MxMIndia

Tag: celebrity endorsements

  • It's an oft-asked question: what offers better identification and generates stickiness for a brand. And how does a brand choose between the two?

    Who’s better for brands – mascots or celebs?

     

    By Shubhangi Mehta

     

    Mascots can be regarded as the face of a brand. Be it the ‘Amul Girl’ who is a part of every household since 1967, ‘Chintamani’, 2005, the common man ‘RK Laxman’, 1954, ‘Maharaja’ 1946 or the latest ‘ZooZoo’. Mascots provide an identity to a brand which is equivalent to the brand itself.

     

    It was in the late ’90s when the advertising industry gained pace with more and more brands wanting to endorse themselves to reach out to the consumer is when the brands started associating with celebrities to create a mass appeal.  With Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and every other celebrity promoting not one but half a dozen brands.

     

    So what does a consumer gets hooked to Sachin’s Pepsi commercial or Fido’s 7UP? Abhishek Bachchan for Idea or Zoozoos for Vodafone?

     

    Sameer Satpathy

    Says Sameer Satpathy, EVP & head, Marketing, Marico Ltd, “Choosing a celebrity or a mascot depends on your brand strategy. Both are a legitimate way to communicate your message.  The celebrity route has higher risk as you get both the positives & the negatives of your brand ambassador, but you can get results quicker as it only depends on the ability of your brand to leverage the equity of the celeb. The mascot needs to be built, invested into and in time can become a powerful and exclusive property. Also, certain categories lend themselves better to brand ambassadors like beauty brands and some categories to mascots for example brands targeted at children. For me the most memorable celebrity for a campaign would be Tiger Woods! J But for the wrong reasons.”

     

    Abhijit Avasthi

    According to Abhijit Avasthi, NCD, Ogilvy &Mather, “There is never a set rule whether a brand should go with a celebrity or a mascot. It mainly depends on the nature of the campaign. A well known celebrity face has its respective positives and so does a mascot. Though there is a great chance of a brand being lost in the clutter while using a celebrity. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is presently endorsing over 20-25 brands but when it comes to recalling a brand I can only think of 5-6 of those. Hence it is very important that the celebrity, if used, is used perfectly. For me the ‘Amul Girl’ and ‘Zoozoo’ are two of the most memorable mascots. When it comes to celebrities, I think Titan and Coke have used Amir Khan perfectly and so has Pepsi used Sachin.”

     

    It may be noted that a mascot is created by keeping in mind the brand whilst a celebrity being a mortal, may be a perfect choice to endorse a brand at a particular time but with time the image of the celebrity may change, which in return may or may not fit with the brand image.

     

    Ajay Kakar

    Says Ajay Kakar,CMO – Financial Services,Aditya Birla Group,, “It is true that a brand can ‘own’ a mascot. While a celebrity is an asset shared by many brands. But I do believe that both these mnemonics or devices are not necessarily interchangeable. Both of them have a unique role that they can play in the life of a brand. Now it depends on the specific brand, as to what is the desired role.

     

    “A celebrity can definitely create a more immediate pull for a brand, because the celebrity is already well known and has a fan following. On the other hand, a mascot may take time to ‘grow’ on its target audience. Similarly, a celebrity can help create a more emotional or personal connect, due to the ‘human’ factor. So, it is a question of horses for courses.

     

    “The Amul girl is a ‘mascot’ that immediately comes to mind. It has withstood the test of time, across ‘generations’. “As far as a celebrity-brand partnership is concerned, regrettably, today’s celebrities tend to take-on one too many brand associations, so it is difficult to associate them with any single brand. The two exceptions that do come to mind are Abhishek Bachchan and idea. And Yuvraj Singh and Birla Sun Life Insurance.”

    The fact also remains that a celebrity can give instant boost to a brand whereas a mascot needs time investment before it becomes a household name. At times a mascot may not click with the audience but the ‘non-click’ risk remains minimal in the case of a celebrity.

     

  • So many things to get right – the face, the space, and the place(ment). Anujita Jain makes a list.

    12 ‘must-do’s when engaging a celeb for your brand

    By Anujita Jain

     

    #1 First, the key is to identify the need for a brand ambassador ­ whether it is to get noticed, or to catapult to a leadership position, or to change image or create demand, or other.

     

    #2 Think of a brand endorsement as a mid to long term investment. Quick successes or failures of endorsements are not representative. Riding on the equity of a known personality is a strategic call. By itself, the decision cannot guarantee success, it needs correct usage. For instance, an endorser doesn’t come at the cost of a good creative.

     

    #3 Go with a mindset to alter the script or storyline of a advertising creative if required, while approaching an endorser. While the communication strategy is brand objective dependent, the storyline may need to be re-thought with the chosen endorse in mind. Neither should the endorser be ideally selected with just one script in mind. The investment on an endorser often deserves and asks for that.

     

    #4 Match endorser motivations with your brand motivations, to get more out of the endorsement than what the contract promises. This may not just yield in the celebrity commitment to brand but also in the ripple effect the communication may create.

     

    #5 If as a brand manager, you are looking for a deal or a quick bargains, the only way is not in going for smaller names, but may also be about bigger names who are looking for new dimensions in their own stated personality. Match that need, and you may have a deal! While top end luxury brands have always had this advantage from even A-lister celebrities, this is often true for many other brands with respect to some potential endorsers.

     

    #6 Plan out how you will use the endorser days thoroughly, so that you don’t end up with expensive days you struggle to use within the year, a common issue with the bulk of endorsement deals. The first few days are often easily utilised through shoots etc., but the balance 2-3 days end up being hurriedly utilised for sub-optimal activation that doesn’t get the right ROI for the day cost.

     

    #7 Always have alternatives in mind while approaching endorsers. Options not only in the same grade of celebrities, but also pan grades and genres. This not only allows more creative thought for utilisation of the celebrity days, but also results in smarter value-benefit deals.

     

    #8 Unless you have 4X budget for media and magnification, don’t put more than X for the endorser.  If amplification is the chief reason for using the endorser, it defeats the purpose to cut corners in the resources put behind it.

     

    #9 Modern-day endorsements are best approached not only in terms of day count, but also digital or equity usage rights.  This again means a clear strategy of endorser usage, clear ideas of utilization of celebrity equity beyond just his/her days, and a strong plan

     

    #10 If the brand works its communication around the endorser, the likelihood of the endorser working their schedules around the brand is that much more. An endorser, being a human brand, is highly likely to value good planning by the brand, and go that extra mile to deliver.

     

    #11 Sharper the brand focus versus the category, the better the endorser choice.  So think of the brand positioning and attributes that define brand image, and then create your endorser consideration set. Often brands approach endorsers from the point of view of their category, failing to then translate an edge in their communication, resulting in a diluted or under-utilised endorsement.

     

    #12 Often, especially for mid-segment brands, considering a set of niche endorsers may bring more value than going for a single mid-range endorser. This de-risks the brand, at the same time allowing them to ride on to a cluster of icons that have a deep and strong, albeit smaller follower base. Today, there is a whole new breed of such celebrities, who have a die-hard loyal following in their chosen fields, who work as strongly as special interest channels do versus a general entertainment one, for the relevant brands.

     

    Anujita Jain is Founder & COO, Alchemist Talent Solutions.