Title: Celebrity endorsement – a competitive tool for brand positioning

Authors: G. Muruganantham, S. Kaliyamoorthy

Addresses: Management Studies, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, 620 015, India. ' Alagappa Institute of Management, Alagappa University, Karaikudi, 630 004, India

Abstract: One of the biggest challenges in marketing communications is how to break through ever increasing media clutter. With media becoming fragmented, engaging the customer has become difficult. Celebrity endorsements can help to meet this challenge due to the characteristics they offer. India is becoming a celebrity-obsessed society due to increase in celebrity advertisements in various media. The purpose of this paper is to study the positioning strategies of two leading fairness cream brands and to assess the role played by celebrities to position the brand in the minds of the target segment. The results show that users and non-users of the study brands perceive the brand positioning meaning differently. Conclusions and recommendations are presented for those involved in personal care brand development and marketing research.

Keywords: celebrity endorsement; brand positioning; celebrity effect; television advertisement; tv ads; fairness cream brands; consumer perceptions; celebrities; positioning strategy; Indian brands; Indian advertising; India; personal care brands; brand development; marketing research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVCM.2009.031768

International Journal of Value Chain Management, 2009 Vol.3 No.4, pp.386 - 400

Published online: 23 Feb 2010 *

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