THE RECENT excitement about the medal wins at the Paris Olympics brings up once again the fame and fortune that accompany the medalists. Sometimes, claims on this bonanza also come from expected quarters. Companies line up to honor the medalists with cash and assets, and free congratulatory ads. Can celebrity endorsements of brands and products be far behind?
Brands employ celebrities as part of their sales efforts. This marketing technique has been used with little regard to its effectiveness, and often using the same celebrity to peddle a wide range of product categories.
A medalist may be used by a bank to lift its brand profile (literally, just four years ago). There is no insinuation that an endorser understands the attributes of a stable bank. The celebrity is posed as a depositor and may use a tag line that links his sport to a bank attribute — we will land on our feet after a somersault — with just a half step hesitation.
Celebrities are not required to have any special expertise on the product they are promoting. The only quality a celebrity offers is being well known, for the moment anyway. The brand then, by osmosis, is expected to acquire the same celebrity status. There are of course attributes of the celebrity like youth, vivacity, coolness, and chic that are deemed identifiable too with the brand. Bad attributes that can crop up later on may also cling like a mollusk to the same product.
The popularity of celebrity marketing is evident in how known personalities (not just models) dominate billboards in our major thoroughfares. The chosen celebrity may not even have any achievements other than fame. This is why movie and TV personalities, especially those with daily programs, dominate out-of-home advertising.
Even online marketing has a new set of celebrities, known as influencers, who push brands and political personalities.
Celebrities offer a simple aspirational appeal for the ordinary consumer. It is a straightforward proposition — I too can have white skin and attract the boy next door. It is to be expected that the suggestion can appeal to both genders.
What happens when a celebrity ceases to be well known due to a lack of media exposure from TV program cancellations? Will a gold medalist in a family feud continue to appeal to consumers of family-oriented products endorsed by him?The principle of “brand affinity” asserts that the product being endorsed acquires a certain halo effect from the endorser. By the same token, any scandal or static from the endorser’s life may attach too to the product he is associated with.
Another kind of endorser is the expert. But is the person in a white lab coat a real dentist, or an actor pretending to be one, inspecting your tartar deposit as you come out of the mall?
Specialists can be endorsers too, even if they are not well known. These personalities are employed for products with a targeted appeal like a dental implant, dialysis treatment, or elderly care. Still, real practitioners may be loath to recommend products they do not really know. Such endorsements only make sense when the endorser has a stake in the company promoting skin care and surgical enhancements. (Are you tired of your man boobs?)
What about political celebrities? Before the actual campaign period allows outright politicking, candidates eagerly pose as celebrities for products and advocacies. (Drive safely.) In this case, it is not the product that gains marketing advantage but the endorser herself. There may not even be any product involved — have a nice day.
Endorsements are part of our culture. Fathers endorse daughters and sons to take over the family business. Sitting CEOs select their successor to continue the growth strategy already started. Political dynasties do the merry-go-round of mayor, congressman, governor, and senator.
Celebrity marketing raises the awareness level of products, especially those that are new in the market. They define the appeal the product wishes to be associated with, whether it’s with the young and cool celebrity or the motherly and nurturing personality.
Still celebrity marketing is not cheap. There is a competition for the time and appeal of a current celebrity at the height of his awareness level. It is almost an auction for his presumed marketing pull. Ironically, when the fee becomes affordable, the appeal may already have waned from overexposure — and consumer fatigue.
Tony Samson is chairman and CEO of TOUCH xda
