What Is the Role of Celebrity Endorsement in Media Communication - Literature review Example

What is the Role of Celebrity Endorsement in Media Communication? Using Taylor Swift as a illustration to role of celebrity endorsement in media communication Abstract Globalization has exposed consumers to many competing products and services to the point that it is difficult to persuade them to buy your products or services. According to the report, in the face of competition, celebrity endorsement has become a common marketing strategy by companies, governments and politicians in building brand image. While some market analysts believe that celebrities have performed their role as required in brand endorsement in communication media, others think otherwise. Therefore, drawing from literature such as journal articles and textbooks and websites, this report will discuss the role of celebrity endorsement in media communication. To put this paper into context, the report will critically analyze celebrity related issues such as endorsement models, media channels, decision-making factors, branding, media communication models and consumer behavior. The report will focus on Taylor Swift in its analysis. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 1.0 Introduction 4 2.0 Literature review 5 2.1 Endorsement models 6 2.2 Media channels 8 2.3 Decision-making factors 9 2.5 Consumer behavior 10 2.6 Branding and media communication models 10 3.0 Discussion 11 3.1 The Role of Celebrity Endorsements in Media Communications 11 4.0 Conclusion 13 5.0 References 13 1.0 Introduction The application of celebrity endorsement in promotion first emerged in the 19th century with the development of adverting media such as radio, television and internet (Francis & Yazdanifard 2013, p. 35). However, many companies and individuals did not embrace that much due to perception that it was not that effective. The growth of this form of advertising in the 20th and 21st century has made it one of the most used with an aim to persuade many consumers. According to (Ding, Molchanov & Stork 2011, p.148), celebrity endorsement is defined as the use of popular individual or artiste such as an actor, designer, model and comedian among others among to advertise a product or service. Use of Tailor Swift by Coca Cola to endorse Diet Coke is one of the successful cases of celebrity endorsement strategy. The result demonstrated that sales have since improved from £7 million to £ 9.2 million in the US. A research by Abdussalam (2014, p.78) shows that over 25 percent of the US advertising campaigns apply celebrity endorsements. While in some cases the use of this form of advertising has been effective, others have failed. The failure has been attributed to the argument that the role celebrity endorsement has not been exhaustively analyzed and understood (Lee & Thorson 2008, p.436). Therefore, this report will discuss the role of celebrity endorsement in media communication with focus on Taylor Swift. 2.0 Literature review Since its inception in the 19th century, celebrity endorsement has been used today to improve brand image and increase sale volumes (Francis & Yazdanifard 2013, p. 35). In the face of its great adoption, theoretical literature concentrating on the positive reasons for using celebrity endorsement has been created. Some of the major justification for application of the celebrity endorsement is that it enables advertisement to look authentic and believable (Karasiewicz 2014, p. 76). Companies use celebrity who is successful in what they do, be it acting, comedy, modeling, singing, soccer and even basketball. In using such people, they make people associate their brands with success hence more sales. In other words, celebrities assist in brand recognition and creating a positive attitude towards the product or service. A research by Choi and Rifon (2007, p.307) held that, organization that use celebrities stand a good chance an have an advance in communicating their information to the consumer when they feature in ads. An explanation of this argument was also provided by Karasiewicz (2014, p. 79) who claimed that consumers look at the credibility of the source of information. The two authors went ahead to explain that people perceives celebrities as trustworthy opinion leaders of the product or services they endorse thus offering the public with a high level of confidence in their message (Chan, Leung & Luk 2013, p.171). In that way, they create a positive attitude and raising the acceptance level. Some of the celebrities that have been contracted for promoting products in the recent past include Taylor Swift for Diet Coke, Beyonce for Heat fragrance, Tiger Wood for Nike, Justin Timberlake for Pepsi, Pharrell for Red Bull and Lady Gaga for Starbucks. However, this report concentrates on Taylor Swift, who is a song writer, a singer and an actress who has received media attention in the current times. 2.1 Endorsement models Analysis of various literatures on celebrity advertising establishes five models which analyzes celebrity endorsement. Some of the models identified include source model, march-up model, meaning transfer model, Elaboration Likelihood Model and Elaboration Likelihood Model (Karasiewicz 2014, p. 75-77). Every model is analyzed to explain the correlation between the brand (product), celebrity and the procedure where the attributes of the celebrity are transmitted to the product during the endorsement process (Racula, 2012, pp. 76, Hung, 2014, pp. 155–158). Source model is one of effective model that have been used to explain the process of celebrity endorsement. This model is set on the basis of assumption that consumers will judge and accept the message or information if the used celebrity is credible, attractive and expert. In this context expert means to make convincing assertions. Attractive means physical appearance and popularity (Karasiewicz 2014, p. 75). Therefore, the role is to show and use such attributes to convince the consumers. Diet Coke is produced to provide an alternative of Coca Cola to people who are dieting or wants to lose fat and remain slim. Using Taylor Swift to advertise Diet Coke looks credible because she has many followers and has successfully endorsed other products. Swift is also fairly slim which is the objective of Diet Coke. Another important model is the match up model. Karasiewicz (2014, p.76) claimed that also called celebrity brand congruence model, matchup model is based on the promise that impact of employing a celebrity in advertising relies on the level of the supposed fit between a product and the celebrity’s image. Match-up model is similar to the social adaptation theory that holds adaptive importance of information decides its effect on consumers, hence contributing towards a positive impact of advertising. The choice of celebrity used is anchored on the hypothesis that not all celebrities will successfully promote every brand (Karasiewicz 2014, p.76). This heightens the risk of many companies employing the same celebrity. In other words, celebrity characteristics must match up with features of the brand. For instance, Taylor Swift is fairly slim and advertise Diet Coke, which makes people to reduce body fats. Meaning transfer model has also been used to understand the role of celebrity endorsement in media communication. Developed by McCracken, meaning transfer model comprises of three phases demonstrating the transfer of meaning or features. Karasiewicz (2014, p.76) claimed that the first phase is culture and here the celebrity is described by all traits that resonates with the image they create in the media through roles played, statements and work performed. The second phase is ‘endorsement’ in which different associations with a celebrity is transmitted to the brand (product) he or she publicized. Hung, Chan and Tse (2011, p.610) opined that the major issues in this phase is to recognize the brand’s symbolic features to be created or strengthened by advertising and then choose a celebrity that resonates with the required attributes. The last phase is consumption in which the required meanings related to the celebrity are transmitted from the product and to the consumers (Karasiewicz 2014, p.77). Therefore, the preferred celebrity should consider the relationship with his or her image and the preferred image and imagined benefits and brand attributes. Karasiewicz (2014, p.76) argued that meaning transfer model is an expansion of the match-up model, since it focuses on celebrity-brand similarities and meanings that are transmitted from a celebrity to the product. The fourth model is Elaboration Likelihood Model which is anchored on the postulation that consumers react to marketing information in different ways relying on the situational aspects. Such situations could be the significance of that product (Hung, 2014, pp. 156–158). The reception could be low or high on how the information is systematic and elaborate. As such the role of celebrity is to be an expert and be greatly involved. The last model is dual entertainment path model. As the name suggests, this model has an entertainment and transportation theories (Vorderer, Klimmt & Ritterfeld 2004, pp. 393). The model assumes that a consumer will try to imitate the life of a celebrity hence buying the product or service. Therefore, in this case, a popular celebrity is used to advertise because he or she has a strong emotional and with several consumers. Zmuda and Parekh (2013) claimed Taylor Swift is a popular artiste with several based social media, concerts and album sales. 2.2 Media channels Various media channels have played a big role in advertisement and in particular showcasing celebrity endorsements. Some of the common media include radio, television, print media, billboards, podcasts and internet (Shimp 2010, p. 6). All these forms of mass media emerged in different times and have the own level of reach, effectiveness and influence. The first form of mass media was the newspaper. Over a long time, citizens depended on journalists and writers to supply them with news in the form of local newspapers. Nevertheless, radio was invented in 1890s to help in the dissemination of information (Fourie, 2008, p.38). The radio then went on to surpass newspaper as the most effective source of information with many families gathering to listen to their favorite programs and latest news. Ghassabi and Zare-Farashbandi, (2015, p.99) posited that after a few years, then came television as the most influential and effective mass media. The reason for this is because it brings both voice and pictures during its presentation. Today, the internet, particularly the social media dominates and its being ranked as the most influential mass media for advertising (Freberg, 2012, p.417). Since the invention of the internet, the public has become capable of accessing news by just clicking the mouse instead of waiting for the news hour on TV after several programs. 2.3 Decision-making factors Understanding decision making factor is significant to marketers. Farzana (2012, p.90) held that organizations which understands how consumer making decisions be, are able to create marketing plans which are consistent with consumers’ needs. Several factors influence decision making including in perception, personality, lifestyle, group influence and culture. Perception strongly justifies a consumer's purchase decision enabling them to validate one’s choice on the basis of the perceived results (Blackwell et al. 2006, p.25). For the customer aspiring to buy Cook Diet, the perception will be created from the advertisement. Riegner (2007, p.438) claims that usually, companies create adverts that attract attention, motivate and create a perception of high value satisfaction. Personality also plays an important role in the decision making of consumers. Personality develops or can be shaped as one interacts with others and even adverts. Lifestyle is also a key determinant for a consumer to settle on a product or service. The lifestyle is determined by income, occupation, values and interests (Pickett-Baker & Ozaki 2008, p.284). Therefore, marketers consider such factors when using celebrity endorsement so as to effectively cut their niche or segment. Culture is a way of life among people or group and is frequently regarded the broad influence on the behavior of a consumer (Santosh & Pandey 2011, p.21). In many societies, soft drinks are associated with success; hence celebrity’s endorsement ad must portray that factor. Consumers are continuously seeking advice of well-informed acquaintances, friends, TV idols and favorite artists whom they draw their information from on a particular product so as to make the final purchase decision (Quester et al 2014).Therefore, it can be concluded that an individual’s behavior is greatly influenced reference group. 2.5 Consumer behavior Understanding consumer behavior is related to understanding product characteristics, personality characteristics of a person and the situation of a person. According to Pickett-Baker and Ozaki (2008, p.285), understanding these three components help a marketer come up with marketing core concepts, design the marketing strategy and implement it in a given market segment. Blackwell et al. (2006, p.45) claimed that Studying consumer behaviors enable marketers to enhance their strategies since it offer them insight into understanding what influence buying decisions. The study of consumer behavior entails examining his or her attitude, emotions and preference and how those factors affect their purchase behavior. Similarly, Santosh and Pandey (2011, p.21) pointed that when looking for a celebrity to endorse their product, they ought to understand various external factors that influence consumer behavior. In this way, they can design ads which complement such factors thus persuading consumers to purchase their products or services. Some of the external factors which influence consumer behavior is already mentioned above and they include group influence, culture, income and social class (Quester et al., 2014, p.67). 2.6 Branding and media communication models Branding is defined as the process by which marketers create unique images for their products or service within the consumers’ mind through adverts. This can then be communicated through media channels (Quester et al. 2014, p.112). Media communication models have recently been used to explain how consumer processes information before deciding to purchase. Some of the common models include The Credible Brand Model and Brand Equity Model. Spry, Pappu and Cornwell (2011, p. 885) contended that the Credible Brand Model is based on the premise that consumers often attach credibility to information of the media communication. This model borrows from consumer branding theory and mass communication theory combining them to create a hypothesis which explains the process of media credibility. On the other hand, the brand equity model holds that for an organization to create a strong brand, it has to influence how consumers feel and think about its products (Lang 2013, p.15). In other words, it has to create the right form of experiences concerning its brand in order for consumers to have positive feeling, thoughts, perceptions and options about it. 3.0 Discussion 3.1 The Role of Celebrity Endorsements in Media Communications From the theories discussed, the various roles of celebrity endorsement have been discovered. First, the paper has discovered that celebrity endorsement building brand equity. Spry, Pappu and Cornwell (2011, p.882) defined brand equity as the value an organization derives from its products with a familiar name. Spry, Pappu & Cornwell (2011, p. 885) argued that controlling the brand equity implies to managing and influencing the meaning linked with brand in the mind of the consumers. He went ahead to assert that one of the effective ways of improving brand equity is through promoting using a successful celebrity. Therefore, Taylor Swift was increase the brand equity of diet coke. Celebrity endorsement is also meant to create brand awareness. Dahlén, Lange and Smith (2010, p.83) posited that the type of lifestyle celebrities live makes them receive strong media attention. For instance, Taylor Swift is both a singer and an actor, and her lifestyle receives most attention. Similarly, celebrities often reach out to their fans on talk shows and social media. Therefore, such use of channels reach a larger audience more than even the company itself. Consequently, celebrities can be used to create two types of brand awareness including brand recognition and brand recall (Dahlén, Lange & Smith, 2010). Brand recall is the process by which a consumer can retain the image of the product in his or her mind. On the other hand, brand recognition is the process a consumer can recognize a product when they are exposed to it. The role of celebrity endorsement is to create a strong brand positioning. Employing a celebrity to publicize a product serves as a strategic position to the brand and be more competitive in world markets (Lee & Thorson 2008, p.437). Since celebrities are popular and people think about them every day, they can also reinforce or position a product or service in consumer’s mind. Furthermore a celebrity who has same match-up features as the product and as the target market segment will assist consumer to link with the product or making it better positioned in their minds. The role of celebrity endorsement is also to raise brand credibility. Spry, Pappu and Cornwell (2011, p. 883) used source model to analyze consumers decision making. In their analysis, they argued that consumers use a popularity of a celebrity to judge the credibility of the information. If a celebrity is more popular, people tend to think that a product they have endorsed is of high quality (Spry, (Pappu & Cornwell 2011, p.882). Taylor Swift when advertising Diet Coke for Coca Cola company improved the credibility. By sorting the services of Taylor Swift, consumers accepted that the Diet Coke is product of high quality and similar to her lavish life style. In addition, Taylor Swift is renowned figure in pop music and actor and has a good reputation for singing about her personal experiences. The Coca Cola Company has experienced criticisms about health problem in the past (Nettleton et al. 2009, p.688). However, with Taylor Swift endorsing its brand diet coke, the company has improved its perception. 4.0 Conclusion The paper has found that the use of celebrity in marketing products is a strategy which has widely been adopted by companies over the years. However, its intensity has high increased in the recent past due to the role played by the celebrity endorsement in media communication. The research has established that celebrity endorsement creates brand awareness, brand strong positioning, improve brand equity and build brand credibility. Despite of such roles, not all cases where celebrity endorsement is used become successful. The paper concluded that marketers must eliminate issues such as brand mismatch and overuse of one celebrity in too many brands if they have to be successful in their marketing campaign. 5.0 References Abdussalam, P. K 2014, ‘Celebrity advertisement: key to marketing successes, Indian Journal of Commerce and Management Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 78–82. Blackwell, et al. 2006, Consumer Behavior, an Asia Pacific Approach, Cengage Learning, Australia. Chan , K, Leung Y.N & Luk, E.K 2013, ‘Impact of celebrity endorsement in advertising on brand image among Chinese adolescents’, Young Consumers, vol. 14, no.2, pp. 167-179. Choi, S.M & Rifon, N.J 2007, ‘Who is the celebrity in advertising? 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