Brands & Celebrities – Part 1: Of easy, instant solutions and a shift from just endorsers
Brands have been utilising celebrities for quick impact or for breaking through the clutter for years now. However, in the last few years the brand and celebrity equation has evolved, at least for the advertisers, who have understood that celebrities while lending personality to a brand cannot overshadow the brand itself and should truly represent the brand. In this two part special, exchange4media explores the evolving relation of a brand and its celebrity ambassador.
Celebrity endorsement is nothing new. But the last few years have seen brands becoming more watchful of the way in which they approach their relation with celebrities. While on the one hand people remember memorable associations such as Aamir Khan and Titan or Amitabh Bachchan and Cadbury (quite a few others in his case) and Shah Rukh Khan and Nokia, on the other hand, we have also seen brands dropping big celeb names – Sachin Tendulkar from Airtel in 2006, Pepsi surprised many when Shah Rukh Khan was dropped out of the ‘Youngistaan’ campaign in 2009, or even when Katrina Kaif replaced Sushmita Sen for Pantene in 2009.
Meanwhile, the debate on how celebrities contribute to the stature of a brand continues...
For Attracting Attention, Brand Building & Influencing Consumers
Most advertisers agree that celebrities continue to be the easiest way for a brand to attract attention. Elaborating more on that, Ajay Kakar, CMO, Aditya Birla Financial Group, said, “More often than not, if a brand is a late entrant or wishes to stand out in a cluttered category, a celebrity is seen as the easy and instant solution.” Alok Bhardwaj, Senior VP, Marketing, Canon, explained that celebrities established high aspirational value. He said, “In any brand’s life, there comes a time when it needs to widen the spectrum and become more popular. They are able to leverage on the celeb’s popularity.”
Even creative heads of advertising agencies feel that celebrities have a major role to play in brand building and grabbing eyeballs. But in addition to that, celebrities contribute to brand building, create a certain brand character and influence consumer’s buying decisions.
Elaborating on the brand-building aspect, Santosh Padhi, Chief Creative Officer, Taproot India, noted, “In a country like ours, where celebs are next only to gods, they help in brand building in various categories.”
Emmanuel Upputuru, National Creative Director, Publicis Ambience, explained more on creating the brand character, “Marketers use celebrities when they want to appropriate the properties of the celebrity to their brand. For instance, if you are a bank, show Dravid and not Yuvraj, and if you are a hair gel brand, do the reverse. It’s easier to explain to the consumer the properties of the brand by using a celebrity. In a way, the celebrity is not only portrayed as an aspiration for the target audience, the celebrity becomes in itself an aspiration for the brand. To own the same space the celebrity owns.”
According to Rajiv Rao, National Creative Director, Ogilvy, “World over celebrities have had their influence on consumers, from cars to computers and everything in between. They have been used in various stages of a brand’s life cycle. To launch a new product, put some fizz into a brand that’s hit a plateau, assure the consuming public of a brand’s integrity. So, they will continue to be a part of a marketer’s arsenal.”
For him, to use the celebs successfully, a brand needs a strong idea at the heart of its communication, the execution has to be flawless and the celeb should be right for the brand.
From Just TVCs to Everything and More
Advertising sees multiple endorsements today, unlike earlier where one would associate MAK Pataudi with Gwalior Suitings and Kapil Dev with “Palmolive da jawaab nahin”. That said, today, there also are brand ambassadors that go a step further to endorse the brand rather than just appearing in the commercial.
Kakar highlighted a recent Birla Sun Life campaign to elucidate on the changing roles of celebrities. He said, “More recently, Sehwag and Yuvraj came across as real people with real fears while sharing their highs and lows in a campaign for Birla Sun Life Insurance. The campaign resisted from using the cricketers as mere brand ambassadors. They came across as humane and, in fact, ‘philosophy ambassadors’ for the brand, while provoking the audiences to learn from their felt vulnerabilities.”
Bhardawaj felt that celebrities had gone beyond being mere glamour quotient as there were some celebrities who understood that they had a role to play, and that role was clearly to deliver on the brand. “These days, they have an integrated approach where celebrities are used to do a leadership role, which is far beyond just the brand commercial,” he added.
According to Marshan, “On the good side, many celebrities are being used as actors, rather than as endorsers, which is a welcome shift. The onus of lending credibility to the message is thus distanced without losing the eye-candy quotient. Further, especially when the celebrity actors are professional actors, the end result is very convincing because their craft is being leveraged, rather than just their celebrity status. Saif and Kareena for Airtel’s “record your programme from your mobile” comes to mind. As do Aamir Khan’s various ads for Tata Sky.”
Clearly, the leaders believe that celebrities play a vital role in building brands and that there has been a welcome shift in the role that they play, which is from mere endorsements to a more integrated approach, where celebrities are utilised for the actors or role models they are. But working with celebrities today brings a whole new range of challenges. For views on that and the future of celebrity endorsements in India, read the second part of the report on August 5, 2010 on exchange4media.com.
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TOP STORIES
E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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ShareSwapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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