The Hindu Business Line : Cos roping in young celebrities as brand ambassadors

Chennai, Dec. 4 Is there a trend of companies appointing younger brand ambassadors while holding on to the older ones? It certainly looks like it, what with brands such as Dabur, Pepsi and Nokia roping in cricketer M.S. Dhoni, actors Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra while retaining superstars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.

Says Mr Praveen Jaipuriar, Senior Marketing Manager, Dabur Health Supplements, “Yes, it could be a trend as companies extend their reach to a larger audience set.” Dabur’s advertising for Chyawanprash and its honey will feature Dhoni. The company wants the two products to be relevant to the youth of today, and hence the appointment of a youth ambassador.

Priyanka Chopra

The senior actors were brought on board earlier because of their universal appeal, so what has changed now? “As market segmentation/product differentiation is getting stronger, it’s necessary to be very focused in brand communication. We will soon see an increasing number of brand ambassadors for each segment,” he says. He also adds that the same product could mean different things to different people — for instance, Chyawanprash could connote immunity to older adults and children while it could mean strength and stamina to youth. Dhoni represents a fit body as well as an alert mind and hence the synergies with Chyawanprash and honey, he said.

Nokia, however, does not put it the same way. According to Mr Devinder Kishore, Director (Marketing), Nokia India, the company has associated with actor Priyanka Chopra for its new ‘Style campaign’, aimed to connect with style-conscious consumers. Shah Rukh Khan, who is still on board, has been used for Nokia’s first ever brand campaign, and later, his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders, was also used.

Theme-based campaigns

“As we focus on theme-based campaigns, we look at the celebrity who fits the theme best,” says Mr Kishore, adding that other celebrities who had come on board earlier have included actors Rahul Bose and Naseeruddin Shah and singer-musician Rabbi Shergill.

Does the arrival of younger brand ambassadors signify that their older counterparts are on their way out? Mr Jaipuriar denies that, adding that Amitabh Bachchan himself is very excited about Dhoni’s presence and has even mentioned it on his blog. An ad featuring both, for Dabur Honey, is breaking this week. “Some of these stars themselves understand the brand’s logic,” he says.

Pepsico India executives were not available for comment.

Harish Bijoor, brand-strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, observes that brands are taking on more endorsers of the celebrity kind all of a sudden. “I believe they are hedging against the fact that celeb-appeal comes and goes. Further, celeb-appeal of the universal kind is largely missing in one single star today.” Saying that the days of an endorser touting a single brand are over, he remarks that “the current trend is an archetypal revenge of the marketer. If the brand endorser can advertise for more than one brand, why should not a brand take on more than one endorser? This is a kind of insurance as well. If one does not click, another does.”

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