Guest Column: Has celebrity obsessed culture overtaken traditional mktg?

It's important to ensure that we have the right mktg idea to make best use of the celebrity endorsing our brand, says Ashish Morone of Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance

e4m by Ashish Morone
Published: Aug 23, 2013 7:43 AM  | 4 min read
Guest Column: Has celebrity obsessed culture overtaken traditional mktg?

Movies and cricket are the two biggest religions in India! Culturally, our minds are coded to put celebrities on a pedestal. Star worship and fan followings provide for interesting statistics. No wonder then that marketers find it an opportunity which is tough to ignore in a country like India. There is very little data on this, but according to estimates, the celebrity endorsement market is worth about INR 1,000 crore. Research conducted by leading Indian research agency IMRB a few years ago indicated that 86 per cent of the respondents recalled an ad which featured a celebrity as the most prominent advertisement (The Economic Times, March 28, 2008). Yes, it has indeed become an inseparable and large part of the Indian marketing landscape.

The questions are many – Has celebrity-endorsed marketing really overtaken traditional marketing? Maybe, it has. What does it really do for the brand? Is it the easy or the lazy way out in a highly cluttered space? Is it really effective or the best answer to manage a cluttered ad space or to build a brand? Maybe, it is not. While there have been a lot of successes in the Indian context, there have been enough examples of campaigns where celebrity endorsements have failed. Celebrities and their endorsements do seem to overshadow common marketing and advertising efforts nowadays, but I believe that the more pertinent question to ask is whether it is really effective for all and can one take a more prudent call on whether celebrity endorsement can really add value to your brand.

There can be no single right answer that suits all or a very clearly articulated model to help us arrive at an answer to the question – Is it the right strategy for me to use a celebrity endorsement?

The must-dos of celebrity endorsement
To my mind, if you are a new brand in a crowded category and want to quickly move up the awareness curve, for example, when ICICI Bank was started and it wanted to enter the mass retail space, celebrity endorsement can definitely go a long way. If you are a brand facing a crisis, for example, the lizard in Cadbury or the quality of water used in Coke story, a celebrity (especially one with a lot of credibility or a clean reputation) can quickly help one avert a major negative impact. There are a few certain must-dos in this case, that is, the celebrity and his persona should be aligned with the product category as well as messaging to ensure the right fit and endorsement credibility. There are also a few pitfalls that you need to guard against. A celebrity could very easily overshadow your brand and leave the customer with good memories of the brand and nothing more. Also, if the celebrity goes rogue, most recent examples being Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong, the backlash could be substantial.

However, if you are an established brand and want to carve out a higher market share or take on a key competitor or build new brand personality traits, can a celebrity really drive this objective? In a low-involvement, high impulse category, it may impact immediate purchase behavior, but only over the short term. In a high involvement category or over the long term, can a celebrity really change consumer attitude and behaviour towards a brand? A celebrity may help you break clutter and get noticed. Yet with multiple endorsements by a celebrity, we are seeing an increasing number of wrong associations or inability to recollect the brand even though the ad was recalled correctly. At a certain point in time, Amitabh Bachchan was said to be endorsing 50 brands. In recent times, Shah Rukh Khan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are said to be leading the pack with about 20 endorsements each.

In addition, popular belief is that a celebrity can help build certain positive brand associations. Yes, a celebrity’s persona could impact your brand persona. However, as mentioned earlier, with each celebrity endorsing several brands, does it really give me a distinctive advantage? With the endorsement space itself becoming highly cluttered, can it really help a brand break the category clutter effectively?

Set clear expectations
It is imperative to set very clear expectations from your celebrity endorsements and weigh the costs of using a celebrity against these expectations before making your choice. We can continue to debate on the effectiveness of using a celebrity and ultimately decide to use one. Ultimately, it is extremely important that we ensure that we have the right marketing idea to make best use of the celebrity endorsing our brand. A Vinay Pathak used by a Kotak Bank may have been far more effective that a Salman Khan endorsing Relaxo slippers just on the basis of the idea and its connect with the celebrity personality.

“Setting Expectations” Grid
 



The author is Head of Marketing at Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance

 

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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

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:15 PM  | 1 min read
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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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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out

The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'

e4m by e4m Staff
Published: Oct 27, 2023 6:07 PM  | 1 min read
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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 by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 11:48 AM  | 1 min read
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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

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 26, 2023 10:54 AM  | 1 min read
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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

e4m by exchange4media Staff
Published: Aug 24, 2023 3:35 PM  | 1 min read
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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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