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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 advertising?

choose

celebrities

in

their

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

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been conducted on what has been his impact and how effective 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 doesnt mind sharing the secret of his (and later Virender Sehwags 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 its humor, acceptance, appreciation or recognition.These are the faces youd turn to look at,the ones that would stop you in your tracks. And thats when you have more than just a face.You have personality.Personality thats 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 its 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 its about

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selecting a spokesperson whose characteristics are congruent with the 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 stars appeal,thereby adding refreshing and new dimensions to the brand image.Let us now have a birds 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?

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And what better route into the home and hearts of the teeming 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 Levers 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 thats 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

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of her deadly mane-Crowning Glory, while macho men Vinod Khanna and Imran Khan wowed the joys of Centhol soap.From another wing two hottest bubblegum 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 coolHero Puch, Mayur, Pepsihe 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,adspends 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 Dsouza 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 dont create icons.We dont 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? Its 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 Devs 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 latters 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 Gavaskars 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 Kumars 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 Kaifs home in north Indias 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 cricketers 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, Indias 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 halfcenturies (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.
Tendulkars appeal cuts across all ages and transcends boundaries, says the owner of a medium-sized company who has used the batting legends 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 Tendulkars, 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 redhanded 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 couldnt 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 todays 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. Thats Amitabh for you. His rustic appeal is also prompt for he being used for Navratna Tel made targeted at the rural masses. Theres 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 consumers 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 High Ability to Process Information Reason Low Lay endorsers

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

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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. 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 audiences 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 endorsers pleasant surprise with using a particular product.

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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
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 Bangalores 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 Videocons 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

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that they endorsed. Thus the pay off from any one-endorsement contract is uncertain.

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 celebritys values

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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 Bakers (1996) footsteps, the manager accepts differences in the target audience/market and tries to adjust promotion strategy accordingly.

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 brands 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.: Lets 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 Indians 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 noncricket 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 37year-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

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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 damn here, because it doesnt 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. Its 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.

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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 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 televisions Kaun Banega Carodpati, an Indian adaptation of the popular who will be a millionaire. Aging Bachchans 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 Pepsis 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 screens 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 Mumbais Bollywood world and was soon one of the richest actors around - on the back of

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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 Mumbais 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. 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 Roshans popularity soon waned. An expensive campaign for Tamariind readymade mens 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. Roshans place will be taken by Bollywoods 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 drugpusher. 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

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issued by the company. Sourav Ganguly, the Indian cricket teams 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.

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

Pros and Cons of Celebrity Endorsements

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

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950 million Parrys Confectionery Ltds 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.

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 dont go according to expectations and investments go down the drain. Thats just too bad for the corporates. Coca-Cola Indias 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.

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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 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 peoples 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 celebritys 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

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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 exposure and interest that an endorsement can generate.
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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

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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. 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. Advertisings 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

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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. 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 consumers trial of brand or a brands 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 firms accounting variables. The term brand choice refers to a consumers selection of a brand , which can be decomposed into trial, repurchase or switching. Trial is a

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consumers 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 brands appeal. Trial indicates the breadth of consumers experience of a brand , repurchase indicates the depth of consumers loyalty towards a brand, while switching indicates the brands immediate pull relative to a rival brands.

Key measures of the effects of advertising Effects Type Processes Cognitive Affective Co native Outcomes Brand Choice Purchase Intensity Market Accounting

Key Measures Recall, recognition Warmth, liking, attitude Persuasion, purchase intension Trial, switching, repurchase Timing, frequency ,quantity Market share Unit Sales, revenues, profits

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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 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 individuals consumers at the level of t the firm, we get the accounting variables of a firms 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 firms performance in relation to that of other firms in the market The variable most commonly used is a brands 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 brands 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 subjects 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 consumers 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

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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, its 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

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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 its 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.)

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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. methods. His clean public image, very likable His rigorous practice :: Tajs rigorous testing Association with Indian Culture. Sales promotion acts like: Tabla Talash, Golden Tabla Ongoing campaign , where customers tell the reason for liking Taj. ad. Music, mood and the general ambience of the 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 consumers trial of brand or a brands 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 firms accounting variables. TRIAL REPURCHASE SWITCH TIMING ACCOUNTING VARIABLES (like sales, revenues, profit etc.)

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Process Variables

are measures of mental activities, if any, that occur between a subjects 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 process)
AWARENESS

AFFECTIVE (emotions aroused)

PERMANAENCE

CONATIVE (Proximate to behavior)

RESISTANCE

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VALUES FAMILIARITY LIKEABILITY ATTRACTIVNESS

SIMILIARITY RECALL

TRIAL/INQUIRIES

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 females 53 females and 47 males to be precise.

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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% 33% 45% AGE 20-30 AGE 30-40 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 30.00 20.00 10.00 0.00

S U O EN O TH TA AR TY W A AZ IE N TA IR N ER O S J C

sample

SO

TK N

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.

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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

17% 2% 5% 2% 9% 63% 2% TASTE PRICE ADS TEA BAGS OFFER 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% 16% 68%

CHANGE OCCASIONS 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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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% 28% 14% SECOND THIRD NOT THERE

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 NO 1 TEA BRAND MONUMENT ZAKIR HUSSAIN QUALUITY

17 8 15 67 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 its ex- endorser, Ustad Zakir

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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 67% NO

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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.

TRIAL

TASTE

BRAND NAME 19% 35% 6% 12% 12% 7% 9% AT OFFICE WORD OF MOUTH AD

FINDINGS:

FUNCTIONS,GE T TO GETHERS 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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2% 3% 15%

LIKEABILITY

YES NO OK 80% CAN T SAY

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REASONS FOR LIKING

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

REASONS FOR DISLIKE

41% 59%

BORING 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 5% YES 79% YES NO NEUTRAL

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

14% 14%

6%

20% 7% 21%

SINCRETY CULTURE STYLE QUALITY OF PERFORMNCE TAJ MAHAL OTHERS

18%

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 11% NO 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 NT ENDORSE THE BRAND ANYMORE WOULD YOU STILL CONTINUE CONSUMING IT?

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

INFLUENCE
18% 8% 74% YES NO C' SAY

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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 nave 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 clich 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 everyones 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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