The Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Fashion Retailers - Essay Example

The Impact of celebrity endorsement to fashion retailers: Celebrity endorsement to products has great impact on consumers as they develop a blind passion towards such products which they think are being used by their idols. Therefore, they identify themselves with such celebrities and try to emulate their activities. Celebrity worship is an important characteristic of modern society and youngsters especially are carried away by the proclamations of their favourite role models. Often they do not judge the merits and demerits of a particular product, endorsed by celebrities. Celebrities recording their affiliation to a specific product provide glamorous appeal to it and make it a favourite among their fans. Because of this influence, the demand for such products increases manifold and the retailers can benefit from enhanced volumes of sales. They may also become capable of assessing the market trends and can offer valuable feedback to supplier and manufactures to modify or amend their marketing strategies. Thus it can be stated that endorsement by celebrities can have a strong impact on products and create a healthy demand that in turn will raise sales volumes resulting in increased profits for the retailers. “Celebrity marketing is also a valuable way to build instant name recognition, attaching yourself to a person who is well-known to achieve awareness that otherwise might have taken years of marketing.”1 Marketing Research is a scientific search for information especially in the areas related to functions of marketing. Marketing research as a separate department can be a source of valuable help to management’s decision making process. Today, the dynamic markets require numerous middlemen between producer and consumer. Each middleman provides flow of communication regarding consumer needs and dealer needs to the manufacturer. To evaluate and understand the size and specialization within the business unit and to determine the intervention of numerous middlemen between producer and consumer a company needs proper marketing research. In this context marketing research plays a very important role in the modern marketing system. Accurate information is a core factor in successful marketing research. There are two types of methods employed in data collection: primary data collection and secondary data collection. Primary data collection is facilitated by collecting information directly from the source. There are many tools used like observation, direct interview, telephone interview, mail survey, projective technique, etc used in primary data collection. Interview Method: Interview is the most effective and efficient method for collecting primary data. This method is best suited to collect reliable information from customers and other sources. Interviews can be classified on the basis of number person participating, function, length of interview and nature of approach. It involves the process of face to face meeting and obtaining first hand information. It is the most flexible method for collecting information because questions can be framed appropriately to fit the interviewees’ profile and temperament, and any clarifications that are required can be provided on the spot. This method also helps to develop an element of trust between the interviewer and interviewee, thereby facilitating the most reliable information. Use of unstructured, open-end questions is possible. It also provides the leeway for additional questions to secure more information. Observation approach can be combined to verify age, income, status, standard of living, etc. Visual aids in the form of picture, advertisement, exhibits, etc can be used to get views, opinions, and attitudes of respondents. However, in this case there is a need for trained, experienced and competent interviewers. It has the disadvantage of being costly and time-consuming. Further the interviewer needs to be honest and loyal and free of bias. Most of the companies in the consumer product industry adopt interview method for collecting information for their market research. Companies do marketing research before launching a new product and then do the advertising etc only after evaluating the market needs. Major FMCG companies like HLL adopts interview as the primary method of their market survey. Automotive manufactures, media, telecom and other industries collect data about customer preference by using interview method as this is the best way to obtain information customer needs. Advantages of Interview: Provides accurate data. Helps the surveyor to collect data from a specific sample area. Convenient for interviewers. Suitable for collecting data from large samples. Provides more information. Maximum authenticity. Thus it can be seen that interview is the best method for data collection because it helps to get an appreciation of real customer needs and attitudes towards a product by evaluating the views and opinions of the customers, and it also enables companies to collect suggestion and feedback on the spot. Findings of the interview with three persons: Most of the consumers rely on celebrity endorsement for fashion products. Most of the consumers are quality conscious and believe that the celebrities will endorse only such products that meet higher level of quality requirements. Some customers believe that the celebrity endorsement have implication on prices. Some consumers are aware of product quality but they still purchase it because of the element of idol worship. Some customers believe that regular models have advantages over celebrities Conclusion: Sales promotion is one of the key marketing strategies for organisations to create new customer bases and retain existing customers. Promotional activities can be used to modify customer’s buying behavior. In the modern world all organisations are competing to market their product by using various strategies. Celebrity endorsement is a common method adopted by all major companies. Fashion retailers are mainly depending on this strategy to attract their costumers. But celebrities often demand an enormous amount to work as brand ambassadors for a product. “So what is it that companies expect to get in return for these enormous sums? Certainly a campaign headed by a high-profile star provides valuable differentiation for a product, service or company in a crowded marketplace.”2 Celebrity endorsement will help retailers to improve the brand image of the products they sell and it enhances marketability. A few customers are conscious about the quality of the product and, therefore, they are not bothered about the status of the celebrity who is promoting it. The celebrity’s image as well as star value has a definitive statement on the price of the product. Ultimately, in the long run, marketability will depend on quality no matter which celebrity endorses what product. Work Cited Davey, Neil. Empowering Retailing Through Innovation? Falling stars? http://www.extendedretail.com/pastissue/article.asp?art=268533&issue=177 (accessed on March 6, 2007). Read More