What are the advantages of celebrity endorsement?
Celebrities are the ones who are first identified. Celebrities can be athletes, actors, comedians, and entertainers. Celebrities are known faces to the public. Celebrity endorsers are chosen for their ability to provide reference and persuade others. Eg. Lux soap ad by Hema Malini to Alia Bhatt. Reebok ad by M.S. Dhoni, etc.
Advantages of Celebrity Endorsement:
1. Create Brand Image
Celebrity endorsement helps to create brand image in the minds of target customers. It also improves ad recall value, making consumers remember ad for long period of time. Eg. Endorsement of Lux soap by actors from Hema Malini to Alia Bhatt. Revital Tablet ad by Salman Khan.
2. Increases Brand Recognition
Using a wellknown celebrity to endorse a brand also attracts new target audience who may have not previously bought the advertised product. But now they will buy because their favourite actor or sports personality uses it. For instance, Michael Jordan fuelled the success of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular even today.
3. Expansion of Markets
A celebrity endorsement enables to reach out to a different set of customers and new markets. This results into expansion of market for advertised product.
4. Builds Brand Credibility
Due to attachment with their favourite celebrities, people develop trust on the brand endorsed by them. Endorsements by favourite celebrity also reassure customers that the quality of a product will meet their expectations.
5. Develops Brand Personality
Endorsement by celebrity, even if it is with a fictional character, can help to establish a brand personality. That personality becomes another relationship building tool that can be used to improve customer loyalty, message retention, and sales.
6. Recognition for New Product
Use of celebrity for brand endorsement can help in getting attention recognition for new product in the market. For instance, When Tu Face Idibia, a popular musician in Nigeria, endorsed Airtel (a telecommunication service provider), a lot of people were attracted to their products and service.
7. Help to Rebuild Corporate Image
About a decade ago, when Cadbury India, the country’s largest and most admired chocolate major, was battling declining consumer confidence and problems arising out of worm infestation reports in its chocolates, it came up with probably its best PR strategy. Though a new poly-flow packaging was soon adopted by the company, what actually helped in reinstating the brand’s emotional equity and confidence with consumers was film star Amitabh BachAchan’s endorsement of the brand. Soon, customers realized “Kuch Khaas Hai Zindagi Mein”.