Celebrity Endorsements Vs Average User Endorsements

Celebrities endorsing products or starring in commercials is something that we have become accustom too. But is it something we have also now become immune to? The logic behind utilising star power to sell a product or service is straightforward. Celebrities embody cultural meanings, they symbolise important categories like status (eligible bachelor, such as George Clooney) or even personality types (the geeky but endearing Simon Bird from the Inbetweeners).

The brand/advertiser first decides what meaning the product wants to convey, i.e how it will positioned in the market place, then chooses the star that embodies that meaning. The idea is that the celebrity will be used as the vehicle to the communicate that meaning to the consumer.  This is exactly what happen when Giorgio Armani chose Waiting All Night singer Ella Eyre to be the new face of his perfume. According to the infamous designer  Miss Eyre "perfectly embodies the creative and musical spirit of the  Emporio Armani Diamonds fragrance" due to her "individual style and..personality."

In theory then every one of these types of partnerships need to make sense. In other words, there needs to be a logical connection between the two with their brand images complimenting one another's. This is related to the consistency principle whereby we value harmony in our lives and the things we see around us. In that respect we respond better to these brand partnership when we can see this connection. Sadly, this not always case and this is why this 'star power effect' is waning.

Nowadays celebrities as sticking their name on anything and  the logic behind these partnerships has been thrown out of the window. The effect of this is twofold. Firstly, the brand is not getting any benefit from the partnership if the message they wish to convey is not clear due to a poor choice of celebrity. Let's take the recent collaboration between Avicii and Volvo. Apart from their shared heritage (both are Swedish) their brand images are so missed matched. Volvo is marketed as a safe, reliable family car company, and Aviicii a dance music producer wouldn't like to think that his personal brand meets any of that criteria. Secondly, due to the vagrancy with which celebs use their name, the influence they have on our purchase decisions is decreasing. Recent studies suggest that by enlarge "celebrity endorsements [are] largely ineffective and fail to yield the benefits popular wisdom promises".  In fact, these studies have shown that ads featuring the average user are significantly more effective.

So what is the reason for this shift? Well, compared with ten years ago consumers are more sophisticated and are less easily persuaded. The ubiquitous nature of the internet and social media have caused this change as consumers have become more autonomous buyers. Instead on relying on what an ad tells them about a brand, they can discover this for themselves on their phone, tablet or laptop. This information however won't only come from the companies website but from their peers on social media. Those with a big social presence have usurped the influential position that celebs once occupied. Vloggers, Bloggers, Instagrammers are the new celebrities as consumers are influenced more by someone more like them than someone that they have very little in common with. Today, consumers are in the driving seat when it comes to their purchase habits, and adverts need reflect this change.  The information and entertainment value of an ad needs to be more significant than the air brushed celeb on screen. In other words, consumers want to see how the product or service will enrich their own lives, not the celebrity's!

Big companies has recognised this chang and have reacted accordingly. Apple Watch ads feature the average user and imaginatively demonstrates how the product would fit into our to day-to-day lives. In a similiar vein, Google did this with their new app advert. This Ad features 'normal' questions being posed by  'normal' people.

Now, should celebrity endorsements be a thing of the past? No. But they should be used strategically. Celebrity endorsements can fulfil a our basic need, the need to belong/to fit in. Nike, for example, does this so well. Celebs are represented as being "cool" so if  you want to be cool wear Nike; if you are cool, you are probably wearing Nike. 

Another occasion when star power is useful  is when the nature of product the deems them necessary. Nike is first and foremost a sports brand, and in any sport everyone vying to be the best. The athletes featured in Nike's adverts are at the top of their respective fields, a position that all budding athletes aspire to be in. Therefore by associating the successful star with the brand, the brand becomes the brand of the winners, which is something the consumer can buy into.

So what's the moral of the story? Make sure the celebrity represents what your brand represents!