Model has qualifications necessary to endorse this product.
4 The Model has knowledge necessary to endorse this product.
5 The Model is honest enough to endorse this product.
6
The Model is trustworthy enough to endorse this product.
7 The Model is reliable enough to endorse this product.
8 The Model is dependable enough to endorse this product.
9 The Model is attractive enough to endorse this product.
10
The Model is charismatic enough to endorse this product.
11 The Model is beautiful enough to endorse this product.
12 The Model is sophisticated enough to endorse this product.
13
If I think of The Model, I think almost directly of Pantene
14
The idea of The Model as an endorser for Pantene is according to me an optimum fit.
47
15 I think that The Model is a relevant endorser for Pantene
16
I think that The Model is a suitable endorser for Pantene
PART II
Answer the following statements by circling one of the five given options (1 “highly unlikely”, 2
“unlikely”, 3 “I don’t know”, 4 “likely” and 5 “Likely”)
The Model likes Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
The Model frequently uses Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
The Model views Pantene as a good product 1 2 3 4 5
Rate the Advertisement on the following criterion
Interesting [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Uninteresting Pleasant [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unpleasant Likeable [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unlikeable Good [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad
Rate Pantene on the following criterion
Interesting [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Uninteresting Pleasant [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unpleasant Likeable [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unlikeable Good [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad
Answer the following question by circling one of the five given options (1 “strongly disagree”, 2
“disagree”, 3 “indifferent”, 4 “agree” and 5 “Agree”)
I would buy a Pantene every time
I purchase a shampoo 1 2 3 4 5
The presence of the model has further motivated
me to purchase Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
I would prefer to buy another shampoo besides Pantene 1 2 3 4 5
48
SECTION 3
49
Please answer the following questions
Rate the Advertisement on the following criterion
Interesting [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Uninteresting Pleasant [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unpleasant Likeable [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unlikeable Good [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad
Rate Pantene on the following criterion
Interesting [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Uninteresting Pleasant [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unpleasant Likeable [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Unlikeable Good [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Bad
Answer the following question by circling one of the five given options (1 “strongly disagree”, 2
“disagree”, 3 “indifferent”, 4 “agree” and 5 “Agree”)
I would buy a Pantene every time I purchase a shampoo 1 2 3 4 5
I would prefer to buy another shampoo besides Pantene 1 2 3 4 5