The Hindu Business Line : Cutting through celebrity clutter

Getting celebrities to endorse a brand does help in creating a sustained presence in the market, but the brands should have a long-term strategy in place.

IN an environment cluttered with several kinds of appeals, celebrity advertising is being used for national brands. More recently, there is a growing usage of regional celebrities to appeal to regional segments - Coke, Vim and a regional brand such as Jeeva soap are examples. While clear-cut data and the effectiveness of these kinds of celebrity appeals are hard to obtain, it may be worthwhile to analyse how certain considerations could help marketers in such strategies.

What is the nature of the category?

FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) categories by themselves are amenable to impulsive buying habits of consumers. There is also a large category of consumers who may like to try out variety in a given category while being loyal to a specific brand. For instance, a consumer may be loyal to a brand of soap but try out several other brands during the same period. Celebrity advertising, whether for a national brand or a regional brand in such a category, would have to have a clear-cut goal of initiating trials and the product (both in terms of proposition and consumer experience) would have to be superior to other offerings to ensure those who try out the brand stay with it.

Celebrity usage, especially for a new brand being introduced, should necessarily have a long-term strategy in place before the celebrity route is taken. During the initial phase, those trying out the brand should be retained and quickly some form of loyalty programme should be launched to ensure that they do not leave the brand. It need not be a freebie - it could be a well thought-out plan which adds value to the brand association - in fact, if a brand has a non-sales promotion programme without the usual `buy one-take two' programme, it is likely to stand out. Such planning ensures that the initial mileage derived from the celebrity used (in terms of brand trials) is not wasted.

The problem of using celebrity by a brand in the durable category becomes much more complex as consumers may not invest a fortune in an expensive durable) simply because celebrities endorse a brand. While this is more applicable to several durable categories, there may be exceptions such as Santro and Palio in the automobile sector. Around six lakh cars are sold in the country compared to millions of TVs and the category itself a `niche' category.

A topical celebrity would certainly attract the attention of a prospective buyer, especially the segment of buyers who may buy a brand such as Santro. At launch, this brand had a celebrity and this ensured that brand awareness was created in a market which did not even know the brand. The brand was able to back the awareness created through celebrity usage with fine performance and within a short time it established itself in terms of market share as well as positive word of mouth. This was the stage when it introduced the second (an actress topping the popularity chart) celebrity.

In the case of Palio, which is reported to have registered a rise in sales after the introduction of the famous and record-creating cricket celebrity, it had revamped the product offering in an attempt to enhance the value proposition of the offering. A durable would do well to choose a celebrity who has an `expert association' with the product usage - a microwave using a celebrity known for her expertise in cuisine. A washing machine brand using a cricket celebrity would offer little advantage unless he has a charismatic presence in a specific region.

BPL probably gained a lot of mileage in the rural and semi-urban markets using an extremely popular cinematic Indian celebrity known for his tinsel image reflecting `Robin Hood-like' goodness and good Samaritan qualities. This company had come out of several campaigns highlighting its hi-tech image before it eventually used a celebrity.

In the case of categories such as chewing gum or biscuits, celebrity appeal has an impulsive impact on the consumers and could continue to have this impact as long as the celebrity is a reigning one.

Services could open up a different line of thought with regard to celebrity usage - given the intangibility and the complexities associated with services, it could provide credibility to the brand by reducing the perceived risk associated with it. A number of insurance companies have joined the competition against the well-entrenched LIC. Perceived risk is a major factor which brands need to address and the use of an appropriate celebrity could achieve the purpose. In the case of other services, for example, banking, which may involve more frequent interaction with the

organisation/brand, the brand should back up the celebrity `assurance'(endorsement) through excellent service experience. Without such a strategy, the celebrity appeal would only result in a negative word of mouth.

Does the equity of a brand matter?

The equity and the heritage of the brand matters when celebrity advertising is attempted. Omega a few years ago used a campaign with Cindy Crawford in the Asian markets. The classic image of the brand may have little association with the flashy image of the celebrity.

Coke uses a number of celebrities in several regions of the Indian market and it has also used many film and sports celebrities over a period of time since its launch in India. The higher the brand's equity, the more its immunity to the risks involved in using celebrities. Mistakes do not damage the brand much and it gets time to correct any it may have made with regard to the celebrity route. Thumps Up, which has used many celebrities (including Gavaskar) and which was not advertised for a while after Coke was launched in India, still carries considerable equity. It is also interesting to observe that Thumps Up did not start with a celebrity association, which it used later to create the `macho' association. It was launched as a substitute for Coke when the latter made an exit from the Indian markets. Fanta made use of humour a few years ago and it is currently using a well-known celebrity in some markets.

Several brands in categories of milk, footwear and soaps (regional brands) are also using well-known celebrities and the objective in such cases could be to generate a short-term demand for the respective brand. Hero Honda is currently using a celebrity from cricket and it is unlikely that this celebrity, even if changed/substituted, would adversely affect the image of the brand. Sunsilk used a topical celebrity in certain markets and given its overall brand image, it can afford to have a reasonable degree of flexibility to try out celebrities.

A new brand (without a brand heritage) using a celebrity may experience different implications. When Videocon started its TV advertising in India, the brand used a cine celebrity to launch its picture-in-picture model. While the model did not pick up, the celebrity certainly enhanced brand recall. This recall occurred when the category itself was developing during the Eighties - the same celebrity used in a similar situation would not have the same impact in an evolved market.

Lata, a brand of perfume named after the famous playback singer, seems to appeal to Indians in West Asia and hence the objective of using a celebrity of this kind was different for this brand.

Do long-term brand associations matter?

Any brand, especially those which would like to have a sustained presence in the market, should use celebrities with a long-term strategy. Gwalior Suitings has been consistent in using a celebrity pair for the last several years. The Parker brand of pen, which by itself commands equity, used Amitabh Bachchan to probably revitalise not just the brand but also the art of handwriting, given that the target segment for a brand like this is well into word processing. But after having created this association between the two `brands', the brand would find it worthwhile to further this association in an effective manner for long-term benefits. The same celebrity (along with his son, an upcoming actor) was used by the car Versa. The proposition communicated was the vehicle's spaciousness. The brand would do well to further the association to derive more mileage for itself in the long run.

A specific strategy is important, especially for brands using celebrities for durables. Tamarind, a readymade garments brand, which used a popular celebrity, is another interesting example to research the effectiveness of the celebrity strategy.

Are there risks involved in the celebrity route?

The celebrity approach has a few serious risks. The most risky is the reputation of the celebrity after he/she has been associated with a specific brand - Pepsi, Thumps Up and Hampstead suitings are examples from the Indian context (even foreign brands have faced such risks). One approach, if it is suitable to the category/brand, is a change of celebrity. This not only provides a contemporary association but also ensures that the chances of a chosen celebrity's bad reputation do not have much impact on the brand. Lux is a good example of this approach over the past many years. Another approach is to have different execution formats - one with celebrity and another without. But this approach has several complexities and the broader meaning of the brand would have to be studied in-depth before it could be attempted.

One more alternative is to depend on stereotypes rather than celebrities. The Himalaya brand (formerly Ayurvedic Concepts) follows this approach. The stereotype is the grandmother who is endorsing the offerings of the brand and for this brand it is likely to be highly effective.

A rigorous study connecting several aspects of brand's category and the impact of celebrity usage would lay a strong foundation to plan the overall strategy for a brand rather than an isolated one involving just the celebrity. In fact, the study would be useful to decide if a celebrity is to be roped in at all, given the celebrity clutter in advertising across categories.

(The author is Professor of Marketing, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Feedback can be e-mailed to bleditor@thehindu.co.in)

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