Influence of Celebrity Endorsements on Consumers’ Brand Equity: Case Study of Super Brands Companies in Kenya

Abstract

This paper was a seminar presented for partial fulfilment for the award of a degree in doctor of philosophy in Business administration (marketing option) at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology (JKUAT) Kenya. The paper takes the format of mini-research. The study’s aim was to establish the influence of Celebrity endorsement on consumer brand equity on selected super brands in Kenya. Specifically, the study intended to establish whether the two major attributes of celebrity endorsement: Credibility and Attractiveness, influence consumers’ brand equity. The independent variable was celebrity endorsement and brand equity was the dependent variable. The study was anchored on the TEARS model that combines many marketing communications theories that describe attributes of a good source of information. These are the Credibility model, source attractiveness model, the meaning of transfer model, and the product-match-up hypothesis, consumer, and buyer behaviour theories. The empirical literature on celebrity endorsement was reviewed regarding different views of measurements of brand equity and how celebrity characteristics affect brand equity. The study raised two questions; whether celebrity credibility influences consumers’ brand equity and whether celebrity attractiveness influences consumers’ brand equity. To answer these two questions, a Target population of 20 consumer super brands companies was picked with only 11 super brands qualifying to be the unit of observation on the basis that they have hired celebrities to advertise their brands. The unit of analysis was 40 consumers who were classified as lecturers, professionals, and students. These respondents were given a structured questionnaire based on the two objectives of the study. Thirty-eight questionnaires’ (95% response) were returned and two were spoilt. Data were analysed by use of a statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and presented in tables. The study findings indicate that celebrity attractiveness has the highest influence as compared to celebrity credibility in influencing consumers’ brand equity. On methodology, the study recommends that a mixed design approach and change of unit of analysis in future research, development of hypotheses, include moderating variables as well as add to the main research the three remaining variables in the TEARS model. Study findings indicate that celebrity endorsement influence can lead to brand equity in the form of customer brand preference, awareness, loyalty and association, attitude, relevance, and differentiation. However, marketing and brand managers need to be careful when hiring celebrities to market their products because of the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy. On theoretical and academic implications, the study concludes that most of the studies carried out are in western countries. There remains a need for more studies in the field of celebrity endorsement in Kenya, especially in the area of theories of source credibility, source attractiveness, match-up hypotheses and meaning transfer model. These models emphasise that source of information must have power. Scholars can further apply exploratory research in areas of psychological and consumer behaviour theories in relation to Celebrity endorsement