Effectiveness of celebrity endorsement of various brands: Teenager's perception

The use of celebrities in order to increase the sales and/or the recall value of a brand is called celebrity endorsements. Endorsements by celebrities have started since a long time. The very fact that their use has continued for so long is proof enough of its immense advantages, but they have several disadvantages too. Following the successful strategy of Lux using celebrities to appeal to its target audience, number of companies are using different celebrities from movies and cricket to promote their brands. This study attempts to find out the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements.

The main objective of the project is, to study the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement of various brands among the college students. To study the above mentioned objective, sample size of 200 units has been selected through non-probably convenient sampling method. The sample is made up of college students studying in various colleges of Surat.

Major findings of the project are: Respondents have correctively identified celebrities associated with Boost, Airtel, Parker, Munch, Taj Tea and Sunfeast; Only 75% of the respondents have successfully named the product endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan; Major number of males as well as females could not recollect three products endorse by Rahul Dravid, is not effective enough though the ex-captain of Indian cricket team; Celebrities are more effective on television than other media of advertisement; Film stars are more effective than sports person and artist; Among film stars, actors are more popular among female teenagers and actresses are more popular among male teenagers; Most of the people do not agree that multiple product endorsement by any celebrity reduces effectiveness and Most of the respondents believe that celebrities are effective for high quality and precious product as well as low cost, day to day products too.