"Celebrity Endorsement"

A bit wavering off the main theme of the blog.This post is about "Celebrity Endorsement".

I still remember the lecture in which we were taught this topic as a special emphasis was laid on managing a brand over their endorsements.I'd found it very amusing as I couldn't believe the fact that people buy brands because a particular celebrity promotes it.I mean how many people,today use Navratna hair oil just because Mr Bachchan endorses it???

I was wrong.....

It was only after the completion of the lecture that I actually went and asked people if they would eat 'Lays' (chips) if their favourite star started endorsing it.That's probably why Dhoni has been brought against Saif these days.I got mixed reactions from everyone but eventually,to my surprise the people staying positive turned out to be higher in number.The hottest favourite was Aamir Khan.

Later I learnt that 'Celebrity Endorsement' is just not promoting the brand.It is far more deeper than what I thought it was.It creates an association in the minds of people.The association with which the celebrity can be linked to the brand.Imagine if Amitabh Bachchan started endorsing Kingfisher beer!!!His brand image will suffer a great setback as people see him as more of a family man and a matured personality.Yes,but at the same time if Sanjay Dutt proposes to endorse it,the campaign might be a success.It depends on the brand image of the celebrity at that point of time.For example;Saurav Ganguly was taken off from Brittania immediately after he was kicked out of the team due to bad performance,Salman Khan's ads were stopped the minute he was arrested by the cops,so on and so forth.

Thus the issue of Celebrity Endorsement has to be dealt with very carefully in branding.It has a direct impact on the consumer's buying behavior and at the same time is more attached to their sentiments than any other way of promotion.