Do Ambassadors Need a Relationship with the Brand or Product? The Study based on the Opinion of a Focus Group

Abstract

Celebrity endorsement has been commonly used by marketing professionals for a very long time. Well-known characters can efficiently increase the number and value of the sales and extend the company market share. Celebrities can also affect the decision making process of the customer, the buying behaviour and also the cognitive functions. Cognition and attitudes are significant in the marketing process: with the display of celebrities potential customers may realize that they want to be similar with the person they see in the commercial, therefore the products they purchase can help them in the pursuit of their goals and additionally, also increases their self-confidence. There is no doubt that celebrities are powerful tools, the question is whether there must a sort of a relationship between the product and the endorser or it is only required to show a favourable image in order to create cognitive dissonance and eventually, to increase the sales. In the pursuit of answers, both secondary and primary researches had been concluded in order to find out how effective celebrity endorsement is when brands are aiming to psychologically influence consumer behaviour.