Celebrity endorsements are used in all types of adds as a strategy to manipulate consumers beliefs and attitudes toward a product.Celebrities are paid to state a claim that the brand creates to make their products sound trust worthy. Consumers are more likely to try a product if their favorite celebrity makes powerful claims about it. Consumers believe in what celebrities have to say and trust in what they do although these claims are often false. They will say what ever the company wants them to say as a result of the large financial payoff. Companies pay celebrities big bucks to advertise their products.
Advertisements featuring celebrity endorsements have a powerful impact on consumers beliefs and attitudes. Brand loyalty and trust is also established as a result of manipulation. Kineta Hung conducted a study that measured the initial impact celebrities have on consumers. It is found that consumers may associate the endorsed brand with positive evaluations based on their positive opinions on the celebrity (Hung, 2014).
This indicates that consumers are often influenced by the ad to try the product. Consumers believe in what celebrities have to say, making the products that they are endorsing that much more appealing. Though the market is saturated in advertisements with celebrity endorsements, marketers don’t choose just any celebrity. They have a set criteria that guides them to find the celebrity that will best communicate their message. They choose a celebrity that they feel will best exemplify the brands image and who has a fan base of their target niche. Advertising agencies are now also analyzing their social media usage and how many followers they have (Hampp, 2011). George Ruiz, head of digital media for creative management, explains the significance of celeb social media use and power when deciding who will best communicate the brands message, "Advertising agencies are asking more and more, 'How many fans on Facebook do you have? Are you on Google +? What's your Klout score, what's your client's Klout score?’" (Hampp, 2011). They want to make sure that they are hiring the right person to get their message out.
Taylor Swift has been very successful in the celebrity endorsement market as a result of her large fan base and large social media presence. According to Billboard, “ She has been singled out as the most marketable musician among young Americans. Millennials like and trust Swift more than any other artist, this makes her attractive to brands and marketers (Billboard Staff, 2016).
Swift has debuted multiple times as a celebrity endorser, landing contracts with Cover Girl, Sony, and Coke (Billboard Staff, 2016). She has posed as the “cover girl” for multiple Cover Girl advertisements. This has brought success for both her and the Cover Girl brand. Her flawless, natural beauty resembles the brand identity of Cover Girl. The following image is one of Swift’s first advertisements with them:
Cover Girl - Introducing Taylor Swift. 2011. N.p.
This advertisement for Cover Girl’s Nature Luxe foundation is designed to attract a consumer eye toward the product. If successful, the advertisement will influence the consumer to try out this product. This advertisement may even be powerful enough to create brand loyalty. In a consumers mind, if Swift approves of this product than this product must be really great. That is the goal of celebrity endorsements, to influence the consumer to believe in the product. The following video is one of the first commercials Swift has done with Cover Girl:
This advertisement captures the essence of a true Cover Girl. This commercial adds an touch of glamour to capture the attention of it’s audience. Audience members will be motivated to try the product in belief that using the product will make them glamorous too.
I forecast that the use of celebrity endorsements will leave a positive impact on industry professionals. Advertising agencies will become even more selective when choosing which celebrity is best suited for their campaign as the criteria is already changing. If the market is saturated with too many endorsers, ads will loose their significance. Consumers may catch on to their false statements resulting in a loss of credibility for the brand. However, there will always be room for celebrity endorsements in the market as they have brought companies a lot of success. Celebrity endorsement will always be around, consumers will always believe snd trust what they say about a product. It is just a matter of the strategy being able to stay versatile within this rapidly changing market.
Billboard Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
Cover Girl - Introducing Taylor Swift. 2011. N.p.
Hampp, Andrew. "For Today's Celeb, Social Status Takes on a New Meaning." Advertising Age 19 Sept. 2011: 76. Communication and Mass Media Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
Hung, Kineta. "Why Celebrity Sells: A Dual Entertainment Path Model of Brand Endorsement." Journal of Advertising 43.2 (2014): 155-66. Communication and Mass Media Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
"Taylor Swift's 1st Covergirl Ad for Natureluxe Makeup." YouTube. La Maison, 2011. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
I think that celebrity endorsements are certainly a great marketing tactic in this day and age. Like another blog that was written this week focuses on, the celebrity culture has grown so much in this country and marketers have certainly capitalized on it. I agree with Amanda’s point about how celebrity endorsements are very powerful and can certainly affect a consumer’s purchase decision. I remember as a kid the only commercials I would really pay any attention to were the ones with famous people I recognized. The clearest example of this in terms of athlete endorsements is Michael Jordan and his Jordan brand under the umbrella of Nike. Jordan really set the trend in professional sports to brand one’s self. The Jordan brand is by far one of the top revenue streams for Nike, with new shoes coming out every year even though Jordan has been retired since 2003.
ReplyDeleteI think also in todays celebrity crazed climate that social media plays a huge role in a celebrity being able to market themselves as a brand. Marketing at its core, is all about getting the most amount of eyes on a particular product. Celebrities that know how to use these several social media platforms can exploit the number of followers they have into money. A prime example of this is a staggering stat that involved the recently named ‘Most Marketable’ celebrity; Taylor Swift. “Stars like Taylor Swift and Katy Perry have just under 300 million followers across their Twitter and Facebook profiles combined and offer a glimpse into just how important being able to understand that engagement is" (Billboard). 300 million followers is such a huge number for marketers, and it is even more impressive when that doesn’t take into account their Instagram followers.
I agree with Amanda’s point about how she believes that the usage of celebrities to promote products can be a positive for the industry as a whole. However, I believe that relying so heavily on celebrities can also bring along negatives. For instance, when a celebrity and brand’s perceived relationship do not operate on the necessary dimensions, which are, “sensible and appealing, believable, appropriate, and motivating to the purchase decision,” the marketing campaign will fail (QScores.com). For a group project last year, my group had the topic of celebrity endorsements and we conducted a focus group that consisted of four celebrity endorsements. Some of the ones we chose were not received well by our focus group because of some of these dimensions. One endorsement was a Matthew McConaughey commercial for Lincoln. The main consensus from the group was that they didn’t believe that this mega-movie star would never actually drive a Lincoln. Another commercial we researched that lacked in believability was Kim Kardashian for T-Mobile. I specifically remember one person saying, “No one uses T-Mobile anymore, and no way does Kim Kardashian of all people. I also remember a recent case in which a famous celebrity endorsement hurt a brand. The recent instance with Jared Fogle, who used to be the spokesperson for Subway, certainly did not help either his or the sub shop’s brand image.
Works Cited
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements."Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
"Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Companies are making smart moves in terms of advertising strategies when it comes to the use of celebrities. Before reading your blog, I did not know that there was certain criterion for choosing what celebrity to use for different brand advertisements. It makes me think of these advertisements in relation to political campaigns. You have to know who your candidate is and their target audience in order to win them over and properly conduct your campaign. Strategies are used in both and heavy evaluations are made. In the article The Value of Celebrity Endorsements it reveals the criteria on which evaluations are made, “In effect, the objective is to determine the best possible "compatible fit" between the personality attributes of the celebrity and the image attributes of the brand -- yielding high awareness and impact against the intended consumer target. The perceived relationship between the celebrity and the brand needs to be evaluated on the following dimensions: sensible and appealing, believable, appropriate, motivating to the purchase decision.” (Schafer)
ReplyDeleteI know that celebrities have a huge influence on advertisements. Not only does this occur in everyday products, but even the movies people see are influenced by the celebrities that are in it. I know there are some movies that I have seen only because it will have a certain actor that I love in it, and not necessarily sometimes the theme of the movie. Well-known celebrities are even known to have their own brands, in which the fan base is the obvious intended audience. The celebrity is just using his or her own star power and image to advertise. This is the case recently with Beyoncé as she has recently put out her own athletic clothing line. Beyoncé has a very large following and fans are always trying to get inside her world, which always seems to be hidden. I found the Billboard article to be a good source of the personal information Beyoncé has given to explain the reason behind her choice, “"I would wake up in the morning and my dad would come knocking on my door and tell me it's time to go running," says Bey set to a montage of the queen stretching and on a treadmill. "I remember wanting to stop but I would push myself to keep going." She also recalls her fond memories of thinking about her dreams, the sacrifices her parents made, her little sister and how she was "her hero."
Mrs. Carter then admits her fears but retreats to Ivy Park in her mind, the place that gave her strength. "The park became a state of mind… it's what made me who I am," she also says. "Where's your park?" (Platon) I found out about this through Instagram, so I also agree with the point in your blog that talks about the connection of the advertisements with celebrity social media. Most products endorsed by celebrities are ones that come across my Instagram on a daily basis. All of these are just examples as to how celebrities are a huge part, and will continue to be a major part in advertisements for years to come.
Works Cited:
Platon, Adelle. "Beyonce Debuts Ivy Park Clothing Line." Billboard. N.p., 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
I have to disagree with what you’re claiming. Celebrities are approached by brands to post on their social media networks and they have the option to take the brand deal or decline the brand deal. If they see it as something that they would use then of course they’ll take the deal, but if they don’t agree with some aspect of it or they try the product and it doesn’t do what it says then they don’t take the deal. If celebrities were consistently filling our minds with rubbish regarding certain products then we would no longer trust them and companies would no longer be able to use their services. Some celebrities are not as trusted as others and this may be because they took on too many brand deals that their feeds began looking like a giant advertisement rather than a reflection of their life. This is their own fault, but saying that all celebrities are “manipulating consumers beliefs and attitudes toward a product” is not correct. An advertisement is supposed to make one product look better than its competitor, and if it does what it says then it’s not manipulation its just a way to express facts.
ReplyDeleteCelebrities social media accounts allow them to share what they want at their discretion. According to a study, “Celebrity practitioners reveal what appears to be personal information to create a sense of intimacy between participant and follower, publicly acknowledge fans, and use language and cultural references to create affiliations with followers” (Marwick). Essentially, celebrities will share what they want to share, and this will then this information will form a certain relationship with the followers. Some celebrities, such as Taylor Swift, choose to post a mix of personal and commercial photos. This allows her followers to experience both sides of her life. Postings like this make her appear more trustworthy in the public’s eye. It is because of this that, “Taylor Swift has been singled out in a new study on live music partnerships as the most marketable musician among young Americans” (Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake). Celebrities choose the type of relationship that they want with their followers, and this relationship determines how trustworthy they appear to be in the public’s eye.
Based on what you said regarding consumers associating the brand with positive evaluations based on their positive opinions on the celebrity brings me to my final point. If a celebrity does not have a good social standing or if someone has a personal distaste for the celebrity then the advertising campaign will not be as successful. Advertising is a tricky and relative practice, because if you’re team Katy and a brand chooses Taylor then that decision could push you to never purchase from that brand again.
Manipulation or not, advertising has always been a mind game, and celebrities are merely pawns in the grand scheme of things.
Works Cited
Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd, “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter,” Convergence 17.2 (2011): 139 – 158.
“Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake.” Billboard.com 14 Jan. 2016. Web.
Katherine Chirillo
ReplyDeleteDr. Burns
MSS 450
4 April 2016
Amanda,
I agree with the majority of what you say in your blog this week. I also feel like advertisements with celebrities are much more likely to draw in consumers. If a company is using a popular singer or actor they will definitely catch the attention of all their fans. It may be expensive for brands to use celebrities, but in the long run it is worth it for them. When someone you look up to, like a celebrity, uses a certain product they are seen as trustworthy. You’re more likely to believe what they are saying about this merchandise.
You mention that companies don’t just choose random celebrities and that they have set a certain criteria for what they’re looking for. This is definitely true most of the time, but brands like Under Armour didn’t follow this exact plan. They are known for making risky investments in athletes that are either relatively unknown or just interesting choices. They are now the most competitive brand for Nike and still rising (Oetting, 2016). For example, they chose a ballerina, Misty Copeland, to stand out in one of their campaigns from 2014, and at that time she was relatively unknown. Since then the ad has been viewed over 10 million times.
It makes sense for a brand to choose a celebrity that has a fan base in the target niche. Over social media is one of the best ways to gauge this. If the celebrity uses social media a good amount, they engage with other users and they keep a large following that will speak to how many people their endorsement could reach. Your example of Taylor Swift really made sense when it comes to this. She fits well when it comes to targeting her large fan base. She has so many followers and her use of music really helps her too (Billboard Staff, 2016).
Swift may actually be one of the celebrities to be most successful, and she matched very well with many of the products she endorses. The images and video you shared of her advertisements for Cover Girl really fit. She does match that image of natural beauty that they try to convey. If people decide to buy the Cover Girl products because of their dedication to Taylor Swift they may be more likely to pick up more products from the brand in the future (Schafer, 2014). She has that draw for many of her fans and others alike.
I agree with your final statement that advertisers will continue using celebrities to endorse their products. However, I’m not sure if they will become more and more selective when deciding who will represent them. This is only because of my Under Armour example and the idea that other brands may possibly try to stand out by choosing someone you wouldn’t expect. These days it’s all about making your brand unique and different from the others.
Works Cited
Billboard Staff. "Taylor Swift Wins 'Most Marketable' in New Study, Followed By Justin Timberlake." Billboard. N.p., 14 Jan. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Oetting, Jami. "How Under Armour Built a Challenger Brand Through Risky Endorsements." How Under Armour Built a Challenger Brand Through Risky Endorsements. Hubspot, 28 Mar. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Schafer, Henry. "The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. QScores.com, 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
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ReplyDeleteFlipping through a magazine you are bound to see multiple celebrity endorsements on every other page. Unfortunately, Amanda hit the nail on the head, “Celebrity endorsements are used in all types of adds as a strategy to manipulate consumer’s beliefs and attitudes toward a product. Celebrities are paid to state a claim that the brand creates to make their products sound trust worthy. Consumers are more likely to try a product if their favorite celebrity makes powerful claims about it. Consumers believe in what celebrities have to say and trust in what they do although these claims are often false. They will say what ever the company wants them to say as a result of the large financial payoff. Companies pay celebrities big bucks to advertise their products.” In the article by Q Scores, “The Value of Celebrity Endorsements”, “The perceived relationship between the celebrity and the brand needs to be evaluated on the following dimensions: sensible and appealing, believable, appropriate and motivating to the purchase decision.” (Schafer) Many times when I see a celebrity endorsement in a magazine I do not believe that the celebrity uses that product. For example, Taylor Swift as a CoverGirl spokesperson promoting their new NatureLuxe Silk Foundation I don’t believe that she is using that product unless I see on her Instagram that is apart of her makeup routine. For myself personally, I find it more believable that a celebrity uses a product when they promote on their social media rather than seeing them on ad in Vogue.
ReplyDeleteIn the article “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter” a study was done to examine the use of Twitter by famous people. “Celebrity practitioners reveal what appears to be personal information to create a sense of intimacy between participant and follower, publicly acknowledge fans, and use language and cultural references to create affiliations with followers.” (Marwick) I think this “sense of intimacy” between a celebrity and their fans creates a stronger bond. This bond allows the followers to gain trust and faith in the celebrity. When I come across a magazine ad with Taylor Swift on it, I don’t feel any type of connection with the celebrity and it sure doesn’t make me want to buy that product unless I see Taylor Swift on Instagram using the product. Now we really don’t know if the celebrity truly uses a product or not when they are promoting it. But I still feel more confident in that they do when they are posting about it on their social media.
Works Cited:
Marwick, Alice and Danah Boyd, “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter,” Convergence 17.2 (2011): 139 – 158.
Schafer, Henry. "Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Q Scores Blog: The Value of Celebrity Endorsements. N.p., 27 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.