Analyzing the Benefits and Effectiveness of a Celebrity Engagement Strategy in Marketing - Essay Example

?CHAPTER THREE 3 Introduction Methodology is a process which can be compared to the act of weighing scales; because it requires the same qualities such as balancing various possibilities with a view to allow the presentation of a well-balanced research (Cohen et al, Savvas-Nicolaos, 2009). However, decisions regarding the appropriate method to be chosen i.e. qualitative or quantitative is a somewhat difficult task. Methodology is a simple method which uses various procedures to highlight the key aspects of the study and help in making it more legible, by lending more credibility to it. It entails the collection of data, store and analyze it and finally present it in a logical format to enable the readers to understand the outcome of the study. The main purpose and reason behind the choice of this topic i.e. the study of impact of celebrity endorsements as a strategic marketing activity, was the popularity of the concept – i.e. involvement of celebrities for endorsing products / brands, or services. Thus, I wanted to explore the influence of such a promotional marketing strategy, in influencing the consumers in making their purchase decision; and to assess whether the consumers are really motivated to buy a product if it is endorsed by their favourite celebrity. Furthermore, I was interested in exploring and testing the relationship between celebrities, marketing communications and consumers. As a result, I decided to design this study to include the hypothesis discussed above, and to examine whether the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumers is positive or negative. The study also entailed a detailed investigation of the manner in which celebrities influence the purchase decision, what inspires / motivates the consumers to purchase the product etc. Celebrity endorsement has become a popular trend amongst organisations in recent times and some crucial questions have been raised to which this research aims to find answers to some of which some questions are: Does it affect the buying behaviour of the target market? Does celebrity endorsement have any impact on the sales of the product? Should it even be the main channel of brand communications? What are the criteria for choosing endorsers? What is the relationship between the images of the celebrity and that of the brand? Does the personality of the celebrity affect consumers’ perception in any way? If yes, how do the marketers manipulate the same in their favor? For the reasons stated above, a focused group was utilized for the primary research, where respondents were asked a series of unstructured of questions. Also, various print and television adverts were studied for the purpose of this study, and my own observations were also included in the form of findings. Research questions The questions I shall be seeking to explore for this research were structured through the process of literature review. The research questions for this study are: Dose the personality of an endorser alter perception of meaning by the consumer What is the role of celebrity endorsement in consumer decision making process Do consumers really believe celebrities endorse product for just the money making process Research method As my main purpose behind this study was to present a comprehensive view of the entire concept of celebrity endorsement, its emergence and popularity, reason behind its relevance and significance as a most favored promotional activity by the marketers, and most importantly the influence of celebrities on the consumers; I decided to communicate and interact with a small section of consumers to seek desired answers. I conducted interviews on a select focus group, studied various print and television advertisements and derived meaningful conclusions based on the literature review to form a basis for my findings. Focus groups are like group interviews that involve several participants (including the moderator) who are asked questions on a pre-structured pre-defined topic. Such a method relies heavily on the answers and responses given by the participants of such focus groups, and the estimations and meanings are then required to be drawn based on the answers and reactions of that small group (Bryman& Bell, 2007). Based on my understanding of the concept, a focus group is a qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards a product, services, advertisement or an issue. For the purpose of this study I arranged in- depth interviews of participants comprising of adult members of the public all of them, above the age of eighteen. According to Krueger and Casey (2004) the key characteristics of focus groups include – the presence of people; it offers qualitative data; and helps in understanding of the topic of interest in a deeper way. A total of ten participants were selected as a part of this focus group, who were divided into groups of two, comprising of five members each. In each of these two groups a detailed discussion regarding the impact of celebrities in influencing the consumers’ purchase decision were carried out, to understand the views of the participants. The answers and opinions shared by these participants were studied carefully. Great care was taken to ensure that the body language of the participants, their expressions, and gestures were studied carefully to gauge the validity of their answers and take into consideration subtle clues. It happens quite often that people convey their thoughts and opinions by way of gestures, for instance, disapproval of a product or the celebrity endorsing the product might not be stated by them by way of a firm yes or a no, but rather by a shrug or a frown. All such subtle indications were taken into consideration while conducting the interviews, so that the results derived are true to the best possible extent. Focus groups allow the researchers to understand fully the motives behind people’s feelings and actions (Bryman& Bell, 2007). The main advantage that the focus groups have over other forms of interviews is that the researcher has the ability to assemble and coordinate the group which gives him the opportunity to observe a large amount of interaction on a subject matter within a limited time frame (Morgan, 1997). Evidence of similarities and differences on a subject can be elicited better using focus groups rather than arriving at such conclusions based on post hoc analyses of separate statements by interviewees. Furthermore, focus groups help the researcher in accessing a wider range of information on a subject matter that may be impossible to observe otherwise, at the same time making sure that data obtained remains focused at the researchers’ interests (Morgan, 1997). The focus group method generates data by relying heavily on the interaction between participants. Participants make comparisons amongst themselves; they air their views and opinions about issues thereby providing the interviewer with an opportunity for studying the shared insights; complex behaviors and motivations (Morgan & Krueger, 1993, Morgan, 1997). Focus groups have extensively been put to use in the field of market research over the years and the method has been employed widely by various researchers over the years, for purposes such as testing responses to new products and advertising initiatives. QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVEAPPROACH Qualitative approaches include every method of research that are used to collect, analyse and interpret data on issues that cannot be easily calculated in quantitative form or that could be damaged on any attempt to do so (Collin Bradley, 1997). According to Pringle (2004: 89) Qualitative research among consumers of the competing brands in the maturing market has given greater insight into the market dynamics. On the other hand, qualitative methodology is often seen as a research approach that applies natural science and a positivist approach to social phenomena (Bryman, 1984). I chose to use the focus group approach as opposed to personal interviews, and other similar methods of face-to-face communication with the participants because, it offers a intermediate position and has the qualities of all the other qualitative methods. There are two main ways of acquiring qualitative data. These methods are participant observation - involving the observation of a group; and open ended interviews focusing on individuals. Although focus groups can be placed in between these two forms, they also carry unique features of their own (Morgan, 1997) hence I chose to use this method over the others. Furthermore, I chose to use the focus group approach of all the other qualitative methods, because it offers the interviewer to extract more accurate answers from the participants, which is exactly what this study required. Also, most of the questions I had included as a part of the interview, were fairly complicated and tricky and the answers were expected to be equally complicated, rather than straightforward. There are two main ways of getting qualitative data; these methods are participant observation involving the observation of a group and open ended interviews focusing on individuals. Although focus groups can be placed in between these two forms, they also carry unique features of their own (Morgan, 1997). Firestone (1987) in his research paper enumerated certain differences between qualitative and quantitative approaches. And these differences are summarised below: For quantitative research, the basis for this approach is the positivist philosophy which suggests that apart from human beliefs, there exist underlying social facts. While Qualitative approach rests on the assumption that through individual or collective definitions of situation, realities can be socially constructed (Taylor &Bogdan, 1984, Firestone, 1987). Quantitative approach emphasises precision and accuracy, hence it makes use of correlation or experimental methods to reduce errors, and other things that can disrupt one’s ability to perceive social facts (Cronbach, 1975, Firestone, 1987). On the contrary, qualitative seeks to guide readers into thorough understanding of the situation of those under study (Goodenough, 1971, Firestone, 1987). In the ideal quantitative approach the researcher interference from the researcher is very minimal, however in qualitative the researcher is quite involved and “immersed” in the subject of interest (Powdermaker, 1966, Firestone, 1987). One of the very unique strengths of qualitative approaches especially with focus groups is the fact that it tends to be a more open ended strategy as compared to the quantitative approach (Bryman& Bell, 2007). Also in case of focus groups, the investigations are carried out in the natural environments of the individuals under study. This gives them more room for greater flexibility and deeper understanding into the reasons for actions and meanings. Quantitative investigations however take place in contrived settings which may encourage rigidity. Qualitative research studies the points of view of the participants whilst quantitative seeks to validate the point of view of the researcher (Bryman& Bell, 2007). Although it can be argued that researcher involvement in quantitative approach reduces objectivity (Bryman & Bell, 2007), a research designed to investigate the effect of advertising in the decision making process requires that the researcher get in touch with the consumers and make conclusions as regards the justification for their answers. The focus group for this research was conducted in April 2011 in the University of Leicester library. Focus Group Research In order to gain a more rounded insight into the research question at hand, a focus group with consumers was an absolute necessity. Focus group research is a useful method to use, as it allows researchers to gain an insight into how the audience themselves interpret a particular media discourse. (Hansen et al., 1998). It is highly likely, that by conducting a focus group my findings will be enriched. The focus groups’ involved two separated groups of 10 adults aged between 21-30 both male and female. This group included people from University of Leicester, Nottingham, London and university graduate. Prior to conducting the interviews with the focus group I had several meetings with the participants. The focus groups were conducted in a small meeting room in the school i.e. at the University of Leicester (group study room) which was quiet and comfortable. The seating arrangement was Read More