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Choice of Media Vehicle

The effectiveness of the celebrity depends to a great extent on the media vehicle. Celebrities are of various types and are brands in themselves. If the celebrity is a model, in which case "looks" are the attention grabbers, then the print medium would probably be almost equally effective as television. But if the celebrity's character is to be portrayed, wherein audience identify with the celebrity not by mere looks but by talent or ideology, as in a sportsperson or a social activist, it makes more sense to project him or her on television to leverage on maximum impact.

Brand Risks Posed by the Famous

The celebrity may cease to denote the same set of brand values after a point in time. Cases are aplenty wherein a celebrity endorsing a brand has been accused of nefarious activities. To quote a few instances, Salman Khan (Thums Up), OJ Simpson (Hertz car) and Mike Tyson (Pepsi) were all subject to allegations. They were not only accused of tarnishing their brand image, but also that of the product.

A contradictory testimony to this conventional belief is Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO). When people had started to tire of Martha's "perfect" home-maker image and the Company turnover was plummeting, the imprisonment of Martha rejuvenated the brand MSO and culminated in a shining stock value. This leaves us to ponder whether infamy spells bad omen for a brand or if it depends on the mindset of the target population.

However such surprises are few in number. There have been plenty of reminders for marketers in recent months of the potential danger of aligning their brand with a personality. Halos are easily tarnished and golden boys - and girls - can slip up and instantly lose their sparkle. While things do not always turn out too badly for the person concerned, the brands they were endorsed by can find it harder to make people forget their alliance. To avoid some of these risks, some Companies safely go in for cartoon characters or dead celebrities.

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* Contributed by -
Surabhi B. Prasad & Ravi Girdhar,
PGDM Students,
Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.