Celebrity branding
Celebrity branding, also called celebrity endorsement, is a marketing approach where a well-known person is used to promote a product, service, or cause. The idea is that the positive image of the celebrity transfers to the brand, which can increase public attention and trust.
This type of marketing appears in areas such as sports, fashion, entertainment, and technology. Nonprofit groups also use celebrities to draw attention to social issues. The impact of celebrity branding often depends on how well the celebrity’s image matches the product and how authentic the connection appears to audiences.
History
In the 1700s, Wedgwood, producers of fine chinaware, used royal endorsements as a marketing device to show value in the company and promote their product. In 1882, London socialite and West End stage actress Lillie Langtry became the poster-girl for Pears Soap, making her the first celebrity to endorse a commercial product. In the late 1800s, trading cards were introduced, a card with an image of a celebrity and a product description which was either given to the customer or inserted in product packaging. Cigarette companies gave away baseball cards as part of a customer loyalty scheme, and the increased demand to buy cigarettes in order to collect entire sets of baseball players was exploited by marketers. Early endorsements of this kind didn't always have the permission of the celebrities to use their image. In the 1930s the trend was toward athletes, such as with Babe Ruth's paid endorsement of Red Rock Cola. By 1945, the trend changed to movie stars. In 1965 when color television was introduced, television personalities and entertainers became the celebrity endorsers. In the 1980s, companies started making products around celebrities, for example Nike using Michael Jordan.In the 1970s, with the advent of free agency, the value of celebrity endorsements escalated, and correspondingly the pay of the athletes by their teams. By 1989, 75% of all sports-related products were using athletes for endorsements, and by the 1990s sports endorsements were being announced with press releases. This led to celebrities becoming spokespeople and brand ambassadors for companies, and a corresponding increase in the value of endorsement contracts.
Celebrity endorsements surged during the early 21st century, with elite athletes emerging as among the most sought after.
Brand recognition
Brand recognition is a huge part of celebrity branding. Brand recognition is where the general public is able to establish a brand from its attributes. It is most successful when a brand is exposed without a company name and is then recognized by the customer through the visual signifiers such as logos, slogans, and colors. An example of this is Coke whereby their signature color is red and consumers acknowledge that. Brand recognition is extremely effective in promotional campaigns. To measure brand recognition and the effectiveness it has on promotional campaigns, companies will conduct experiments on study groups for results. If brands are equal in quality similar products brand recognition will always have an advantage of higher sales.Celebrity endorsements may be designed as explicit, implicit, or both. An example of explicit endorsement can be seen through Beyoncé's sponsorship deal with PepsiCo. In 2012, Beyoncé and PepsiCo sat down and penned a partnership deal that is estimated to be worth approx. $50 million, that embraces the standard Pepsi print and TV commercials that Beyoncé will appear in, as well as a more unorthodox 'creative fund' for any future projects Beyoncé chooses to take on. The collaboration between Beyoncé and Pepsi has been described as a high-profile example of an explicit celebrity endorsement, in which a long-term partnership is used to promote both the brand and the performer.
An example of implicit endorsement can be explained by noticing the growing number of Beats by Dre portable speakers that have been appearing in pop and hip-hop music videos,. The celebrities involved are not expressly mentioning the Beats product within their music videos, but their presence amongst these celebrities convey the message of it being a high-quality product associated with those of a high social class, particularly those who are industry leaders in music.
Advantages
Celebrity endorsements can build brand equity. An example of this is Nike. Prior to Michael Jordan, Nike mostly sponsored tennis and track athletes and decided to expand their market, which increased sales to become a multibillion-dollar company. Celebrity endorsement is used as an advertising strategy, by using celebrity status and image, to promote a brand's recognition, recall, and differentiation.A celebrity endorser who utilizes the product, and has some knowledge about it, is presumed to be able to promote the product in a more persuasive way Having celebrity source that is perceived as trustworthy or reliable creates a endorsement that has the power to compel consumers.
Celebrities in advertising make the advertisement more noticeable to some consumers, and are therefore a good basis of capturing and retaining consumer attention. Studies have shown that using celebrities in advertising increases the message's persuasiveness which results in consumers having a better recall and recognition for the product or brand.
Some celebrities are held at a higher regard than others, thus, an endorsement of a product/brand can potentially build trust in the consumer for the brand. Celebrities are perceived to hold qualities such as attractiveness, expertise, trustworthiness and likeability, which advertisers hope will be transferred to the brand or product consequently creating positive images for that product or brand. Many consumers idolize celebrities and strive to imitate their lives with the clothes they wear and products they consume.
Disadvantages
Due to the high-profile lives of celebrities that are constantly being reviewed and scrutinized by the media, there are risks of using celebrities in advertising.The term "eclipsing" is used to describe the instance where a celebrity in an advertisement overshadows the product being advertised by occupying more time or space than the product being advertised, this is a negative for the advertiser as the product is not the main focus for the consumers.
Overexposure refers to the negative effect that is a result of when a celebrity endorses multiple products of a similar type at one time. Consumers can become more skeptical of the celebrity's motives to endorse products and therefore may perceive the celebrity to be less credible when endorsing multiple products.
Celebrity endorsements do not guarantee long-term favorable effects. If a celebrity endorser is caught up in a scandal, negative perceptions of the celebrity among consumers can be transferred to the brand, One of the largest profile celebrity endorsement scandals of recent history was the infidelity scandal of Tiger Woods in 2009, at the time, Woods was a brand ambassador for Nike Golf apparel and footwear. Reports estimated that Nike’s losses ranged between US$5 and US$12 billion following the scandal.
Changes in a celebrity's image, such as due to injury, changes in physical appearance, change in marital status, or a decline in professional visibility, can result in the celebrity endorser no longer suiting the product or brand being endorsed.
Risks
When a celebrity is promoting a brand there can be risks involved, where there is a miscommunication between the consumer and the representation of the product. In some cases, there is no connection between the product and the celebrity, which can become an effective or a defective result due to the position and relevance of the product. When celebrity branding does not work out for a firm, the celebrity can be seen as a scheme to promote the person as a marketing instrument. Ideally, some consumers believe that companies who use celebrity endorsers, as a marketing strategy to promote a product should choose an endorser who utilizes and enjoys using the product. Therefore, ethically they are trusting the brand and showing potential consumers the effects of the product and making the advertisement more believable. Rather than a celebrity endorser who is promoting the brand just because of their social status and there is no relevance between the product and the celebrity.Companies who use celebrity endorsers are at a risk financially, whether they are choosing the right celebrity endorser to represent their brand and return the favor with an increase in sales, or for the brand to become known on a wider scale. Firms are also taking risks in hoping that their chosen celebrity endorser will portray their brand in the correct way, because any small or big mistake can cost the company in a negative outcome, especially due to the celebrity's social status it can affect a huge audience. This could be due to miscommunication between the firm and the endorser advertising the product or service.