The Local Organizations and the Concept in an Efficient Manner in Order to Generate Sales - Book Report/Review Example

INTRODUCTION Research Topic: To understand the impact of celebrities endorsement on buying behavior of middle class people in California. Background of the Study: Endorsements by superstar appear to be a symbiotic relationship between the star and the brand. The star would closely resemble what the brand is offering and try his/her best to influence the decision of the consumer indirectly. The brand chooses the star to represent itself carefully. At times adding celebrity power to the brand doesn’t add to the sales of the brand or product. Sometimes using a certain celebrity ends up being costly for the brand, in certain cases where the reputation of the star becomes tainted. Why Superstar endorse certain brands Super stars get endorse because of lucrative offers made to them for representation of a certain brand. That might involve representation in an advertisement or in person, or in certain events. They also look whether they would really need the added responsibility of brand representation, if they feel obligated to know what they are selling. Many a time’s stars sell things they themselves haven’t tested themselves or something that would be of no real use to the star. Why brands go for Celebrities Creating brand image with help of the personality of the superstar for brand is comparatively easy. The brands build upon the already built persona of the superstar and help the customer identify what they want to buy to become what they want to become. Major Objectives: To identify whether is there any relationship between celebrity’s endorsement and buying behavior for personal care products. Minor Objectives: To identify which gender is most influenced by celebrity endorsement. Does the selection of celebrity from specific industry (Sports, Music, and Films etc.) have a varying degree of impact on the brand image? The research would also try to identify if there exists a relationship between opposite sex celebrities influence on buyers. Our research will also try to find out how and why certain superstar endorsements are more successful than others. Does the affinity of the celebrity with that of product has an overwhelming influence on the consumer? To identify the age group of consumers that is most affected by celebrity’s endorsement. What factors induce what kind of feelings and consequently the kind of behavior, and how can they be better utilized to target customers more effectively. Importance of the Research to Local Organizations: This research explores the realm of brand ambassadorship and it effective success rate in California. Living in a global world everyone knows that all rules don’t apply everywhere. To make the most of the market you need to have information about the market and how the market responds to various marketing strategies. That being the only reason this research might interest certain firms. RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY Survey: This data collection method will be used to obtain quantitative data from respondents. For this purpose we will administer questionnaires for the sample population. Questionnaires will be used because they are a formalized instrument for asking information directly from the respondents concerning the behavior, demographic characteristics, and level of knowledge, educational attainment, and / or attitude, beliefs and feelings. They can easily enable us to quantify the results. Target Audience: The selection of only middle class as a target audience is based on the premise that it has been identified from our personal research and experience that people belonging to lower class are mostly price conscious, so the idea of celebrity endorsement would not entice them and it will not affect their buying behavior pattern. So our population of interest will consist of people from California belonging to the age brackets of 18-40 comprising of both males and females. Again we have limited our age range because we believe that the candidates above this range are hardly evoked by the advertisements and the audience below this range are not mature enough and most of them even do not make purchasing decisions, as these decision are carried out by there elders. We will try to do random sampling getting between 100-150 participants in this course. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Hypothesis # 1: (Consumer brand recall) Ho (Null Hypothesis): It is not true that majority of the participants think that consumer brand recall is positively reinforced with celebrity endorsement. Ha (Alternate Hypothesis): It is true that majority of the participants think that consumer brand recall is positively reinforced with celebrity endorsement. The data for this hypothesis is based on three questions according to our questionnaire. The questions and their results are as follows. 1) “An advertisement involving a celebrity captivates your attention more than an ad which involves an ordinary person”. Do you agree with the statement? Strongly Agree(5) Agree (4) Neutral (3) Disagree (2) S. Disagree (1) No. of respondents 47 32 21 24 26 2) What makes a TV AD most interesting? This was a rating based question with 5 categories therefore we have divided the scores from a range of 5 to 1. 5 Marks 4 Marks 3 Marks 2 Marks 1 Marks No. of respondents 28 35 34 29 24 3) Have your memories ever triggered to a celebrity while looking at a product in a local departmental store? Yes (5) No (0) No. of respondents 101 49 Assumption: Both and are atleast 5 Assumption verified Hypothesis Testing: Ho: p = 0.5 (Null Hypothesis) Ha: p > 0.5 (Alternate Hypothesis) (Right tailed test) We are to perform the test at the 5% significance level so Rejection Criteria The critical value for right tailed test is thus we will reject the null hypothesis if z > 1.645 Value of test statistic The final average score is 3.26 which is out of 5 so will make it out of a score of 1. Conclusion Since the value of z-test statistic falls in the rejection region as 3.91>1.645 therefore we will reject the null hypothesis. At a 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that the majority of the participants think that consumer brand recall is positively reinforced with celebrity endorsement. Hypothesis # 2: (Reinforcement factor in Males and Females) Ho (Null Hypothesis): Males and females are equally reinforced by the celebrity endorsement factor. Ha (Alternate Hypothesis): Females are more reinforced by the celebrity endorsement factor as compared to males. The data for this hypothesis is also based on those three questions but here we will make comparison between the responses of males and females to test the hypothesis. 1) “An advertisement involving a celebrity captivates your attention more than an ad which involves an ordinary person”. Do you agree with the statement? Strongly Agree (5) Agree (4) Neutral (3) Disagree (2) S. Disagree (1) Male 20 15 10 13 18 Female 27 17 11 11 8 2) What makes a TV AD most interesting? This was a rating based question with 5 categories therefore we have divided the scores from a range of 5 to 1. 5 Marks 4 Marks 3 Marks 2 Marks 1 Marks Male 10 18 14 16 14 Female 18 17 20 13 10 3) Have your memories ever triggered to a celebrity while looking at a product in a local departmental store? Assumption: Independent Samples Hypothesis Testing: Let p1 = Female population and p2 = Male population Ho: p1 = p2 (Null Hypothesis) Ha: p1 > p2 (Alternate Hypothesis) (Right tailed test) We are to perform the test at the 5% significance level so Rejection Criteria The critical value for right tailed test is thus we will reject the null hypothesis if z > 1.645 Value of test statistic The final average score of females is 3.53 and males is 2.98 which are out of 5 so will make it out of a score of 1. Conclusion Since the value of z-test statistic falls in the rejection region as 1.740>1.645 therefore we will reject the null hypothesis. At a 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that females are more reinforced and influenced by celebrity endorsement as compared to males. Hypothesis # 3: ONE WAY-ANOVA (Celebrity Endorsement in different age brackets) Null Hypothesis: (There is no difference in the mean captivation level on the different age brackets due to celebrity endorsement.) Alternative Hypothesis: (There is a difference in the mean captivation level on the different age brackets due to celebrity endorsement.) Where 1) “An advertisement involving a celebrity captivates your attention more than an ad which involves an ordinary person”. Do you agree with the statement? Age Bracket Strongly Agree(5) Agree (4) Neutral (3) Disagree (2) S. Disagree (1) 18-25 23 15 3 9 3 26-30 15 8 5 7 7 31-35 8 5 4 5 11 36-40 1 4 9 3 5 Hypothesis Testing: Assumptions: 1. Independent samples 2. Normal Populations 3. Equal population standard deviations The hypothesis is to be performed at the 5% significance level, so The critical value for the right tailed test with is If the value of the f-test statistic is greater than 2.60 then reject; otherwise do not reject. ANOVA TABLE Source df SS MS=SS/df F-statistic Treatment 3 33.54 11.18 3.83 Error 146 426.4 2.92 Total 15 459.94 i) Since the value of f-test statistic falls in the rejection region as 3.83>2.60 therefore we will reject. The test results are statistically significant at the 5% level; that is, at the 5% significance level, the data do provide sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a difference in the mean captivation level on the different age brackets due to celebrity endorsement. Analysis of Questions: Informational Media Accessed Most Frequently: Conclusion This question as though looks as un-relevant to the topic of study but if we comprehend it clearly than we can know the significance of the question. The results under this question show that television is the most frequently seen media therefore it makes it clear that celebrities should be advertised in television rather than using other inessential forms of communicational media. Only using media such as Newspaper and Internet can not create awareness about the product and thus the celebrity endorsement factor becomes useless in such contexts. Word of Mouth: Males Females Always 2% 9% Often 10% 40% Occasionally 32% 23% Seldom 43% 22% Never 15% 6% When asked the respondents about whether do they share comments on advertisements involving celebrities with their friends and fellows, the results were extremely positive as most of the respondents do speak about their favorite celebrities when making conversation with their friends. Females are a step ahead of males in this case as it might be due to their loquacious nature. CASE ANALYSIS: Case # 1: (Family factor) I am shopping in a supermarket with my family. My family urges me to buy a product which is endorsed by a celebrity whom I don’t like. I will buy that product. On the whole the respondents were neutral to this scenario indicating that they are indifferent between celebrity endorsement and their family advice. The stats also show that males tend to responded more positively towards their family advice while females reacted slighted in a disagreeing manner towards their family and were more positive towards celebrity endorsement again confirming our hypothesis that they are more reinforced by celebrity endorsement as compared to males. Case # 2: (Personality of the Celebrity) A product which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity does not match his/her personality. I will not buy that product. The analysis of this question reveals that the respondents are on average conscious about the personality of their favorite celebrity. They believe that the personality of the celebrity should be coherent with that of the product otherwise it will not affect their purchasing behavior. The results also show that females more cared about the personality of their celebrity as compared to males. Case # 3: (Price of the Product) If my favorite superstar catches me in a public place and asks me to buy something expensive then I will buy it. The stats show that the respondents were more or less price-conscious and were not swayed by the celebrity endorsement factor in this case. The reason can be attributed to the class of the respondents as they belonged to the middle class. Families in middle class try to contain their budget and save more for the rainy day. It is important to mention that when probed a percentage of respondent said they would have bought the product if it was in their range and secondly if they had a need of that product. Case # 4: (Cultural Factor) My favorite celebrity has endorsed a product which is not acceptable in my culture. I will buy that product. Cultural values are given a strong importance in our society therefore any product which neglects the cultural norms is turned down and not encouraged by this community. If we look at the stats then we find that both men and women were culturally motivated and majority of both the genders disagreed to buy something which is not acceptable in the culture. Case # 5: (Packaging of the Product) I do not like the packaging of a product but since it is endorsed by my favorite celebrity therefore this factor forces me to buy the product. The response under this section is more or less neutral. Packaging although is considered as one of the most important factor in buying behavior, had not made a great deal of impact in this case as celebrity endorsement factor was able to overcome it. As the results show that celebrity had change the perception and negated the impact of bad packaging in a positive way. However, the results here do not affirm that celebrity endorsement precedes the packaging of the product. Case # 6: (Features of the Product) I have two products to choose from and I know that the one which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity has less features. I will buy the one which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity. This case is much strident in nature as it has a much severe criterion to pass as compared to other scenarios. The results here convey that the respondents are not induced by the celebrity endorsement factor when they were asked about to make a choice between features and celebrity. It shows that nowadays people are quality-oriented and they are demanding more from a product on a lesser price. Case # 7: (Product targeted for Lower Class) I have come to know that my favorite celebrity has endorsed a product specifically targeted for lower class. I will go and buy that product. The data under this case show that majority of the people have responded neutrally. When we make comparison on the basis of gender than we can find that female are more conscious about their social status in the society. Some respondents also told that they will buy the product if it has quality features in it and secondly if they have need of the product. But we must note here that it is the celebrity which has diverted the attention of the respondents in the first place. Case # 8: (Friend complaining about the Product) My friend complains about a new product which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity. I will not try that product anymore. The overall results under this scenario portray that respondents were impartial when they were asked about to make a decision for selecting a product when their friend had made a complaint about the product. Many of the people have said that they will respect their friend suggestion but keeping in mind what the friend has said to them. The analysis of data also showed that females cared less about their friend suggestions which is mainly due to the celebrity factor. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The findings of our research reveal that celebrity endorsement is among one of the key factors in influencing consumer purchases in the case of middle class people therefore the local organizations should utilize this concept in an efficient manner in order to generate sales. Television should be preferred our all other sources of advertisement. If the organizations want to advertise on media other than television than they should remember that it should be a complement to television. Advertisements should have a catchy theme or a thoughtful message along with celebrity endorsement. Females are generally more influenced by celebrity endorsement as compared to males therefore it is recommended that advertisements should be designed in a way which will captivate the attention of males and females in an equal proportion. A further research is recommended on the topic that what features male do prefer in a good advertisement. Although Celebrity endorsement is a prime factor in attracting the attention of the consumers but the research also shows that the consumers are not willing to compromise on quality, price and products which are not acceptable in culture. APPENDIX Questionnaire 1) Specify your gender: a) Male b) Female 2) Which age group do you fall into? a) 18-25 b) 26-30 c) 31-35 d) 36-40 3) What’s your monthly income? a) Less than 15,000 b) 15,000 - 25,000 c) 25,001 – 35,000 d) 35,001 – 45,000 e) More than 45,000 4) Which informational media do you access most frequently? Rank the answers. (5 = most, 1 = least) ____Television ____Magazines ____Internet ____Newspaper ____Radio 5) “An advertisement involving a celebrity captivates your attention more than an ad which involves an ordinary person”. Do you agree with the statement? a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Neutral d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree 6) What makes a TV AD most interesting? Rate the answers. (5 = best, 1 = least) ____New Promotional Offers ____A catchy theme ____Celebrities ____Animation or special effect ____Humor 7) Have your memories ever triggered to a celebrity while looking at a product in a local departmental store? a) Yes b) No 8) What makes you buy a product for the first time? a) Advertisement with celebrity endorsement b) Promotional Offers c) Attractive look of the product d) Low Price 9) Do you share your comments on advertisements involving a celebrity with your friend and fellows? a) Always b) Often c) Occasionally d) Seldom e) Never Tick one and only one answer for each statement. There is no right or wrong answer to these questions. Just give your opinion. 10) I am shopping in a supermarket with my family. My family urges me to buy a product which is endorsed by a celebrity whom I don’t like. I will buy that product. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      11) A product which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity does not match his/her personality. I will not buy that product. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      12) If my favorite superstar catches me in a public place and asks me to buy something expensive then I will buy it. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      13) My favorite celebrity has endorsed a product which is not acceptable in my culture. I will buy that product. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      14) I do not like the packaging of a product but since it is endorsed by my favorite celebrity therefore this factor forces me to buy the product. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      15) I have two products to choose from and I know that the one which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity has less features. I will buy the one which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      16) I have come to know that my favorite celebrity has endorsed a product specifically targeted for lower class. I will go and buy that product. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      17) My friend complains about a new product which is endorsed by my favorite celebrity. I will not try that product anymore. Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Disagree      Read More