Beyond celebrity endorsement: new opportunities for celebrity advertising and branding

Celebrities appear in up to 70% of all advertising, and brands may allocate more than a quarter of their advertising budget to securing a celebrity endorser. Numerous celebrities however are moving away from endorser roles and are instead creating celebrity-brands, which can generate millions of dollars in revenue. For brands that continue to enlist celebrity endorsers, alternative approaches to presenting celebrities within campaigns are being used to generate attention. This thesis comprises of four core papers and two supplementary articles which examine the influence of various applications of celebrities in marketing, on consumer attitudes and behavioural intentions. Using primarily causal research, this thesis examines new avenues for celebrity advertising and branding, providing guidance for marketing academics and practitioners. Findings indicated that consumer attitudes and intentions to purchase were more favourable for celebrity-brands than endorsed brands. Results showed that this can be attributed to the perception that a celebrity has higher investment in a celebrity-brand and is more authentic when promoting their own brand as opposed to endorsing another brand. As with endorsed brands, celebrity-brands may at some point suffer from the celebrity’s involvement in a scandal, however as terminating the relationship is impossible for a celebrity-brand, alternative strategies needed investigation. Results show consumers are more likely to forgive a celebrity when an appropriate punishment has been implemented, with forgiveness leading to positive outcomes for the celebrity-brand. Finally, an examination of the effectiveness of film personas revealed that consumers respond more positively to film persona endorsements when compared to endorsements by traditional celebrities. This thesis recommends that celebrities need to have high levels of investment in their celebrity-brand to be perceived as authentic and to encourage positive consumer attitudes and behavioural intentions. Furthermore, a celebrity should enact an appropriate punishment strategy in response to a personal crime to protect their celebrity-brand. Brands using endorsements can present celebrities as film personas to generate positive consumer judgements and shield the brand from celebrity scandals.