CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR PROJECT

Influence of Brand Ambassadors

on Consumers

GROUP: 5
Anirudh Gadey
Mamsha Rath
Md Ali Tabish
Shubhi Gupta
Spandan Mishra

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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Objectives of the Project............................................................................................................................... 5
Methodology................................................................................................................................................. 6
Qualitative Research ..................................................................................................................................... 7
Focused Group Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 7
FGD Group 1.................................................................................................................................................. 7
Understanding Consumer Behavior: ......................................................................................................... 8
Inference: The importance of brand ambassadors for endorsing a product ........................................... 8
Inference: Choice of Brand Ambassador according to the product ......................................................... 8
Inference: Impact of Brand Ambassador on Specific Age Groups ............................................................ 9
Inference: Change in peoples perception by changing brand ambassador............................................. 9
FGD Group 2.................................................................................................................................................. 9
Inference: The importance of brand ambassadors for endorsing a product ......................................... 10
Inference: Celebrity Endorsement specified by products ...................................................................... 10
Inference: Choice of Brand Ambassador according to the product ....................................................... 11
Inference: Negative impact of brand ambassadors ................................................................................ 11
Inference: Change in peoples perception by changing brand ambassador........................................... 11
In Depth Interviews..................................................................................................................................... 12
Inferences: .................................................................................................................................................. 14
Quantitative Research ................................................................................................................................ 16
Research findings .................................................................................................................................... 20
Inference ................................................................................................................................................... 233
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................. 244
References ................................................................................................................................................ 255
Annexure A (FGD): .................................................................................................................................... 255
Discussion Guide ................................................................................................................................... 255
Annexure B (In-depth Interviews):............................................................................................................ 266
Interview Guide:.................................................................................................................................... 266
Annexure C (Quantitative Research) ........................................................................................................ 266
Analysis ................................................................................................................................................. 333

Introduction
Every day consumers are uncovered to thousands of voices, images and videos in magazines,
newspapers, internet, and social media and on billboards, radio and television. Every brand
wants to be noticed at least for a fraction of a persons second to highlight the amazing
attributes of the product at hand. The task of the marketer is to find a catch that will hold
customers attention. Heres comes the important role of celebrity endorser who helps in the
marketing strategy. In this era, people generally ignore all TV and magazines Ads. But even
then, the appeal of a celebrity rarely goes unobserved. Thus, star endorsement in commercials
and its impact on the overall brand value is of great implication. In this process, the firms
appoint celebrities from a particular field to feature in its advertisement campaigns.
The idea of Brand Ambassadors or the concept of Celebrity Endorsement is a very popular topic
among marketers to study as it gives a different perspective about brand promotion, brand
recall and brand awareness. One of the prominent views says that If the product is good, you
dont have to be a very good marketer. But that view is being vehemently opposed by those
who point out that unless there is an effective channel to make the product desirable to the
consumers, the products quality is of secondary nature. Celebrity Endorsement therefore can
be defined as one of the most widely popular marketing mantra to reach out to each segment
of the consumers.
By definition Brand Ambassadors are persons who are employed to promote the products or
services by different branding techniques. Mostly brand ambassadors are chosen that are corelated with the corporate identity of the company. In selection of the brand ambassadors,
marketers look for a right person for right product at right place in order to magnify the
products competencies and maintain stability in the competitive market. Not only does it
enhance the brand name but also people start associating their status symbol to the product
and the celebrity endorsing it.
Humans have a psychological quotient to go with the brands that are known to them, reluctant
to experiment with the new choices. We usually take opinions from our friends &relatives who
have prior experience of using the brand. This is where the role of brand ambassadors comes in
to the picture. They are employed to promote the product in such lustrous manner that the
customers drop any inhibition and find the product suitable. Earlier research have proved that
not only those companies which are starting a fresh use the concept of brand ambassadors to
create a brand recall but also those companies which are already market leaders and still want
to boost up their market share using celebrities.
But Marketers and Advertisers still have contrasting view about the effectiveness of the
concept of celebrity endorsement. Sometimes the line blurs between the brand ambassador
and the product they are endorsing. Some examples in the past have reflected that a single
negative effect/publicity caused may overshadow the product value, thereby hampering the

brand image of the company. Thus it is important to study the different aspects of celebrity
endorsements in different media channels.

Literature Review

A celebrity is known to be an individual who is known to the public for areas other than
that of the product endorsed. In the pro-motion of products high in psychological
and/or social risk, use of a celebrity endorser would lead to greater believability, a more
favorable evaluation of the product and advertisement, and a significantly more positive
purchase intention than advertisements using an "expert" or "typical consumer"
endorser. Identification is related to likableness and attractiveness, and thus may be the
process underlying persuasion by a celebrity endorser (Freidman- Freidman,1979)

The changes in markets and consumer lifestyle are driving marketers to focus on more
persuasive ways of promoting their products. In today's media driven markets, creative
television advertising can promote not only products, but also attractive lifestyles and
dreams that are highly valued by consumers (Alsmadi, 2005)

There are several reasons why a well-known endorser may be influential. First, such a
spokesperson attracts attention to the advertisement in the cluttered stream of
messages. In addition, celebrities are traditionally viewed as being highly dynamic
individuals with attractive and likeable qualities. Their credibility and believability,
however, remain in question. The effectiveness of advertisements using celebrity
endorsers is strongly linked to the identification process of social influence through the
dimension of likeability of the personality. (Kamins, Brand, Hoeke and Moe, 1989)

Celebrities are fast becoming a staple choice of companies to influence consumers

brand choice behavior (Shimp, 2003)

Several studies have tried to establish the profitability of the entire venture and the
economic value of the strategic marketing decision such as product innovation,
research, development expenditures, advertisement expenditures and consumer
satisfaction on firm profitability (Capon, Farley, and Hoenig 1990; Szymanski, Bharadwaj,
and Varadarajan 1993).

The number of products a celebrity endorses negatively influences consumers'

perceptions of endorser credibility and likability, as well as attitude toward the ad.
Seeing a celebrity endorse multiple products in ads is more likely to influence
consumers' perceptions of expertise, trustworthiness, likability, and attitude toward the
4

ad than simply having knowledge that a celebrity endorses multiple products. ( Carolyn
Tripp, Thomas D. Jensen and Les Carlson, 1994)

Firms invest huge amounts as advertising expenditure for hiring the right celebrity.
Consumers perceive the brand as having superior quality because it has been endorsed
by a credible source. Brand awareness and brand recall can be effectively established by
good advertisements only. And if brand ambassadors can help to do those, then it can
be inferred that brand ambassadors indirectly help in creating good brand awareness
and brand recall. But, actually a consumer will recommend a brand only if he thinks that
he is satisfied from the brand and that the brand is worth recommending. (D.Goutam,
2013)

Use of super stars in advertising generates a lot of publicity and attention from the
public. Celebrity endorsement advertising strategies can under the right circumstances
indeed justify the high costs associated with this form of advertising. With celebrity
spokespersons representing a diverse mix of type, gender, and age, they can effectively
be used to endorse brand lines. (Christina Schlecht, 2003)

Signing up stars for endorsements is a time-tested strategy and has been effectively
used by some of the top brands in the world. Marketers believe that star endorsements
have several benefits, key among them being building credibility, fostering trust and
drawing attention or any or all of which can translate into higher brand sales.( Jyoti
Kassan and Naveen Choudhary, 2014)

Objectives of the Project

To study the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement.

To study the consumer perception of the celebrities associated with different brands.

To find out the relationship among celebrity endorsement, brand recall and brand
awareness.

To study the positive/negative impacts of celebrity endorsement on the purchasing

behavior of the consumers.

Methodology
Research Methodology is the systematic way to approach any problem in hand which not only
discusses the methods but also talks about the logic on which the said methods are applied.
The objective of the methodology documentation is important to the project as it gives the
researcher a proper way to analyze the issue and later review the process by which conclusions
and suggestions are given.
Research Problem: In this project we are dealing with consumer buying decisions that are
affected by brand ambassadors and celebrity endorsement. Therefore a primary research will
give us an accurate view of the public perception and the influencing factors if any, because of
usage of brand ambassadors.
Research Methodology: In this project we will be using the Exploratory Method. As the name
suggests, this method only tries to explore the research in question and avoids giving concrete
answers to on hand problems. The basic need of applying this method is to find out the nature
of problem and have a better understanding of all the facets of the issue. It differs from
Conclusive method as it studies the basis of the research question and discusses causes, effects
and alternative options towards a converging conclusion.
Primary Data Collection Methods

Questionnaire: A set of pre-defined questions will be prepared by us who will look into
different aspects of consumer buying behavior. The primary questions we will be asking
revolve around the premise that whether consumers alter their decisions because of
celebrities. We will be floating questionnaire surveys online to attain a significant
number of sample sizes which can properly help us to enhance our knowledge about the
research problem. The online surveys will be done in social media sites, mailers and via
dedicated links. We hope to achieve a holistic nature of correspondents varying in age
and geographical locations via online medium. It will give us a larger scale to work on
and to give a more accurate description of the problem in hand.

Interviews: We will also be conducting in depth interviews to get a close and personal
view about our research topic from our respondents. The interview will give us options
to dig more than the online method as we can explore more than the fixed set of
questions. The respondents will be chosen as per different financial status, educational
background and accessibility to advertising mediums.

Focus Group Discussions (FGD): We will also be conducting FGDs to discuss the topic in
question in detail. The discussions will be moderated by our group and we will give the
members a chance to interpret and explore the topic as much as they can. This will be
very insightful for our project as we may be listening to contrasting opinions to get to a
better understanding about consumer nature. The members will most probably be
chosen from similar backgrounds and experiences to attain uniformity. We are using this
method to explore the qualitative aspect of our project in addition to statistical aspect
arrived at by surveys.

Tools to be used
1. SPSS This tool will be used for the data analytics of the responses recorded by the
questionnaire that would be floated through a survey. It will provide a qualitative as
well as quantitative measure of the effect of Brand endorsement on the consumers.
2. Qualtrics This is the tool that will be used to make the survey to record various
responses.
3. MS Excel This will be used to save the responses in a systematic order and analyze the
demographics.

Qualitative Research
Focused Group Discussion
We conducted 2 Focus group discussions so as to observe the consumers reaction to products
endorsed by brand ambassadors. In the beginning of our FGD we showed the group two
advertisements one with a brand ambassador and the other without one. After that we asked them
to discuss which had influenced them more. Questions were asked to the group in the course of the
discussion.
Group Size: 8 and 5
Group Composition: Homogenous, Prescreened, Relaxed, Informal setting
Time Duration: 15-20 Minutes
Recording: Video Recording
Moderator: Observational; Adds pointers to further the discussion.

FGD Group 1
We have a group of 8 people from the age group of 21-27 yrs. for a focused discussion to find
whether their buying pattern is affected by brand ambassadors. These people are young college
students with or without work experience in the range of 1-4 years and belong to the middle class
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and upper middle class of the society. Most of them are well versed with social media and digital
media.
Well give them an introduction to the discussion and take down their point of views. The
discussion would go forward according to the points put up by the participants. The moderator
would keep the scope of the discussion limited to the objective of the project so that there would be
minimum deviance in the panel.

Understanding Consumer Behavior:

-

Do you think brand ambassadors are necessary?

Is brand ambassadors product specific?
Do you think the choice of brand ambassador matters for a product?
Are there any negative influences on consumer behavior due to brand ambassadors?
Does change of brand ambassadors bring a change in people perception?

Inference: The importance of brand ambassadors for endorsing a product

The participants gave mixed responses when it came to answering this question. Each member was
able to bring forth a valid example to validate their point. While some said that brand ambassadors
add to impulse purchase value, some said that they help in targeting a particular age group. The
brand ambassadors may not always add a lot of value to the product. The group also found common
ground in agreeing on the fact that if the product is good enough, the brand ambassador would be a
sinkhole of the money to begin with. They also agreed that with the addition of a celebrity, the
visibility of the product increases manifold since the fan following of the celebrity takes cognizance
of the celebrity and thus it may convert into sales and numbers. Another point of contention was
the class of customers and the tier of cities, targeted. If the consumer is a bit knowledgeable in
terms of specifications, they would be quite picky when it comes to the product. In a Tier-2 city,
consumers would associate the product with the celebrity blindly. Also, it is not always necessary
that the celebrity be a tangible person as was discussed by the group citing the examples of the
Amul Girl or Vodafone Zoo Zoo. They also mentioned the cost of the product would dictate decision
despite a huge push from a celebrity.

Inference: Choice of Brand Ambassador according to the product

The group was quite vocal in citing examples to state and prove each of their points. Many people
were of the view that the ambassador, if relevant to the stream being discussed would yield a better
touch response with the population than if the connect was not easy to establish. The group cited
the example of Sachin Tendulkar promoting Boost. Him being a sports person, it would establish a
deeper connect and leave the impression that Boost is a product which can be associated with
sports and such activities. Another valid example raised by the group was that of Godrej, which has
long been associated with locks and quality safety products. To promote such products, the
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company decided to go with Aamir Khan, who is widely regarded as a reliable actor and a sentient
human being. Thus, connect established with the population was much deeper than ever before.
Another factor which was raised by the group was the cost of the product. If the product is a high
value product, then the amount of thought given to the decision increases a lot. However, if its a
low value product, then the decision can be based on the trust quotient of the celebrity. The
competition between brands was also raised by stating that when Nike roped in Ronaldo for
endorsements, Adidas had to rope in Messi.

Inference: Impact of Brand Ambassador on Specific Age Groups

The group discussed the fact that Brand ambassadors had a deeper impression to leave on younger
generations who idolized them or looked up to them. An example that was given was that of a
young kid associating deeply with Virat Kohli. If Virat Kohli endorses a product, then his popular
fan base built up of young consumers would obviously associate the product to be a good buy and
would purchase it. At the very least it would leave a deep impression which might convert into
impulse buying while visiting the stores. Another point associated was that of young football
enthusiasts who would be willing to relate to Ronaldo or Messi when they endorsed Nike/Adidas
respectively. Also, when Cadbury had asked Amitabh Bachchan to endorse their products, people
well versed his works would relate better to him.

Inference: Change in peoples perception by changing brand ambassador

The points stated were quite salient ones. To start off, people were able to quote the example of
Micromax starting off with Akshay Kumar and then moving onto Hugh Jackman. So even though the
celebrity had changed, the perception change was very little due to the fact that the celebrity was
endorsing a product which was subpar on specifications. One of the moderators quoted the
example of Hansika Motwani endorsing Coke, whence the team suggested that the change in
celebrity from Hansika Motwani to Hrithik Roshan was not a big jump, because in this case, the
brand in itself was so famous that it did not require any special push. Coca Cola is famous brand
which in itself was able to muster a fan following because of its legacy abroad. In this case, it was
the brand that gave a boost to the celebrity.

FGD Group 2
We have a group of 5 people from the age group of 21-27 yrs. for a focused discussion to find
whether their buying pattern is affected by brand ambassadors. These people are young college
students with or without work experience in the range of 1-4 years and belong to the middle class
and upper middle class of the society. Most of them are well versed with social media and digital
media.
Well give them an introduction to the discussion and take down their point of views. The
discussion would go forward according to the points put up by the participants. The moderator

would keep the scope of the discussion limited to the objective of the project so that there would be
minimum deviance in the panel.

Inference: The importance of brand ambassadors for endorsing a product

The participants views were mixed in answering this question and they posed different opinions
and examples to point out their case. One of the most important points the group raised was
whether the use of brand ambassador is necessary for improving sales or improving brand image
and awareness.it was also pointed out by one of the participants that whether companies should
dole out a huge sum on these brand ambassadors or not when there are other avenues to make
their brand more visible. In this age of digital media and social explosion, there are alternative
options that are cheaper and more effective to boost sales. The group was united in the view that a
brand ambassador broadens the scope and increases the visibility of product. Whether that
visibility is converted into sales and profit making is open to questions. Brands that are strongly
associated with brand ambassadors are translated into greater brand awareness than compared to
products without celebrity endorsement. A pertinent point was also raised by the group about
celebrity vs strong campaign scenario. For e.g. a company like Mahindra, this can hire any celebrity
but still focusses on the idea of transformation by having an impactful campaign. What they try to
show is the portfolio of the cars and not the celebrity. This helps a customer in choosing a car based
on the ranges they portray through the ad.

Inference: Celebrity Endorsement specified by products

The group was united in the view that whether brand ambassadors are successful in endorsing a
product or not actually depends upon the choice of product itself. This thing is also applicable to
social causes and services or government advertisements. If we are using Amitabh Bachchan, who
is a credible and respectable public figure for polio vaccination campaign then the celebrity himself
becomes the face of the campaign and the differentiating factor is very much visible across the
public. For e.g. if the product is an iPhone, the use of celebrity endorsement will not matter much
because here the product is in itself larger than life but if we take the case of a Micromax
,association with a known face may help in increasing its sales. Another thing that was discussed
here is the overall investment of the consumer towards a product. For e.g. if the product taken is a
car, which is in fact a high investment product, consumer may not trust a celebrity saying that you
should buy this car or not. But if the product taken is a biscuit and a celebrity is saying that you
should buy this biscuit because it is good for your health, consumer may actually buy it. So the
branding of the product through endorsers varies according to the type or category of the product
line or the brand value it has already created in the market.

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Inference: Choice of Brand Ambassador according to the product

It depends a lot on the type of product that is to be advertised. A celebrity publicizing a product
should be equally relevant to the product that is advertised. For e.g. Sachin Tendulkar is equally
relevant while advertising Boost as is Priyanka Chopra advertising a Garnier Shampoo. It adds the
appropriability factor which may help in enhancing the brand image. The group talked about the
fact that if the public perception of a brand is in sync with the public perception of the brand
ambassador then customers are more likely to buy that product. For e.g. A. R. Rahman, known to be
a leading figure in global music was chosen to be the brand ambassador for the World Music Radio.
Some of the participants were adamant to emphasize that the effect of brand-celebrity combination
is most prominent in cosmetic and beauty products. In Products like Lux or Garnier, usage of brand
ambassadors is important as the product doesnt have much price sensitivity and so requires a high
end endorsement to enhance its market presence. There were also some contrasting views from the
participants and examples of Dove campaign were discussed where common people were used as
celebrities. As going by the company ideology, the campaign doesnt emphasize on celebrity rather
highlights the concept of the natural beauty through common people. So, in a way Dove has
revolutionized the way people have thought about the beauty and cosmetic industry should be
advertised.

Inference: Negative impact of brand ambassadors

The group had some important points about this particular question about the negative
repercussions of the brand ambassadors. Firstly, participants were very vocal about their personal
preferences and prejudices about a particular personality and the brand association. To make the
point clearer, one of the participants told us that due to his personal dislike for Abhishek Bachchan,
he would not use any product endorsed by him. Therefore, we, we can see that a company like Idea
is actually losing some customers because of their association with him. A second example is given
by the group was of Ranbir Kapoors Samsung campaign which was critically panned by the
industry. So, even a person likes Samsung he/she would think twice before buying Samsung after
watching that ad. So the value that is being projected should be considered. Moreover, the negative
image of a brand ambassador may degrade the public perception of the product he is associated
with. Nike signed Tiger Woods for a huge sum of money but overall his effect on the company went
negative when the scandal happened. Actually, the Nike sales dropped down as compared to the
previous sales. The same thing happened to Lance Armstrong when he was caught in the dopescandal. Most of the companies suffered a setback before they withdrew the contract with him.

Inference: Change in peoples perception by changing brand ambassador

The group also discussed about the impact of a certain celebrity and the credibility he brings with
himself when he joins a brand. To emphasize on this point, one of the participant presented a very
relevant example of COCA COLA which is a well-known brand and as such does not require
celebrity endorsement. But there were some reports that questioned the quality of the product. To
counter these reports, COKE signed Amir Khan in their campaign to re-establish their image as his
credibility and trustworthiness was leveraged by COKE to their advantage. Like same thing
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hampered Pepsis image as its former brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan recently issued some
negative statements about Pepsi that corroded its value. So sometimes what matters is the current
brand image of the product to sign a particular celebrity. Selection of a celebrity may change public
viewpoint towards the brand.

In Depth Interviews
An in-depth interview was one-on-one interview that probes and elicits detailed answers to
questions, sometimes using non-directive techniques. It was unstructured done on a one to one
basis.
Total Interviews: 6 (Male and Female Combined)
Individuals: Aged between 15-36 years, young, both high and low purchase power individuals
Recording: Textual
Interviewer: Highly prepared; observational; skilled in why-why technique.

Consumer Profile:-MBA Student, XIMB. Female .Age 23

1. Likes to see ads with celebrities in it.
2. Would not buy a product just because she likes the celebrity in it.
3. Does not think that celebrities in high end products like cars, phones etc. can influence
her purchase decision
4. But if a celebrity she likes is endorsing a high end product say a phone then maybe she
would consider it in her list of options.
5. When it comes to low end products, she may try a product if her favourite actor is
endorsing it.
6. She would definitely see an ad with her favourite celebrity.
7. She would not stop buying a product just because she doesnt like the celebrity
endorsing it.
8. Does not have an opinion about if getting brand ambassadors is justified. Feels it may be
of some advantage as companies takes the decision for some reason.

1. Consumer Profile: - Shopkeeper at a Kirana Store. Male. Age- 15

1.
2.
3.
4.

Likes seeing ads with celebrities as compared to ones without celebrities.

Doesnt recognize all celebrities. Just a few like Salman, Shahrukh
Doesnt recall who features in which brands ad.
He is more inclined towards buying a product that is cheaper and easily accessible.

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5. But he may still notice the product that has one of his known celebrities endorsing it but
that will not make him buy the product.
6. More familiar with regional ads and knows the local celebrities better.
7. Has some favourite celebrity but doesnt remember the exact product she endorses.

2. Consumer Profile:-Engineering Student.Male-21 years

1.
2.
3.
4.

Is neutral towards ads featuring brand ambassadors?

Is not at all influenced by brand ambassadors.
Feels that companies using brand ambassadors is not justified.
May look at the ad but would not keep it in the list of options just because he likes the
celebrity in it.
5. Ad may be interesting to look at, but it depends mainly on the concept of the ad rather than
celebrities featuring in it.
6. May remember the ad longer but that too depends on the concept rather than the celebrity.
7. If a product has a celebrity he does not like endorsing a product then it doesnt influence the
purchasing decision.

3. Consumer Profile:-Student, XIMB. Male Age:26

1. Doesnt matter to him if its a celebrity endorsing a product or someone else as long as the
ad is interesting.
2. Used to be influenced by celebrities as a kid but not anymore.
3. Used to insist upon buying a product to feel associated with the celebrity till a certain age.
4. Would like to see the ad but that would not influence the purchase.
5. Would think of trying a product endorsed by one of his favorite celebrities if the product is
of low price, say a toothpaste or cold drink.
6. When it comes to high involvement products would not even think of what celebrity
features in which ad.
7. Feels companies spending all the money in getting brand ambassadors is justified as it does
make people see the ad and this adds when it comes to brand recall.

4. Consumer Profile:-Housewife. Female. Age:36

1.
2.
3.
4.

Is neutral to whether ads have celebrities in or not.

Doesnt think that celebrities make an ad more reliable.
They may make ads more interesting. Will catch attention
Would not buy a product if it is endorsed by her favorite celebrity.
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5. Doesnt think that she would consider it in her list of options.

6. But would not like to use a product that is endorsed by a celebrity she doesnt like at all.
7. Usually would stop and see an ad by her favorite actor and may remember at the time of
purchase.
8. Companies spending money on getting brand ambassadors is justified as it leads to better
brand recall.

5. Consumer Profile:-Mess worker. Male. Age:20

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Likes seeing ads with celebrities.

Sometimes remembers the products when the celebrities is one he likes.
May not buy a product because of a celebrity who endorses it.
But if the product is well within in his capacity then he would surely think of buying the
product
May look for a product endorsed by his favorite actor before making a final purchase
decision.
Likes ads with Bollywood actors more as compared to sportsmen
Would still buy a product he likes if endorsed by a celebrity he does not like.
Would look for features when it comes to products that are expensive.

Inferences:
The interviees suggested various factors in relation to seeing brand ambassadors associated with
products. The entire set of factors that we could infer from their interviews has been can be
tabulated as below.

Inferences from Depth Interviews

Makes the Ad interesting
Helps in Brand Recall
Does not make the product reliable
May not hamper the purchase
Brand Ambassadors catches their attention

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Brand Ambassadors have no influence when it comes to high end products

Brand Ambassadors may influence the choice when the product is of low
involvement

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Quantitative Research
We floated a survey questionnaire (attached in annexure) and were able to get 124 responses.
Following are the findings and analysis for the same.

Demographics:

Female
35%
Male
65%

25-30
18%

18-25
82%

It is evident that survey was floated to a young age group with full access to all the digital media
solutions. The respondents are knowledgeable about local and international celebrities and their
brand associations. Also we know from the survey that 98% of the respondents are students which
mean they are more in sync with modern marketing techniques. The buying pattern of our survey
shows an interesting trend. Traditionally it is known that females are more frequent buyers of
lifestyle products but out survey shows that the division is almost equal with percentages ranging
from 41-44%.

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Analyzing some of the important questions from the survey:

What factor affects your buying behavior towards the purchase?

This shows that when it comes to a purchase decision, the consumer is not affected by the celebrity
endorsing a product. Brand name (49%) and Price (37%) are the major influencers when it comes
to buying a product.

Do you like to see any celebrity endorsing the brand on television?

33%

Yes
No

52%

Maybe
15%

The factors here are trending towards an as of now undecided perception of how to garner
responses. If the celebrities endorse products during the peak of an event or show, then consumers
17

might perceive it to be a nuisance since the primary focus would be on the show. Also, if the product
endorsed is not relevant to the viewer they would have been non-committal in their response.
Therefore the major responses come from the people who are as yet undecided due to lack of more
relevant data and information about the celebrity as well as the endorsement being referred to
here.

Celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion of buying a product

This shows that 60% of our respondents feel that celebrity endorsements can persuade people to
buy a product. But this does not conclude whether a person himself gets persuaded to by the
product. We calculated that 61 % of male respondents would consider celebrity endorsement as a
persuasive tool whereas an equitable percentage of female respondents feel the same. This shows
that a majority of respondents from both the genders believe that endorsements by celebrities help
in building a better perception of the product.

Would you buy a product without getting more information if it is endorsed by your
favorite celebrity?

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We see that there is a clear trend of getting information before buying any product and not going by
what the celebrity is saying about the product. This has become more prominent in the age of
digital media and social networking. People are getting more and more inquisitive about their
investments and there is less reliability of what a certain celebrity is saying about the product.
However, the limitations in this survey are that the respondents are all sentient and knowledgeable
students at a premier business school and hence their answers are in no way an extension of the
common population.

If no, then for what type of products do you seek more information?

The survey is in sync with our FGD results and the interview answers. The respondents are more
likely to research about electronic goods and high expenditure products. Products such as cars
come under this category and it is nave to think that anyone would go and buy a product like it just
19

because his/her favorite celebrity is endorsing it. It the case of electronic goods, the online media is
filled with all kind of review and comparing sites which are better suited to tell the consumer about
the specifications and full details than a statement from a known face.

If your favorite celebrity stops endorsing a product would you stop using it?

If your favourite celebrity stops endorsing a

product would you stop using it?
Yes(if spoken against it)
Maybe
No
Yes
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

The results fall in line with the analysis portrayed above as well as with the FGDs and interviews
taken. A huge number of respondents are in fact saying that their buying behavior would not
change if a certain celebrity has stopped endorsing a product. However, a small minority of the
respondents chose to try other products if the former celebrity ambassador are vocal against the
product after their parting.

Research findings

20

Here we can observe that

Consumer believes the celebrity makes the ad interesting. This is demonstrated from the
findings in the first question. The mean value of 3.5 shows that the respondents are more
favorable towards agreeing with the premise that celebrities add more charm to an ad and
make it more interesting.
Celebrities need not believe in the products they endorse.
If a famous celebrity acts in that ad, consumer definitely watches the ad.

2. Celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion of buying a product.

3. Any ad should have enough information as most of the consumers prefer information than to
celebrity.
4. Most of the consumers can relate themselves with sport stars, Bollywood stars and Hollywood
stars, in that order.
5. Even if their favorite celebrity stops endorsing the product, they wont blindly stop using it. But,
considerable amount of consumers will stop using it if the celebrity gives a reason for doing so.
6. In the given list of celebrities, they tend to associate each celebrity to the kind of product they
endorse. So, companies should try to use those celebrities for effective reach of the campaign.

21

Based on a few major categories of consumer products, we asked our respondents to filter and
place celebrities they associated with a particular vertical or product. The celebrities chosen were
based on the number of products they endorse and the quality of products being taken into
consideration. On the basis of the responses we got, we came to the conclusion that consumers
associate with the celebrities based on the cost of the products. If its a high value product, the
association with celebrities is weakened. However, low value products like beauty creams and soft
drinks are easily associated with celebrities and their advertisements.
Amitabh Bachchan- We see that even though he endorses a multitude of brands, his image as a
stalwart of the film industry as well as his raised voice for social causes has associated him being
perceived with social causes more than with any other product that he endorses.
Shahrukh Khan- Although he endorses across all the domains we questioned, yet the number and
frequency of endorsements he does for the beauty segment is far higher than for anything else. The
high frequency of ads which run on the slotted times make him quite a well-known endorser for
beauty products.
Aamir Khan- With the advent of his famous TV show, Satymev Jayate, he is associated far and wide
with his social activities.
Deepika Padukone- Similar to the case of Shahrukh Khan, her high number of endorsements of
beauty products make her perception easily associated with the same.
Sachin Tendulkar- Being a sportsman of acclaim, he is associated easily with social causes the
maximum. However, we believe that were he to endorse sporting events, his value of perception
would yield to be the highest.
Parineeti Chopra- Similar to other actors of recent age, her endorsements of beauty products and
rise to fame in recent critically acclaimed movies help her to be easily associated with beauty
products.

22

Mahendra Singh Dhoni- Being a vehicle aficionado, his endorsements of the same are highly
perceived by the respondents.
Priyanka Chopra- Her natural beauty and endorsements of products for beautifications have led her
to be associated with beauty products.
Ranbir Kapoor- His deal with Pepsi and the ad runs he has had with them make it easy to associate
him with Soft Drinks
Virat Kohli- Due to his recent advertisements for mens fairness creams, he is well known for the
beauty products over everything else.

Inference

People like to see celebrities endorsing the product. Brand ambassadors make the
advertisements more interesting for the consumers.
Indian consumers were quite positive about most of the aspects of this vibrant issue in
advertising and campaigning strategy. It is evident from the analysis that Indian consumers were
captivated by the pictorial appeal of advertising messages, which picked celebrities to charm the
target audience. In their view, celebrities succeed in making the advertisements more attractive
thereby captivating attention to view the ad campaign at least once. Most of them believed that
the popularity that the celebrities hold with their personality adds to the brand of the product.
Difference in opinion stood at the factor of age where children of 13 or less years of age are
fascinated by seeing their favorite celebs in vision no matter what the product is; while the
other segment understands the relation between the celebrity and endorsed product and
appreciate the linkage.

Having a brand ambassador doesnt ensure that the consumers perceive the product as reliable
In the era of social and digital media where information flows viral in a split of second; people
have grown knowledgeable enough to judge the reliability of the product according to the
features and qualities promised by the brand rather than blindly going for the favorite
personality endorsement without actually looking in the insight of the product. Thus, having a
celebrity ambassador for a brand doesnt always certify the viability of the product. There were
certain examples given where a product is a leading brand in its product line without actually
being endorsed by a celebrity; on a contrary by the common people to highlight its common
man effects. Thus, celebrity endorsement is an important aspect in the marketing strategy to
highlight the brand image and value but not the only trait to feature the product.

23

People generally tend to see/remember ambassadors endorsing lifestyle products and not
electronics or other bulky products.
The consumers are more inclined towards a lifestyle product celebrity combination than any
other one. One reason that we came across while completing this project is the reliability factor
that consumers link the celebrities with lifestyle products and not with electronic goods or any
other product segment. Consumers have a vague idea that the celebrities that are endorsing a
Lux or a Garnier may actually be using that. That belief is not present when they are using a
Micromax or a Samsung phone. The other reason for the above mentioned linkage is that
consumers tend to believe experts and tech-specialists more when buying electronic goods or
high expenditure products like cars and lesser on what their favorite celebrity is saying about
that product. Hence it would be suitable to say that people will listen more to Rajeev Makhani
than Ranbeer Kapoor when they want to buy a mobile phone.

Brand recall may be better when you use a celebrity as people generally tend to see hoardings
or advertisements when that feature a celebrity especially one that they like
Celebrities are a symbol of popularity. To endorse a brand through a celebrity is a typical
marketing strategy to highlight the name of the brand so that people remember the item. It
helps in capturing the eye of the consumer towards the advertisement especially when they are
a huge fan of that particular celebrity. It increases the brand recall as the customer can associate
their favorite personality with the product through the glimpse on the billboard/hoarding. The
idea is to connect the popularity of the star to the product and promote it with a big name
supplemented to it. For instance, when we asked the question in the survey as to which
celebrity can you recall doing the advertisement for, most of them were able to recall the
product even though they might not use/like the product.

There may be one celebrity endorsing multiple categories of products, but consumers relate to
those with low expenditure.
Products with low expenditure are generally daily consumable products such as snacks items,
cold drinks or may be cosmetics etc. Consumers have tendency to try and test different variety
in low expenditure range products, the decision for which sometime depends on the influence
by friends/family or their favorite celebrity endorsing it. This is the reason they tend to recall
brand ambassadors for such kind of products rather than the high end products; the decision for
which majorly depends on the features and quality of the good which is not effected by the
celebrity associated to it.

Conclusion
One of the most popular marketing approach to get a product noticed by most of the existing
as well as potential customers is Celebrity Endorsement. Though this method has its own
substantial cost attached to it but has a major impact in creating brand awareness and a huge
brand recall in the consumers which might prove profitable for the company on a longer run.

24

Consequently, it is worth a while examining its influence in the buying behavior of the
customers. The companies understand that celebrities can catalyze brand acceptance and can
provide a huge momentum to the brand development. It gives new opportunities to the brand
to target even those segments which are influenced by a big star name. India is a country with
a strong celebrity culture. People are generally very infatuated with celebrities like
sportspersons and movie stars. There is a latent emotional connection with the celebrities and
the general people and companies tend to capture the essence to market their products to
their advantage. As discussed above, hiring of celebrities does not guarantee a successful
marketing campaign or even high revenues but the visibility of products and brand awareness is
much higher in case of a celebrity endorsed campaign. This visibility gives the edge that is
required in this age of cut throat competition and shorter attention span of consumers. Also, a
number of factors affect the overall success of celebrity endorsement. These factors range from
effectiveness of celebrity, credibility of the celebrity, celebrity-product linkage and consumer
preferences towards the celebrity.
All the above points finally conclude that celebrity endorsement is an effective tool to market
products but the effectiveness of conversion from visibility to actual sale also depends upon
other factors. But these brand ambassadors have a tremendous responsibility on their heads as
millions of people listen and believe them when making important buying decisions .Hence, the
bottom line says that a brand should be aware of the facts that how a particular celebrity is
affecting their product. In this age of social media, this form of marketing has taken a new form
and consumers are now more able to decide and direct the general buying behavior.

References

The Effects of Multiple Product Endorsements by Celebrities on Consumers' Attitudes

and Intentions, Journal of Consumer Research by Carolyn Tripp, Thomas D. Jensen and
Les Carlson
Celebrities Impact on Branding by Christina Schlecht
Endorser Effectiveness by Product Type by Hershey H. Friedman and Linda Friedman

Annexure A (FGD):
Discussion Guide
Rapport Building:

25

Please introduce yourself?

What is your background (hometown, education, work experience)?
What is your daily routine in college?

Understanding Consumer Behavior:

-

Do you think brand ambassadors are necessary?

Is brand ambassadors product specific?
Do you think the choice of brand ambassador matters for a product?
Are there any negative influences on consumer behavior due to brand ambassadors?
Does change of brand ambassadors bring a change in people perception?

Annexure B (In-depth Interviews):

Interview Guide:

Please tell us about yourself?

Do you like seeing ads or promos of products?
Do you like seeing celebrities or brand ambassadors in ads.
Do you think that brand ambassadors can influence your purchase decision?
What kind of products would you not get influenced in?
Would you remember an ad with a celebrity in it?
Do you think celebrities make ads more interesting?
Would you think of buying a product endorsed by your favourite celebrity?
Do you usually remember which celebrity endorses which product?
Would you refrain from purchasing a product that has a celebrity you dont like endorsing
it?

Do you think companies spending crores of money on getting brand ambassadors is

justified?

Annexure C (Quantitative Research)

Questionnaire
(Contd)

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

Analysis

Gender

Would you
buy
a
product
without
getting more
information
if
it
is
endorsed by
your
favourite
ce...?
If no, then
for
what
type
of
products do
you
seek
more
information
?

Age

Occupation

Male

Femal
e

Belo
w 18

1825

2530

Abov
e 30

Employe
d

Selfemploye
d

Studen
t

Yes

Maybe

17

20

24

No

60

36

79

17

95

Mean

2.69
1
81

2.837

2.754

2.72
7
22

43

2.74
5
102

122

Lifestyle
products

10

11

Consumer
Goods

10

Beauty and
Health Care

17

16

17

Electronic
goods

40

13

42

11

53

Products
with higher
expenditur
e

20

21

26

Mean

3.357

3.624

3.76
2
21

42

3.56
1
98

Total

3.72
7
77

117

Yes

No

64

28

74

18

91

Maybe

11

12

Yes
but
only
if
he/she
speaks
against it

12

13

Total

33

Mean

Do you like
to see any
celebrity
endorsing
the
brand
on
television?
Male
endorser is
more
effective as
compared to
female
endorser.

Gender

Age

Occupation

How

often

8.286

8.32

Total

8.27
8
79

8.283

100

8.09
5
21

42

120

Yes

19

22

Maybe

45

19

37

40

50

14

63

No

17

15

19

Mean

1.97
5
81

1.535

1.828

43

1.78
4
102

22

122

Strongly
Agree

Agree

14

10

15

Neither
Agree nor
Disagree

33

21

41

13

54

Disagree

20

16

34

35

Strongly
Disagree

10

11

Mean

3.05

3.581

3.248

80

43

2.86
4
22

Total

3.31
7
101

121

Male

81

66

15

80

Female

43

36

42

Mean

1.344

81

43

1.31
8
22

Total

1.35
3
102

122

Below 18

18-25

66

36

102

101

25-30

15

22

21

Above 30

Mean

2.163

2.172

Total

2.18
5
81

43

102

22

122

Employed

Selfemployed

Student

80

42

101

21

122

Mean

2.977

2.99

43

102

2.90
9
22

Total

2.97
5
81

122

Never

Total

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do
you
purchase
lifestyle
products

Less than
Once
a
Month

16

19

22

Once
Month

35

17

41

11

51

2-3 Times a
Month

21

13

27

34

Once
Week

2-3 Times a
Week

Daily

Mean

3.22
5
80

3.256

3.248

3.13
6
22

43

3.25
7
101

121

Total

35