To Tell or To Sell?

India is a country of 1 billion plus population. Companies from all over are vying to enter this market. Those who are present are trying hard to increase their market segment. Marketing gurus invent something new each day to get a glimpse of the eyeballs for their campaigns. Every company here is trying to attract attention by innovative marketing strategies, wonderful ads or making some noise and push their products. The metros are already showing signs of saturation. To dodge the saggy pace of the sales or to enter into a well established competitive segment the companies are using the magic bullet. They are desperately roping the celebrities in an attempt to establish credibility with consumers. It’s a general conception celebrities can connect with the mass appeal & the public appeal which they attract will get boost the sales. But is this worth the money spent? Do they deliver the punch in the consumers mind? Does a celebrity augment well with the brand value of the company? Let us get into deeper thoughts.

The celebrity brings attention with it, so that people might talk about the celebrity but that rarely translates into much for the brand. The bottom line is that the only thing that makes a brand successful is PR reputation and a good idea. Paying AB or SRK millions is hardly any replacement for that.

The core idea of the campaign is most important. A brand without a focus will never find the correct celebrity to match the brand. The brand PR is also most important criteria. No amount of celebrity endorsement can match that. In the long run, the only thing that builds a brand in the mind of the consumer is PR and word-of-mouth generated by an idea. The PR attention generated by a celebrity does not build a brand.

When celebrity endorsements work?

The primary thing to consider, the celebrity should be able to convince & connect with the consumer due to his credibility. The consumer should have a credible belief that the celebrity would be interested in buying and using the product or service despite being paid to do so. If not, the whole point is lost. It’s very rare to find these types of celebrities and many celebrities have the reputation for saying anything for a buck. Most of the time the celebrities distract attention from the message being conveyed. For e.g. Katrina Kaif in Slice ad increases the glam factor to such level that the audience hardly concentrates for the product and only feels thirsty for her.

Celebrity endorsements work best when the celebrity is believable and has the exclusivity factor attached with him. Consider the Indian scenario; Amitabh Bachan the reining star in Bollywood promotes so many brands that it’s hard for the consumer to believe most of the times. Similarly with M.S. Dhoni (Captain Indian Cricket Team), Shahrukh Khan (movie star) & Sachin Tendulkar (cricket star) have lost total credibility due to multiple appearances and dominating the ad space most of the time. Sometimes consumers are fatigued of seeing the celebrity’s face all over the place. Now if Rakhi Sawant starts promoting some products, it’s sure to increase the irritation level among the consumers. Athletes in their prime usually have endorsements with so many different brands that each has limited influence. This is compounded by having multiple contracts that are short-term and change frequently.

Celebrity endorsements works best if the celebrity is not too famous else they tend to overshadow the brands in the advertising. Celebrity endorsing can be used as a complimentary with a good idea to catch the attention of the eyeballs. Another advantage is the celebrities are helpful in attending the events & campaigns of the company. At times the employees feel proud of having a celebrity endorsing their company. The competitions and the events which involve a celebrity are bound to attract more attention than plan vanilla ones.

Another factor is Time. Celebrity endorsements give great results if worked for long-terms. Having a new celebrity every few years doesn’t make sense. Consistency is the key. Think of Coca Cola, the image of Aamir Khan comes into the mind. Sticking with the brand during bad times is also the key.

Now let us take out the few cases of blunder.

Shahrukh Khan munching Sunfeast biscuits is almost unbelievable for the anybody that he will ever put one of those cookies into his mouth.

Amitabh Bhachan promoting Binani cement is another example. Why on earth a man of this stature will be concerned about the cement used for his constructions?

Sehwag showing his glistening teeths along with bald head for Dabur Lal tooth power.

Sachin promoting AVIVA life insurance. Ever seen a man with millions to spend for his ten lifetimes to come being concerned about his insurance?

Salman Khan baring his body for Dollar Club. Will he ever put one of this cheap grade under wear other than Calvin Klein or a Jockey when every common man can afford them now days?

Let’s consider some successful cases where the use of celebrity has enhanced the brand image of the company.

Amitabh (AB) promoting Reid & Taylor & Parker goes consistently well with his brand image. Anand Vishwanathan promoting NIIT. Sachin tendulkar the new ambassador for RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) are some of the great campaigns ever.  

There are cases of celebrity running into PR disasters which ultimately affects the brand image. After Cricket world cup debacle for India, most of the companies were reluctant to renew their contracts with the cricketers. The brands endorsed by Sourav Ganguly took a beating after his unceremonious exit from the Indian Cricket Team.

Various new strategies & trends are evolving every day. It’s the effective bundling of the things and getting endorsed by celebrities delivers the punch. In entertainment industry, the companies are spending like never before to flash their products in the movies (note that movies are also products which needs marketing) which in turn are getting marketed by the celebrities starred in it. Remember Hrithik Roshan gulping down Bournvita in Koi Mil Gaya and Rekha shouting the name a couple of times.

The worthy thing to notice for ad agencies or the marketing gurus is:

People may listen & enjoy to the ads by the celebrities, but when it comes to spending their hard money common sense always prevails. It’s always the quality of product, value for money and the brand image that matters in the long run.

In some segments like FMCG, apparels etc. customers can take the risk to imitate the celebrity in the ad or atleast don’t mind spending their money to induce the orgy after imitating their onscreen idols. But when it comes to high end product segment like electronics, cars, bikes consumers always think twice before going to take the call.

Before smoking a cigarette, I can try the name on Marlon Brando’s packet, but before buying a plasma panel or a mobile, I will go by my research, common sense & intuition rather than the words of Shahrukh Khan.

Please post your personal comments and the influences of celebrities in your life before buying.