BRAND AMBASSADORS AND BRANDS

BY SAHIL JAIN BRAND AMBASSADORS AND BRANDS

WHO IS A BRAND AMBASSADOROne Who Represent The Product On Behalf Of The Entire Company.A Well-connected Person Or A Celebrity Who Is Used To Promote AndAdvertiseA Product Or ServiceIntention Beyond Is To Market The ProductA Brand Ambassador Can Also Be Called As An Marketing Agent Of A Company.

Actors ( Shahrukh khan, Amitabh Bachchan)Models ( Malaika Arora, Milind Soman)Sports athletes (Sachin Tendulkar, Roger Federer ) Pop Stars (Britney Spears, Lady Gaga)Businessmen (Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya)Politicians (Barack Obama)Fictional celebrities (Ronald McDonald, Fido dido, Amul Girl)

Six uses of Brand ambassadors

Establishes Credibility

Attracts Attention

Associative Benefit

Psychographic Connect

Demographic Connect

Mass Appeal

MOTIVES BEHIND ENDORSEMENT BY BRAND AMBASSADORS

Helps to position and re-position existing brands. Brings global awareness to a brand and brand recall. Contributes extensive PR advantage and opportunities for brands.Famous personalities are a major influence for our lifestyles.To push the demand of the productTo bring the reliability and retention of the product. Instant CredibilityTo refresh the brand image.

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MAJOR FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTConsistency and long-term commitment

Prerequisites to selecting celebrities:The endorser should be attractive, have a positive image in the society, and be perceived as having the necessary knowledge.

Celebritybrand match

Trademark and legal contractsDo not endorse competitors products in the same product category

1. As with branding, companies should try to maintain consistency between the endorser and the brand to establish a strong personality and identity. More importantly, companies should view celebrity endorsements as long-term strategic decisions affecting the brand. A global brand must respect local needs, wants, and tastes while endorsing. E.g shahrukh khan and Nokia2. Amitabh bachan 3.ensure a match between the brand being endorsed and the endorser so that the endorsements are able to strongly influence the thought processes of consumers Nadal and Nike4. Trademark and legal contracts: Companies should ensure that the celebrities they hire are on proper legal terms so that they dont endorse competitors products in the same product category, thereby creating confusion in the minds of the consumers. Eg. Katrina endorsing so

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MAJOR FACTORS SUCCESSFUL FOR CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTConstant monitoring: Monitor the behavior, conduct and public image

Timing:Constant lookout for emerging celebrities.

Brand over endorser (Vampire Effect): Potential overshadowing of the brand by the celebrity

Celebrity endorsement is just a channel

The celebrity trap:Once into a celebrity, it is hard to get out of it

Monitor the behavior, conduct and public image of the endorser continuously to minimize any potential negative publicity.As celebrities command a high price tag, companies should be on the constant lookout for emerging celebrities.Companies should ensure that this does not happen by formulating advertising collaterals and other communications.Celebrity endorsement is just a channel: Companies must realize that having a celebrity endorsing a brand is not a goal in itself; rather it is one part of the communication mix that falls under the broader category of sponsorship marketing.5. The celebrity trap: Once into a celebrity, it is hard to get out of it. If the brand has done even moderately well after the break of a celebrity campaign, it becomes difficult to separate the role of message and the role of the celebrity in selling the brand.

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Selecting the right Brand ambassador

THE SOURCE CREDIBILITY MODELUsed commonly to entail the communicators positive attributes that affect the recipients acceptance of a messageSource credibility refers to the perception of the sources expertise, objectivity and trustworthinessExpertise is the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertions and consists of knowledge, special experience and skillsTrustworthiness is the degree of confidence in the communicators intent to communicate the assertions he considers most valid and consists of honesty, integrity and believability

The Source Attractiveness ModelBeauty is a greater recommendation than any other introduction.~ AristotleAttractiveness based on source valence model was identified as another dimension of source credibility.Mostly associated with physical attributes, such as familiarity, similarity and likeabilityAttractiveness includes any number of attributes such as intellectual skill, personality properties, lifestyle or athletic prowessIt is not necessary that attractiveness should necessarily translate into actual behavior, cognitive attitudes and purchase intention

Match-up Hypothesis There are certain parameters that postulate compatibility between brand image and the celebrityCelebrity prior endorsements. Whether celebrity is a brand user.Celebrity professionCelebritys fit with the brand image.CelebrityTarget audience matchCelebrityProduct match.Celebrity associated values.

THE MEANING TRANSFER MODELAccording to McCraken (1989), the previous models discussed above are not capable of capture the success factors of the endorsement processThe central premise is that celebrities encodes unique sets of meanings which might be transferable to the endorsed product.CultureEndorsementsConsumption

Role 1Role 2Role 3AmbassadorProductConsumer

Meaning AcquisitionEndorsementConsumptionStage 1Stage 2Stage 3Note:

Path of Meaning Movement

Stage of Meaning Movement

Effectiveness depends on the existence of a 'fit

Effective match:Reid & Taylor and Amitabh Bachhan, Accenture and Tiger Woods

Establishing a Perfect Match

Examples

REEBOKBIPASHA BASU/ M S DHONIPRODUCTFITHEALTHYPERFECT BODYSPORTS PERSON

FOR FITNESSFOR HEALTH CONSCIOUSSPORTS SHOE

SONY VAIOKAREENAPRODUCTBEAUTIFULSLIMLIGHT WEIGHTZERO FIGURESTYLISHSLIMLIGHT WEIGHTSTYLISHSLEAK

PEPSIRANBIR KAPPOR /DEEPIKAPRODUCTYOUNGSTYLISHENERGETICCHOICE OF YOUTHFOR YOUNG PEOPLEENERGETIC

LUXKATRINA / ASHPRODUCTFAIRSOFT SKINBEAUTIFULBEAUTY ICONFAIRNESS SOAPFEMALE PRODUCT

Dearth of salesmanAmitabh bacchan is one man brand industry.Nobody has that 6-to-60 universal appeal who can sell anything to India, and to Bharat..

Revolutionized the psychological trend of using Cadbury from 5-55age group.

A gift that helps foster relationships.

MULTIPLE CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS Endorsing a product with multiple celebrities as it leads to attracting and connecting to the different and diverse sets of target audience to the product.Multiple celebrities may lead to confusing consumers about the brands identityIt should be assured that each and every celebrity possesses compatible meanings that are sought for brands

Prevalence of Multiple brand ambassador endorsement in India

CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE Consumer holds by and large a positive attitude towards celebrity endorsements.Celebrity endorsement can have an impact on the consumers recall evaluations, attention but it does not necessarily always translates into purchase intentionsIndividuals with higher levels of education might be less influenced by any form of advertising than those with less educationThe celebrities are often looked upon by the young as their role model.

Indian Consumer Mentality They look up to certain public faces and aspire to be one among them.

Brand Ambassadors connect with a sense of attachment.

Brands have temptation to use celebrity ambassadors.

Different stages of consumer purchase decision making Problem Recognition

Information Search

Generation of Alternatives

Evaluation of Alternatives

Purchase Decision

Post Purchase Decision

BRAND AMBASSADOR CONSUMER

COUNTRY CONTEXT: INDIABrand endorsements by celebrities are a widespread phenomenon in India and worldwideCelebrities in India live a very public lifeFew of the brands have been established without celebrity endorsement like Rejoice, Lifebuoy, Close Up, Fevicol etc. There is a great potential for celebrity endorsement in India like successful endorsements done by Shah Rukh Khan includes brands like Santro, Nokia , Nerolac paints, Lux, Pepsodent, Frooti to name a few

PROS OF BRAND AMBASSADORSTo stand out from the clutterImage polishingCelebrity as a persuasive sourceImproves the level of product recallStrong impact on learning style and memoryUnderpin global campaigns

CONS OF BRANDS AMBASSADORS1. Negative publicity 2. Overshadowing 3. Overexposure 4. Extinction 5. Celebrity Trap6. Celebrity credibility

ConclusionBefore choosing the Brand ambassadors the marketer has to decide how far the benefits outweigh the risks associated.Because it can create a buzz and make a consumer feel better about the product but it can not itself guarantee sales.