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Executive Summary
An endorser is a person, character or organization that speaks or
appears in an ad in support of the ad or its claim. The term endorser
includes the term spokesperson or model. Endorsers can be grouped
into three main classes – experts, celebrities and laypersons. This
project exclusively focuses on celebrities.

The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements in

advertising in India. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons
began encroaching on a territory that was, until then, the exclusive
domain of models.Of course,probably the first ad to cash in on star
power in a strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was
for Lux soap,a brand which has been among the top three in the
country for much of its lifetime.

why do corporate choose celebrities in their

advertising?
While there may be different reasons, depending on the category,
the lifecycle stage in which the brand is, and the particular marketing
mantra being the flavour of the moment,the main reason is to make the
brand stand out and to facilitate instant awareness.Besides,using a
celebrity is supposed to lend instant credibility as well as
aspirational values to the brand — a hope to get people to follow the
Pied Piper.But here,the marketer needs to be really disciplined in choice
of celebrity — the celebrity needs to match the product Another allied
reason is that of the celebrity values refreshing the brand image and
adding a new dimension to it — in other words,the medium becomes the
message.Corporates also use celebrities for the sheer PR coverage
they generate.Even here, advertisers can suddenly have new demons to
fight, given the ethical and moral conduct of the chosen celebrities Even
though there is not much damage to the brand if the celebrity is playing
a role scripted for him, and not himself, there is some correlation
between how the public views a celebrity at large and the brand he/ she
endorses.

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 Researchers have proposed three major models to explain the role

of endorsers in the communication process:

i)Source Credibility Model (for experts),

ii)Source Attractiveness Model (for celebrities),&

iii)Meaning Transfer Model

 To find out when and whether to use celebrities, advertisers

should depend on the underlying characteristics of the audience
the elaboration likelihood model suggests that persuasion with
endorsers occur by the peripheral route of persuasion. This route is
effective when the audience is not motivated or able to process
message.At some point in the decision to use
endorsers,advertisers have to consider the cost effectiveness of
their choice the endorsers who appear to have the most
potential,are the most popular and tend to charge the highest
fees. Again,movie and cricket stars are so revered that they
acquire cult figure personas.The result marketers cash in on their
popularity and use them to promote everything from colas to
financial products.

But like the two sides of the coin it has its own pros and
cons.The biggest one from the advertisers' point of view is that of
vampiring — the celebrity being bigger than the brand.The other
problem is that of duration of endorsement, and a possible
mismatch between the celebrity's life cycle and that of the brand.
Multiple endorsements are the other problem.There is
unfortunately a limited pool of celebrities who can resonate with
consumers.So you have the same celebrity endorsing several
categories,as in Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin, who are
completely over exposed — one would assume a fair degree of
confusion and little room for credibility,and hence a possible
devaluing amongst customers.

The latter half of the project deals with a classical example of

celebrity endorsement in the Indian Advertising Industry,Saif Ali
Khan and his impact on Taj Mahal Tea where a detailed survey has
been conducted on what has been his impact and how effective

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has been his association with the brand that has today carved a
niche for itself.

No.Celebrity advertising is not a dirty word.Nor is it a useless or

irrelevant route to connect with the masses.Handled with
professionalism,it is perfectly capable of working wonders provided
it follows the three cardinal commandments of effective celebrity
advertising - relevance, credibility and selectivity.

INTRODUCTION

 Amitabh Bachchan thinks you deserve it

 Sachin Tendulkar urges you to go get it

 Aamir khan insists that thanda means Coke

 Sachin Tendulkar does’nt mind sharing the secret of his (and later
Virender Sehwag‘s too) energy

In a world filled with faces, how many do you remember? Admittedly

the ones that evoke some kind of feeling in you, whether it’s humor,
acceptance, appreciation or recognition.These are the faces you’d turn
to look at,the ones that would stop you in your tracks. And that’s when
you have more than just a face.You have personality.Personality that’s
reflective of your brand and promises to take it that extra mile.As
existing media get increasingly cluttered, the need to stand out has
become paramount — and celebrities have proved to be the ideal way to
ensure brand prominence.Synergising personality with product and
message can create an instant breakthrough. Result? Brand buzz.
People begin to notice, opportunities come about. People want to be a
part of the brand. Touch It.Feel it.Experience it.‘Celebrities as Brands’ is
a concept-selling challenge,as the current notion of celebrity
management is far from ideal — it’s perceived as a business that
merely attaches the celebrity to the brand to get that added
advantage.However,the actual job is not mere brokerage —it’s about
selecting a spokesperson whose characteristics are congruent with the

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brand image.In fact celebrity endorsements are so lucrative that many

professionals in sports and entertainmentdirect their career towards this
end. Abroad,in sports such as track and field events’ winning at the
Olympics has pretty much become the means to subsequent
endorsement contracts.Eg:Vijender Singh in boxing,&Gold medalist
Abhinav Bindra are the recent Indian examples for it.

In India today,the use of celebrity advertising for companies has

become a trend and a perceived winning formula of corporate image
building and product marketing

Associating a brand with a top-notch celebrity can do more than

perk up brand recall.It can create linkages with the star’s
appeal,thereby adding refreshing and new dimensions to the brand
image.Let us now have a bird’s eye view on the changing face of
celebrity endorsing in India.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS IN INDIA

TIME WAS when advertising was considered a
backbencher,an ‘also-ran’ of the marketing wheel.A
peripheral activity master-minded by the clever,arty types -
Westernized, self-indulgent, creative poseurs offering flash
without flesh,masquerading as communication
packages,frequently inspired by models appearing in the
West!It was seldom perceived as potential dynamite,a
strategic marketing tool and an agent of change powered to
revolutionize the way people think, feel,and buy.And live.

THEN…
The transformation came with the boom of consumer
goods,rise of aspiration levels.Suddenly, the heavy duty wooing and
seduction of the consumer took center stage.It was easy to realize that
mass production needed mass consumption.What better way then the
mass media to have a healthy swipe at those delectable purse strings?
And what better route into the home and hearts of the teeming

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millions than TV, with advertising capsules that beguiled,

enticed, ensnared, lured and generally speaking ‘zonked’ the
viewers into becoming consumers.

ENTER CELEBRITY ADVERTISING.

In truth,celebrity advertising in India,now seeing its heyday with the
World Cup still afresh,began in the era of innocence-the golden fifties
-Hindustan Lever’s Lux campaign.Positioned with rare brilliance and
vision as the beauty soap of film stars it roped in every single top-line
actress of the day.Even today, the Lux campaign continues to
successfully follow the same route - a tribute to its amazing marketing
foresight.With time,the street smart marketers quickly recognized that
to win over the consumer in a competitive market, it needed to target
his two prime obsessions - cricket and films! What followed was a tidal
wave of celebrity-endorsed advertising that frequently entertained but
seldom struck target in achieving their prime objective - building brand
equity through raising awareness levels of the product/service to
translate into a sale.

EARLY CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

Remember cricketing legend Sunny Gavaskar inviting people to say Sunil

Dinesh Gavaskar and urging viewers “to take the world in their stride”? And
who can forget the other star that’s “Palmolive Da Jawab Nahin” became a
folklore? Kapil Dev even confessed the secret of his energy - Boost. Not far
behind was Tiger Pataudi and his Begum epitomising royal lifestyle while
endorsing Gwalior “in a class of its own”, with the Chhote Nawab making a
courtesy appearance in a follow-up edition which Saif insists got him noticed by
some Bollywood guys and set the ball rolling. There was a spurt of
advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers),
Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil
Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings).

In the Cricket World Cup ,2003, all the members of the Indian team were
busy singing hosannas to Samsung, Sahara, Himalayas and what not!From
Sachin to Yuvraj,from Kumble to Kaif,they are all hooked and booked.
Something similar happened in Bollywood,ever on the lookout for a quick
‘sting’, zoomed in at 24 seconds per frame! Queen of Hearts,Sridevi swung
gamely for Cema bulbs while the lovely Poonam Dhillon endorsed hair oil.As did
Jaya Prada.Dimple Kapadia of the drop-dead looks, huskily confessed the secret
of her deadly mane-Crowning Glory, while macho men Vinod Khanna and Imran

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Khan wowed the joys of Centhol soap.From another wing two hottest bubble-
gum stars of generation next,Aamir Khan and Salman Khan leapt into the
fray.While the baby-faced,pint-sized hero of “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak”
hawked Hero Puch,the golden boy of “Maine Pyar Kiya” invited the world “to
taste the thunder” via Thums-Up.Govinda promptly flexed his muscles to plug a
brand of massage oil.Meanwhile, the hottest Khan, Shah Rukh, sashayed into
the frame with deadly cool—Hero Puch, Mayur, Pepsi—he swung through them
all,charming one and all as only he can!Aamir Khan,Akshay Kumar and Juhi
Chawla also hit the Pepsi trail while the “Mast-mast” Raveena Tandon took time
out to coo the bliss of writing with Rotomac.

AND NOW…

In the year 2009 clearly the days of innocence are over with companies, stars, products,ad-
spends and star-fees going berserk!Our top cricketers are “scoring” like never before with
Sachin Tendulkar and M S Dhoni get around Rs 5 crore… (Rs 50 million)leading the
pack, with an overall package that makes him the richest cricketer in the world!
The devastating Kareena Kapoor leads the heroine-brigade with Airtel,Boro Plus,Head
& Shoulders and top-lining her endorsement package.Genelia D’souza replacing Rani
Mukherjee in Munch and Fanta and, are others riding this wave.

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INTRODUCTION TO ENDORSERS

An endorser is a person, character or organization that speaks or

appears in an ad in support of the ad or its claim. The term endorser
includes the term spokesperson or model. The latter term is used for a
person who is chosen primarily for his or her physical attractiveness. The
endorsement process is the identification, selection and use of endorsers
to communicate with a target segment.

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Endorsers can be grouped into three main classes:

 Experts

 Lay person

 Celebrities

EXPERTS:
They are individuals who the target audience perceives as having
considerable knowledge accumulated trough experience, training or
study in a particular area. For example: Priyanka Chopra endorsing
Sunsilk shampoo,Sachin endorsing boost. An expert is the best choice
when the product is technical or the consumer needs to be reassured
that the product is safe to consume(high involvement decision).An
expert can allay the fears in the audience concerning the product
whether those fears arise from not knowing how something
works,concerning about side effects, concern about fulfilling a roles such
as father, mother, housewife and so on or health related concerns about
product use.Doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers and other kind of
experts can be chosen and at considerably less cost than a national
celebrity. The purpose is to protect consumers from misleading
advertisements. A seal of approval is a logo of the certifying organization
vouches for the merits if the product. For example:The Indian Dental
Associations for Colgate Dental Cream.

LAY PERSON:
A lay individual is often the best choice when it can anticipate that there
willbe strong audience identification with the role involved.

For example: Complan,Good Day biscuits,Clinic Plus Shampoo and most

of the FMCG products

The person is like many members of the audience and attributes of

sincerity and trustworthy are likely to come through. These lay endorsers
may be chosen because they personify the aspiration of the target
segment.To maximize the naturalness of the situation it is often useful to
a hidden camera and captures the consumer s real world reaction in
using the product in and situation the audience can identify. Lay

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endorsers can be real or fictitious, and are (initially at least)

unknown.The anonymous voice over in radio and video ads is generally
of a lay endorser. In such cases the target segment may not visualize an
explicit person as am endorser but may treat the speaker as the voice of
the advertiser.So advertisers need to take care in selecting speakers for
this role, though the selection may not be critical as with an endorser
who is visible.

CELEBRITIES:
Celebrities are individuals or characters who are known to a
large portion of the general population, primarily because of the
publicity associated with their lives. Most celebrities are associated
with the entertainment world (Aishwarya Rai), or the sports world
(Sachin Tendulkar), talk show hosts (not in India), business
personalities , politicians (Shahid Kapur & Amrita Rao for Anti-Non
vegetarian campaign} etc.

The term celebrity may exclude individuals who are controversial and
are discarded by the general population.Advertisers often use fictitious
characters to serve as spokesperson for their brand. Fictitious characters
could be animal personifications or fantasy creations. For e.g.:Nattu for
Asian paints or Louie for Mortein mosquito repellant.Friendly
personification of animal or fantasy characters can have wide appeal
across ages,ethnic groups and even nationalities. For eg: Disney ‘s
Mickey Mouse, Kellogg ‘s Tony the tiger, the Energizer
bunny,Zoo Zoo of Vodafone etc.We can classify these characters as
celebrities because their use involves an essential use of celebrity
endorsement: they have a distinct personality that communicates a
unique message to the target segment.

Research by Michael Kamins suggests that the credibility of

celebrity endorsements can be raised if they say things that are not only
in favor of the brand but also a few things that are mildly critical of the
brand-that is a two sided ad with a celebrity endorser works better than
a one sided one.

The three categories of endorsers are not mutually exclusive.

Sustained and effective use of lay endorsers over time may make them
celebrities in their own right (Nirma Lalitaji).Also some individuals
could belong to more than one category depending upon the product

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they endorse. (Sachin Tendulkar may seem to be a celebrity

endorsing the Palio but an expert while endorsing a n energy
drink like Boost).

CHOICE OF RIGHT CELEBRITIES

We don’t create icons.We don’t create celebrities.They do it
themselves. The moment you have a fan following,you are a celebrity.
Hrithik Roshan had a tremendous fan following after his first film.Sachin
Tendulkar became a celebrity because he performed on the ground.We
have not done much beyond the right kind of packaging, and the right
kind of marketing of these celebrities.They become celebrities on their
own;Agencies just make them look like celebrities.Agencies do the

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packaging around these people to sell them properly, at the right price,
and at the right time.That is what packaging is all about.They package
their talent and their efforts. And then sell it to potential customers.But
becoming a celebrity is all about performance.If you perform hard, play
hard, then you become a celebrity.

So what exactly is the right personality?

It’s one which can personalise your brand is in sync with the
product/service and is the perfect match for it. The one that puts buzz
into your brand. Creates opportunities for advertising promotions and
events. And forms the fertile ground for clutter-bursting ideas Right from
Kapil Dev’s ‘Palmolive ka jawaab nahin’ celebrities have done wonders
for brand recall. The criterion in selecting an endorser must be the
appropriateness of the “match” or “fit “ between the needs of the
brand and the characteristics of the endorser. In an experiment
comparing the impact of using an expert rather than a typical consumer
or celebrity in advertising a low priced but fairly technical product
(electronic calculator, it was found that the expert was more effective
than either a typical consumer or a celebrity. In contrast, celebrities are
often more effective in situations where the product has high element of
psychological and “social” risk (e.g. costume jewelry).

Versatility index shows that M S Dhoni is on top(19 ads in 2009),followed

by Shah Rukh Khan(17 in 2009),Katrina Kaif(12 in 2009) For separate
categories of endorsements again,it is Celebrities all ove.For mobile
services and soft drinks,SRK tops the versatility list;while for motorcycles
and branded clothes it is Hrithik Roshan.Interestingly,it is the actor
turned TV host big B who hogs limelight in various categories.In
categories such as banks and insurance, Amitabh Bachchan walks with
the top honors.

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MODELS ON CELEBRITY ENDORSING:

RESEARCHERS HAVE PROPOSED THREE MAJOR MODELS TO EXPLAIN THE
ROLE OF ENDORSERS IN THE COMMUNICATION PROCSS:

 Source Credibility Model

 Source Attractiveness Model

 Meaning Transfer Model

The term source includes the endorser who appears on behalf of the
advertiser, or the advertiser itself, who is the source of the message.

Before we move in to each of the models in detail let us know a few terms in
detail (which also serve as parameters for our case)

Dimensions of a source:

Researchers have recognized that some judgments abut a source

concern a cognitive dimension ad others an affective dimension.
The cognitive dimension includes judgment above the power,
prestige, (from past achievement, reputation, wealth or
visibility) and competence (expertise) of the source. The affective
dimension includes judgments about trustworthiness,
attractiveness and dynamism.

Other constructs such as unbiased ness, similarity (between the source and
receiver), and physical attractiveness have, have also been the focus of
the research. Similarity is sometimes important because a source that is being
presented as being similar to the audience members in terms of attitudes,
opinions, activities and background, social status or lifestyle could achieve both
liking and identification: there are many there are many situations in which
people will like those people wit whom they have things in common. A source
can be high on one dimension and low on another. Consider the competence
and unbiased dimensions. A doctor could be regarded very competent t in

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recommending a drug product, but he or she would have less persuasive

influence if listeners or viewers consider the recommendations to be biased by
money payments given to the doctor for making the commercial.

 Source Credibility Model

The Source credibility Model is based on the central premise that consumers
are more likely to accept a message if they find it credible. Consumers’ s
credibility in the message depends on two qualities of the source, expertise
and trustworthiness.

Expertise is the ability of the source to make valid claims as

perceived by the audience. Audience are likely to perceive the source as an
expert to the extent they perceive the source as more knowledgeable than
itself about the issue.

Trustworthiness is the willingness of the source to make honest

claims. A source is likely to make an honest claim if it has no vested interest in
the outcome or it is not under pressure to slant the evidence. Buyers would
consider most advertisers to have a vested interest in stating the claims of
their product. Thus choosing an independent spokesperson in an ad helps to
reduce this perceived bias. However audience generally knows that
spokespersons are paid. The effectiveness of the endorsements depend on
whether the audience ‘ prior perception of the endorser overcomes any
perceived bias that arise from the audiences ‘ knowledge of the payment.

According to the source credibility model, if the receiver of the ad ‘ message

finds the source of the ad sufficiently credible they will adopt the opinion or
attitude presented by the ad as the objectively correct position in that
particular context. They will then integrate the new opinion or message with
their belief system. This process is called internalization.

For example: the doctor as shown in the Complan ad which urges a normal
parent to think again about the nutrition his child is getting is perceived to be
more knowledgeable and twice taller compared to any other health drink the
claims are more likely be taken as true.

 Source Attractiveness Model

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The source attractiveness model posits that the acceptance of the message
depends on the attractiveness of the source, which in turn depends on three
central attributes: familiarity, likeability and similarity.

Familiarity is the audience s knowledge about the source because of

prior exposure to it, Liability is the audience s positive regard for the
source because of its physical appearance and behavior, and Similarity is
the resemblance between the source and the receiver.

The higher a source rates on each of these attributes the more

attractive it would be, and the more acceptable its message. How does
attractiveness affect message acceptance? At least two explanations are
available: identification and conditioning

Identification means that the receiver of the message begins to see

him or herself, as similiar to the source because of the latter’s
attractiveness. In doing so the receiver becomes more willing to accept
the opinion, beliefs attitudes or behavior of the source. For example
teens may adopt the dressing sense of the model,which they like.M S
Dhoni & Asin Promoting Big Bazaar.

In contrast to the source credibility model, the adoption of the new

opinion or attitude lasts only as long as the receiver finds the source
attractive. The change due to identification may not be as permanent as
those caused by internalization. (That is the reason Lux has always been
changing their models contemporary actresses)

Conditioning means that the endorser would be the unconditioned

stimulus and the brand would be the conditioned stimulus. When the
endorser is repeatedly associated with the brand, the attractiveness of
the endorser is supposed to pass to the brand. Conditioning typically
leads to greater permanence in the effect of source attractiveness than
identification because the attraction of the source stimulus, which
transfers to the target stimulus, can persist even if the audience has
forgotten the ads that made the association. For eg: We must have
forgotten the Dinesh Suiting Ad but Sunil Gavaskar‘s “gentleman image”
has stuck on our minds forever.

RELEVANCE OF THE SOURCE ATTRACTIVENESS MODEL

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Many laboratory studies support the effectiveness of the source

attractiveness model for eliciting positive response from respondents.
However the evidence of the studies carried on this field is not as
conclusive. A major reason for the attractiveness of the endorser may
not be the sole or main criterion for his or her effectiveness. The
meaning associated with the endorser may be more important.

According to S Kumar’s group director Nitin Kasliwal: “a brand

ambassador is all about relationships.”

This has come sharply into focus during the World Cup. Ganguly was
not the only one to face the wrath of advertisers - and fans. Irate cricket
lovers threw black paint and stones at the house of middle order
batsman Mohammed Kaif’s home in north India’s Allahabad town. The
car of batsman-wicket keeper Rahul Dravid - dubbed “The Rock” by his
teammates for his often rigid stand when the batting around him is
collapsing - was badly damaged. Effigies of the entire Indian cricket
team were burnt in the East Indian city of Kolkata and their mock
funerals taken out. Cut-outs and boxes of the products the cricketers are
modeling for were destroyed.
The fans’ logic ran thus: the cricketers stand to make huge amounts of
monies endorsing just about everything under the sun. So all that they
are interested in is ad campaigns and not cricket. SMS messages to radio
stations, spot TV interviews of the man-on-the-street, pocket cartoons in
leading newspapers, popular columns on websites, all parodied the
Indian cricketer’s greed for advertising moolah at the expense of
dedication to the game and, by extension, the country he was
representing.
Speaking to Times News Network, a senior executive of the Sahara
Group, which sponsors the Indian cricket team, had this to say, “They
only seem to be interested in money. They get hundreds of millions of
rupees in endorsement money, with companies like us even willing to
take on each other for their endorsements. But if the team continues to
play like it did in the match against Australia, it is not long before we will
see some sort of a backlash among the advertisers.”

 The Meaning Transfer Model

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Mc Cracken proposes the meaning transfer model as a more richer,

more complete description of the endorsement process than that offered
by the source credibility or the source attractiveness models. The central
premise of the meaning transfer model ids that a celebrity encodes a
unique set of meanings that can if the celebrity is effectively used, be
transferred to the endorsed product. This transfer is supposed to occur in
three stages.

Objects /Culture → Celebrity→ Product → Consumer

Stage 1

This stage is known as Culture, in which each celebrity develops

an image that encodes a unique set of meaning. These meanings
arise from the type of people they are, the roles they have paid, the
things they have done and the stories that have developed around them.
The set of meanings encoded in a celebrity ‘s image can be described in
terms of dimensions such as age, gender, wealth, sex, professional
status, personality or lifestyle. A complete valid profile of the entire set
of meanings encoded in a celebrity ‘s image requires a survey of the
consumer perceptions of the celebrity.

Wonder boy Sachin Tendulkar, India’s most celebrated cricket icon

endorses everything from,Boost to Visa,Adidas,Aviva Life Insurance and
Britannia biscuits.Says a marketing manager at TVS Motors, “In sports,
you win some and you lose some.But irrespective of the performance of
the Indian team, Tendulkar has always been effective in building the
sales and image of Adidas.”

Tendulkar is a class apart if his cricketing achievements are anything to

go by. The first man to score 17,168 runs in one-day internationals (ODI),
he has also scored the highest number of centuries (44) and half-
centuries (100) in ODIs. He has totaled up 12,970 runs in Test matches
so far and when these are clubbed along with his ODI runs, he crosses
the 30,000 mark to become the highest cricket scorer of all time.At the
2007 World Cup, the focus was on when he will better the highest
centuries (four) record he holds along with Mark Waugh.

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Even off the field, the “Master Blaster” has come to symbolize
the qualities all middle class Indians - and advertisers - love:
shy, reserved, humble, a loving husband, a doting father.“He is
not only one of the most outstanding cricketers in the world today, he
possesses qualities that distinguish all great champions - sincerity,
determination and an indomitable drive to excel.

Tendulkar’s appeal cuts across all ages and transcends

boundaries,” says the owner of a medium-sized company who has
used the batting legend’s off-field services in the past.

He was “gifted” a Ferrari by Michael Schumacher.The branding of Tendulkar

had gone into the next gear with the cricketing superstar kick starting two
signature television shows - India vs. and Sachin Speaks - featuring himself for
ESPN-STAR Sports and launching an eatery named after him.The sports channel
will pay the little master Rs 120 million for three years. And the Mumbai lad is a
60 percent partner in “Tendulkar’s”, which has just been opened in south
Mumbai and will later be seen in other Indian metros.

If you look at the overall visibility rating, cricketing icon Sachin

Tendulkar gets the maximum votes, followed by SRK and then Amitabh
Bachchan.

Social psychologists attribute the phenomenon to the dearth of role

models in the country. “ In a country, where politicians are shown red-
handed taking bribes,sporting icons continue to be the biggest role
models that the younger generation seeks to emulate.That is why the
whole nation heaves a collective sigh of relief when Sachin scores a
century”,said a Delhi-based social psychologist.

It is this culture that he possesses which companies want to

bank on when signing him for endorsements.

“Not that Palio sales will suddenly shoot up because Sachin has
endorsed the product. But doing it Sachin has increased the brand recall
value of Palio manifold”, a marketing expert said.

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Stage 2:

This stage is known as endorsement in which the celebrity ‘s skillful

endorsement of the product in an ad transfers the meaning encoded in his or
her image to the product. The advantage of celebrities over lay endorsers is
that celebrities encode an image that cannot be found anywhere else nor it can
be described precisely and efficiently in the confines of an ad. When skillfully
portrayed, celebrities can communicate the message more powerfully than lay
endorsers or other forms of communication. The advertisers need to evaluate
all the meanings encoded in the celebrity ‘ image, determine which if any, of
those meanings are desired by its target segment and fashion an ad that
translates all the desired and only the desired meanings from the celebrity to
the product. The selection of a celebrity for a brand is done primarily on the
basis of a marketing brief prepared either by the corporate or the advertising
agency. Once the relationship between the brief, the brand and the celebrity is
established, the association is accomplished.

For example,when there was the realization that one brand of apparel
couldn’t be very different from the others, and what would make the difference
was the packaging. So in came teen heartthrob Hrithik Roshan.The brand
personality of Milanomatches that of Hrithik —Milano being a new
brand and Hrithik the new heartthrob. The idea behind Milano is the
‘flavor you would like to taste’ — a brand catering to the fun-loving
and adventurous youth. And the ambassador chosen is a successful
and extremely exciting personality — a youth icon of today’s times. So
the breakfast is apt and justified.
The best advertising comes from a deep understanding of the consumer and
how he/she connects with your brands. Therefore, the jhatka of Mirinda needs a
personality with a sense of humour. That’s Amitabh for you. His rustic appeal is
also prompt for he being used for Navratna Tel made targeted at the rural
masses. There’s one fact that advertisers using celebrity endorsements need to
keep in mind — never let the celebrity become your brand. In doing so, one
runs the risk of killing the brand no sooner has the hype and hoopla around the
celebrity faded.

Stage 3:
This stage is known as consumption, consumers buy the endorsed product
with the intension of capturing some of the desirable meaning with which the
celebrity has imbued the product. The meaning transfer models assume that
consumers purchase products not merely for their functional value but also
for their cultural and symbolic value. The consumer’s purchase for symbolic
value could be through explicit reasoning* Typically , socially visible products
would fit this category. For example, designer cloths, perfumes, premium cars,

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exclusive mansions or club memberships are often chosen more for their
functional value, Perfume designers often design a perfume on the image of a
celebrity. Examples include Titan raga by Rani mukherjee.

While the source attractiveness and credibility models rely on only a few
key characteristics of the source, the meaning transfer model is richer because
it focuses on a wide spectrum of meaning that can be transferred .However,
the task of the transferring key meaning is challenging and requires creativity
in identifying , profiling and selecting celebrities and skillfully using them to
exploit their useful meaning for the brand.

Application of Models

Which of these three models is the most appropriate or accurate?

None of the three models describes a complete picture of the endorsements

involving different types of endorsers. Each model is more relevant for
explaining for some type of endorsers rather than others. The source credibility
is more relevant for explaining the role of experts as endorses, indeed the
central concepts of the model, expertise and trustworthiness are defining
characteristics of experts. The source attractiveness model is most relevant in
the case of lay endorsers; the familiarity and liability of these endorsers and
their similarity to the target audience is key to their effectiveness. The meaning
transfer model best explains the use of celebrities as endorsers; it provides as
insightful framework for using the complexity of meanings associated with
celebrities.

The above discussion should not suggest that only one model applies to
each add more than one type of model can explain the effectiveness of any
particular ad. *

SINCE THE TOPIC OF THE PROJECT IS “EFFECTIVENESS OF

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS”, ENDORSERS HENCEFORTH IMPLICITLY
MEAN CELEBRITES.LAY PERSONS AND EXPERTS HAVE BEEN IGNORED.

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WHEN TO USE CELEBRITIES?

Audience Characteristics

Motivation To
Process Information

High Low

High Reason Lay endorsers

Ability to
Process
Information Low Experts Celebrities

To find out when and whether to use celebrities ,advertisers should

depend on the underlying characteristics of the audience The elaboration
likelihood model covered in chapter 4 suggests that persuasion with endorsers
occur by the peripheral route of persuasion. This route is effective when the
audience is not motivated or able to process message. Using these two
criteria of motivation and ability, The exhibit shows the combination audience
characteristics for each type of endorser is particularly appropriate. When the
consumer is both motivated to process an add and has ability to do so, reason
is the best route of persuasion.
For example, consider a consumer in the market for a new personal
computer. If that consumer is a programmer(high motivation and ability),he or
she could probably decide which computer to buy based on reason; he or she
may even be offended by an endorser in an add for cars as in SRK, Hyundai.If
the consumer is amateur(high motivation, low ability) he or she may be
responsive to the endorsement of an expert. If the product is soap (Low
motivation , high ability) then a lady endorser would probably be appropriate.If
the product is cologne (low motivation, low ability) then a celebrity would
probably in order.

Some tests of the elaboration likelihood model provide partial support for
this explanation.

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For example, one study found that the attitude of subjects after
exposure to an add in a low involvement condition was much more positive if
add used a famous endorser rather then a non-famous endorser.However,
attitude of subject in a high involvement condition after exposure to the same
message did not defer by a type of endorser.In contrast, strong argument were
more effective then weak arguments in enhancing attitude to the message in
the high-involvement condition.The results suggests that the use of celebrities
is probably more effective in low involvement condition and that of strong
arguments in high involvement conditions.

Communication Modes
Ad can use endorser in different modes or presentation style. The most
commonly used modes are :
Imperative: “You use this product”. Explicit: “I endorse this product”
Implicit: “ I use this product”
Passive: Mere appearance with the product.

The type of endorser and role he or she plays in the add are key factors
that determine the mode of endorsement. The imperative mode needs to be
used carefully because it requires a measure of submission or receptivity from
the audience that one rarely ends. One possible use of this mode is with an
endorser acting as a caring parent or as a firm counselor. Experts can easily
adopt the explicit mode because of the authority vested in their knowledge or
experience. Celebrities can adopt the passive mode because their visibility
and appeal is so strong that they need to be associated with the brand.
Lay endorsers generally use the implicit mode because they have neither
the credibility of experts for an explicit endorsement nor the appeal of the
celebrity for a passive endorsement. The testimonial is a type of implicit
endorsement in which endorser describe his or her experience with the
product. The primary appeal of these adds lies in the audience’s identification
with the spokesperson. For, this reason , advertiser should choose a
spokesperson who is reasonably attractive but with whom a average person
can identify in terms of demographics and lifestyle. Further, the plot or scene
depicting the lay endorser should appear natural or be unrehearsed. Example
would be the use of candid interview of the lay endorser , or a hidden camera
observing the lay endorser’s pleasant surprise with using a particular product.
However, over use of testimonials often in phony plots coupled with the
audience ‘s knowledge that all spokespersons are carefully screened and paid
has diminished the efficacy of this type of endorsement.

COST EFFECTIVENESS

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At some point in the decision to use endorsers, advertisers have to consider

the cost effectiveness of their choice .In doing so they have to consider several
issues First the endorsers who appear to have the most potential, are the most
popular and tend to charge the highest fees.
At the time of writing, the Master Blaster has already signed up with
Britannia, Boost, MRF Visa, Adidas and Pepsi. Each of these endorsements, it is
reported, is worth Rs.1.5 crore per year! For the Home Trade endorsement, it
is alleged the fee zoomed up to an astronomical Rs.5 cores! India skipper and
his deputy Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid are hardly mute spectators in this
sweepstake. The Bengal Tiger with Coke and Hero Honda (at a reported over a
crore as endorsement fee per year) and Bangalore’s poster-boy with Pepsi,
Kissan Jam and Castrol (at a reported Rs. 40-80 lakhs endorsement fee per
year) are doing just fine. As are the new kids, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh,
Zaheer Khan, Mohammed Kaif and Harbhajan Singh. It seems the cricket team
is all for Sahara, all for Samsung.

Movie-star endorsements are a different ball game. The Big B leads the way
blazing unprecedented trails in his wake. Nerolac, Dabur Chawanprash,, Reid &
Taylor Maruti Versa, Pepsi, Parker Pens, brand Ambassador of ICICI Prudential -
the born-again KBC champ is flying real high with pay packets that must surely
wake up the dead! Shah Rukh Khan with Omega, Pepsi, Hyundai and a
rumoured mind-blowing Rs.4 crores for Videocon’s new Internet TV
commercial, appears solidly hot-wired into red-hot bucks! Aamir Khan has Coke
for which he is said to have charged - ready to die - Rs.7 crores! Then there is
Hrithik Roshan, the green-eyed “dude” with the sculpted body and Greek-god
looks. He is said to have raked in over Rs.20 crores from advertisement
endorsements alone in his short career - something that not all the big stars of
the fifties and sixties even remotely dreamt of!
Rather than pursuing a popular endorser advertiser can do well by looking
for a lesser-known person who matches the message of the brand and appeals
to the target segment. In this sense picking endorsements may be like picking
stocks. Much is gained by discovering a new personality, which brings value to
one s brand or message.
Secondly, many celebrities endorse multiple products ,switch brands and
compete with other celebrities sometimes in the same product category. As a
result one study found that although one study found that consumers could
correctly identify the endorsers they were less accurate in matching the brands
that they endorsed. Thus the pay off from any one-endorsement contract is
uncertain.

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MULTIPLE ENDORSEMENTS (MERITS

AND DEMERITS)
Use of multiple celebrities

It was argued that answers to the following questions would help agencies in
deciding how many celebrities to utilise for a campaign. Is it better to have
different celebrities who appeal to different people within the target audience?
Is one celebrity enough? How long is the campaign supposed to run? How much
money is going to be spent? What media it is going to be run in?

Using multiple celebrities or a single celebrity partially depends on the time

scale a campaign is using to have impact. If the campaign has a long-term
strategy, agencies would be more careful because potential downsides
are much more than potential upsides. The longer the time scale, the
more substantial the brand, and thus, the less likely a campaign would
stay with a particular celebrity.

Merits
 In the case of using multiple personalities, none of the celebrities may be
specifically associated with the endorsed brand or vice versa. An
interviewee claimed that if a campaign has a large advertising and
media budget, multiple celebrities would be introduced in order not to
bore target audience.

 According to the same manager, people change and the way they relate
to brands also changes. Therefore, the sort of personality used to
endorse a product should be different for different age groups. For
example, two celebrities may be used to give slightly different attitudes
to brands.

 In a lot of cases a brand has a wide range of consumers and sometimes

the use of multiple celebrities is needed to cover the whole target
audience, though it must be made sure that each celebrity’s values
reflects core brand values. What this interviewee seems to be implying is
that the audience/market segments that exists in the target
audience/market. More specifically, following Baker’s (1996) footsteps,
the manager accepts differences in the target audience/market and tries
to adjust promotion strategy accordingly.

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Demerits
On the contrary, another manager believed that a celebrity is the
mouthpiece for a brand in communicating messages to target audiences rather
more effectively than any other voice. The personalities of celebrities are very
strong and they can rapidly change perceptions of a brand. If a campaign has
two or three celebrities, then whose personality is the brand trying to take? In
this case, there is a great chance of confusing consumers about the brand’s
identity.

 The trust and credibility of the endorsers decline.

 Consumer may not be able to correctly recollect which brand the
celebrity stands for
 The e image of the brand may get blurred.
 Unique qualities of celebrity image may be lost .Personalities can rapidly
change the perception of the brand. Therefore endorsers should strive to
develop long term reactions with one celebrity to ensure a single, clear,
consistent brand strategy over time.
 Multiple celebrities are tedious to manage
 Endorsers don t use all the products they endorse. Thereby also reducing
credibility.

For e.g.: Let’s face it - would anyone ever buy a Videocon TV or Versa car
because killer Khan said ‘yeah’ or Bachchan Senior and Junior endorsed it?
Does anyone in their right mind believe that Shah Rukh drives around the city
in a Santro! Or Hrithik Roshan drops his Merc and hits the road in Hero Honda?
Or Madhuri Dixit uses Emami cosmetics? So, they should too!

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SUPREMACY OF CRICKET AND

BOLLYWOOD
Give an Indian a ticket for the latest movie or to cricket match and he will be
your slave for life. For, movies and cricket are two passions that light up the
average Indian’s otherwise drab existence.

Movie and cricket stars are so revered that they acquire cult figure personas.
The result: marketers cash in on their popularity and use them to promote
everything from colas to financial products. It is the rare non-movie or non-
cricket celebrity, like Zakir Hussain (percussionist), Cyrus Broacha (TV funny
man) or Vishwanathan Anand (world chess champion), who is called on to say
good things about products.
”Celebs add to the buzz around an ad,” proclaims Shailendra Singh, the 37-
year-old managing director of the Rs 6 billion (US$125 million) multimedia
company, Percept IMC. He should know. He has got leading Indian sportsmen
to endorse his clients’ products.

Cricket
It is a question of passion. It has got to do with the passion of the people
involved. Athletics does not have as much of a mass following as cricket does
or for that matter, as football in Kolkata and Cochin, or hockey in Punjab.
Athletics is more of an individual sport. You get into cricket not only because
you like the sport, but also because you like the package surrounding the sport.
You like the fan following, the crowds, the money. There are a lot of other
things that attract you to the sport than the sport itself. This is not the case
with being an athlete. Maybe that is one reason why there is no diehard,
passionate following.

Again, passion about a sport has a lot to do with recurrence of a sport. How
often do you see the sportsperson? It is the visibility factor. How many people
see you, or the team, day in and day out? People like to be involved in what
happens on a day-to-day basis. Cricket, as a sport, happens very frequently.
That is why there is so much following. That is not true with many other sports.

On the other hand, in the United States, you have seasons for baseball. It
happens very often. So with basketball. They do not wait for China or Japan to
come and play basketball or for an event to take place. Their internal leagues
are interesting enough. Why is that? Because it happens so often. Imagine
Maharashtra playing Karnataka in basketball or badminton. Nobody cares a

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damn here, because it doesn’t happen, not on a regular basis.

Take Formula One racing. It is a very niche sport, but there is a very small
niche that is regularly following Schumacher. They actually follow races lap by
lap, second by second. Why? Because it happens on a regular basis. Every
sport that happens on a regular basis has a certain element of passion and
emotion. If we can package that emotion and passion, the sport will turn out to
be a winner as well.

If you popularise a sport, like golf - today, Jeev Milka Singh has won a place
in the US Open (golf) - then you expand the market. If there are sportsmen who
play hard and try hard, and they get some good packaging around them
through companies such as ours which can attach some values to their talent,
and through media support, there is enough reach that one can create for
these celebrities. That will lead to a fan following that creates the celebrity.

For example, right now (Pullela) Gopichand is a winner. Right now, Leander
Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi have done quite a bit but they can still not match
the fan-following of cricket, because cricket is played all round the year.
The minute you increase the frequency levels in other sports, and people start
performing, and sportsmen bring laurels to them and to their country,
automatically their fan following will increase. They will become celebrities in
their own right. Take Mahesh Bhupathi and Paes. It’s unfortunate they have
split, but in 1999 to 2000 there was tremendous demand for them. They were
Grand Slam finalists, they were two Grand Slam winners. We created that
demand, because they were in the news, and it was easy for us to create the
demand.
Basically what do clients look at? Fan following. Only then can you convince
fans to use the product that they are endorsing. So if you do not have a fan
following you are not a celebrity.
What do you need to have a fan following? Play on a regular basis and win as
much as possible. Then you have a fan following. Let us think even beyond the
fans. Think about brand recognition. Today most of these players are not
celebrities, unfortunately because they are seen very little, and they win very
little.
Every time there is a drop or increase in performance, there is a drop or
increase in the value of the celebrities. They go hand in hand. You perform, you
bring laurels for you and the nation, and then there is no stopping you.
Apart from Tendulkar, other cricketers are also much in demand. Nearly every
member of the present Indian cricket team plugs some product or the other,
including Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, who are not even three seasons
old to Test cricket. So closely are cricketing stars identified with the branding

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game that now advertisers have roped in even the mothers of Virendra Sehwag
and Yuvraj Singh to endorse some products.

Films
Says Shailendra Singh Of Percept Advertising, “Indians are emotional and
servile to celebrities. They make demi-gods out of them.”

Which is what happened in the case of actor Amitabh Bachchan after a

string of flops at the marquee had led to his being written off. Then came
television’s Kaun Banega Carodpati, an Indian adaptation of the popular who
will be a millionaire. Aging Bachchan’s career received a fillip and the common
man interacted with him, related with him and he was soon endorsing Parker
pens, credit cards for ICICI Bank, BPL mobile phones and Pepsi’s cola, among
others.

Arch rival Coca-Cola has just renewed (for three years at a cost of Rs 30
million), the contract of Aamir Khan, whose Lagaan was nominated for the last
Oscars in the Best Foreign Film category. Actor Saif Ali Khan, son of former
Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and movie queen of yesteryears
Sharmila Tagore, have recently got into the endorsement game. On the other
hand, veteran actor Jackie Shroff is an old hand, modeling mainly for cigarettes
and whiskey.
Insurance joint venture Tata AIG has roped in Naseeruddin Shah to sell its
personal life products. And wonder of wonders, the Indian screen’s macho man,
Sunil Shetty, is plugging, of all the things, Lux underwear. Among the
actresses, Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukherjee, Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta and Juhi
Chawla are also often seen on TV extolling the virtues of various products.
Pepsi has always been on the uptake to rope in contemporary film stars. These
days, Shah Rukh Khan, an idol of the young crowd, is its brand ambassador.
Khan, who introduced the concept of the anti-hero in Hindi movies, also models
for Clinic All Clear shampoo, Top Ramen noodles, Santro cars, Mayur suits and
Omega watches.
Originally from the Indian capital of New Delhi, Khan stormed Mumbai’s
Bollywood world and was soon one of the richest actors around - on the back of
his film and advertising earnings. Within a decade of appearing on the scene he
was able to buy a fancy bungalow costing a whopping Rs 130 million in
Mumbai’s upmarket Bandra area. Khan was the beneficiary of a peculiarly
Indian trait, their love for their heroes and heroines - on-screen as well as off.

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Indians always believe that their heroes can do no wrong. They attribute to
their stars certain special qualities. Khan, for example, is expected to possess
dynamic qualities like attractiveness, likability, sexiness, appeal and manliness.
These qualities, it is believed, will be transferred to the products he endorses.
So, night after night, when Khan tells a believing TV audience that they can get
rid of the dandruff in their hair by using Clinic All Clear shampoo, they are all
ears and it sends the sales of the product soaring.
The crowning glory for Pepsi came last summer when it managed to rope in two
of the biggest Indian celebrities, Bachchan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, for
the same campaign. Shown on TV and celluloid screens, it was a well-received
one minute film shot in picturesque Jodhpur in the desert state of Rajasthan.
So movie and cricket stars are shining on earth, all involved - the marketing
companies, the advertising agencies, the advertisers and the stars themselves
- are making pots of money and all is right with the world of celebrity
advertising, right?
Not really, if you ask Hrithik Roshan.

One of the biggest stars to be launched in recent times, Hrithik Roshan

became a household name overnight after the phenomenal success of his
debut-making film Kaho na pyar hai in 2000. But subsequent releases did not
set the box office on fire and Roshan’s popularity soon waned. An expensive
campaign for Tamariind readymade men’s shirts bombed, and so did the
product. Now comes the news that Coca-Cola has terminated its contract with
the hitherto heartthrob of every teenage Indian girl. Roshan’s place will be
taken by Bollywood’s current rising star, Vivek Oberoi, who has been signed as
a brand ambassador for two years. (See News clipping)

But then, Roshan is not the only star to have been unceremoniously dropped
from an ongoing campaign. Pepsi dumped cricketer Vinod Kambli, a childhood
friend of Tendulkar, when he failed to tote up the runs. Another hero, Akshay
Kumar, replaced Actor Salman Khan from the Thums Up cola campaign after
the former was involved in a fatal hit-and-run case with his Landrover. A series
of consumer product campaigns were pulled after cricketers Mohammed
Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja were embroiled in a cricket corruption scandal.

Actor Fardeen Khan, too, nearly lost his Provogue textile campaign after he was
caught red-handed by the Mumbai police while concluding a deal with a drug-
pusher. But Provogue decided to continue with the star since “the actor had the
strength of character to own up to his mistake”, according to a press release
issued by the company. Sourav Ganguly, the Indian cricket team’s current
captain, was not so lucky. After the insipid performance of his team in the
opening two matches at the ongoing Cricket World Cup in South Africa, mobile
company Airtel pulled the plug.

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Pros and Cons of Celebrity

Endorsements
Research conducted by Katherine Eckel, professor of economics at U.S.
Virginia Tech, has revealed that celebrities or ‘higher status agents’ can
get people to make a better choice but cannot influence ‘people to
make a foolish choice’. This phenomenon is reflected in the recent market
research finding that 8 out of 10 TV commercials scoring the highest
recall were those with celebrity appearances.
Using a celebrity has the following advantages

 The publicity and the attention getting power of the celebrity

virtually regardless of the product type. (Villains like Mr. Amrish
Puri endorses something like invertors)

 Large segments of audience can instantly recognize and identify

with the famous person, the attraction and goodwill associated
with the celebrity can to be transferred to the product.

 Local celebrities or actors and actresses who are not so well known
can often be used in local or regional market situations to good
effect. (Pepsi roped in Kyunki fame Amar Uphadhay for their
campaigns in Gujarat)

On the negative side,

Not convinced that celebrity endorsements always help, some companies are
now eschewing big names to drum up their products. Thus, Idea Cellular Ltd
(formerly Birla Tata AT&T Ltd) has decided not to adopt the celebrity
endorsement route to promote its newly launched brand, !dea. Similarly, the Rs
950 million Parrys Confectionery Ltd’s new communication will not take the
celebrity endorsement path. “There are divided opinions on celebrity or
non-celebrity. Sometimes, the celebrity becomes more important than
the product itself,” a company spokesman revealed.

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 Celebrities are not usually considered experts, although celebrities

can also be experts in some situations)

 Furthermore, celebrities not only cost a lot but are hard to get, and
if they are already are chosen to by other advertisers, they maybe
losing credibility at the time they are chosen. Endorsers are
usually prohibited from endorsing similar or competing products
through exclusivity clauses in contracts, but they still may be over
exposed.

An ad professional is more forthright. “Sometimes endorsement deals

don’t go according to expectations and investments go down the drain.
That’s just too bad for the corporates.” Coca-Cola India’s contracts with J.
Srinath, Robin Singh, Saif Ali Khan and Twinkle Khanna— all of whom have
hardly attained great heights in their respective careers — have since
“expired”.

Virender Sehwag is the only current cricketer as a Coke endorser while Sunil
Gavaskar is the only ex-celebrity on board.
According to Mr Suhel Seth, who heads Equus Red Cell, ad agencies and
marketers work together as a team to arrive at the right choices as far as
celebrity endorsement deals are concerned, given that the stakes
sometimes run into crores.

 Very importantly, if some event happens to reduce the popularity

of the celebrity with the product, the publicity could backfire on
the associated brand as well. The Hansie Cronje episode has not
only left fans stunned around the world, it has also set a whirlwind
of thoughts pacing in the industry think-tank where mega bucks
are at stake with regards to celebrity (read cricketer)
endorsements on brands.

 While the industry is adopting a wait-and-watch policy to see how

wide spread is the rot, the general feeling of expression is: Will
future contracts with celebrities on brand endorsements lay
emphasis on the ethical and moral conduct? The immediate fallout
of the Cronje episode has been the withdrawal of the JHampstead

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ad by Siyaram Silk Mills, which was created by Percept Advertising,

featuring the entire South African team.

To avoid the pitfalls of Celebrity endorsements the following

recommendations are given

 Never let the celebrity become your brand. In doing so, one
runs the risk of killing the brand no sooner has the hype and
hoopla around the celebrity faded. A classic example of the above
is Dinesh Suitings, where Sunil Gavaskar, the brand spokesperson,
was allowed to rule the brand, thus becoming bigger than it. No
sooner had the association ceased than the brand lost its identity,
thereby creating confusion in people’s minds. Therefore, the use of
a celebrity must be proportionate to the objective.

 It is also important for one to be completely clear about why a

brand should use a celebrity. Is it to boost sales or to boost image?
Or is it just to keep the brand alive? If the objective is increase of
sales, the celebrity should be used for short-term promotions and
brand activities. (A classic example is the Rani Mukherjee
campaign for Bata which is believed to have helped boost sales for
the ladies’ footwear brand, Sundrop, by a whopping 500 per cent.)
In the event of an image-building exercise, the celebrity can be
used for a longer period of time, so that the brand can derive the
benefit of the celebrity’s image on its own. The association of
Sushmita Sen, ex-Miss Universe, helped the brand Epson achieve
instant recognition in the computer printer category, even with
established giants like Hewlett Packard and Wipro in the running.

 A recent study by the Indian arm of ad agency Bates revealed that

celebrities endorsing your product just might not work all the time.
The study showed that some celebrities actually overshadowed the
brand-building efforts of companies. “Celebrities can catalyze
brand acceptance and provide the enormous momentum that
brands require,” says media expert Mala Rupani. “But it is seen
that endorsements often do not focus single-mindedly on the
characteristics the chosen celebrity possesses. Many times there is
a greater temptation to be carried away by the short-term

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exposure and interest that an endorsement can generate.”

Meaning of Effectiveness
The terms effects of advertising or advertising effectiveness refer to the
changes advertising causes in the mental or physical state or activities
of the recipient of an ad.

At the same time, numerous parties have an enormous stake in the

decision about advertising effectiveness. Generally suspicious of
business activity, social critics have at various times asserted that
advertising has strangelehold on the minds of consumers and is the root
of rampant materialisum in contemporary society. Media owners and ad
agencies like to believe that advertising has a strong influence on
consumer behaviour. Some media, such as newspapers are heavily
dependent on advertising revenues, while others, such as network
television are entirely dependent on this source of income. Advertising
agencies have grown from small operations to major corporations on
the widely held premise that advertising is crucial to launching new
products and establishing brands.

On the hand , some promotion agencies would like firms to believe that
sales promotion, not advertising , increases sales, so firms would spend
more of their fixed budgets on sales promotions. Firms themselves
believe that the effects of advertising are grossly exaggerated . Firms
that operate in an environment of tight budgets often take a hard look at
advertising budgets in order to trim ineffective advertising expenditure.

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The debate about advertising effectiveness remains intense because

evidence itself is ambiguous despite centuries of advertising and
decades of research on it. Why? Advertising is a complex phenomena
that takes variety of forms and acts in consonance with many other
factors. For example, advertising can take the form of images or words,
organized to be seen or heard, communicated directly by an endorser or
indirectly by story and drama. Each of these individuals’ forms can be
combined in many ways and can be communicated through a variety of
media. Each form of advertising can have different effects on consumers
depending on the environment and the state of the consumer.
Advertising’s effectiveness depend on human response, which is a
complex entity. Humans act in response to stimuli, of which advertising
is only one.

TOOLS FOR COLLECTING DATA ON ADVERTISING

A large numbers of tools can help researchers collect information on

various aspects of advertising. We can classify these tools based on two
criteria, the method they use to collect data and the aspect of
advertising on which they focus. As regards data collection ,the tolls can
be classified as either self-report or observation tools. As regards their
focus, tools can be classified as focusing on input, process or other
outcome variables (discussed in detail later) associated with advertising.

STANDARD MEASURES OF ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS

Advertisers need for information on advertising effectiveness has

spawned a vast industry of data suppliers or market research firms that
produce such information. These firms collect information on many
measures of advertising effectiveness, some times using standard
measures and at other times using their own unique measures.

The various measures of advertising effectiveness are sometimes

classified as pretest and posttest. Pretest measures are taken before an
ad is aired and posttest measures, after it is aired. The measures can be
classified as observational or self report depending on how researchers
collect data on them. The below figures exhibit the main measures of
advertising effectiveness using these two criteria.

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Reviving all these measures is beyond the scope of this report. On the
hand, three posters measures have become important benchmarks for
the performance of advertising : recall, recognition and inquiries. The
importance of these measures is due more to their historical impact
than to their ability to predict the sales effectiveness of advertising.
However the most important indicators of advertising effectiveness are
the outcome variables, such as brand choice, purchase intensity, market
share and especially sales. So, after reviewing the three benchmark
measures, the section focuses on measuring the sales effectiveness of
advertising.

HEARACHY OF EFFECTS

For decades researchers have been interested in knowing whether

these effects of advertising are related in a sequential chain so that the
response to one variable leads to the response to another. Such a chain
of sequential response is called hierarchy of effects

CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERTISING EFFECTS

From a managerial view point, the various effects of advertising can be

classified as outcome variables and process variables.

OUTCOME VARIABLES: An outcome is the change in consumer behaviour

desired by an advertiser, such as a consumer’s trial of brand or a brand’s
sales to all consumers. A vast number of behavioral variables exist. They
can be conveniently classified into four groups: brand choices, purchase
intensity, market outcomes and a firm’s accounting variables.

The term brand choice refers to a consumer’s selection of a brand ,

which can be decomposed into trial, repurchase or switching. Trial is a
consumer’s first choice of a brand. Every subsequent choice of the same
brand is called a repurchase. The choice of another brand is called a
switch. The separation of choices into trial, repurchase and switching
gives a good picture of a brand’s appeal. Trial indicates the breadth of

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consumer’s experience of a brand , repurchase indicates the depth of

consumer’s loyalty towards a brand, while switching indicates the
brand’s immediate pull relative to a rival brand’s.

Key measures of the effects of advertising

Effects Type Key Measures
Processes Cognitive Recall, recognition
Affective Warmth, liking,
attitude
Co native Persuasion, purchase
intension

Outcomes Brand Choice Trial, switching,

repurchase
Purchase Intensity Timing, frequency
,quantity

Market Market share

Accounting Unit Sales, revenues,
profits

Purchase intensity refers to the extent that a consumer buys a brand

over a time. It can be decomposed into timing , frequency and quantity.
Timing
refers to when consumer s buy a brand. .Frequency to how often they do
so, and quantity to how much of it they buy each time. Information on

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timing , frequency and quantity can help to determine what precise

effects promotions have on consumer behavior

When we sum up or aggregate the choices of individual’s consumers at

the level of t the firm, we get the accounting variables of a firm’s
performance, sales, revenues and profits. The sum of all quantities of a
brand purchased by consumers within a particular time period and
region gives sales in units. The product of unit sales and
the price per unit gives revenues. Profits are revenues less costs. Firms
often measure the effects of advertising in terms of sales or profits
rather than consumer choices, because the former variables are easier
to track and record. Among the accounting variables, sales is generally a
more proximate measure of advertising effects than a profit because
latter is dependent on a host of other cost factors,

Market outcomes measure a firm’s performance in relation to that of

other firms in the market The variable most commonly used is a
brand’s market share. The market share of a brand is the sales of a
brand divided by the sales of all competitors in the market. Tracking
market share is particularly important when brands are very similar to
each other and the overall market is not growing. In that case, any
improvement in a brand’s performance can only come at the cost a the
cost of another brand. Changes in the market shares of the various
brands track such performance.

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Process Variables are measures of mental activities, if any, that occur

between a subject’s exposure to the outcome in his to her
behavior. Examples of process variables are awareness,
persuasion, and purchase intention.

Nevertheless, the process variables are very important for two

reasons. First outcome variables, such as sales or market share,
are affected by a number of variables besides advertising such
as price or promotion. Moreover, sales are not very sensitive to
advertising, but are sensitive to price and promotion. Thus, sales
alone may not be a good measure of advertising effectiveness.
Second, the process variables indicate why, how and where in
the sequence of decision that leads to consumer purchases, the
advertising is effective or ineffective. Thus they provide an
opportunity for advertisers to adjust to their ads. Third and most
important, the process variables can be measured more easily
and quickly during various stages of producing ad. To the extent
the process variables are related to sales, change in the process
variables caused by advertising may be used as an early
predictor of sales change.

The various process variables can be classified as cognitive, effective or

co native. The term cognitive refers to thought process, and
includes variables such as attention or awareness. The most
commonly used measures of attention and awareness are recall
and recognition. The term effective refers to emotions and
includes a very broad spectrum of emotions that can be aroused
by advertising .However, advertising researches tend to focus on
a few affective variables such as warmth, liking and attitude.
The term attitude refers to a consumer’s underlying
predisposition to act. Researchers sometimes use the term
narrowly as an affective variable, and sometimes broadly to
encompass all three dimensions of response: cognitive, affective
and co native. The term co native covers variables that are
proximate to behavior, such as persuasion and purchase
intension. At times the term co native
Is also used to include behavior.

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The key question that has interested professionals in advertising is not

the classification of advertising effects per se, but the
relationship if any , that may exist among the process variables.
In particular, the question has revolved around whether
consumers pass through any fixed sequence of stages or effects
from the moment of exposure to their final behavior in response
to the ad.

CASE STUDY

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CHOICE OF CASE

The case that has been studied for analysis is that of Tabla maestro
Zakir Hussain and his long time association with Hindustan Lever ‘s
Taj Mahal Tea.

(Even though HLL has now brought its entire tea business under one
umbrella brand of Brooke Bond and given it a new look all together, this
change could not be incorporated as the survey has been conducted in
June 2003)

The case was decided by using the following parameters:

No relation to either films or Cricket: Since films and cricket are the
two main obsessions in this country, in spite of not being from either of
the two fields, here is a celebrity who has been associated with the
brand for so long that the brand has become synonymous with his name.

Single Association: There are celebrities who have been associated

with many brands. This leads to confusion in the minds of the consumer.
For e.g.: ‘A’ might best associate Mr. Amitabh Bachchan with Parker
pens while ‘B’ might best associate Mr. Bachchan with the ICICI banks
campaign. A sampling Survey revealed that there were too many
perceptions in the mind of the target group about the celebrity which
would made the findings abstruse.

But right since its inception Taj Mahal has been associated With Zakir
Hussain making a unanimous perception in the minds of the consumer.

The product: Tea being a cheap product does not require too much of
decision making and since tea drinkers are plenty ,the sample for the
survey would be easily obtained.

INRODUCTION TO THE TEA INDUSTRY

Tea is the most popular non-intoxicating beverage in the world enjoyed
by the rich and poor alike. Tea drinking was quite common in China as
early as the 6th century B.C. Over a period of time neighboring countries
in South East Asia, such as Japan, picked up this habit. Western nations

40
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started importing tea from China only in the 17th century. The British
developed India as a sourcing base in the 19th century to reduce their
dependence on China. During the late 19th century and early 20th
century, tea cultivation became popular in other colonies like Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, etc. In the last four decades, world production
had a growth of 3% pa, which decelerated to 1.5% pa in the last decade.

Indian scenario

The world leader

India is the largest producer and consumer of tea in the world. India also
leads in global R&D in tea industry. India is the largest manufacturer and
exporter of tea machinery. Other major tea producers (also developing
nations) source equipment and technology from India. The tea
plantations were started in the middle of the 19th century under the
British management. The farm ownership, however, is fragmented. The
listed companies account for about 40% of total tea production. Also,
there are a large number of small players. Some 80% of the farms are of
the size less than 8 hectares and contribute only 10% of the production.
The annual per capita consumption in India is low at 650gm compared to
other countries like Pakistan (950gm), Sri Lanka (1.2kg), UK (2.5kg) and
Ireland (3.16kg).

Industry growth

The annual tea production has been around 800mn kg for the last 2
years. The tea production grew at an average annual rate of 2.3% during
last four decades and at 1.4% pa in the last decade. For the first 10
months of 2000 the production has increased by 6% on yoy basis. The
consumption is currently around 600mn kg. But over last one year the
consumption growth has slowed down, this coupled with falling exports
has led to surplus supply and falling prices in the market. Tea plantations
in India are concentrated in the North-East (Upper Assam, West Bengal)
and the South (Kerala, Tamil Nadu). The North-Eastern region with 82%
of area accounts for 76% of total tea production. In the North East, the
yield is lower but quality of tea is superior.

Packet tea: growth after decline

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Tea consumption in the country grew by 4.5% pa in the mid eighties

which has dropped to 2% in last 2-3 years. The entire growth was in the
loose tea segment. This resulted in the share of branded tea to decline
from 44% in 1970 to 25% in 1985. But since 1985 the branded tea
segment too has registered good growth and its share in total tea
market is currently around 37%. The decline during the period 1970-85
was due to excise differential coupled with high inflation compelling
consumers to switch to loose tea. The trend changed with introduction of
polyester pouch packaging by Tata Tea. The playbacks took 12% share
from the loose tea market and account for almost half of the branded
segment. The polypacks besides being cost effective, retain freshness
and reduce lead time to reach consumers. Hindustan Lever Ltd with a
market share of 45% is the leading player in the packet tea business.
But overall slow down in the demand for tea has impacted the growth in
branded tea segment. In 1999 the share of branded tea segment in total
tea market in the country, fell to 32.5%.

INRODUCTION TO TAJ MAHAL TEA

Launched in 1966, Taj Mahal Tea has literally defined the premium tea
market in the country and is relished by millions of Indians for its
'Hazaroon-mein-ek' aroma & taste. It was the first brand in India to
launch tea bags in 1979.
Beginning with its launch in 1966 as a premium leaf tea brand to its
advertisements with Ustad Zakir Hussain in 1988, Taj Mahal Tea went
through a metamorphosis, from "Ah! Taj" to "Wah! Taj", in its
communication. It was in 1987 that the need to build a stronger
association for Taj Mahal Tea with the Indian tradition and culture was
identified, following which Ustad Zakir Hussain, the renowned Tabla
maestro, was selected to endorse the brand.

Taj Mahal Tea has been associated with the world of art and culture
for over a decade. The association started with the first endorsements of
the brand by Ustad Zakir Hussain fourteen years back and over the
years, Taj Mahal Tea has been actively supporting cultural events and

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classical music across the country. In its endeavour to offer the best quality
and tea experience to the consumers, Taj Mahal was relaunched in 1996 with
an enhanced aroma and taste. This decision was based on consumer research,
which had identified aroma as a prime characteristic that consumers sought in
tea.

According to Mr. Vineet Taneja, General Manager - Marketing, Hindustan

Lever Limited, "Taj Mahal Tea is proud to be associated with the best in
the world of classical performing arts, because the brand stands for what
is best in India."

According to Mr Sanjay Khosla, Director, Beverages & Culinary

Products, Hindustan Lever Ltd., "Ustad Zakir Hussain may be termed as
among the first brand ambassadors ever selected for marketing in India
and perhaps wears the mantle for the longest relationship with the
brand, having started his association with Taj Mahal Tea in 1988."

The brand has constantly led by innovation, or the patented 'vacuum

pack', which keeps the great quality intact. No wonder tea lovers across
the country start the day by saying 'Wah Taj!'

INTRODUCTION TO ZAKIR HUSSAIN

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A renowned Tabla Maestro and the Son of Ustad Allah Rakha. Zakir
Hussain needs no introduction. He has been partner to the likes of John
McLaughlin, George Harrison and Jim Morrison. One of the best
percussionists in the world. He is also a artist and composer par
excellence. He has been voted the sexiest man in India by “Gentleman”
magazine.

And now, he has been conferred the coveted Padma Bhushan, in

recognition for his outstanding contribution in the field of art and
entertainment. Zakir Hussain already has the distinction of being the
youngest recipient of the Padma Sree. A classical musician who was offered
a free entry into Bollywood - as a hero, no less. The man who with his
flamboyance charmed even the most die-hard followers of pop-culture to give
tabla a chance. The man who drums anything, anywhere. Yes, Zakir Hussain is
indeed all of this and much more! He is arguably the most seen and heard
performer of Indian classical music on the global stage. The tousled hair, the
boyish grin and his flying-fingers have enchanted fans across continents, as
Zakir Hussain plays on his Tabla.But what makes him so endearing? Is it his
sublime music? Is it the mesmerizing rhythm of his tabla? Or is it the impish
smile and the curly locks?! Maybe, it’s all of them

ZAKHIR S GENIUS
The following points illustrate Mr Hussain ‘s genius:

• He is one Tabla player who is equally at ease performing with

exponents of Hindustani Classical or Caryatid Classical music
• He has performed in more than 150 concerts across the world in
the company of some of the top stars

44
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• He has over 145 albums to his credit and currently teaches music
at Washington and California Universities
• Albums of his jugalbandis with maestros like Ravi Shanker and Ali
Akbar Khan saw record sales both in the Indian and overseas
markets
• The first musician to bring classical music to the masses in an
easily digestible form.
• He wears jeans and T-shirts for home and churidars with those
vibrant silk kurtas for public appearances.
• Has endorsed only one brand all his life. He is articulate with a
sense of humour,likes to poke fun at himself while giving
interviews
• He is a national icon who has made a mark for himself in the
international music scene. Has shown the world what Indian
rhythm is all about.

Zakir Hussain is today appreciated both in the field of

percussion and in the world of music at large as an
international phenomenon. A classical tabla virtuoso of the
highest order, his consistenly brilliant and exciting
performances have not only established him as a national
treasure in his own country, India, but gained him fame all
over the world for his many accomplishments. The favorite
accompanist for many of India's greatest classical musicians
and dancers, from Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar to Birju
Maharaj and Shivkumar Sharma, he has not let amazing
talent rest there.

A child prodigy, Zakir was already touring by the age of

twelve. He came to the United States in 1970, embarking on
an international career which includes no less than 150
concert dates a year. He has composed and recorded many
albums and soundtracks, and has received widespread
recognition as a composer as evidenced by the numerous
grants and awards that he has received, including
participation in the Meet The Composer programs funded
by the Pew Memorial Trust.

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Elaboration Likelihood Model (How

it Works?)
Reviewing what has already been said, the basic principle of
elaboration likelihood model is that when people have both , the
motivation and the ability to evaluate a message, their likelihood
of elaboration will be high; in that state they look for and respond
to good reason in favour of the message. This form of persuasion
is called the central route. If they lack either the motivation or the
ability, they are more likely to respond to cues associated with
the message. This form of persuasion is called the peripheral
route.

With regards to tea the following findings can be made:

 Not perceived as a luxury item .In India it is a Poor

man ‘s drink to supplement two square meals a day.

 Aroma is the prime characteristic that consumer s

sought in tea.

 Soft drinks and fruit juices are cannibalizing it but variations

like iced tea, ayurvedic tea have given a new leas of life to tea.

Therefore keeping in mind these findings here is hoe the elaboration

likelihood model can be related to the Taj Campaign featuring tabla
maestro Zakir Hussain:

1) There is negligible pre purchase study of alternatives because:

a) Tea is inexpensive. If consumers do not like the for the first

time they simply toss the item and not purchase it again. On the
contrary if prior purchase works it helps in it’s re purchase.

The system of wants follows the following trail:

Purchase → Recognition → Recall → Liking

b) The main Target is the housewife who lacks the

motivation to process information as this requires effort. Moreover
they are not familiar and lack the expertise to process the
information at a technical level (this may include tasting the
brands for flavour, taste etc.)

46
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c) Dearth of time to carefully analyze and think through.

2) Therefore Taj Mahal Tea adopted the PERIPHERAL ROUTE for

endorsing the brand.. here the people are more likely to respond
to cues in the ad associated with the message like:

 The analogy of Zakir Hussain being best is

tabla to Taj Mahal being the best in tea.

 His clean public image, very likable

 His rigorous practice :: Taj’s rigorous testing

methods.

 Association with Indian Culture.

 Sales promotion acts like: Tabla Talash, Golden Tabla

 Ongoing campaign , where customers tell the

reason for liking Taj.

 Music, mood and the general ambience of the

ad.

Thus people have developed a likable feeling for

Taj.

3) Since persuasion by peripheral route is temporary, repetition

was resorted by continuously changing advertisements, with Ustad
as the main concept.

THE AIM
The main aim of the case study was that to study how effective was
the use of Zakir Hussain in people buying Taj Mahal tea and
whether people bought Taj because of him and if people did not buy
because of him then why had HLL continued him for so many years.

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THE METHODOLOGY
The methodology used was mainly that of a survey based on a
questionnaire (annexure 1) prepared to test various parameters . As
mentioned earlier there are two types of variables outcome variables
and process variables .
A quick recap of the variables shall be done.
Outcome variables An outcome is the change in consumer behaviour
desired by an advertiser, such as a consumer’s trial of brand or a brand’s
sales to all consumers. A vast number of behavioral variables exist. They
can be conveniently classified into four groups: brand choices, purchase
intensity, market outcomes and a firm’s accounting variables.

 TRIAL
 REPURCHASE
 SWITCH
 TIMING
 ACCOUNTING VARIABLES (like sales, revenues, profit etc.)

48
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Process Variables are measures of mental activities, if any, that occur

between a subject’s exposure to the outcome in his or her
behavior.

The process variables are very important for two reasons. First
outcome variables, such as sales or market share, are affected
by a number of variables besides advertising such as price or
promotion. Moreover, sales are not very sensitive to advertising,
but are sensitive to price and promotion. Thus, sales alone may
not be a good measure of advertising effectiveness. Second,
the process variables indicate why, how and where in the
sequence of decision that leads to consumer purchases, the
advertising is effective or ineffective. Thus they provide an
opportunity for advertisers to adjust to their ads. Third and most
important, the process variables can be measured more easily
and quickly during various stages of producing ad. To the extent
the process variables are related to sales, change in the process
variables caused by advertising may be used as an early
predictor of sales change.

Thus in the survey more emphasis has been on the process

variables than outcome variables

A summary of all parameters deciding effectiveness

PROCESS VARIABLES

COGNITIVE (thought AFFECTIVE CONATIVE

process) (emotions aroused) (Proximate to
behavior)
 AWARENESS  PERMANAENCE  RESISTANCE

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 VALUES  SIMILIARITY  TRIAL/INQUIRIES

 FAMILIARITY  RECALL
 LIKEABILITY
 ATTRACTIVNESS

The basic format of representing the data is as follows:

 Question: What was the question asked to the respondent?

 Importance: Which of the Parameters did the question test?
 Responses: What were the responses from the survey?
 Inference: What do the responses show?
THE SAMPLE

Sex Composition:

GENDER RATIO

SEX M
SEX F

As seen from the graph the sample consists of the approximately same
number of males and female’s 53 females and 47 males to be precise.

50
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Thus it has turned out quite a balanced sample as far as the sex ratio is
concerned.
Age Composition:

Age Composition (Total)

8%
AGE 20-30
45% AGE 30-40
33%
AGE 40-50
AGE 50<
14%

The age group was again a mixed composition where essentially the
majority has come from the age group of 20-30.With a close second
coming from the mid age group. Thus the majority consisted of the age
group which generally consumes tea on a large scale.

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TEA DRINKING HABITS

NAME OF BRAND

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QUESTION
WHICH IS THE BRAND(S) OF TEA YOU DRINK?
IMPORTANCE:

To get a general feel about what were the brands of tea the
sample chose to drink on a regular basis that occupied the
mind space of the people when it came to tea or occupied the
consideration set of people when it came to tea

RESPONSES:

40.00
sample

30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
S

S
W
A

AR
TY
J

U
TA

ER
AZ

O
IE

N
TA

TH
EN
IR
C

TK
SO

O
IG
N

D
O

IN
D

brands of tea

It was found that about 20% of the respondents drank Taj tea. Surprisingly, 30% and
18%
of respondents were found to be drinking Society and Girnar tea respectively.
This fact is surprising only by the virtue of the fact that these brands are regional and
not
national players and are not as heavily advertised as Taj! Thus the regional brands
may be catering to the needs of the local population in a better way than national
brands.

53
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REASON FOR THE BRAD

QUESTION:
Why do you drink the brand you drink?

IMPORTANCE:

What is it that customers look for in a tea brand and that makes them
loyal to it?

RESPONSES:

REASON FOR THE BRAND

2% TASTE
17%
PRICE
2% ADS
5% TEA BAGS
2% 63% OFFER
9% FAMILIARITY
OTHERS

Taste clearly came out as a winner when it cam to the reasons why
the respondents consumed a particular brand of tea with familiarity
(i.e. E the comfort level with the bran because they have seen it in
the house for a number of years) the coming a second. The price, ads
, offers were of miniscule importance for the reason why people chose
the brand of tea.

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QUESTION
Do you drink more than one brand? Why?
IMPORTANCE:
The purpose was to test whether the customer experiments with
change of brands or if he prefers to stick with just one brand.

RESPONSES:

REASONS FOR HAVING MORE THAN

ONE BRAND

16%
CHANGE
16% OCCASIONS
68% OTHERS

It was rather surprising to note that as high as 45 % of the

respondents consumed more than one brand of tea on a regular
basis. Their reasons as can be seen in the graph were mainly for
occasional change in the flavor. As a matter of fact 16 % of the
respondents had special brands for tea kept aside for special
occasions ( and yes , Taj did figure as one of them)

BRAND LOYALTY

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QUESTION:

Since when have you been consuming it?

IMPORTANCE:

Since the effectiveness of the brand was being tested it was very
important that the sample had experienced the brand for a considerable
period of time. This question tested the brand loyalty of the sample
towards the respective brands before I know what made them loyal to it.

RESPONSES

Brand Loyalty (no of years)

20< YEARS

10-20 YEAR

>10 YRS

0 10 20 30 40 50

Almost 40 % of the sample I interviewed drank their brand between 10

to 30 years and close to 30 % of the sample drank the tea brand for
more than 20 years. Therefore the survey responses can be termed as
dependable.

BRAND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

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 MMS

BRAND RECALL

QUESTION:

N A ME 3 T E A B RA N D S A S T H E Y C OM E T O YOU R MI N D .

IMPORTANCE:

Respondents were asked to name three tea brands randomly to test

the brand recall and to see whether Taj Mahal enjoyed top of the mind
recall.

RESPONSES:

BRAND RECALL

17%
FIRST
41% SECOND
THIRD
28%
NOT THERE
14%

It was surprising to find that 41 % of the sample did not recall Taj at all .
A considerable no of people placed it second where as only 17 % of the
respondents think Taj when they think tea.

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BRAND AWARENESS

QUESTION:

H AV E YO U E V E R H E A R D O F T H E B RA N D TA J M A H A L T E A ?
IMPORTANCE :

The reason was clearly to know whether the respondent knew the
subject of my research so that I could continue the survey with them.

RESPONSES:

AWARENESS ABOUT TAJ

NO
1%
YES
NO
YES
99%

Barring a miniscule 1 % there was hardly anyone who did not know about
the brand. This did not come as any surprise considering that the brand has
been around for quit some time now! (since 1966 to be precise)This was also
one of the reason I chose the brand since brand awareness was high.

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BRAND PERCEPTION

QUESTION:

W H AT D O YO U T H I N K O F W H E N YO U T H I N K O F T H E B RA N D ?

IMPORTANCE:
The perception they had about the brand essentially tested the
conception they had developed about the brand and what is that
associated Taj with? This would be later useful in finding out whether
the perceptions they had matched with the perceptions they had
about the endorser

RESPONSES:

BRAND PERCEPTION
OTHERS 17

NO 1 TEA BRAND 8

MONUMENT 15

ZAKIR HUSSAIN 67

QUALUITY 25

0 20 40 60 80

More than even quality(25%) which is the cardinal reason why,

customers buy a product the one thing which saliently strikes the
consumer when he thinks of he brand is it’s ex- endorser, Ustad Zakir

59
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Hussain (67%). This definitely the strong impact celebrity

endorsements can have on brands.

BRAND EXPERIENCE

QUESTION:
Have you ever consumed Taj ?

IMPORTANCE:
All the findings made henceforth definitely had to be considered in
light of the fact that how many of the respondents interviewed had
ultimately been converted to final customers to make a further
analysis that how many of those that were converted were due to
Zakir Hussain.

FINDINGS:

BRAND EXPERIENCE

33%
YES
NO
67%

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A majority of the respondents had tried the brand which gave me

ample scope to further the interview.

TRIAL

QUESTION:
If yes, what prompted you to buy it ?
IMPORTANCE:
Aimed obviously at the 67 % who had experienced the brand the
question aimed to throw light on what made the respondents try
out the brand the first time they bought it.

TASTE
TRIAL

BRAND NAME
19%
35%
WORD OF
6% MOUTH

12% AD
9%
12% 7%
AT OFFICE

FUNCTIONS,GE
T TO GETHERS
FINDINGS: OUTINGS

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35% of the respondents had finally bought because they tasted it

before proving yet again that taste proved a crucial role in purchase
of tea.12 % of the people bought it because of the ads .A lot many
could not remember the reason they bought it because the brand is
so old.

.
CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

AD AWARENESS

QUESTION:

Have you seen the Taj ads?

IMPORTANCE:

The idea was obviously to check the awareness level the ads enjoyed
among the respondents so that the impact and effectiveness about
the ads could be assessed.

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FINDINGS:

AWARENESS ABOUT THE ADS

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
YES NO

The ads definitely enjoyed a very high level of awareness . Though the sample could
not recollect the exact advertisements they was hardly anybody who had not
encountered a Taj Mahal ad campaign –either by means of print or television.

BRAND AMBASSADOR AWARENESS

QUESTION:

WHO IS THE BRAND AMBASSADOR?

IMPORTANCE:

The aim was to check the awareness level the brand ambassador
among the respondents so that the impact and effectiveness about
the ads could be assessed.

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FINDIN GS:

AWARENESS ABOUT THE BRAND AMBASSADOR

NO
7%

YES
93%

The brand ambassador again enjoys a very high level of awareness.

There was no difficulty in for the respondents in recalling the name,
although some required aid for the exact name as they knew he was
“someone related to tabla”

LIKEABILTY OF THE AD

DO YOU LIKE THE AD?

The likeability factor regarding the ads was very important to be
judged because if the ad was to be judged for effectiveness it was
essential that the respondent had developed a positive image about
it.

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LIKEABILITY
2%
3%
15% YES
NO
OK
CAN T SAY
80%

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REASONS FOR LIKING

USTAD S MUSIC
8% DELIGHTS
LEAVES ME WID
GOOD FEELING
33% 48%
COMMUNICATES
WELL
11% OTHERS

REASONS FOR DISLIKE

BORING
41%
59% FOCUSES MORE
ON USTAD

The ad had definitely created for itself a favorable image in the minds
of the customer.80% of the people surveyed said that they really
liked the ad. Out of these 80 %, the proportion was almost the same
in both men and women (men -80% and women about 70 % of the
opinions surveyed). 12 years was quite some time to stick on with
simply one image.

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What comes out really surprising is that on one hand it is Zakir

Hussain s music that was the USP of the ad but on the other hand 7 %
think that the ad should change its structure, because it is focusing
too much on Ustad and were becoming completely stereotypical .This
could have also been one of the reasons why HLL chose to shift the
focus from Ustad on to its new strategy of getting all the brands
under one umbrella brand an focusing on the theme of “navras
jeevan ke”

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LIKEABILTY OF THE BRAND AMBASSADOR

QUESTION
DO YOU LIKE ZAKIR HUSS AIN?

LIKE ZAKIR HUSSAIN

NEUTRAL
16%
NO YES
5% NO
NEUTRAL
YES
79%

79 % of the respondents really liked him and thought that the master
percussionist was the “pride of India”. Quite a number were neutral
about him and said that he evoked no strong feelings. On the whole it
just goes on to say in light of the todays scam-laden world here is
definitely one personality that still holds high regard in the opinion of
the public.

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ENDORSER PERCEPTION

QUESTION
Besides the Tabla & music, what do you associate him with?

IMPORTANCE
In link with the previous question, this question tried to explore the
Culture, in which each celebrity develops an image that
encodes a unique set of meaning. These meanings arise from the
type of people they are, the roles they have paid, the things they
have done and the stories that have developed around them.

PERCEPTION ABOUT ZAKIR HUSSAIN

SUCCESS

SINCRETY
6% 20%
14% CULTURE

7% STYLE
14%
QUALITY OF
PERFORMNCE
21% TAJ MAHAL
18%
OTHERS

This was a very interesting aspect to compute. The tabla factor had
been purposely ignored because that would have made the results

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obvious. The focus was on getting the set of codes associated with
him besides the tabla.
But since Tabla and Zakir Hussain are two inseparable names there
were still many who had to be reminded that the question did not
include tabla. Not surprisingly culture does come out as a close
winner followed by success. Though Taj Mahal was attached to zakir
Hussain s persona ,his inimitable style and performance is what is
considered more relevant .
GOOD MATCH

DO YOU THINK HE IS A GOOD CHOICE FOR THE BRAN D?,IF

NO, WHO WOULD MAKE A BETTER CHOICE?

This was to find out whether they thought the perception they had
about the brand matched with the celebrity perception and whether
this was an ideal choice for the brand. Respondents were also asked
to give alternative choices if thy felt he was not the match for the
brand.

MATCH WITH THE BRAND

24%
YES
NO
11%
65% CAN T SAY

The findings here are also quite surprising. Though predictably,

majority felt that the royal and serene image of Taj Mahal suited the

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cultural aura around the man , there were some who felt that a
celebrity would never work for a petty commodity like tea and a lay
person ( say a common housewife , woman of today etc.) with whom
the audience could identify themselves would make a better match.
There was also a lot of ambiguity in the minds of the people as a no of
responses included “someone from” sports or “someone from” the
food and beverage industry. Although some celebrity alternatives
included names like Amitabh Bachchan ,Laloo Yadav,David Beckham
and even Shilpa Shetty!

IMPACT

IF YOU CONSUME TAJ AND TOMORROW IF ZAKIR HUSSAIN

DOES N’T ENDORSE THE BRAND ANYMORE WOULD YOU STILL
CONTINUE CONSUMING IT?

This question tested the ultimate influence the endorser had on the
brand .

INFLUENCE

18%
YES
8%
NO
C' SAY
74%

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Although the question was a little hazy for some, the findings are
predictable with 74 % saying that they would continue to consume
Taj irrespective of Zakir Hussain. The findings have to be considered
in light of 3 things: -
 Tea is a commodity which is cheap, so the customer does not
mind experimenting
 The focus is on the taste in tea
 Even if the respondent would be consuming Taj because of Zakir
Hussain it would be considered quite naïve to admit in public
Therefore it is very surprising when almost one fifth of the sample
could not make up their mind whether they would continue to
consume the same.This definitely proves that Zakir Hussain has no
direct influence over the purchase behavior of Taj Mahal.

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Learnings & Inferences

The learnings about the survey can be summarized as follows: -

 RELATED TO TEA
 RELATED TO THE BRAND
 RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN

 RELATED TO TEA

1) There is no brand consciousness when it comes to tea..

2) Taste plays a major role.
3) Since taste plays a major role, brand loyalty is vary high.

 RELATED TO THE BRAND

1) Taj Mahal does not enjoy high brand recall.

2) But owing to large length of time , awareness is high.

3)Taj is strongly linked and associated with Zakir Hussain but is

not visa-verse.

 RELATED TO THE CAMPAIGN

1) Awareness about both the ad and the endorser was very

high

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2) There is no particularly strong and radical feeling about Zakir

Hussain and there is a general positive feeling about the ad.
3) The match of the celebrity although suitable, has ample
scope of improvement preferably if a lay man is endorsing
the product

On the whole the awareness, the impression that it has etched

on for years in our mind of Taj can be attributed to the fact that
Zakir Hussain endorses it but not it’ s success. The brand faces
certain basic flaws such a taste which have to be improved for
it to gain market.,

RECOMMENDATIONS. :
On the basis of the survey conducted and the inferences got
the following recommendations can be made :
-
⇒ The company HLL should first try and make the test a
little more strong as that is what majority respondents
were complaining about that.
⇒ Since the brand recall is poor but awareness is high , the
company could consider ,making the ads more attractive
considering all age groups of tea drinkers and break the
cliché ambience of the music
⇒ The company should engage in public relation activities
or certain brand building exercises rather than simply
concentrating on advertising.
⇒ As far as changing or continuing with the celebrity is
concerned . the company ideally should not change
the celebrity because Mr. Hussain has quite a favorable
image amongst the public, but since there are quite a few
who feel that a lay endorser could do the trick, HLL could
consider involving a lay celebrity.

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CONCLUSION
So finally is a celebrity effective enough for people to buy products
irrespective of the status right from pens to cars? Frankly, It is a no.
Nobody goes to a shop to buy a product because XYZ says we should
buy it. Neither are they so dumb to accept it even if they do! Why then
are companies blowing up millions on them? That is because people are
crazy behind them. They might not pull the customer to the shop but
definitely keeps the product at ht back of the mind when he is shopping.
The moment he spots the product (availability) , the quality, affordable
price, the benefits offered and good after sales service make him a loyal
customer. So the celebrity can be said as a initiating link of a series
of events that can make a loyal customer

But Gandhiji once said, "What I have done will endure, not what I have
said or written"! If only today's celebrities were as humble, or should one
say realistic? So much hoopla, so much money, so many aspirations…
this business of celebrity endorsement in marketing, is it worth it?

Another key consideration is what happens when the celebrity falls by

the wayside ?the route of brand ambassadors is adopted by those who
want the easy option. Brands are not built through ambassadors, they
are built through benefits. Brand categories must have ambassadors
pertinent to them. If Mother Teresa were to appear in an advertisement
urging people to donate some amount of their monthly salary to charity,
it is credible, but if Sachin Tendulkar (perched on top of a Mercedes)
says the same thing, there is reason to doubt.

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Besides, none of the celebrities — who are ‘used’ for everyone’s benefit — give
anything back to society or the country in return for the adulation and love,
which millions give them without reserve. Eventually, if the money roles in,
there is respect and recognition. When the cash flow dries up, so does the
emotional hype created around a celebrity. It is important also to be realistic
about what the celebrity is doing in the ad — can he/she emote and act. Also if
one has the monies, one could balance risk by having more than one
celebrity. The endorsement should also be sustainable, and of course,
continuously research your offering. As someone truly said, celebrities may
come and go, but brands go on forever.
Ultimately, the question to be asked is, did you eat more Britannia biscuits
because Sachin and Sherry asked you to, or because you had a chance of going
to South Africa? I would say, the answer is ... 50-50!

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books :

Advertising Management by Aaker, Batra and Myers

Websites:

www.google.com

www.agencyfaqs.com

www.agencyfaqs.com

www.deccanheald.com

http://www.blonnet.com

http://www.etstrategicmarketing.com

http://www.hinduonnet.com

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