Veen Thesis

“Analysis of celebrity endorsement as an

effective destination marketing tool”

Robert van der Veen

Bournemouth University – United Kingdom

Fachhochschule Heilbronn - Germany

Master of Arts in European Tourism Management 2003/2004

i

Abstract

Commercial companies use celebrities with target customer segments to increase the

appeal of their offerings. The instrument of celebrity endorsement has nowadays

become a pervasive element in advertising and communication management. Whilst

many strategic as well as tactical aspects of celebrity endorsement effectiveness have

come under scrutiny from a manufacturing product marketing perspective, the

concept of celebrity endorsement for hedonic consumption, in particular destinations

is an often overlooked and under-researched strategy.

This study will therefore posit a discussion of celebrity destination endorsement by

providing an exploratory review of the concept that is based on an analysis of existing

academic and conceptual literature on destination marketing and on celebrity

endorsement in marketing management. Furthermore, marketing experts are consulted

in order to contribute to the literature with new and deeper information. Here the main

focus is on the perception of the interviewees relating to aspects of celebrity

destination endorsement within a framework of celebrity endorsement in general.

Therefore, by using a theoretical inquiry, it is not the researcher’s intention to

establish ‘facts’ but rather identify the experts’ interpretations and perceptions in

order to understand and determine the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement as a

destination marketing instrument. As such, this study contributes to an understanding

of the application of a marketing device for a hedonic product in general, and it also

increases understanding of celebrity endorsement as a destination marketing tool.

ii

Table of contents

ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ I TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................IV CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................1

1.1 RATIONALE FOR STUDY ........................................................................................................1 1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES ...........................................................................................................2 1.3 RESEARCH PLAN ...................................................................................................................3 1.4 STRUCTURE OF DISSERTATION.............................................................................................3

CHAPTER II DESTINATION MARKETING ...............................................................................5 2.1 MARKETING..........................................................................................................................5 2.2 DESTINATION ........................................................................................................................7 2.3 DESTINATION IMAGE ............................................................................................................8 2.4 MARKET.............................................................................................................................. 10 2.5 EVALUATION....................................................................................................................... 12 2.6 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 14

CHAPTER III CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT ....................................................................... 15 3.1 ADVERTISING...................................................................................................................... 15 3.2 CULTURAL MEANING AND THE ENDORSER ........................................................................ 17 3.3 ENDORSEMENT AS A PROMOTIONAL STRATEGY................................................................ 17 3.4 CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT................................................................................................ 19 3.5 CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT FOR THE BRAND..................................................................... 21 3.6 CHARACTERISTICS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT ........................................................... 22 3.7 IMPLICATIONS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT .................................................................. 23 3.8 SELECTING THE ‘RIGHT’ CELEBRITY................................................................................. 26

3.8.1 Performer Q-ratings ...................................................................................................... 26 3.8.2 Celebrity credibility ........................................................................................................ 27 3.8.3 Celebrity match up ......................................................................................................... 29 3.8.4 Celebrity attractiveness .................................................................................................. 31 3.8.5 The Meaning Transfer Model ....................................................................................... 32 3.8.6 Miscellaneous considerations........................................................................................ 33

3.9 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER IV METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................. 35

4.1 RESEARCH PLAN ................................................................................................................. 35 4.2 AIM...................................................................................................................................... 35

4.2.1 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 35 4.3 SECONDARY DATA .............................................................................................................. 36

4.3.1 Limitations to secondary data........................................................................................ 37 4.4 PRIMARY DATA ................................................................................................................... 39

4.4.1 Sampling ........................................................................................................................ 39 4.4.2 Data collection ............................................................................................................... 40 4.4.3 Limitations to primary data ........................................................................................... 41

4.5 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER V FINDINGS................................................................................................................ 43

5.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 43 5.2 ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY DATA ............................................................................................. 43 5.3 CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................... 48

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................. 49 REFERENCES

iii

APPENDICES APPENDIX I EXAMPLE OF THE E-MAIL WITH THE IN DEPTH QUESTIONS APPENDIX II RESPONSES TO THE E-MAIL

List of tables

TABLE 1. CONTRIBUTION OF MARKETING RESEARCH TO DESTINATION MARKETING ..........................6 TABLE 2. PROS AND CONS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT STRATEGY. ................................................... 24

List of figures

FIGURE 1. GILBERT’S DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY. .................................................................................9 FIGURE 2. MEANING MOVEMENT AND THE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS. .................................................... 32

iv

Acknowledgements

My research interest in celebrity destination endorsement and the efforts leading to

this study have brought me various debts of favour. I am particularly appreciative to

the contacted academics who gave of their time to assist with my requests for

information, as well as for their criticism and interest to the study. Especially, the

insights and remarks of Lynn Langmeyer and Dwane Dean were of great value.

My deliberations on the study have also been influenced by the contributions of

several other researchers, many of whom are cited throughout the text. Furthermore,

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Alan Fyall as he provided

valuable assistance and guidance from the outset of this project.

Finally, I would like to recognize and thank colleagues, researchers and friends at the

Bournemouth University and beyond for providing a stimulating writing environment.

22 August 2004, Bournemouth

Robert van der Veen

Note: ‘I hereby declare that the dissertation submitted is wholly the work of Robert

van der Veen. Any other contributors or sources have either been referenced in a

prescribed manner together with the nature and scope of their contribution’.

Introduction _____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________ M.A. European Tourism Management 1

Chapter I Introduction

1.1 Rationale for study

Laws (1995) denotes that destinations are usually promoted by emphasising their

primary and secondary characteristics. The author indicates that primary factors refer

to the destination environment (such as climate, scenery, traditions and the hospitality

of local people), while secondary factors include the destination’s service

infrastructure, e.g. transportation or events. However, in a market which has more

sellers than buyers are these characteristics sufficient in order to get noticed in today’s

communication-saturated society? Morgan et al. (2002a) argue that nowadays most

destinations have superb five-star resorts, hotels and attractions, every country claims

a unique culture and heritage, each place describes itself as having the friendliest

people and the most customer-focused tourism industry and service, and facilities are

no longer differentiators. In addition, Buhalis (2000) suggests that increasingly

consumers are unimpressed by tourism facilities and products, as they have travelled

extensively and have acquired a wealth of experiences. Therefore, the key challenge

for destination marketing agencies today is to create advertising executions to get

noticed in today’s highly cluttered environment. There are a number of ways that

agencies can capture the consumer’s attention and shift attitudes towards the

destination. This study is going to discuss one creative opportunity open to marketers,

which is celebrity endorsement and it will examine the link between destination

marketing and celebrity endorsement. Morgan and Pritchard (2001) suggest that

celebrity endorsement has become a significant element of advertising and film or

sports stars and fashion models tend to be used because they are able to penetrate the

commercial clutter of advertising and arrest consumer attention. The authors refer to

the Wales Tourist Board, which launched in 1994 a campaign that made effective use

of Welsh celebrities, including Anthony Hopkins (actor) and Tom Jones (singer). As a

result, the involvement of these celebrities attracted tremendous media attention

throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, the Western Australian Tourism

Commission secured the services of supermodel and actress Elle McPherson who

embodies the 'personality' of the state and had the ability to take this message to the

world.

Introduction _____________________________________________________________________


The campaign was launched in 1996 and has provided Western Australia's tourism

advertising with high levels of international recall and enquiry1. Middleton and Clarke

(2001) suggest that given the nature of travel and tourism products, the

communication of information is often the single most important (and expensive)

element within co-ordinated destination marketing campaigns. Therefore, it is vital for

destination marketers to be interested in the actual effect of using it. This study

attempts to conceptualize a rationale for why the idea of celebrity endorsement, which

may be considered in any destination marketing strategy selection process in order to

get noticed in today’s highly cluttered environment, could be effective by drawing

together strands from various literature and views from experts in marketing.

1.2 Aim and objectives

The overall aim of this study is to analyse, if celebrity endorsement is an effective

destination marketing tool in order to attract international tourists.

The steps to achieve the aim are formulated into several objectives.

- To gain an understanding into the subject of celebrity endorsement in order to

identify the characteristics and issues concerning the subject.

- To identify attitudes of experts concerning the characteristics and issues of

celebrity endorsement in order to provide new and deeper data.

- To undertake a critical review of destination marketing in order to identify the

characteristics and issues concerning the subject.

- To identify the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement as a destination

marketing tool in order to attract international tourists.

1 http://www.brandwa.com.au/tourism/tourism.asp

Introduction _____________________________________________________________________


1.3 Research plan

The study will demonstrate two different methods that were used to gather

information. First, a vast body of literature was reviewed and secondly, various

experts were consulted in order to provide new and deeper data. Regarding the aim

and overall objectives, it has an in particular focus on destination marketing and

celebrity endorsement. The literature review comprised of academic work and other

published sources related to the theories in consumer behaviour, endorsement,

marketing and tourism. The main focus of the primary data is on the views of the

interviewees relating to aspects of celebrity destination endorsement within a

framework of celebrity endorsement in general.

1.4 Structure of dissertation

The intention of this study is, first, to identify for practical celebrity endorsement

purposes the nature of destination marketing and vice versa in order to indicate the

implementation potential of this marketing device to market destinations. Chapter two

begins with an overview of destination marketing, its international dimensions and

main components, drawing attention on persuading international tourists to choose

particular destinations. Working definitions of the subjects are provided, with

comments on the characteristics of destination marketing, and how it differs from any

other product, service or non-profit marketing (Harti-Nielsen 2000). Furthermore, it

identifies marketing as an important instrument that allows the destination marketer to

communicate and emphasize the destination’s value towards the appropriate target

markets in order to maximise destination’s objectives. Celebrity endorsement as

comprehensive communication instrument is introduced in chapter three. This chapter

begins with illustrating the role of advertising in tourism. Furthermore, it will discuss

the characteristics of the endorser in order to transfer the message. In addition,

celebrity endorsement as a strategy and its implications are described. This chapter

covers the major studies that are related to celebrity endorsement and it will illustrate

the importance of getting the ‘right’ celebrity to fit a product.

Introduction _____________________________________________________________________


Chapter four illustrates the type of research that was being undertaken, the methods

used to collect secondary and primary data, it will provide reasons for adopting the

chosen approach and finally indicates the limitations involved. Chapter five provides

an analysis of the primary data in order to contribute to the literature and give new

and different perspectives. The conclusion and recommendations are introduced in

chapter six. This chapter illustrates the concluded remarks, and proposes

recommendations and finally presents approaches designed for future research.

Literature review _____________________________________________________________________


Chapter II Destination marketing

2.1 Marketing

This section will illustrate how the role of marketing could be useful in order to

communicate and highlight the destination’s value towards the customer. Furthermore,

working definitions of the topic are provided, with comments on the characteristics of

destination marketing, and how it differs from any other product, service or non-profit

marketing strategy (Harti-Nielsen 2000). According to Vellas and Bécherel (1999), an

intangible experience is offered, not a physical good that can be inspected before it is

bought, and conclude that marketing plays a crucial role in tourism in order to

communicate the destination’s uniqueness with the consumer. In a similar vein,

Middleton and Clarke (2001) suggest that marketing is a subject of vital concern in

travel and tourism because it is the principal management influence that can

communicate and highlight the destination’s value towards the customer. Kotler et al.

(1999: 653) define destination marketing as ‘an integral part of developing and

retaining a particular location’s popularity’. Traditionally, destination marketing treats

the destination like any other product. However, Buhalis (2000) argues that this

approach fails to recognise the unique needs and limitations of each destination as

well as their particular geographical, environmental and socio-cultural characteristics.

Furthermore, Sautter and Leisen (1999) note that destinations are some of the most

difficult entities to manage and market, due to the complexity of the relationships of

local stakeholders. In a similar vein, Buhalis (2000) claims that destinations can not

be managed or marketed as enterprises, due to the dynamics of interests and benefits

sought by stakeholders. Nevertheless, Nielsen et al. (2000) suggest that destinations

can be and are marketed as products, because like international enterprises,

destinations have to operate in competitive international markets and until now, there

are no tools from other disciplines rather than marketing useful in order to enhance

awareness and attention of the destinations’ unique benefits. Table 1 indicates how

marketing research contributes to destination marketing.



Table 1. Contribution of marketing research to destination marketing

Identification of the main attributes by each market segment

Design and attributes required for tourism products and services

Segmentation of market and development of corresponding marketing mixes

Opening new markets and reducing dependency on existing ones

Reduction of seasonality by matching market segments

Assessment of compatibility with other target markets

Examination of alternative distribution channels

Review of tourism impacts to the destination and selecting the right segments

Evaluation of marketing effectiveness and selection of media for promotion

Review of reasons deterring people (suppressed demand) from visiting

destinations

Source: Adapted from Baker et al. (1994); Calantone and Mazanec (1991) and

Ritchie (1996)

Buhalis (2000) notes that marketing has often been regarded as an enemy of

sustainability, however a comprehensive marketing strategy should enable destination

marketers to identify appropriate target markets and as a result this could ensure

equitable returns-on-resources-utilised for the production and delivery of tourism

products as well as the regeneration of these resources. Thus, marketing can be

considered as a valuable instrument that allows the destination marketer to transfer

information and highlight the destination’s value towards the appropriate target

markets in order to maximise destination’s objectives. The next part is going to focus

on the characterizations and the complexity of the destination.



2.2 Destination

This section introduces and defines the destination. Furthermore, it will illustrate how

it is recognized as a perceptual concept, which can be interpreted subjectively by

tourists. According to Batchelor (1999), the spectrum of definitions for a destination

is extremely broad. The author explains this that at one end there are compact product

complexes, such as theme parks, resort and holiday villages, and on the other end of

the spectrum, the European Travel Commission (ETC) and the Pacific Area Travel

Association (PATA) consider and market whole continents as destinations. Although

the details of definitions can be debated endlessly, according to Buhalis (2000: 109),

they are best understood as ‘amalgams of individually produced tourism amenities

and services (accommodation, transportation, catering, entertainment, etc.) and a wide

range of public goods’ (landscape, scenery, sea, lakes, socio-cultural surroundings,

atmosphere, etc). Furthermore, the author explains that all these elements are branded

together under the name of the destination. Shoenbachler et al. (1995) suggest that the

consumers are more likely to remember scenery, outdoor activities and special

attractions featured in the advertisements, suggesting that campaigns may want to

focus on these elements. On the other hand, Ward and Russel (1981) along with

Seaton and Bennett (1996) suggest that the meaning of a place is not entirely

determined by the physical properties of that place. Buhalis (2000) suggests that it is

increasingly recognized that a destination can also be a perceptual concept, which can

be interpreted subjectively by consumers depending on their travel itinerary, cultural

backgrounds, purpose of visit, educational level and past experience. Moreover, Chon

(1992) argues that destination marketers should focus on both functional and

symbolic attributes of the destination in tourism product development and promotion.

This brings us to another obstacle of destination marketing, because in most cases

destinations already have a rich history, image and legacy development which need to

be taken into consideration when developing tourism marketing strategies (Buhalis

2000; Vellas and Bécherel l999). Thus, the destination is not entirely determined by

its physical assets, because it can also be interpreted by the perceptions and

associations (both negative and positive) in the consumer’s mind. The next section

will demonstrate the influence of the destination image in the consumer’s decision

process.



2.3 Destination image

This part will point out how the destination image distinguishes destinations from

each other and which image the destination should pursue. Furthermore, it will

illustrate why the destination image is an important and significant element of

consumer’s decision process. Middleton and Clarke (2001) argue that due to the

inseparable nature of tourism production and delivery, and the intangibility of the

product at the point of purchase, developing and communicating a destination’s image

is a vital consideration in strategic and operational terms. In addition, Tapachai and

Waryszak, (2000) and Coshall (2000) suggest that a destination’s image is all-

important and how a place is represented can inspire people to visit and revisit it.

Moreover, research suggests that the destination image differentiates destinations

from each other and is an integral and influential part of consumer’s decision process

(Baloglu and Brinberg 1997; Laws 1995; Lumsdon 1997). Lurham (1998 in Morgan

et al. 2002a) believes that the choice of destination will help define the identity of the

consumer and in an increasingly homogeneous world, set him or her apart from the

hordes of other tourists. Moreover, Morgan and Pritchard (2002b) suggest that one

should bear in mind that people relate to a destination image depending on their own

individual interests, opinions and experiences. Additionally both studies of Baloglu

and Brinberg (1997) and Chon (1991) put forward that tourists develop a certain

image about the destination as well as a set of expectations based on previous

experience, word of mouth, press reports, advertising, and common beliefs, before

visiting. Dobni and Zinkhan (1990) take the view that image is a perceptual

phenomenon that formed through consumers’ reasoned and emotional interpretation

and it has both cognitive (beliefs) and affective (feelings) components. Zaickowsky’s

(1985) study proposes that the tourist who perceives a low discrepancy between a

destination’s user image and his or her actual self-image or his or her ideal self-image

was most satisfied with the destination. Zaickowsky (1985) explains that when a

decision is considered to be important to a participant’s ego, self-esteem or social or

psychological risk, then a high-involvement state is likely to exist. According to

Assael (1995), a high-involvement choice might include financial risk, emotional risk,

physical risk or social risk. The author suggests that for many people the purchase of

their main annual holiday represents a significant risk on many of these factors.



Furthermore, Zaickowsky (1985) notes that in high-involvement contexts, a tourist is

likely to seek out the use information about alternative destinations and follow a

comprehensive process of decision-making. On the other hand, Zaickowsky’s (1985)

study indicates that trips that are not important or relevant to tourist’s self esteem,

values, or needs or is perceived to have minimal risk associated with it, then tourists

are less likely to gather information about destination alternatives and are more likely

to use a simple non-comprehensive decision-making processes. The author proposes

that high involvement consumers are likely to respond to information based

advertisements, testimonials and offers of more information. Thus, a certain

destination image could offer the tourists relevant added values, a proposition that is

distinctive from competitors and imparts meaning above and beyond functional

aspects. However, Middleton and Clarke (2001) argue that it is a live asset, it is not a

fixture and its value could depreciate over time if starved of investment and marketing

skill. Moreover, Morgan and Pritchard (2002b) indicate that destinations should

position their brands so that they are perceived by the consumer to occupy a niche in

the marketplace occupied by no other brand, thus, for marketers, the value of a

successful brand lies in its potential to reduce substitutability. Gilbert (1991, 1993)

asserts that destinations can be classified on a continuum between a ‘status’ and a

‘commodity’ area, as illustrated in figure 1.

Figure 1. Gilbert’s differentiation strategy.

Source: Adapted from Gilbert (1990, p. 25).

Gilbert (1991, 1993) suggests that a ‘status area’ could achieve intentional demand as

a result of unique and irreplaceable product attributes perceived by the tourism market.

On the other hand, the author notes that in the ‘commodity status’ case, destinations

are substitutable, very sensitive to price and economic changes, while consumers have

a low awareness of any unique benefits or attributes.



Both Gilbert (1991, 1993) and Poon (1989, 1993) agree that destinations should aim

to achieve a ‘status area’ or ‘niche’ orientation through differentiation, in order to

improve their image as well as to maximise the benefits for tourism regions. One way

of attempting to achieve the ‘status area’ is through re-positioning of the product,

although it is quite difficult to alter the image of destinations. Buhalis (2000) believes

that destinations may also involve in de-marketing, i.e. charging premium prices that

will discourage certain market segments from visiting the destination during a certain

period. Hence, a clear understanding of the attitudes and decisions of consumers,

concerning to their perceived image of the destination according to their needs and

wants lies at the heart of effective destination marketing. Furthermore, many

destinations will have to scale back their plans in order to focus on the needs of

specific consumer segments, or specialize in a certain form of tourism product. The

next section will have a closer look at the target market.

2.4 Market

This section will illustrate the importance of identifying the needs and wants of the

target market, and how it reflects the image held by potential tourists in the specific

market. This study will have its main focus on international tourism, in order to

follow recent examples of destination marketing campaigns that use celebrity

endorsement to break through the clutter and arresting audience apathy as closely as

possible. International tourists are described as people who travel to and stay in

countries other than their normal country of residence for less than a year (Middleton

and Clarke 2001). On the other hand, one should not neglect or underestimate

domestic tourism, which is described by Middleton and Clarke (2001) as people who

travel and stay overnight within the boundaries of their own country. Robinson (2003)

argues that in developed countries with sizeable populations domestic tourism will be

much larger, in volume and value, than foreign tourism. Nevertheless, the author

acknowledges that most countries seek to increase the number of foreign tourists,

because it is an opportunity to increase their exports of services. Furthermore,

Middleton and Clarke (2001) suggest that international tourists are usually treated by

governments as the most important market sector of tourism because, compared with

domestic tourists, they typically spend more, stay longer at the destination, use more



expensive transport and accommodation, and bring in foreign currency which

contributes to a destination country’s international balance of payments. In addition,

the authors suggest that international tourism is also easier to measure than domestic

tourism and such visitors tend to be more recognizable as tourists at destinations. This

study considers international tourists also as consumers, which will be referred to in

this study. McIntosh et al. (1995) take the view that few destinations are universally

acceptable and desired and suggest that the marketing managers should not waste

promotion resources by trying to please all tourists, instead aim the efforts specifically

to the wants and needs of likely prospects. In addition, the authors put forward that

attracting the appropriate target markets could also assist in the reduction of

seasonality, which enables destinations to increase their demand during low season.

Middleton and Clarke (2001) believe that the marketing task is easier if long-run

strategic decisions have created products that match customer needs, and especially if

marketing managers have detailed knowledge of their customers with which to

undertake short-run demand management efficiently. Kotler et al. (1999) propose that

achieving organizational goals depends on determining the needs and wants of the

target market and delivering desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than

competitors. On the other hand, Shoenbachler et al. (1995) note that different markets

can have quite different perceptions of a certain destination and suggest that it may be

necessary to target certain regional markets with specialized promotional campaigns,

based on the particular image held by individuals residing in the specific market.

Moreover, March (1994) argues that it is a fallacious assumption to believe that all

Japanese tourists should be treated in the same manner because they come from the

same country. Furthermore, Mill and Morrison (1998) take the view that the

communications strategy of the marketer will vary depending upon where the target

market is in the buying process. In addition, they suggest that joint vacation decision

making rather than individually dominated vacation decision making occurs. Solomon

et al. (1999) suggest that consumer behaviour classifies products on the basis of which

decision process (cognitive, affective, or behavioural) would be primarily operative

during the purchase decision. Mill and Morrison (1998) and Gartner (1989) indicate

that a destination most certainly falls into the affective (hedonic) product category,

because people choose their vacations to yield the most emotional satisfaction (within

the constraints of time and money available).



That is, there is no logical reason why some people choose to vacation in the

mountains and some people choose to go to the beach. It is an emotional choice.

Moreover, Kotler (1984: 254) argues that ‘there is no single way to segment a market;

a marketer has to try different segmentation variables, singly and in combination,

hoping to find an insightful way to view the market structure’. In addition, Buhalis

(2000) believes that each destination can only match certain types of demand and

destination marketers need to appreciate travel motivations in order to develop

appropriate offerings and brand destinations for the right target markets. Hence,

effective marketing in competitive conditions is impossible without understanding of

the destination types and characteristics. Moreover, developing a marketing strategy

for destinations will depend on each destination, on the types of target markets and

the consumer’s motivations and decision processes. The next section explains the

scope and extent of destination marketing agencies, evaluating the effectiveness of a

marketing strategy.

2.5 Evaluation

This part will examine the implications for destination marketing organisations to

evaluate the effectiveness of a marketing campaign. Batchelor (1999) suggests

destination marketing agencies of all sorts are responsible to provide the strategic

marketing framework for the destination’s tourism industry. According to Middleton

and Clarke (2001), they serve to co-ordinate the tourism industry as a whole,

recognizing and strengthening industry linkages in the products that destinations

provide, and devising themes and images to integrate promotional efforts. Batchelor

(1999) believes as custodian of the destination’s image the marketing body needs to

evaluate how this is perceived in the marketplace and determine how and by what

means it can be enhanced. Woodside (1990) argues that the effectiveness of

promotional campaigns should be assessed so that the most cost-effective media is

used to approach and persuade target markets to visit the destination. However,

McWilliams and Crompton (1997) denote that compared to traditional retail

businesses, destination marketing organisations are particularly disadvantaged in their

marketing evaluation efforts because they lack the direct sales figures, or single

source date.



Furthermore, the authors put forward that customers must travel to the destination to

experience the service and the destination may be a long distance from their point of

origin. The writers conclude that these logistics make it more difficult to undertake

studies to evaluate the impact of marketing and consumption that typically occur in

the same geographic locale. Pender (1999) believes it is difficult to isolate the

influence of marketing from other influences such currency, exchange rates and

weather conditions. Furthermore, the author refers to the complexity of tourist

behaviour also means it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of one advertisement

or one campaign. Moreover, Mill and Morrison (1998) refer to the heterogeneity of

the product, because services are rarely the same because they involve interactions

between people. In addition, they indicate that a tourism product is a highly perishable

commodity, because production and consumption take place at the same time. Crouch

(1994) explains that the length of haul between the two countries, the nature and

extent of existing cultural and trade ties and levels of awareness or ignorance may all

be important factors.

Faulkner (1997) indicates that many potentially important variables are not available

and/or they are simply not quantifiable, such as many of the variables influencing

tourist’ decisions in general and the attractiveness of the destination in particular are

simply beyond the destination marketing agency’s control. On the other hand, Pender

(1999) suggests that an accurate measurement of effectiveness can be inhibited by the

typically long time delay between the promotional campaign being run and the travel

taking place. According to Evans et al (1995), whatever marketing strategies

destinations ultimately choose, some form of awareness or attention is inevitable if

the destination hopes to survive or grow. Middleton and Clarke (2001) conclude that

achieving it in practice with limited information is both difficult and uncertain but the

rewards to those who achieve even marginal improvements can be great in terms of

marketing efficiency and added profitability.



2.6 Conclusion

Marketing is a valuable instrument that allows the destination marketer to transfer

information and highlight the destination’s value towards the appropriate target

markets in order to maximise destination’s objectives. In addition, McIntosh et al.

(1995) put forward that attracting the right audience could also assist in the reduction

of seasonality, which enables destinations to increase their demand during low season.

However, one should bear in mind that many variables influence tourist’ decisions

and the attractiveness of the destination. Assael (1995) and Williams (2002) believe

that for many people the purchase of their main annual holiday represents a high-

involvement choice and might include significant risks in the area of financial,

emotional, physical or social factors. Moreover, Faulkner (1997) indicates that many

of those important variables are not available and/or they are simply not quantifiable,

because are simply beyond the destination marketing agency’s control.

On the other hand, Middleton and Clarke (2001) believe that the rewards to those who

achieve even marginal improvements can be great in terms of marketing efficiency

and added profitability. Research indicates that destinations should aim to achieve a

‘status area’ or ‘niche’ orientation in order to reduce substitutability (Morgan and

Pritchard 2002b; Gilbert 1991, 1993; Poon 1989, 1993). Furthermore, the destination

marketer has to ensure that this is brought to the attention and awareness of the

customer. Zaickowsky (1985) proposes that high involvement consumers are likely to

respond to information based advertisements, testimonials and tenders of additional

advice. Moreover, Morgan and Pritchard (2001) put forward that celebrity

endorsement has become a significant element of advertising because they are able to

penetrate the commercial clutter of advertising and arrest consumer’s attention. Can a

well-known spokesperson endorsing the uniqueness of the destination be considered

as an effective destination marketing tool in order to get noticed by the message-

fatigued customer? Chapter three will illustrate the subject of advertising and explore

the characteristics of celebrity endorsement in order to indicate the implementation

potential of this marketing device to market destinations.



Chapter III Celebrity endorsement

3.1 Advertising

Chapter two looked at what makes destination marketing effective and focused on the

role of marketing in order to communicate and arrest customer’s apathy. This chapter

will introduce celebrity endorsement as comprehensive communication instrument

and will indicate the main characteristics and implications of this marketing device.

Mill and Morrison (1998) state that once the destination has been brought to the

awareness or attention of the tourist, advertising can very influential. This part

presents advertising and Middleton and Clarke (2001) suggest that it is primarily used

to communicate messages designed to influence attitude, feelings and understanding

in target audiences away from the places where tourism products are delivered and

sold. Advertising can be considered as one of the most important and sometimes the

most expensive choices to be made by marketing managers when planning

communications campaigns and expenditure on it requires justification. Hence,

advertising decisions should be based on the results of reliable research in order to

minimise the potential risks. For example, increasing the sales of a competitor’s

products should be avoided at all costs (Pender 1999). Morgan and Pritchard (2001)

take the view that consumers are not passive recipients of advertising, instead they

interact with, respond to and interpret advertising, and they can choose to embrace or

reject its message. Furthermore, the authors believe that advertising needs to break

through not just the media and information clutter, which surrounds today’s consumer,

but it also needs to break through the barriers and filters people erect to protect them

from information overload. The authors conclude that if the advertising is not relevant

then it will never penetrate and any possibilities for interaction will be lost. Chon

(1991) suggests that a destination seems to have the potential for enhancing the traffic

to the country from the target market by emphasizing those attributes, which are

positively perceived in the marketplace in tourism advertisements. Furthermore,

McWilliams and Crompton (1997) propose that a repeated exposure to the messages

may result in gradual learning and ultimately to visitation.



Shoenbachler et al. (1995) show that tourism advertising attracts the attention of

consumers, awareness and intention to visit the destination can be influenced by

tourism advertising, as measured through advertising recalls. On the other hand,

Anholt (2002) warns in competing for precious moments of the mindshare of today’s

message-fatigued customer, every advertised brand is a threat, and soap powder and

automobiles are as much as a competitor to the small nation or region as directly

competing countries. The author denotes that the Slovenian Tourist Board competes

with Burger King, Toyota and Coca-Cola as much as it competes with the Croatian

Tourist Board. Moreover, the author believes that the real prize is the wealthy

consumer’s rapidly diminishing attention span, a commodity whose price has steadily

and inexorably risen, as brands and their advertising messages have proliferated. On

the other hand, Pollay (1986) takes the view that advertising has a pervasive, intrusive

and persuasive character and is without doubt a formative influence within cultures

and it is designed to attract attention and build positive attitudes to brands, to be

readily intelligible, to change attitudes and to command consumer behaviour.

Belk (1984 in McCracken 1989) suggests that consumers turn to their goods not only

as collections of utility with which to serve functions and satisfy needs, but also as

bundles of meaning with which to fashion who they are and the world in which they

live. Pollay (1986) contends that advertising reflects and exposes existing cultural

values and behaviours, however, not all values are equally appropriate for use in

commercials. In addition, the author believes it happens on a very selective basis,

echoing and reinforcing certain attitudes, behaviours and values far more frequently

than others. McCracken (1989) suggests that the advertiser is the one that determines

which of the values of culture pertain, after carefully analysing the culturally

constituted world for the objects, persons, and contexts that already contain and voice

to these meanings. The author takes the view that a well-crafted advertisement

enables consumers to ‘see’ the cultural meanings contained in the people; objects and

contexts of the advertisement are also contained in the product. Thus, once the

appropriate cultural values are selected, advertising can be an influential device to

transfer cultural meanings to a product.



3.2 Cultural meaning and the endorser

One frequently used advertising tool to transfer cultural values to a product is

endorsement. Dyer (1988) suggests that endorsers can communicate cultural values

such as feelings, social meanings and values like power, authority, subordination,

sexuality and so on. The author believes some expressions can be read and understood

cross-culturally, but in order to understand fully the function and meaning of affective

displays one needs to refer to a particular context or social situation within a culture.

Because advertisements need to communicate swiftly, clearly and economically, the

consumer is confronted with devices like facial expressions, poses and movement that

tend towards stylization and generalization. Goffman (1979) refers to ‘hyper-

ritualization’, tendencies which contribute towards the stereotyping of people,

activities and situations. Thus, endorsement in advertising can be considered as an

effective marketing device in order to transfer cultural meanings, although it is part of

the cause towards stereotyping of individuals.

3.3 Endorsement as a promotional strategy

In an attempt to communicate the merits of their products or brand, advertisers have

often chosen to use endorsement as a promotional strategy. Friedman and Friedman

(1979) note that endorsers can be of many types, including the typical consumer, the

product class expert and the celebrity. In addition, Daneshvary and Schwer (2000)

point out to endorsements by an association. The study of Friedman et al. (1976)

concludes that it is perhaps useful for a promoter to use an endorser for his product,

rather than employ a comparable advertisement without an endorsement. Furthermore,

the paper indicates that the endorser, no matter what type, effected somewhat higher

taste expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than the control advertisement,

which was not endorsed. On the other hand, Friedman and Friedman (1979) found

that ads using a celebrity spokesperson led to higher ratings of the ad, attitude toward

the product, and purchase intention for products involving image or taste, and led to

better ad and brand name recall regardless of the product.



Atkin and Block (1983); Petty et al. (1983) and Ohanian (1991) suggest that celebrity

endorsers produced more positive attitudes towards advertising and greater purchase

intentions than a non-celebrity endorser. On the contrary, Mehta (1994) found that

there were no statistically significant differences in attitudes towards advertising,

brand and intentions to purchase endorsed brand between celebrity and non-celebrity

endorsement situations. However, McCracken (1989) argues that celebrities are

different from the anonymous person, because celebrities deliver meanings of extra

subtlety, depth, and power. The writer puts forward that celebrities offer a range of

personality and lifestyle meanings that the anonymous person cannot provide. The

writer refers to the meaning that the celebrity endorser could give to the product that

was generated in distant movie, music performances or athletic achievements.

Nevertheless, celebrities are still human beings which are in fact highly individualized

and complex bundles of cultural values and meanings. In a similar vein, McCracken

(1989) contends that even the most heavily stereotyped celebrity represents not a

single meaning, but an interconnected set of meanings. The results generally indicate

that a celebrity is more effective than a non-celebrity. However, the effectiveness of

the celebrity endorser depends, partly, upon the meanings he or she brings to the

endorsement process. Hence, celebrity endorsement can be considered as an effective

marketing device to transfer cultural meanings to products.

On the other hand, some of the most difficult aspects of global marketing to grasp are

host countries’ cultural ‘roadblocks’ such as time, space, language, relationships,

power, risk, masculinity, femininity and many others (Mooij 1994; Hofstede 1984).

Then again, Kaikati (1987 in Erdogan 1999) believes that celebrities with world-wide

popularity can help companies break through many such roadblocks. Thus, celebrity

endorsement can be a useful marketing device to enter foreign markets. Furthermore,

research suggests that the type of endorser may interact with the type of product

endorsed and found that celebrity endorsers are more appropriate where products

involve high social and psychological risk (Atkin and Block 1983; Friedman and

Friedman 1979; Kamins 1989; Kamins et al. 1989). In addition, Packard (1991)

believes that celebrity endorsement strategy is effective in selling products, and

services as status symbols since celebrities are individuals of indisputably high status

and in endorsements.



On the other hand, Callcoat and Phillips (1996) found that consumers are generally

influenced by spokespersons if products are inexpensive, low-involving and few

differences are perceived among available brands. Walker et al. (1992) conclude that

consistency between the endorser’s image and the desired product image may be more

crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-

technical, simple, commodity-type product. Although academic conclusions are

varied, one can infer that an association must be fashioned between the cultural

meanings of the celebrity’s world and the endorsed product. The next section will

describe the subject of celebrity endorsement in more detail.

3.4 Celebrity endorsement

Celebrity endorsement is a ubiquitous characteristic of modern marketing

(McCracken 1989). Corporations invest significant amounts of money to align

themselves and their products with big name celebrities in the belief that they will (a)

draw attention to the endorsed products/services and (b) transfer image values to these

products/services by virtue of their celebrity profile and engaging attributes (Erdogan

1999; Ohanian 1991; O’Mahony and Meenaghan 1998). Moreover, Newsom et al.

(2000) believe that celebrities can increase recognition and their presence almost

guarantees publicity. Studies findings by Agrawal and Kamakura (1995) and Mathur

et al. (1997) emphasised the effectiveness of use of celebrity endorsement. Because of

their fame, celebrities serve not only to create and maintain attention, but also achieve

high recall rates for marketing communications messages in today’s highly cluttered

environment (Atkin and Block 1983; Erdogan 1999; Friedman and Friedman 1979;

Kamen, et al. 1975; Kamins, et al. 1989; Ohanian 1991; O’Mahony and Meenaghan

1997). Furthermore, Dyer (1988) suggests that the use of a celebrity is one of the most

successful ways of gaining the consumer’s attention and getting him or her to infer the

right message in a limited amount of space and time. Prevailing literature indicates

that, millions of dollars are spent on celebrity endorsers each year (Buck 1993;

Erdogan 1999; Tripp et al. 1994; Walker et al. 1992). Shimp (2000) notes that around

25% of all US-based commercials utilise celebrities, and according to Kamins (1990),

today this advertising approach appears to be on the increase across all media types.



From a UK perspective one in five marketing communications campaigns featured

celebrities (Erdogan et al. 2001). In terms of monetary value of celebrity

endorsements, Advertising Age (2003) estimated that celebrity income from

endorsements can be substantial, for example, Tiger Woods made in the order of

US$ 70 million in 2002 from endorsements and appearances, Michael Jordan earned

US$ 50 million in the same period from endorsements alone. In addition, Buck (1993)

suggests that dependence on celebrity endorsements has grown. With the significant

amount of money companies invest in celebrity endorsement in order to promote the

company, their products and by creating a certain image, it is vital for the industry to

be interested in the actual effect of brands using celebrity endorsement. However,

who or what is considered to be a celebrity?

The following sections will give a theoretical perspective and starts by proposing a

comprehensive definition about the topic being discussed, McCracken’s (1989)

definition has been used as a basis and is to some extent modified to correspond with

the objectives of this study; ‘any person who enjoys public recognition and who uses

this recognition to endorse a consumer good or service by appearing with it in an

advertisement’. This definition is deliberately broad to encompass not only the usual

movie and television stars, but also individuals from the world of journalism, sport,

politics, business, art and the military. Furthermore, in line with McCracken (1989)

the term ‘celebrity’ is also meant in this study to cover a variety of endorsements,

including those in the explicit mode (‘I endorse this product’), the implicit mode (‘I

use this product’), and the imperative mode (‘You should use this product’), and the

co present mode (i.e., in which the celebrity merely appears with the product’).

Moreover, it includes a range of endorsement roles, such as cases in which the

celebrity is also an expert, is associated with the product in some long term capacity,

or has no special knowledge of, or association with, the product in question (Friedman

et al. 1976).



3.5 Celebrity endorsement for the brand

Research indicates when consumers make brand choices about products, including

destinations, they are making lifestyle statements since they are buying into not only

an image but also an emotional relationship (Urde 1999; Williams 2002). According

to de Chernatony (1993: 178), have consumers their own ‘brand wardrobes’ from

which they make selections to communicate, reflect and reinforce associations,

statements and memberships; in effect, ‘consumers enrobe themselves with brands,

partly for what they do, but more for what they help express about their emotions,

personalities and roles’. Clarke (2000) suggests as style and status indicators,

destinations can offer the same consumer benefits as other more highly branded

lifestyle accoutrements such as cars, perfumes, watches and clothes. In addition, the

author indicates that destinations are used to communicate, reflect and reinforce

associations, statements and group memberships and, in the same way, tourists use

their trips as expressive devices to communicate messages about themselves to peers

and observers. Therefore, Schiffman and Kanuk (2004) suggest that brand managers

should differentiate their product by stressing attributes they claim will match their

target markets’ needs more closely than other brands and then they create a product

image consistent with the perceived self-image of the targeted consumer segment. It is

essential for a company to create a brand identity in order for them to build a

relationship with the consumers and also create an image of the product or brand (de

Chernatony 1992; Fill 2002; Kapferer 1997). Newsom et al. (2000) argue that

celebrities can increase recognition, but they cannot rescue a product, and an

inappropriate celebrity, may actually harm it. On the other hand, Erdogan (1999)

suggests that if a product image has been damaged, hiring a popular celebrity is one

potential solution. Walker et al. (1992) suggest that is may be easier to establish a

product image with an initial celebrity endorsement than it is to change a product

image that is already associated with a celebrity or is well-established through some

other means. In a similar vein Dickenson (1996) notes that, celebrity endorsers tended

in particular, to pass on their images to product that had somewhat undefined images.

In other words, companies can hire celebrities who have necessary meanings to

establish new positioning for existing products (Erdogan 1999).



In addition, Ratneshwar and Chaiken (1991) put forward that a credible source can be

particularly persuasive when the consumer has not yet learned much about a product

or formed an opinion of it. Reynolds (2000) takes the view that celebrity endorsement

can even give a brand a touch of glamour. On the other hand, if a celebrity’s image

ties in with many brands, impact and identity with each product may lessen since the

relationship between the celebrity and a particular brand is not distinctive (Mowen

and Brown 1981 in Erdogan 1999). Moreover, Tripp et al. (1994) believe it can make

consumers overly aware of the true nature of endorsement, which has less to do with

brand/product attributes, and more to do with generous compensation for the celebrity,

leading consumers to overt cynicism about their motives. Hence, when a brand lacks a

well-defined image it may have one created for it through use of an endorser whose

image reflects the image an advertiser wants for the brand. This is important because

customers may perceive a brand as a representation of what the whole brand or

destination stands for. However, the celebrity should not tie in with too many brands,

because it will lessen his or hers credibility.

3.6 Characteristics of celebrity endorsement

Both Buck (1993) and Tripp et al. (1994) indicate that importance of an exclusive

agreement with the celebrity and the more exclusivity, the bigger the pulling powers

of the star, the greater the risk. In a similar view, Leventhal (1994 in Miller 1994)

suggests that celebrity endorsements are always a high-risk, high-reward situation and

there is always a human element that you never know, and you have to weigh the

potential risks vs. the potential rewards. McCracken (1989) suggests that endorsement

is successful, when the properties of the celebrity are made the properties of the

endorsed product. However, the study by Walker et al. (1992) found that the endorser,

which may have certain attributes that are desirable for endorsing the product, then

again, he or she might also have other, even more closely associated attributes that are

inappropriate for a specific product. The paper indicates that in the selection of a

celebrity endorser, one has to consider not only the product attributes that are to be

established, but also the broader meanings associated with an endorser. Furthermore,

Newsom et al. (2000) take the view that it is vital that any prior promotion campaign

endorsed by a celebrity should not conflict with the preferred image.



Thus, before implementation, the totality of the celebrity endorser’s symbolic

meaning should be carefully investigated. However, in line with Walker et al. (1992)

investigating the symbolic meanings of the celebrity may be fine in theory but

difficult in practice, due to complex collection of cultural values and meanings a

celebrity can incorporate. Furthermore, Erdogan (1999) suggests that companies have

limited control overt the celebrity’s persona as they have created their own public

persona over the years. The author explains that a linkage is strong in created

spokespersons by the company, as it is unique, whereas the linkage is weak in the

case of celebrity endorsement because of other associations. On the other hand, a

research review may provide a clue to some of the failed endorsements of the past

(Newsom et al. 2000). Hence, it will be significant for the marketing manager to

perform with great analytical skills allowing him or her to decipher information from

several sources prior to selecting the appropriate attributes of the celebrity for the

endorsed product.

3.7 Implications of celebrity endorsement

Sometimes celebrity endorsement can result in negative publicity that has nothing to

do with the product or brand. For example, the celebrity’s private life may make the

news in a way that damages the promotion campaign, such as when the celebrity is

engaging in ‘bad’ behaviours or performance and as a result end the contract. Buck

(1993) claims that celebrities lead lives of unimaginable temptations and awesome

pressures and there is always a vast discrepancy between the images they project and

the live they actually lead. Holloway and Robinson (1995) take the view that there is a

risk with personality based advertising, because when a personality suffers adverse

public relations exposure, the credibility of the advertising suffers too. In addition,

Erdogan’s (1999) study found that negative information about the celebrity endorser

not only influences consumers’ perception of the celebrity, but also the endorsed

product. Buck (1993) denotes that more and more marketing managers have seen their

brand’s reputation threatened by inadequate relationships. The author argues that this

is due to the combination of aggression and inexperience that brand-marketers throw

at endorsement deals nowadays.



The writer takes the view that celebrity endorsement works for a while, but the energy

and image diverted to the star endorser saps attention from other product attributes

that, in the long haul, count for much more: quality, innovation, convenience and

price. See Table 2 for a summary of the pluses and minuses of linking up with

celebrities.

Table 2. Pros and Cons of Celebrity Endorsement Strategy.

Potential Advantages Potential Hazards Preventive Tactics

Increased attention Overshadow Pre-testing and careful

planning

Image polishing Public controversy Buying insurance and

putting clauses in contracts

Brand introduction Image change and

overexposure

Explaining what is their

role and putting clause to

restrict endorsements for

other brands

Brand repositioning Image change and loss of

public recognition

Examining what life-cycle

stage the celebrity is in and

how long this stage is

likely to continue

Underpin global

campaigns

Expensive Selecting celebrities who

are appropriate for global

target audience, not

because they are ‘hot’ in

all market audiences.

Source: Adapted from Erdogan (1999: p. 295)

Furthermore, research point out to the ‘vampire’ effect, this means that in the non-

endorsed advertisement, receivers focused more on the brand and its features whereas

in the endorsed situation receivers concentrated on the celebrity in advertising

(Holloway and Robinson 1995; Evans 1988; Mehta 1994; Newsom et al. 2000;

Rossiter and Percy 1987). Buck (1993) believes that if a company equates their brand

with a personality to detriment of its other qualities, the brand will rise and fall

according to the appeal of that star.



According to the author, there are no ‘win-win’ situations in marketing anymore and

claims that celebrity endorsement is the shortest-term strategy of all, because

celebrities, by definition, are perishable, and so is the aftertaste left behind by a

celebrity deal. On the other hand, an interesting alternative that might avoid these

implications is given by Shimp (2000); he suggests using endorsements of celebrities

who are no longer living. According to the author, deceased celebrities are well

known and respected by consumers in the target audiences, to whom they appeal and

best of all, their use in advertising is virtually risk free inasmuch as they cannot

engage in behaviours that will sully their reputations and resonate adversely to brands

they posthumously endorse. Marketing News (1993) gives an example of Marilyn

Monroe and she appeared in an advertisement for the Alaska Visitors Association

saying, “The picture may have changed but her beauty hasn't. The same is true of

Alaska”. This study proposed this alternative to the marketing experts and in their

opinion the dead celebrity was not considered to be a good match with a destination,

unless the celebrity was the main reason to visit the destination, e.g. in the case of

Graceland, Elvis's home. Another endorsement alternative is given by Dean and

Biswas (2001) and Daneshvary and Schwer (2000) they point out to a third party

endorsement. Daneshvary and Schwer (2000) suggest that consumers are more likely

to adopt behaviour advocated by an association if they identify with the organisation

(identification). Furthermore, if they perceive the source as credible and as an expert

in the products, which it endorses, consumers are likely to purchase the product

(internalization). For example, "The Independent" rated the Norwegian south coast as

the best holiday area in the world in addition "National Geographic" rated the

Norwegian coast as the No.1 tourist target in the world. Furthermore, consumers have

the opportunity to interact with the source (through their travel reports) and there is a

fit or congruency (the match-up hypothesis by Kamins 1989, 1990) between the

source and the product (journalist has actually visited the destination). Thus, a well-

known travel (journalism) association could be considered to be a useful endorsement

device for the promotion of a destination because of their perceived expertise,

neutrality and fame. On the other hand, the marketing experts did not see this

alternative as an effective endorsement device, because the marketing manager is not

able to control the third-party.



It is apparent that academic findings and opinions are mixed and unable to provide

any direction to marketers. Moreover, when mismatches occur, the implications for

product meaning can be damaging. However, how can one select and maintain the

‘right’ celebrity among many competing alternatives, and, at the same time manage

this marketing device, while avoiding potential risks? The following sections will

describe methods, which may be considered in a celebrity selection process.

3.8 Selecting the ‘right’ celebrity

3.8.1 Performer Q-ratings

As earlier indicated, the selection of the celebrity endorser should be carried out with

great care by the marketing manager. One tool to assist him or her in this selection is

called the "Performer Q-Ratings". Shimp (2000) notes that this selection method is

commercially available from Marketing Evaluations and this firm evaluates

approximately 1,500 public figures by mailing questionnaires to a representative

national panel of individuals. According to Shimp (2000), individuals are asked to

answer two simple questions in these surveys: (1) Have you heard of this person? (2)

If you have, do you rate him/her, poor, fair, good, very good or one of your

favourites? A celebrity’s Q- (quotient) rating is calculated by dividing the percentage

of the total sample rating the celebrity as ‘one of their favourites’ by the percentage of

sample who know the celebrity (Shimp 2000). The author explains this with the

following example, Bill Cosby was known by 95% of the people, of which 45%

considered him a favourite. His Q-rating was 47 (45 divided by 95) Rosanne Barr was

known by 93%, but favourite of only 15%. Her Q-rating was 16. Basically, the Q-

rating reflects a celebrity’s popularity among those who recognise the celebrity

(Solomon et al. 1999). Rossiter and Percy (1987) believe that knowing a celebrity’s

Q-rating may not only be beneficial in cases where particular audiences are targeted,

but it may also enable companies to save on the cost of hiring a big celebrity name

who might not be popular among target audiences. Hence, the Q-rating of celebrities

could be an initial filtering layer in selecting celebrity endorsers.



Shimp (2000) put forward factors that are considered by advertising executives when

making their celebrity-selection decisions. The author refers to the following major

considerations, in order of decreasing importance are (1) celebrity credibility, (2)

celebrity and audience match up, (3) celebrity and brand match up, (4) celebrity

attractiveness, and (5) miscellaneous considerations. In addition, many scholars have

attempted to construct models addressing these considerations to aid in selecting

celebrity endorsers. Erdogan (1999) identified four models; one of the earliest models

is the (1) Source Credibility Model by Hovland et al. (1953), (2) the Match-up

Hypothesis by Forkan (1980) and Kamins (1989, 1990), (3) the Source Attractiveness

Model by McGuire (1985), and (4) the Meaning Transfer Model by McCracken

(1989). The following part will have a closer look at the considerations and the

associated models.

3.8.2 Celebrity credibility

Source credibility refers to a source’s perceived expertise, objectivity or

trustworthiness (Ratneshwar and Chaiken 1991). Research conducted by social

psychologists over the past 30 years demonstrates that a source perceived as highly

credible is more persuasive than a low credibility sender (Aaker et al. 1992; Erdogan

1999; Hass 1981 in Atkin and Block 1983). This is also reflected in the source

credibility model, which contends that the effectiveness of a message depends on

perceived level of expertise and trustworthiness in an endorser (Dholakia and

Sternthal 1977; Erdogan 1999; Ohanian 1991; Solomon et al.1999). Information from

a credible source (e.g. celebrity) can influence beliefs, opinions, attitudes and/or

behaviour through a process called internalisation, which occurs when receivers

accept a source influence in terms of their personal attitude and value structures

(Erdogan 1999). Further research indicates that if consumers perceive the source as

trustworthy and as an expert in the products, which it endorses, consumers are likely

to purchase the product (Daneshvary and Schwer 2000; Friedman and Friedman 1979;

Goldsmith et al. 2000; Holloway and Robinson 1995; Lafferty and Goldsmith 1999;

Till and Busler 1998).



In a similar vein, Ohanian (1991) investigated the relationship of attractiveness,

trustworthiness, and expertise to intention to purchase and found that only the

perceived expertise of a celebrity was a significant factor in generating more

intentions to buy the brand. The author suggests that for a celebrity spokespersons to

be truly effective, they should be knowledgeable, experienced and qualified to talk

about the product. In addition, Till and Busler (1998) showed that an endorser's

expertise is more important than physical attractiveness in affecting attitude toward an

endorsed brand. Moreover, Friedman and Friedman (1979), using the internalization

process, suggest that consumers are more likely to purchase complex and/or

expensive products which are endorsed by experts rather than by typical consumers.

Holloway and Robinson (1995) refer to travel writers, who commend on a destination

in the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programme ‘Holiday’ which are

immensely credible both because of their perceived expertise and objectivity, because

the message is delivered by the BBC itself. Furthermore, Evans (1998) contends that,

someone who is seen to be unconnected with the company and its products, coming

from an impartial and objective source, is likely to be believed. Thus, the

independency and the expertise of the celebrity endorser can be considered more

important than the trustworthiness of the celebrity spokesperson in changing

consumer attitudes. This brings us to another issue, nearly two decades before major

stars were perceived trustworthy, because they did not really work for the

endorsement fee, but were motivated by a genuine affection for the product (Kamen et

al. 1975), however times have changed. As indicated earlier, nowadays celebrities

receive very generous compensations, leading consumers to overt distrust about their

motives. Furthermore, Solomon et al. (1999) refers to the ‘credibility gap’, the lack of

credibility is aggravated by incidences where celebrities endorse products that they do

not really believe in, or in some cases do not use. The author found that the greatest

erosion of confidence was found in young consumers, 64 per cent of whom thought

that celebrities appeared in ads just for the money. On the other hand, Holloway and

Robinson (1995) suggest that trustworthiness can be achieved by using someone

closely associated with the product. Holloway and Robinson (1995) refer to the

example of the Jersey Tourism Committee that used John Nettles of Bergerac (a

television series that took place on Jersey) to promote Jersey as a destination for

holidays, to add trustworthiness to the message since the actor was assumed to ‘know’

the island intimately.



Holloway and Robinson (1995) propose that a permanent link between a destination

and a well-known personality can be of enormous benefit in the promotion of a

destination. Then again, Ohanian (1991) believes it does not really matter whether an

endorser is an expert; all that matters is how the target audience perceives the

endorser. Hence, when the message is delivered by a perceived expert and

independent source it will greatly add to the credibility of the message and it may

influence purchase behaviour. In addition, trustworthiness, which is a component of

credibility, can be achieved by using someone closely associated with the product.

Moreover, when a trustful individual has a well-known personality and a permanent

link with the destination, it can be of enormous benefit in the promotion of a

destination. However, it has been proven that trustworthiness does not influence

purchase behaviour and this is not corresponding to the promotion objectives and

according to Pender (1999), they will often involve changes in mind-set, such as

attitude, opinion and knowledge. Even though the source credibility is an important

factor for marketing managers in selecting endorsers, since expertise has been proved

to have a significant and direct effect on attitudes and behavioural intentions, it is not

the only factor that should be considered in selecting celebrity endorsers. The next

section will describe the importance of match up theory.

3.8.3 Celebrity match up

According to Kamins (1990), there has to be a meaningful relationship, or match up,

between the celebrity, the audience and the product. Furthermore, research points out

that advertising a product via a celebrity who has a relatively high product congruent

image leads to a greater advertiser and celebrity believability relative to an

advertisement with a less congruent product/spokesperson image (Kamins and Gupta

1994 in Erdogan 1999; Kotler 1997). The Product Match-Up Hypothesis, which

maintains that messages conveyed by celebrity image and the product message should

be congruent of effective advertisement (Kamins 1990). An expected fit or

congruency should exist between an association and a product, Basil (1996) illustrates

this with an example, a top model endorsing make-up is good, but a football player

endorsing soap powder less good. In addition, Evans (1988) gives notice that without

a distinct and specific relationship between the celebrity and the product there is the

danger of the ‘vampire effect’.



In addition, there should also be a relationship between the audience and the celebrity,

Basil (1996) also found that identification also plays a significant role in determining

message effects. Research suggests that identification occurs when an individual

adopts an attitude or behaviour from another person when that attitude or behaviour is

associated with a satisfying self-defining relationship with that person (Bandura 1986,

Burke 1950, Kelman 1961 in Basil 1996). It suggests that a spokesperson with whom

the audience identifies insures the greatest likelihood of achieving lasting attitude or

behaviour change. Thus, a consumer who identifies with a famous spokesperson is

more likely to copy behaviours that are represented by the celebrity. Moreover, Basil

(1996) suggests that the greater the identification, the more likely the viewer will see

important attributes in the celebrity. Williams and Qualls (1989 in Basil 1996), for

example, found that black consumers have high levels of identification with black

celebrities.

Additionally, Desphande and Stayman (1994 in Basil 1996) hypothesis confirmed that

the endorser’s ethnic status would affect endorser trustworthiness and as a result

brand attitudes. Moreover, Daneshvary and Schwer (2000) suggest that the

respondents' identification with the endorser and their perception of its credibility will

positively affect purchase intention. Basil (1996) takes the view that when targeting

particular ethnic groups, the ethnic background should be carefully evaluated, because

consumers assess celebrities according to their own cultural meanings. Furthermore,

DeBongo and Harnish (1988 in Solomon et al. 1999) believe consumers who tend to

be sensitive about social acceptance and the opinions of others, for example, are more

persuaded by an attractive source, while those who are more internally orientated are

swayed by a credible, expert source. For example, Daneshvary and Schwer (2000)

refer to individuals with higher levels of education might be less influenced by any

form of advertising than those with less education, because education provides

individuals with analytical skills allowing them to decipher information from several

sources prior to making a purchasing decision, making them less likely to purchase a

product based on one source. From these findings, one can infer that celebrity

endorsement is most effective when consumers have the chance to interrelate with the

celebrity.



According to Erdogan (1999), the emphasis of product match-up research has been on

the proper match between a celebrity and a product based on celebrity physical

attractiveness. Specifically, the match-up hypothesis predicts that attractive celebrities

are more effective when endorsing products used to enhance one’s attractiveness

(Kahle and Homer 1985; Kamins 1990). The following section will discuss the

celebrity attractiveness factor in more detail.

3.8.4 Celebrity attractiveness

Research point out that consumers tend to form positive stereotypes about attractive

individuals and found that physically attractive communicators are more successful at

changing beliefs (Baker and Churchill 1977) and generating purchase intentions

(Friedman et al. 1976; Kahle and Homer 1985) than their unattractive counterparts.

According to Erdogan (1999), attractiveness does not mean simply physical

attractiveness, but includes any number of attributes that consumers might perceive in

a celebrity endorser: for example, intellectual skill, personality properties, lifestyles,

or athletic prowess. Along with respondents in Kahle and Homer's study (1985), they

were more likely to buy an Edge razor after seeing an attractive celebrity in a

magazine advertisement than an unattractive celebrity. However, as indicated earlier

by both Till and Busler (1998) and Ohanian (1991) the endorser's expertise is more

important than physical attractiveness in affecting attitude toward an endorsed brand.

Moreover, Shimp (2000) believes that attractiveness alone is subordinate in

importance to credibility and matches up with the audience and brand. Till and Busler

(1998) refer to Michael Jordan (basketball player), who is an attractive endorser, but

his effectiveness is likely to be greater when endorsing products related to his athletic

prowess such as Nike or Gatorade, rather than products that are unrelated to athletic

performance such as WorldCom communications. Johnson and Harrington (1998)

point out that without doubt attractive celebrity endorsers positively improve attitudes

towards advertising and brands, but whether they are able to create purchase

intentions is uncertain. McCracken (1989) suggests that a celebrity brings its own

symbolic meanings to the endorsement process and proposes an alternative model.

The next section will describe this model.



3.8.5 The Meaning Transfer Model

McCracken (1989) argues that celebrity endorsement, as a marketing strategy has not

inspired especially illuminating theoretical accounts. In a similar vein, DeSarbo and

Harshman (1985 in Erdogan 1999) contend that neither the source- credibility and

attractiveness- nor the match-up theory is adequate in providing appraisal technique

for selecting the appropriate celebrity endorser. According to McCracken (1989), the

models are not capable to grab hold of the success factors of the endorsement process.

Furthermore, the author takes the view that for the source model’s purpose, as long as

the credibility and attractiveness conditions are satisfied, any celebrity should serve as

a persuasive source for any advertising message. Moreover, McCracken (1989)

indicates that the models make assertions only about the credibility and attractiveness

of the message sender and none about the endorser’s role as a message medium. Thus,

the models do not allow marketing managers to understand the appeal of any

particular celebrity and prevent them from identifying the matches and mismatches.

McCracken (1989) suggests using a ‘meaning transfer’ perspective; the attributes of

the celebrity are understood and move from celebrity to consumer good and from

good to consumer. Figure 2 illustrates McCracken’s model of meaning movement

from celebrities to consumers.

Figure 2. Meaning Movement and the Endorsement Process.

Source: Adapted from McCracken (1989: p. 315)



3.8.6 Miscellaneous considerations

According to Shimp (2000), advertising executives in selecting celebrities consider

additional factors, such as: (1) how much it will cost to acquire a celebrity’s services,

(2) the likelihood that the celebrity will get into trouble after an endorsement is

established, (3) how difficult or easy he of she is to work with, and (4) how many

others brands the celebrity is endorsing. The majority of studies found that attractive

celebrity endorsers are not able to influence consumer behaviour. On the other hand,

several studies found that celebrities are able to create purchase intentions. In light

with these academic findings it is safe to argue that celebrity endorsement is more

effective than non-celebrity endorsement in generating all desirable outcomes

(attitudes towards advertising, and the endorsed brand and intentions to purchase)

when celebrities whose public personality match with the products and target

audiences, and who have not endorsed products previously. The next section will

illustrate a more detailed literature conclusion.

3.9 Conclusion

In broad terms one can conclude that endorsement does work, consumers do respond

to an endorsement of a product by a celebrity. The fact of associating a product with a

well-known individual acts to increase the positive view of the consumer. The

potential benefits from endorsement for the brand owner are clear, so long as the links

are indisputable and match links in the consumer's mind. McCracken (1989) believes

that endorsement is successful, when the properties of the celebrity are made the

properties of the endorsed product. Moreover, as Daneshvary and Schwer (2000)

believe that endorsement is most effective when consumers have the opportunity to

interact with the endorser. In addition, research suggests that simple attractiveness is

insufficient, since an endorser's expertise is more important than physical

attractiveness in affecting attitude toward an endorsed brand (Ohanian 1991; Shimp

2000; Till and Busler 1998). Moreover, expertise has been proved to have a

significant and direct effect on attitudes and behavioural intentions.



However, celebrity endorsement is a high-risk, high-reward strategy and the risks of

celebrity endorsement are well documented. The celebrity may lose their public

appeal or do something that undermines the endorsement, although this study tried to

propose alternatives to avoid the implications, they all were rejected by the experts.

Therefore, both the brand owner and the endorser need to be clear about the

objectives of the endorsement, the risks associated with that endorsement and the

promotional needs of both parties to the deal. On the other hand, nowadays due to

these, sometimes exclusive agreements can lead consumers to overt distrust about

their motives. The main constraint on the effectiveness of endorsement is the extent to

which the customers have the opportunity to interact with the endorser and the degree

to which those consumers see the product advertised as connected to the activities of

that endorser. In addition, if the constraint is mirrored by the largest part of the target

market then one has to question whether endorsement is appropriate. However, the

opposite situation suggests clear benefits from celebrity endorsement. The next

chapter will introduce the research plan for primary data and indicate the limitations

of the study.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


Chapter IV Methodology

4.1 Research plan

Research design is a central component of a study (Chisnall 2001). Therefore, this

chapter illustrates the type of research that was being undertaken, the methods used to

collect secondary and primary data, it will provide reasons for adopting the chosen

approach and finally indicates the limitations involved. First, the research aim is

recalled and the objectives are shown in order to set up the research structure.

Secondly, the structure will demonstrate the different methods used by the researcher

to gather the information while explaining the reasons why they have been chosen.

Finally, the limitations of methods used and general limitations of the research

process are included in order to identify the implications in obtaining and analysing

data. Johns and Lee-Ross (1998) suggest it is often advisable to use more than one

research technique in order to compare findings and obtain a definitive picture of the

subject. Due to time constraints, this study just considered two different approaches,

first a vast body of literature was reviewed and secondly, various experts were

consulted in order to provide stronger and deeper data.

4.2 Aim

The overall aim of this study is to analyse, if celebrity endorsement is an effective

destination marketing tool in order to attract international tourists.

4.2.1 Objectives

The steps to achieve the aim are formulated into several objectives.

- To gain an understanding into the subject of celebrity endorsement in order to

identify the characteristics and issues concerning the subject.

- To identify attitudes of experts concerning the characteristics and issues of

celebrity endorsement in order to provide new and deeper data.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


- To undertake a critical review of destination marketing in order to identify the

characteristics and issues concerning the subject.

- To identify the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement as destination

marketing tool in order to attract international tourists.

4.3 Secondary data

A vital step is the review of previous research on the topic chosen. In fact, an

important part of nearly all research is a review of the literature (Bell 1999; Clark et al.

1998; Finn et al. 2000; Greenfield 1996; Pender 1999; Veal 1997). Brunt (1997)

suggests that secondary data refers to information which already exists and which was

collected for a purpose other than that of the current researcher but which can be used

a second time for a current project. According to Clark et al. (1998), secondary data

can be superior to primary data, as previous researchers could have had different

circumstances to work under, e.g. less constraints concerning time or resources.

Secondary data played an important part for this study and can be considered as the

backbone of the study. Veal (1997) takes the view that if the information that answers

the research questions already exists, it would be a waste of time to collect it again

through primary data. In this case, this was very important issue because the

researcher had only four months to carry out the project. In addition, Hakim (1982 in

Finn et al. 2000) suggests that secondary data allows the researcher to think more

closely about the theoretical aims and substantive issues of the study instead of

spending most of the time thinking about the problems of collecting new data. The

literature review allowed the researcher to see clearly what the key issues of

destination marketing and celebrity endorsement were. Furthermore, the use of

secondary data helped the researcher to establish new relationships between his ideas

that were, at the beginning of the research collection, entirely unforeseen (Dale et al.

1988 in Finn et al. 2000). Moreover, the use of existing sources helped the researcher

to formulate and understand the research problem better (Ghauri et al. 2002).

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


The author suggests that it can provide suitable methods or other data for handling a

particular research problem. In addition, the author also argues that it can provide a

benchmark for comparing with the primary data, so that the latter can be easily

interpreted and understood. The collection of secondary data and their analysis for the

literature review chapter took around 16 weeks, although further research in

secondary sources was carried out during the rest of the period of research. The

literature review comprised of academic work and other published sources related to

the theories in consumer behaviour, endorsement, marketing and tourism. Regarding

the aim and overall objectives it had an in particular focus on destination marketing

and celebrity endorsement. According to Bell (1999), journals are a more rich and up-

to-date source of information than books due to the frequency of publication.

Therefore, the academic journals the most widely used sources and they were

assessed at the Bournemouth University library (UK). The next section will describe

the limitations to secondary data.

4.3.1 Limitations to secondary data

Avoiding errors in research designs is of major importance, as reliability and validity

are fundamental factors that underpin all research papers (Chisnall 2001; Clark et al.

1998; Denscombe 2003; Robson 2002). It should be taken into account that the use of

secondary data might not always be appropriate for a specific research. The

information might have been gathered for a different purpose or in a different context.

For example, most of the existing data were not especially collected for the

effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, concerning hedonic consumption. Veal (1997)

suggests that social science differs from the physical or natural sciences because it

deals with people and their social behaviour, and people are less predictable than non-

human phenomena. Furthermore, the author concludes that, the social world is

constantly changing, so it is rarely possible to reproduce research at different times or

in different places and obtain similar results. Crouch (1994) suggests that the residents

of some nations display a higher sensitivity to tourism promotion that those from

other nations. Crouch (1994) suggests that the promotional sensitivity may depend

also on the destination being promoted and its relationship with the origin country.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


For this reason, one could argue that the studies in celebrity endorsement are not

useful for destination marketing other than in North-America, because the individuals

tested for these studies were all North-American students. Moreover, celebrity

endorsement is the mainstay of North-American advertising (Shimp 2000).

McCracken (1989) and Pollay (1986) both suggest that the relative collapse of

traditional sources of cultural influence that once supplied the meanings, e.g. the

family, the church and school have conspired to give western individuals new

freedom to define matters of gender, class, age, personality and lifestyle. Both Belk

(1984 in McCracken 1989) and Sahlins (1976 in McCracken 1989) take the view that,

modern Western individuals have the right of choice to fill in their own meanings.

Moreover, McCracken (1989) claims that the freedom to choose is now an obligation

to decide and this especially makes the western individual eager towards the symbolic

meanings contained in celebrities and the goods they endorse. In line with McCracken

(1989) celebrities are exemplary figures because they are seen to manage to fill in

their meanings that give them a clear, different and powerful personality that

everyone seeks. According to the author, there is a delicate and thoroughgoing

relationship between the culture, the entertainment industry, and the marketing system

in modern North America. Walters (2004) goes as far to state that Americans are

obsessed with celebrities, by declaring, “Americans would still like to see Paris Hilton

rather than Paris, France”. Basil (1996) suggests that individuals, who are exposed to

media personalities over time, even though this exposure is entirely via the media, are

believed to develop a sense of intimacy and identification with that celebrity. This

phenomenon was described by Horton and Wohl (1956 in Basil 1996) as a parasocial

relationship. Parasocial relationships with media personalities commonly occur

because media audiences think or feel as if they know the media personalities to

which they are exposed (Rubin and McHugh 1987 in Basil 1996). Adams-Price and

Greene (1990 in Basil 1996) found that adolescents did indeed identify with

celebrities. Solomon (1983) indicates that anyone undergoing any sort of role change

or status mobility is especially dependent on the meanings of their possessions.

Furthermore, McCracken (1989) has tried to show the importance of this meaning to

those who are moving from one age category to another. Atkin and Block (1983)

found that only younger subjects rated celebrity-based alcohol advertisements more

favourably than non-celebrity based advertisements; no significant differences were

found for older subjects.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


A study by Soley and Reid (1983) indicates that results of advertising experiments,

which use students as subjects should be questioned or at least approached with

extreme caution. Thus, when the studies were conducted among individuals who were

less exposed and less inclined to adopt to the meanings that are made available by the

celebrity’s world, it might provide different results.

4.4 Primary data

Primary data are new data specifically collected in the current research project, where

the researcher is the first user, as opposed to secondary data (Clark et al. 1998;

Jennings 2001; Veal 1997). According to Pender (1999), there are two main types of

research: qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative is the rigorous scientific method,

while qualitative is less rigorous and employs more flexible tools of research (Finn et

al. 2000). For the primary research a qualitative method was used which is an

unstructured form of data collection and it employs descriptions and explanations

rather than quantitative measurement and statistical analysis (Johns and Lee-Ross

1998). A lot of qualitative research is based on the idea that it is better that people

describe and analyse their own experiences and feelings, than if they only answer

questions the researcher thinks are important (Gill and Johnson 2002; Kelly 1999;

Veal 1997). Qualitative techniques allowed the researcher to get rich information of a

small number of subjects (Veal, 1997). The next section will describe the target group

and the way they were selected.

4.4.1 Sampling

The researcher saw it as suitable to use judgmental sampling which is a non-

probability sampling technique wherein the researcher selects the sample based on his

or her judgment about the qualities of the respondent in the sample (Cooper and

Schindler 2003; Zikmund 1999). This type of sampling has the advantage of being

more cost effective and easier to conduct as the researcher has the freedom to

interview those whom are convenient to his sample (Cooper and Schindler 2003).

Modest interest is shown in the literature about the effectiveness of celebrity

endorsement, particular with respect to hedonic consumption.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


Therefore, a specific target audience is chosen based on their knowledge, experience

and involvement with the research area of endorsement in order to generate in-depth

knowledge into the issue. The selected subjects carried out research in an area related

to celebrity endorsement or other form of endorsement and can be considered as

experts. In addition, the majority of the subjects had connections with a University.

4.4.2 Data collection

There are many qualitative research methods, and the most suitable for this particular

research were in-depth questionnaires, because the majority of the subjects are living

overseas. The intension was to find out if the theories were still up to date and the

expert’s view about the topic. A lot of attention was paid to personalising (Barnes

1994) the e-mail and the phrasing of the in depth questions in order to avoid

miscommunication, an example of an email is provided (see appendix I). The

questionnaires were composed of ten open-ended questions in order to allow the

interviewee to express ideas in her/his words (Brunt 1997; Finn et al. 2000; Kane and

O’Reilly-De Brún 2001; Malholtra and Birks 1999). Analysing the results may,

however, prove difficult because the process of scaling has its fundamental

complications (Clark et al. 1998) and so has the comparison of outcomes, as

interviewees answer the questions differently. Nevertheless, the main advantage is

that they are flexible, as a result it allows the interviewee to expand on their answers,

and thus much more interesting information can be obtained (Gordon 1988; Kelly

1999; Patton 1990). The in depth questionnaire was pre-tested and submitted to three

marketing experts, Professor Erdogan, Professor Shimp and Professor Solomon which

have a lot of experience with the topic of celebrity endorsement. According to Johns

and Lee-Ross (1998) and Clark et al. (1998), a pre-test, aims to identify and eliminate

problems before the full questionnaire survey is carried out. It was during the pre-

testing stage that errors were identified in the questionnaire design. As a result, some

badly worded questions were altered and two non relevant questions were removed.

In total, 40 emails were distributed between 20-6-2004 and 28-6-2004 and nine

experts made efforts to reply on the email, give advice and indications for further

research and a list of the recipients is provided (see appendix II) . The response rate

was 22.5 % due primarily to the fact that the e-mails were personalised and the

willingness of the recipients to cooperate.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


The questionnaires were particularly valuable during the assessment, because it

captured individual differences and unique variations from one marketing experts’

view to another. Besides these in-depth questionnaires, informal e-mail contact was

maintained with two marketing experts to share thoughts and experience during the

research process. The inspiring remarks and critical comments from both assistant

marketing professor Dean and retired marketing professor Langmeyer have been a

great support through out the study. Obviously, no research project is perfect and

limitations are more or less inevitable. The next section will illustrate the limitations

to primary data.

4.4.3 Limitations to primary data

One has to recognise that unstructured interviews have limitations such as the

possibility of being biased as the interviewer selects questions to investigate and may

inhibit comparability of responses (Finn et al. 2000; Kane and O’ Reilly-De Brún

2001). Moreover, the convenient sampling used for this study is considered to be the

least reliable non-probability sampling technique, because the respondents are not

given zero chance of being randomly selected (Cooper and Schindler 2003). Veal

(1997) denotes that individuals differ in their inclinations to respond depending on

their background, attitudes, culture, social desirability, willingness of subjects to tell

us the researcher what he of she wants to know etc. Furthermore, the author suggests

that individuals can be aware of the research being conducted about them and are not

therefore purely passive subjects; they can react to the results of research and change

their behaviour accordingly. Due to time restrictions of the study it can only focus on

a small target audience. Therefore, this study is restricted in several ways, e.g. it only

focuses on marketing experts that wrote about endorsement in a certain area and time

span in relation to marketing by the only one mean of communication. Besides these

limitations, the personal limitations of the researcher should be also taken into

account. For example, the personal judgement of researcher could be biased by a

systematic tendency towards a lack of objectivity, fairness, or impartiality, which is

often based on personal preferences and inclinations. Furthermore, the study could be

distorted by a systematic error in the assessment instrument and procedures, or in the

interpretation and evaluation process.

Methodology _____________________________________________________________________


4.5 Conclusion

This chapter has explored the methodological approach to carry out this research

project. It showed the advantages and it offered reasons for the choice of methods

and explained limitations of the research. The results of the studies about celebrity

endorsement should be questioned or at least approached with extreme caution.

However, it allowed the researcher to see clearly what the key issues were and

generated in-depth knowledge into the topic. The characteristics of qualitative and

quantitative methods were presented in order to give reasons for the choice of e-mail

survey in order to gather the primary data. Contact was made via email and the

experts were asked to respond to ten open questions concerning the implications and

the general objectives of celebrity endorsement. However, primary data was restricted

in several ways, e.g. it only focuses on marketing experts that wrote about

endorsement in a certain area and time span in relation to marketing by the only one

mean of communication. This was caused by resource and time restrictions. On the

other hand, the collected data were particularly valuable during the evaluation,

because it captured individual differences and unique variations from one marketing

experts’ view to another. The following chapter will now show the main findings

obtained from the questionnaire

Findings _____________________________________________________________________


Chapter V Findings

5.1 Introduction

This chapter illustrates the primary data analysis, which is the process of bringing

order, structure and meaning to a mass of collected data (Robson 2002). Academic

researchers have examined the effects of celebrity endorsement on product image in

the context of manufacturing (Kamins 1990; McCracken 1989; Till and Busler 1998)

but little attention is given concerning hedonic consumption. There is clearly an

opportunity to contribute to the literature and give new and different perspectives. The

questionnaires aimed to explore insight and understanding in particular issues of

celebrity endorsement, which could throw light on the features of destination

marketing. As earlier indicated the comparison of outcomes is difficult, because the

interviewees answered the questions differently. Therefore, this part illustrates an

analysis and broad examination of collected data and one should bear in mind that

every author would not fully subscribe to each part.

5.2 Analysis of primary data

In general, it was suggested that endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat

higher expectations, believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign. However

there was doubt whether it corresponds with the intent to purchase and it is not a

perfect strategy for all situations. Lafferty believes that endorsers are effective in

attracting attention to the ad and add credibility. However, Lafferty notes that the

effects are contextual, because their effectiveness varies by type of product, type of

endorser and the audience. Furthermore, Artz takes the view that the presence of the

endorser may make the credibility of the message more salient. On the other hand,

Artz suggests that a novice, biased endorser can make the message less believable.

Furthermore, Artz denotes that source credibility has the expected effect when the

recipient's prior opinion is opposite of the message, but that when the recipient's prior

opinion is consistent with the message, a less credible source results in more

favourable attitudes than a more credible source. Artz believes that the low credible

source increases the amount of processing.

Findings _____________________________________________________________________


Artz concludes that a low credible source delivering a compatible message gets self-

persuasion going, while a high credible source delivering a compatible message is not

really processed and thus the consumer will not engage in reinforcing thoughts.

The majority of the experts take the view that celebrity endorsement is not more

crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-

technical, simple, commodity-type product. According to Kahle, one major function

of a celebrity is simply to draw attention to the ad. Newell indicates that it seems that

simple commodity goods (in general) would benefit more from celebrities than more

complex products. However, Kahle takes the view that for areas where expertise is

important but lacking in the target market, having an expert celebrity may be

especially helpful. Newell refers to the example of Tiger Woods (golfer) and suggests

he could be a very effective celebrity spokesperson talking about the specific

advantages of a golf club that he endorses. Furthermore, Artz notes that people are

less confident of their own ability to evaluate complex and technical messages and

products. Moreover, Dean believes that celebrity endorsement is more effective for

products that are high in social or psychological risk for the consumer. Then again,

Artz suggests in the high involvement condition, source credibility often have no

effect.

The celebrity who is connected with the product/brand is less objective, because the

spokesperson is seen as a biased source. However, Levy denotes that many celebrities

put forth product lines that do well even if they are not objective. Levy refers to the

Elizabeth Taylor's perfumes, which have done well; maybe even better than if she had

merely endorsed Chanel. Levy takes the view that if celebrities are known to be

connected or too connected, they become more like salespeople rather than

enthusiastic fans, and their self-interest may make them suspect. Levy suggests that it

is probably true of all of them to some degree when the public knows they are being

paid for the endorsement. Therefore, Dean argues that the celebrity is more effective

if the public knows that that the celebrity is not compensated for his endorsement.

Findings _____________________________________________________________________


The experts see the celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand as less

trustworthy, because they are biased due to the close association. Furthermore, Dean

suggests that if the celebrity is compensated for the endorsement (and most consumers

will assume that to be the case) the public discount the endorsement to some extent,

because they perceive less trust in the communication. Actually, Levy notes it was

seen as the worst case if a celebrity thought to be doing it just for the money and

suspected or known not even to use the product or to have actually panned it. At the

other end, there was general consensus if the close association comes from actual use

and superior knowledge of the product category, then the celebrity endorser is more

trustworthy, due to congruity between the spokesperson and the product.

Generally, the properties of the celebrity should be transferred to the properties of the

endorsed product/brand. Actually, Newell suggests that this is what matching the

brand to the celebrity is all about. Furthermore, Newell takes the view that a new or

non descript brand could pick a celebrity in order to transfer the positive perceptions

of the celebrity to the brand. According to Dean, once the product is linked with a

celebrity, consumers seem to automatically assess the match-up. Levy takes the view

that almost any celebrity can help the consumption of anything, and suggests that milk,

if the celebrity imply it uses it and like it and the public likes them both it could be

effective. However, it could be more effective if the public has a reason to believe that

their consumption of milk has actually contributed to their success, e.g. their skin,

figure or avoidance of osteoporosis. Dean notes that sometimes, the advertiser just

wants to obtain an affect transfer from the celebrity to the endorsed product and refers

to the use of Bill Cosby as an endorser for Jell-O Pudding Pops. Nevertheless, the

majority of experts indicate that the celebrity endorser is most effective when

recognized attributes of the endorser match up with the attributes of the

product. Dean refers to a rugged action movie star like Arnold Schwarzenegger

would be effective in endorsing a rugged Sports Utility Vehicle like the Hummer.

Findings _____________________________________________________________________


Minimising the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity

endorsement campaign was seen by the majority of experts as a difficult process.

Lafferty suggests that only time can replace one with the other in the minds of the

consumers. Although, Lafferty notes that if the new endorser is considered credible,

the transfer is potentially quicker and easier. Newell takes the view that if the past

association has been positive and the new campaign continues on the same path with

similar celebrities, then minimizing the memories of the last endorser may not be

necessary. On the other hand, Newell contends that if the brand wants to distant itself

from the past endorser (say he or she is thrown in jail) then the brand may want to

deviate in a much more significant way from the campaign of the past, thus, a whole

new strategy needs to be worked out. Artz suggests having an intermediary campaign

focused on attributes and chose a celebrity from a totally different sector and use a

totally different style of advertising.

According to the experts’ view, intensifying the desired celebrity's attributes and at

the same time minimising the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing

the product/brand lies is the hands of the advertiser, he or she should choose the

celebrity wisely so such a need does not arise. In general, the experts indicate that the

marketer needs to determine which positive attributes fit best with the consumers and

the brand and emphasize them in the advertising and just avoiding the negative traits

of the endorser. Levy and Newell suggest making fun of the negative attribute(s), so

that it is being recognized, but one has to imply that it is not anything serious or not

really true, or appeal to the people who do not mind it. Artz propose a more practical

technique and suggests introducing the celebrity and the symbolic meaning of

background visuals and the context of the advertisement (i.e., advertise during a sport

show to promote sports attributes)

Findings _____________________________________________________________________


Minimising the 'vampire effect'? (the celebrity is remembered, but not the

product/brand) is considered by the experts as a complicated process. In general it is

suggested that the product attributes and brand are not overshadowed by the

celebrity. Levy and Kahle take the view that the main way around it is a good match-

up. Furthermore, Kahle denotes that time and frequency of exposure will cement the

marriage of the two in the minds of the consumer. Artz suggests a more practical

solution and indicates that one has to simply show brand before celebrity. Newell

mentions that advertisers must remember that the purpose of an ad is to sell the

product, so though the celebrity will play a major role in the ad, the ad must have

plenty of product shots, product-dialog, and in general the real star must be the

product.

An association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed

product is in general not required in order having a successful transfer of meaning.

Basically, Levy suggests that the public can successfully learn to associate practically

anything with anything else. On the other hand, Kahle takes the view that matching

values can be the most powerful type of endorsement. Lafferty notes that typically

consumers identify with those from their ethnic or cultural background, thus selecting

the appropriate endorser is important. Newell believes that there has to be meaning

transfer, but this meaning may come from the roles they play and the general persona

the spokespersons have created for themselves (real or not). Conversely, Dean

suggests that the cultural values of the world of the receiver of the message are more

important.

Findings _____________________________________________________________________


5.3 Conclusion

The consulted marketing experts stress the importance to obtain a sympathetic fit

between the product and the personality so that the celebrity can represent the brand’s

values, attributes and qualities. Furthermore, they take the view that for celebrities to

be effective in advertising, their selection must be based on their familiarity to the

market, the nature of their appeal and the credibility of the celebrity in the consumers’

eyes. In addition, the majority note that the celebrity endorser is most effective when

recognized attributes of the endorser match up with the attributes of the product. It

was also believed that this would minimise inappropriate attributes of the endorser

and avoid that product attributes are not overshadowed by the celebrity. Although, the

celebrity was seen as biased due to close connections with the product/brand and

perceived as less trustworthy and less objective. It is proposed that the celebrities will

favourably influence consumer's attitudes and behaviours toward the products they

endorse. Furthermore, the experts believe that attitudes and perceptions of products

are enhanced by celebrity endorsers, though not all brands or all celebrities effectively

complement each other.

Conclusion and recommendations _____________________________________________________________________


Chapter VI Conclusion and recommendations

Commercial businesses use celebrities with target customer segments to increase the

appeal of their offerings. The instrument of celebrity endorsement has nowadays

become a pervasive element in advertising and communication management. The use

of celebrities as spokespeople in advertisements constitutes a significant investment in

intangible assets by the sponsoring organisation, an investment that management

hopes to offset with greater future sales revenues and profits. In turn, marketers are

unlikely to want to link up with stars that are likely to bring their product into

disrepute. Whilst many strategic as well as tactical aspects of celebrity endorsement

effectiveness have come under scrutiny from a manufacturing product marketing

perspective, the concept of celebrity endorsement for hedonic consumption, in

particular destinations is an often overlooked and under-researched strategy. In

addition, most case studies referred to the same celebrities, for example Michael

Jordan is a very popular case, making it more difficult in order to determine factors,

which potentially maximise effectiveness of celebrity endorsers in general.

Effectiveness of celebrity endorsers is found to be moderated by several factors in the

literature, celebrity attractiveness and credibility, product-celebrity match, message

and product type, level of identification, number of endorsements by celebrities, target

receiver characteristics and overall meanings attached to celebrities. In sum, celebrity

endorsement can be considered as an effective marketing instrument in mature and

saturated markets in order to differentiate products from competitors since there is

almost no room for actual product differentiation in markets, as long as the ‘right’

celebrity is found. On the other hand, findings in the literature and primary data are

mixed and inconsistent regarding the ‘right’ celebrity. Nevertheless, it does seem to

be the case, that with products high in psychological or social risk, such as holidays,

celebrity endorsers create greater believability and a more favourable evaluation of

the product and the ad than either non-endorsement, probably because these types of

style products are highly aspirational. Furthermore, securing the ‘right’ celebrity for a

destination is about obtaining a sympathetic fit between the destination and the

personality, in the hope that the repeated association of a destination with a celebrity

will ultimately lead consumers to think the destination possesses the same attractive

qualities as that figure.



On the other hand, even where there is an ideal ‘fit’ between brand and celebrity, it is

almost impossible to accurately measure the direct impact of endorsement on a

destination brand. Furthermore, there are some other features of destination marketing

that suggest that make choice for celebrity endorsement as a tool to market a

destination less appropriate. First, a destination is often a group decision. For example,

a vacation destination is often a family decision and the destination needs to offer

something for children as well as adults. Basically, the destination needs to offer

something for all the members of the group. The effect of a celebrity would be diluted

in a group decision process, the celebrity has to appeal to each member of the group

and this is the exception rather than the rule. Second, consumer behaviour classifies

products on the basis of which decision process (cognitive, affective, or behavioural)

would be primarily operative during the purchase decision. A vacation destination

product most certainly falls into the affective (hedonic) product category; people

choose their vacations to yield the most emotional satisfaction (within the constraints

of time and money available). That is, there is no logical reason why some people

choose to vacation in the mountains and some people choose to go to the beach,

because it is an emotional choice. Basically, the celebrity does not change the

attributes of the destination. Third, there is an opportunity cost in using celebrity

endorsement since those resources could just as easily be used to advertise the

benefits of the location. The ability of any advertisement to convey information is

limited. If one includes a visual image of the celebrity then there is less time or room

for conveying visuals about the destination itself. The consumer wants to know what

the destination will be like, what they can do there, and how much fun they will have.

It is true that a celebrity may help the ad break through the clutter and get noticed, but

after that the destination has to sell itself, and there is less time or space to do that if

the celebrity is present in the ad. Unless the consumer is a fan of the celebrity and the

purpose of the vacation is to identify with and get closer to a particular celebrity, e.g.

in the case of Graceland, Elvis's home, then celebrity endorsement of locations can be

considered as an effective destination marketing tool.



Recommendations

This study, linked to its character as an exploratory exercise, has several shortcomings,

firstly, no practical understanding of the link between destination marketing and

celebrity endorsement success has been provided. Other impacts variables (e.g.

practitioners’ attitude towards celebrities or issues) have, likewise, been neglected.

Further studies need to include in their research design concerning celebrity

endorsement explicitly the perceptions of the practitioners. Without an understanding

of the perceptions of the practitioners’ activities no more than the (subjective and

possibly naive) interpretations of celebrity endorsers are available to evaluate the

implementation. From a practical destination marketing point of view it is necessary

to understand how celebrity endorsement is integrated prescriptively into a

campaigning process. Furthermore, the majority of research is not directed to the

effectiveness of celebrity endorsement to hedonic consumption. A study comparing

the three types of endorsements (third-party, celebrity, and testimonial from a typical

consumer) for their effectiveness in promoting a travel destination could be an

interesting study. Certainly, there is enormous clutter and the environment is

competitive, however it is those destinations that continuously attempt to match

particularly engaging and relevant appeals to a tightly defined target segment that will

be one step ahead of the competition.

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Appendices

Appendix I

Example of the e-mail with the in depth questions

Dear Dr. Tagg, After reading your article ‘Selecting celebrity endorsers: The practitioner's perspective, in the Journal of Advertising Research, 2001 I got interested in the concept of celebrity endorsement and made it my dissertation topic. My name is Robert van der Veen and I am a M.A. tourism student at the Bournemouth University. My aim is trying to find out the critical success factors of celebrity endorsement for the promotion of tourism destinations brands. My literature review is almost complete, but I still have some questions concerning celebrity endorsement in general. Considering your impressive experience in marketing, I would appreciate it very much if you could have a look at them or give me a certain indication towards further research. Many thanks in advance. Kind regards, Robert van der Veen European Tourism Management Questions;

1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign?

2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and

information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product?

3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective?

4. On the other hand, is a celebrity who is closely associated with the

product/brand more trustworthy?

5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible?

6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand?

7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand

in a new celebrity endorsement campaign?

8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity’s attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity’s attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand?

9. How can you minimise the ‘vampire effect’? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand)

10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the

endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning?

Appendix II

Responses to the e-mail

Artz, Nancy Associate Professor of Business Administration University of Southern Maine Tel: 207-780-4321 E-mail: [email protected] Thank you for letting me know that my research has influenced someone! My research has moved on to other topics and given the length of time it takes to get things published, it has been YEARS since I've thought by source issues. I doubt I can be of much use to you. I'll take a stab at answering some questions using my intuition, but I hope you get answers from someone who remembers the literature! Best wishes in your research Nancy 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? I predict it can work both ways. The presence of the endorser MAY make the credibility/validity of the message more salient. So an expert, trustworthy endorser would make the message more believable. A novice, biased endorser can make the message LESS believable. This may or may not correspond with intent to purchase. More importantly, one study showed that source credibility has the expected effect when the recipient's prior opinion is opposite of the message, but that when the recipient's prior opinion is consistent with the message, a LESS credible source results in more favourable attitudes than a more credible source. (Of course I forget the authors of the study and the explanation * I think it is that the low credible source increases the amount of processing, so a low credible source delivering a compatible message gets self-persuasion going, while a high credible source delivering a compatible message is not really processed and thus you don't engage in reinforcing thoughts). 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? YES, assuming you have an expert, unbiased source. My prediction is that people are less confident of their own ability to evaluate complex/tech messages & products. Sort of like the difference between search attributes and experience and credence attributes. Endorsers will have greater effect with the latter two. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? I'm not sure how this differs from bias or self-interest. An unbiased source is more objective.

4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? If the close association is from being a paid endorser, they are more biased. If the close association comes from actual use and superior knowledge of the product category (expertise), then they are more trustworthy.

5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? YES, if not overwhelmed by self-interest.

6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? Yes 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? Have an intermediary campaign focused on attributes & chose a celebrity from a totally different sector & use a totally different style of advertising. 8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? Your introduction of celebrity and the symbolic meaning of background visuals and the context of the advertisement (i.e., advertise during a sport show to promote sports attributes) 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) Repetition of brand name is visual & sound. Show brand before show celebrity. 10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? Why isn't cultural value one attribute that may or may not transfer, just like another celebrity attribute? [Just as you imply in question 8] there's my intuition. Of course, I am reminded of the research study that showed that academics had worse intuition about marketing effects than marketing practitioners and students! Good luck Nancy

Dwane, Hal Dean Assistant Professor Department of Marketing College of Business East Carolina University Tel: (252) 328-6603 E-mail: [email protected] Robert, I apologize for taking so long to respond to your e-mail, but I am teaching this summer and there just has not been enough time until now. My 2001 JA article that you cite was more about endorsements by third-party organizations than celebrities. I included the latter condition as a factor level, but only because I needed a contrast to endorsement by third party organizations. My knowledge of celebrity endorsements is limited, but I will answer your questions as best I can. You mention that your aim is to "find out the critical success factors of celebrity endorsement for the promotion of tourism destinations." I see a potential problem with this general premise. Celebrity endorsements are believed to persuade through the process of identification (Friedman and Friedman, 1979). This idea proposes that consumers like what the celebrity represents, and it suggests that they may try to emulate the celebrity and/or follow his advice on appearance, style, and manner. The endorsed product is seen as a means by which the consumer may more closely approach the image of the celebrity. Thus, products that affect the appearance, reputation, sense of style, or image of consumers would be good candidates for endorsement by celebrities. Certainly, we see that celebrity endorsements for products such as cosmetics, hair care products, exercise equipment, clothing, jewellery, cologne, and stylish automobiles seem to be successful. I don't mean to imply that celebrity endorsements are limited to those products mentioned above. Sometimes, the advertiser just wants to obtain an affect transfer from the celebrity to the endorsed product. Using Bill Cosby as an endorser for Jell-O Pudding Pops was an example of this. But the celebrity endorser is most effective when recognized attributes of the endorser match up with the attributes of the product. So, a rugged action movie star like Arnold Schwarzenegger would be effective in endorsing a rugged SUV like the Hummer. A fashion model/actress like Molly Sims would be effective endorsing a hair care product. These are good matches between product and endorser. As a product, a vacation destination is purchased mostly for the emotional pleasure it will bring to the consumer. Since people are very individualistic in what brings them pleasure, I think that celebrity endorsement of a vacation destination may not be effective. Perhaps if the destination were promoted as the most socially appropriate spot to visit for people who identified with the celebrity, then the endorsement might work. I think Dolly Parton endorses here own theme park near Branson, Missouri.

Many people pilgrimage to Graceland mansion in Memphis because they identify with Elvis Presley. I think probably the best example of celebrity endorsement of a vacation would be the promotion by the Caribbean cruise line that touted a fun-filled cruise with actual NASCAR drivers. For fans that identify with the drivers, such a vacation would seem like a dream come true. However, in general, I am sceptical that celebrity endorsement of a tourist destination would be particularly effective. Unless the destination is linked in some way to the life of the celebrity, I don't see people eager to travel to the destination. Even then, the main attraction would be for avid fans of the celebrity; the celebrity would have to have a very wide following. Moving on to your questions: 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? Endorsers are effective, but their effectiveness varies by type of product and type of endorser. This interaction is detailed in Friedman and Friedman (1979); see the list of references in my paper. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? Celebrity endorsement is most effective for products that are high in social or psychological risk for the consumer. Expert endorsers are better suited for technical products. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? If you mean by not connected that the celebrity is not compensated for his endorsement, then yes, the celebrity is more effective if the public knows that he endorsed the product for free. 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? If the celebrity is compensated for the endorsement (and most consumers will assume that to be the case) they discount the endorsement to some extent. That is, they perceive less trust in the communication. 5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? Yes. For example, Molly Sims is celebrity but she could also be an expert for hair care products in the sense that her success depends on knowing about hair care. 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? Once the product is linked with a celebrity, consumers seem to automatically assess the match-up. If the product is congruent with the attributes of the celebrity, then the endorsement will be more effective. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? If you are obtaining a new celebrity for the same product, and assuming there was a match between the old celebrity and the product, then the same attributes are in play. I don't think they can be minimized.

8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? The advertiser should choose their celebrity wisely so such a need does not arise. 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) A good choice of brand name and brand building will help. Mostly, I think the ad agency will have to produce the ad in such a way that the product attributes and brand are not overshadowed by the celebrity. 10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? I think the cultural values of the world of the receiver of the message are more important. I hope my responses are of some help. Best Wishes,

Goldsmith, Ron Doctoral Advisor Marketing Department College of Business Tallahassee Florida State University Phone: (850)644-4401 E-mail: [email protected]

Dear Robert, forgive me for not replying promptly to your query. You have posed a truly provocative set of questions re: celebrity endorsements. I always teach my CB students that using celebrities is a "high risk/high payoff" strategy. I would be most interested to learn of your findings and conclusions, so please share them with me when they develop.

Questions; 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? Consider that fact that the choice of the specific endorser may have more impact than using one or not (i.e., which endorser may be important) and the fact that any endorser at all may have only a very small impact, and you may be looking at teasing out a very small influence. I would first determine how much of an influence such an endorser would have to see if this is worth examining from both theoretical and practical points of view. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? I think the issue is partially confounded by the fact that celebrities are sometimes experts for specific product fields, but that their expertise is inseparable from their fame and attractiveness. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? There is some research that indicates that cues like celebrity are more effective when the receiver processes the message in a shallow, non-deliberate way. If the processing is thoughtful then such cues may be dismissed. There is an article in New York Times Advertising column today (Friday) about celebrities that may interest you. 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? If the celebrity uses the product (Nike Air Jordan) why shouldn't he be trustworthy? Although, sometimes the celebrity is thought to be doing it just for the money. 5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? Yes, Michael Jordan is an example when he endorsed shoes. 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? There has to be a match-up between the brand and the celebrity. For example, Jordan and Nike is a good match-up.

7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? I don’t think they can be minimised 8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? Carefully choose your celebrity 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) This can be a serious problem, remember that the purpose of an ad is to sell the product.

10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? Not necessarily, but there has to be a transfer of meaning.

HTH, Ron

Kahle, Lynn Professor of marketing Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. University of Oregon Tel: (541) 346-3373 E-mail: [email protected]

1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? On average, but not in all individual cases. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? No, since one major function of a celebrity is simply to draw attention to the ad. For areas where expertise is important but lacking in the target market, having an expert celebrity may be especially helpful.

3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? Not necessarily

4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? Not necessarily. This answer, by the way, is based on data, not common sense.

5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? On average, yes. 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? Many effective uses of endorsers take advantage of a match-up between brand and celebrity where the celebrity communicates via the match-up. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? People forget quickly, assuming that you do want them to forget. Merely putting the new celebrity out in public will increase the visibility. 8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? By stating the desired attributes explicitly. 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) Again, a good match-up should help people remember the association, not just the celebrity. 10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? No, but it can help. Matching values can be the most powerful type of endorsement.

Lafferty, Barbara A. Assistant Professor Department of Marketing College of Business Administration University of South Florida Tel: 813-974-5998 E-mail: [email protected] 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? In general, yes. Typically, they attract attention to the ad and add credibility. But the effects are contextual. In other words, it can depend on various factors. There has been a lot of research on when endorsers matter more. If the product is low involvement, endorsers take on more importance. If the product is related to looks such as beauty products, the attractiveness of the endorser has a greater affect. I'd research the literature on this for more empirical data. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? Again, it depends. Typically, if the product is complex, the content of the ad takes on greater importance than who the spokesperson is. If the knowledge of the consumers is low for that product, then the endorser can be more influential. Again, check the literature for more on this. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? I'm not sure what you mean by connected. 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? I assume you mean if there is a congruity between the spokesperson and the product such as Tiger Woods promoting golf clubs. If so, then the general consensus is yes. 5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? Yes. 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? I don't know if "should" is appropriate. Do the properties transfer, the expectation is yes. If the endorser is considered credible then this halo is anticipated to encompass the product. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? If you are switching endorsers and getting a new spokesperson, only time can replace one with the other in the minds of the consumers. Again, if the endorser is considered credible, the transfer is potentially quicker and easier. 8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? Mostly by careful selection of the endorser.

9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (Celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) A common problem. This is an issue for creative strategy in campaigns. Often the product category is connected to the celebrity but not the brand name. Generally, time and frequency of exposure will cement the marriage of the 2 in the minds of the consumer. 10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? I think under certain circumstances this might be true. But I'm not sure if you mean the cultural values of the specific spokesperson or of celebrities and Hollywood in general. Not as much is done on cultural. But typically consumers identify with those from their ethnic or cultural background so if you're trying to attract this group, selecting the appropriate endorser is important.

Langmeyer, Lynn Professor Emeritus of Marketing E-mail: [email protected] My husband (also Dr. Langmeyer, actually there are four of us) forwarded your message to me. We just returned from 2 weeks in California. I must tell you that I retired a bit more than four years ago and have thought very little about celebrity endorsers since then. I am not up-to-date on what is being done now. 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations,

intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? As the paper with Walker suggests, a product that has no image may be more affected by a pairing with a celebrity endorser than a product that has an established image (e.g., bath towels vs. jeans). To change a product image, (whether toothpaste, chewing gum, clothing, universities) is extremely difficult, whether or not one uses a celebrity endorser. Celebrity advertising would probably cut through the clutter, particularly on TV. After a while, however, the novelty would wear off. And if your target market were, say 18-35 or 40 year olds, the celebrity or celebrities would have to be carefully selected. For instance, my 33-year old daughter is not familiar with many of the celebrities I still adore. If I were doing the research, I would first do some preliminary pilot testing to determine if the intended audience recognizes the celebrity you are considering for use in the actual study. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-

dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? See Ohanian, (I think I spelled that correctly) "The Impact of Celebrity Spokesperson's Perceived Image on Consumers' Intention to Purchase," Journal of Advertising Research, Feb-March 1991, for an expertise, attractiveness, trustworthiness (credibility), study using celebrity endorsers. Perhaps you already have read it.” 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective?

Linked to conditions of what? The fact that a celebrity receives "generous compensation" can create cynicism especially if it turns out that the endorser has never used the product. I cannot remember who the celebrity was however there was a celebrity who was an endorser for the Beef Association of America and it turned out she was a vegetarian. Marketers do not like those kinds of things to happen. 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? There is an article by Braig, Bronson, and Tybout, "Popularity, Product Relevance, and the Effectiveness of Celebrity Spokespeople." I have an abstract not the actual article. I think it was published in a proceedings. The abstract states, "...expert or trustworthy celebrities that are relevant to the product category are likely to be more effective than spokespeople for whom there is no compelling rationale that ties them to the product.

5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? Again, see Ohanian, I think you will find helpful. She does a nice literature search (if I correctly remember the article) on spokesperson credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise in the introduction to her own research. It just came to me that you might find your answer in social psychology research rather than marketing research. That is, after all, from whence the marketers got the idea. Try Carl Hovland, Alice Eagly, William McGuire, Gerald Zaltman, and Melanie Wallendorf. The last two are psychologist/marketers. In 1979, they published a textbook called Consumer Behavior: Basic Findings and Management Implications. They have a section on source credibility that is excellent. Let me quote you a few of their sentences: Source credibility is the believability of a particular source. It is a function of the expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness of a source. (That is why I referred you to Ohanian). Research indicates that in general, highly credible sources of information have a strong and immediate impact on attitude change. (You might find specifics in Fishbein, Petty and Cacciopo - not sure on the spelling of that one.) Recent evidence causes us to be a little cautious in accepting findings about highly credible sources. It appears that highly credible sources, such as well known experts, may be liabilities as well as assets in some types of persuasive communications. The more consumers rely on their own behavior, the more likely it is that low credibility sources will have greater influence on behavior than high credibility sources. (Reference to a March 1977 Journal of Consumer Research article by Ruby Dholakia and Brian Sternthal.) In general, the credibility of a source is greater when the source is thought to be objective. The more the members of an audience perceive the source to be similar to them, the more persuasive the source will be. 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the

endorsed product/brand? It is my opinion that the endorser and the products have to "match." Remember from the article that a bland product (such as bath towels) tends to take on the properties of the endorser. Bath towels endorsed by Madonna are attractive, risky, and almost unpleasant. Christie Brinkley's, however, are more attractive, more feminine, and softer. The endorsers tended to pass on their images to products that had somewhat undefined images. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a

new celebrity endorsement campaign P&G's Mr. Whipple for their Charmin toilet paper immediately comes to my mind. He certainly was not a celebrity before the ad aired. Although P&G does not use him anymore (I think, I'm not sure because I watch very little television), he would be recognized by most people over 18. I suspect that you could find other examples, perhaps even in advertising textbooks. I cannot definitively tell you how Mr. Whipple established his credibility and expertise, however he was portrayed as a supermarket worker and seemed trustworthy. He also irritated many viewers (that may be why he was eliminated as a spokesperson) although sales of Charmin always went up when his ads were run. I know I read that last piece of information somewhere, I did not make it up. I do not remember the source.

8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand?

I can't give you an answer without a specific situation. What kind of inappropriate attribute are you referring too? 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the

product/brand) I remember some advertising a while back that used clips of famous actors and actresses from old films (John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart). Unfortunately, I do not remember the products although I am certain it was not for tourism. The fact that I remember the celebrities and not the products is worth some consideration. I know that that is not what advertisers want. 10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the

endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? I was listening to a program about Julia Child on Saturday commemorating her death. She was asked why she never endorsed products because she certainly had been asked many times. Her response was, "My television viewers should not think that my beliefs are up for sale." I hope this has been helpful. If not, tell me and I will try again. Sincerely, Lynn Langmeyer

Levy, Sidney J. Ph.D. Coca-Cola Distinguished Professor of Marketing Special Assistant to the Department Head Eller College of Management University of Arizona Tel: (520) 626-2075 E-mail: [email protected] Questions; 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? I think that endorsers do heighten consumer response when they are effective. No endorsement says, here it is, but even a genial non-celebrity announcer adds human interest and persuasive value; and Michael Jordan did a terrific job for Nike. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? Celebrity endorsement may help any product, but the more knowledgeable or suited to the product, the better the result. Jordan didn't help much with products or services he endorsed that I know I saw but cannot even remember because they had no special connection to who he is. Probably the more technical the product and the more expert the endorser the better the result, as we then assume they really know what they are endorsing. A famous car racer should know about motor oil; it's nice, but matters less if he, say, likes some ice cream brand. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? Well, if they are known to be connected or too connected, they become more like salespeople rather than enthusiastic fans, and their self-interest may make them suspect. That's probably true of all of them to some degree when we know they are being paid for the endorsement. But many celebrities put forth product lines that do well even if they are not objective. Elizabeth Taylor's perfumes have done well, maybe even better than if she had merely endorsed Chanel. 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? There is probably a continuum. The worst case is a celebrity thought to be doing it just for the money and suspected or known not even to use the product or to have actually panned it. At the other end, if they designed it and it is thought to be a good product and their devotion seems sincere, and we like the celebrity, why shouldn't we trust them? 5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? Of course, why not? What good was a non-smoker compared to Winston Churchill when it comes to cigars? Or an ordinary bike rider even such as Tom Cruise compared to Lance Armstrong? Credible means believable; why shouldn't we believe a more knowledgeable person? 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? I'm not sure what you mean by should and transferred by whom. In general, the better the fit, the better the fit. Almost any celebrity can help

the consumption of anything, say milk, if they imply they use it and like it and we like them both, so why not; but how much better if we have reason to believe that their consumption of milk has actually contributed to their success--maybe their skin or figure or avoidance of osteoporosis. Of course, relationships are of many kinds. Paul Newman has no special qualities that make him similar to a good salad dressing, etc.; but his name on his line, as a famous actor whose women fans loved his blue eyes, and his contribution of the profits to charity, made a winning combination. On the other hand, Jimmy Dean was a country singer, so his farm-associated products are especially suitable. After all, wouldn't a country singer be expected to know a good pork sausage when he tasted one? I think so, and used his on a pizza I made from scratch yesterday. Even unlikeliness can be an asset. Somehow, the surprise that we feel about George Foreman, former prize fighter, amiably advertising home appliances, makes him seem endearing--and we can reason that the appliances should be sturdy, like him. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? I'm not sure what you mean here? Why do you want to do this? Even celebrities with attributes some people don't like (Who? Maybe Zsa Zsa Gabor?) might still be suited to promoting something, otherwise why use them? 8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? I don't know, maybe if you gave me an example I could reason about it. The simplest thing I think of is to display or emphasize the attribute you chose him or her for and ignore all else. If that doesn't seem possible, for whatever reason, maybe make fun of the negative attribute so that it is being recognized, but imply it isn't anything serious or not really true, or appeal to the people who don't mind it. 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) This can be a serious problem and probably often happens. The main way around it is to make the linking strong and to persist at it so we learn that one of the things the celebrity is known for is promoting the product/brand. 10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? This is a fancy theoretical question. Basically, I'd say No, not required, because we can successfully learn to associate practically anything with anything else, if that's what we are taught. But Yes, to make it easier, more acceptable, more rational, etc. Glamorous, gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor and diamonds, sure; Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton and diamonds, well, no. Fun talking to you, Robert. Good luck, Sidney

Newell, Stephen Associate Professor Western Michigan University Tel: (269) 387-6166 E-mail [email protected]

Robert: Let me give you a little general information on endorsers in advertising to start. As you probably know so bear with me, one of the basic models of advertising is the elaboration likelihood model, which argues that there are two basic ways to presenting advertising in order to affect attitudes. The first, is the central (cognitive) route - that is presenting facts, figures and logical arguments in order to convince someone to buy (or try) your product. These products tend to have distinct advantages over the competition, they are often complex, technical, medical, etc - type products and services. The second is the peripheral (emotional) route - that uses image, music, etc. to create a mood or feeling. These products tend to be relatively undifferentiated from their competition, they often are consumer goods (though there are exceptions like jewellery) and try to bypass logic and sell on an emotional basis. The peripheral routes (and those products associated with it) are the ones that most often use celebrity endorsers. Note: in advertising practice today many companies hedge their bets by creating a combination ad strategy - some logic along with drama or emotion. Some general notes on celebrity endorsers: ROLE OF ENDORSERS IN ADVERTISING celebrity is a personality (actor, entertainer, athlete, other prominent person) who is known to the public for his or her accomplishments. Why use celebrity endorsers? It is hoped that the celebrities will favorably influence consumer's attitudes and behaviors toward the products they endorse. Does this work? Studies indicate that attitudes and perceptions of products are enhanced by celebrity endorsers. Though not all brands or all celebrities effectively complement each other. Overall, celebrity endorsers are especially effective when consumer’s motivation to process arguments is low. In other words, when advertisers want to take the peripheral route to persuasion, celebrities work well. How are celebrities selected? 1.) Survey ratings on Endorsers One rating system is called the "Q-Ratings" * people are asked two questions: a) Have you heard of this person?; and

b) If so, do you rate him/her as one of your favourites? Bill Cosby was known by 95% of the people, of which 45% considered him a favourite. His Q-Rating was 47 (45 divided by 95) Rosanne Barr was known by 93%, but favourite of only 15%. Her Q-Rating was 16. 2. Celebrity Credibility * perceived trustworthiness and expertise 3. Celebrity/Audience Match-Up 4. Celebrity/Brand Match-Up 5. Celebrity Attractiveness * friendliness, likeability, and physique 6. Other Considerations * cost, likelihood of celebrity getting in trouble, how difficult that they are to work with, other brands they are endorsing (i.e., saturation). Endorser Attributes Two key attributes are important for endorser effectiveness: 1. Credibility * Trust and Expertise 2. Attractiveness (Process of Identification) * physical attractiveness, similarity, familiarity, and liking. Findings: * Attractive endorsers are only more effective when the product is attractiveness-related. * If an audience likes an endorser, the ad is more effective. *If an audience identifies with the endorser, the ad is more effective. Questions; 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? Not, necessarily. It depends on the celebrity; the product and the audience (see guidelines above). It is not a perfect strategy for all situations. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? Based on the elaboration likelihood model, it seems that simple commodity goods (in general) would benefit more from celebrities than more complex products, however, if a celebrity has an expertise in an area then they may be able to focus on more technical products. For example, Tiger Woods could be a very effective celebrity spokesperson talking about the specific advantages of a golf club that he endorses. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? I am not sure what this means. Connected in terms of what? 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more

trustworthy? It depends.

5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? Often yes. Tiger Woods is an example when he endorsed golf clubs. 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? This is what matching the brand to the celebrity is all about. A new or non descript brand could pick a celebrity in order to transfer the positive perceptions of the celebrity to the brand. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? This is a complex question. If the past association has been positive and the new campaign continues on the same path with similar celebrities, then minimizing the memories of the last endorser may not be necessary. IF however, the brand wants to distant itself from the past endorser (say he or she is thrown in jail) then the brand may want to deviate in a much more significant way from the campaign of the past, thus, a whole new strategy needs to be worked out. 8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? This really can't be answered without understanding the specific situation. In general, however, they need to determine which positive attributes fit best with the consumers and the brand and emphasize them in the advertising and just avoiding (or even making fun of) the negative traits of the endorser. 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) This is tough. One specific problem is celebrities endorsing large numbers of different products. A celebrity that is seen all the time in a variety of ads loses the power of brand association. Also, the advertisers must remember that the purpose of an ad is to sell the product, so though the celebrity will play a major role in the ad, the ad must have plenty of product shots, product-dialog, and in general the real star must be the product.

10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? I am not sure what the cultural values of the "celebrity's world" means exactly. There is no question that there has to be meaning transfer, but this meaning may come from the roles they play and the general persona they have created for themselves (real or not). Hope this helps.

Solomon, Michael R. Human Sciences Professor of Consumer Behavior Department of Consumer Affairs College of Human Sciences Auburn University Tel: 334.844.1316 E-mail: [email protected]

I'm delighted that you have decided to focus on consumer behavior in your research. You pose some very good questions -- but as with many areas of research there is not always a single clear-cut answer. I'm assuming you learned of me by reading my Consumer Behavior textbook - most likely the European edition written with my co-authors Gary Bamossy and Soren Askegaard (published by Pearson in the UK). If so you will see a chapter on Changing Attitudes through Communication that addresses several of these issues. You should find the references useful to elaborate on this text – in particularly many articles in the Journal of Advertising have been published on celebrity endorsements.

Questions; 1. Do endorsers, no matter what type, generate somewhat higher expectations, intent-to-purchase and believability than a non-endorsed promotion campaign? Not automatically. It depends on the star; the product and the target group. 2. Is celebrity endorsement more crucial for a technical, complex and information-dependent product than for a non-technical, simple, commodity-type product? Assuming the celebrity is an expert, then I think so, for example, Michael Jordan is a very effective spokesperson talking about the specific advantages of a sports drink (Gatorade) that he endorses. 3. Is a celebrity who is not connected with the product/brand more objective? Linked to conditions of what? If you mean that the star is not compensated for his/her endorsement, then yes 4. Is a celebrity who is closely associated with the product/brand more trustworthy? Again, it depends on the star; the product and the target group 5. Is a celebrity who is (or perceived) as an expert on the subject more credible? I think so, (see Michael Jordan) 6. Should the properties of the celebrity be transferred to the properties of the endorsed product/brand? Often yes. 7. How can you minimise the attributes of a former celebrity on a product/brand in a new celebrity endorsement campaign? This is a difficult situation. I don’t think they can be minimised

8. How can you intensify the desired celebrity's attributes and at the same time minimise the celebrity's attributes that are inappropriate for endorsing the product/brand? Emphasize positive attributes. 9. How can you minimise the 'vampire effect'? (celebrity is remembered, but not the product/brand) This is a common problem, emphasize the product/brand.

10. Is an association between the cultural values of the celebrity's world and the endorsed product required in order to have a successful transfer of meaning? Not specifically, but it will help in order to get the message across.

I wish you the best of luck with your dissertation!

"There is nothing as practical as a good theory." Kurt Lewin

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