CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS AND THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE IN VIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Celebrity endorsements are a time-honored marketing tool. The theory is that borrowing some of a celebrity’s star power will create both an awareness of, and an interest in, a given product. There has always been top management pressure to deliver on the brand and see immediate results. From the celebrity’s angle the rationale is purely of personal choice and the value of contract. The question is the rationale from the marketer’s angle. The decision of celebrity endorsement today has become trickier in the era of social media. New approaches are User Generated Content (UGC) and Consumer Generated Marketing (CGM) – which unlike paid media – is created by consumers. Studies also show that nearly all social-media users believe a company should have presence in social media since it allows them to bring the brand into conversation and enables customers to adopt new behaviour. The paper first describes a few of the models and theories used internationally for celebrity endorsement. The paper then seeks to highlight the opportunity and challenges of celebrity endorsement today in view of social media. Celebrity endorsement continues to be an expensive but easy avenue for marketers – and the wealth of benefits it offers to a company cannot be questioned. The crucial role for CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) here is to ensure that there is integration between a brand being endorsed by a celebrity and the brand’s social media presence. It is noted that a huge challenge of celebrity endorsements in the age of social media is to craft a perfect marketing message. Also, companies should actively prepare for the potential of bad behaviour from their selected endorser before it taints the brand. In addition Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules are becoming stricter mandating that a sponsored ad needs to be highlighted explicitly by the endorser. The celebrities in India are now including social media in the brand endorsement contracts. As more and more brands enter the global marketplace, it is important for managers to consider variations in the effectiveness of advertising strategies.