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Abstract
This research aimed to examine the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer purchase intentions. The analysis was based on a survey of 300 participants between 18 and 54 years. They were from the University of Hull and surroundings, which were American consumers. The study focused on celebrity endorser characteristics, including attractiveness, trustworthiness, congruence, similarity, expertise, and compatibility between the promoter and their endorsement impact on brands and products. The researcher hypothesized that the chosen celebrity characteristics positively impacted the consumers purchase intentions. The regression model, Structural Equation Modelling, and path analysis were used to test the study hypotheses. The study established that all the celebrity characteristics significantly impacted consumer purchase intention. Since this study was purely quantitative, a future study should be conducted using a mixed approach. This study implies that every company that employs a celebrity must consider attractiveness, trustworthiness, congruence, similarity, expertise, and compatibility between the promoter and their endorsement impact on brands and products.
Introduction
The concept of association has been utilized in advertising for ages. This concept has evolved over the years, from advertisements involving celebrities participating in adverts to intentional endorsement where they talk about products and give testimonies about their benefits. This research will look at how celebrity endorsement impacts a consumers intention to purchase a product.
Research Rationale
Scholars have had extensive debates concerning the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumers as this traditional concept of using celebrities to personalize different brands has increased the public recognition of goods and services. According to one study, the celebritys professional competence and general appearance promote the acceptability of newly introduced goods in the market (Dom, Ramli, Chin* and Fern, 2016, p.526). According to another study, when famous actors, politicians, singers, or athletes are associated with given brands, they allow companies to advance their market share (Han and Yazdanifard, 2015, p. 26). Therefore, companies have been aggressively advertising with captured images of celebrities using their products on magazines, billboards, the internet, and most read newspapers (Malik and Guptha, 2014, p. 2422). Celebrity endorsement has become a popular marketing strategy today (Thomas and Fowler, 2016, p. 377; Molla, 2019, p.1). Some scholars show that there has been inconsistency in the results obtained from celebrity-endorsed advertisements (Osei-Frimpong, Donkor, and Owusu-Frimpong, 2019, p.104). This study will investigate how celebrity advertisement impacts consumers intention to purchase a product by asking them about their perceptions of celebrity-endorsed advertising.
Research Aim
This study investigates the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumers purchase intention.
Research Questions
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RQ1: Are consumers aware of celebrity-endorsed products?
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RQ2: What factors affect a consumers decision to purchase a celebrity-endorsed product?
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RQ2: What are the factors that make a good celebrity endorsement?
Research Objectives
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To investigate consumers awareness of celebrity-endorsed products
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To investigate the factors affecting consumer decision to purchase a celebrity-endorsed product
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To investigate the elements that make a good celebrity endorsement
Literature Review
This chapter discusses the theoretical view and empirical review of the topic under study. The chapter covers the issues relevant to consumers purchase intention and the attributes of celebrities perceived to be vital in influencing a persons intention to purchase a product. Lastly, the conceptual framework of the study is presented.
Theoretical Review
The Concept of Celebrity Endorsement
Celebrity endorsement is a popular strategy companies use to contract famous people as their products spokespersons. The person of public recognition uses their fame and influence in society to promote a brand by advertising a product or a service (Molla, 2019, p.8). Celebrities endorsing a product automatically give the product or brand a competitive edge. Celebrities are those people who are known by the people to have accomplished certain fetes in sectors other than the product or service they endorse (Molla, 2019, p.8), Gupta, Kishore, and Verma, 2015, p. 2). Among the celebrities used frequently as product endorsers and spokespersons for companies are actors, entertainers, and sports figures.
Celebrity endorsements are one of the creative strategies that firms have been adopting to survive the advent of intense competition (Min et al., 2019, p. 1). Celebrity endorsement has been associated with a significant increase in market share and attention to marketing communication; they draw attention to advertising due to their attractiveness and likeability (Hajdas and KBeczek, 2021, p.360). Additionally, celebrity endorsements enhance the effectiveness of advertising, brand identification; brand recall, buy intent, and even purchasing behaviour are all influenced (Olmedo et al., 2020, p.2). These enhancements increase a companys advertising awareness, creating positive feelings toward its brands (Molla, 2019, p.8). Celebrity endorsement also improves communicative ability by enabling advertisements to stand out from other commercials (Molla, 2019, p. 9). Therefore, advertisements endorsed by celebrities assist companies in introducing and repositioning their brand and boosting their corporate image.
Factors Constituting Celebrity Endorsement
Attractiveness
Attractiveness or appeal is one of the key components of celebrity endorsements (Freeman and Chen, 2015, p.214). The allure of a celebrity extends above their outward appearance and encompasses a variety of additional traits like their mental faculties, lifestyle, fame, athletic prowess, and celebrity propensities. Through various media, including broadcast, print, outdoor, and even internet advertising, publicity stunts have opened the way to attract customer attention (Apejoye, 2013, p. 2). The prominence of endorsers in showcasing their achievements, whether in music, arts, sports, or any other sector, makes them alluring. Consumers are drawn to these celebrities because of their accomplishments (Chung and Cho, 2017, p. 482).
Certainly, one of the most important components of effective communication is attractiveness. According to the theory of personal allure, celebrities appeal to consumers needs to identify and relate to the endorsers recognized personality (Paul and Bhakar, 2018, p. 155). While promoters frequently choose endorsers based on their physical attractiveness to sway consumer behaviour, a sources attractiveness may only be effective if the advertised product is enticing enough for consumers to purchase it (Chan, Ng, and Luk, 2013, p. 29). Skincare products, salons, spas, outfits, and conditioners are just a few examples of items and services directly impacted by the impression of large brand affiliation (Mishra and Mishra, 2014). In this study, the researcher hypothesized that attractiveness positively influences consumers buying intentions.
H1: The celebrity characteristic attractiveness positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
Trustworthiness
The degree to which the messages target accepts that the celebrity delivering it has a specific quantity of accurate and significant information or aptitude determines whether they accept facts provided by the sponsor. Celebrity credibility is defined as an endorsers honesty, genuineness, and trustworthiness (Schimmelpfennig and Hunt, 2020, p. 489). Customers frequently believe that powerful people are reliable sources of information. It is a well-known reality that one person is more trusted than another in a system if you think them to be a provider who can effectively persuade people to consider a certain thing (Khan and Lodhi, 2016, p. 102). Furthermore, a celebritys influence grows if they are experts in the cause they champion (Wei and Wu, 2013, p.3). Celebrity credibility states that when a correspondent provider has specialized knowledge in a field of interest, the knowledge gives the source influence and acceptance, which makes transmission from the origin be considered trustworthy or credible (Priyankara et al., 2017, p. 129; Zakari, Dogbe, and Asante, 2019, 1299). The researcher hypothesized that this studys trustworthiness positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
H2: The celebrity characteristic, trustworthiness positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
Congruence
The most crucial element for creating positive feedback is the relationship between the celebrity and the product since consumers interpret this as proof that the celebrity in question uses or consumes the product (Roy, Jain, and Rana, 2013, p. 73). If the public does not rationally view the endorser as the ideal match for the product, it is merely a waste of money. Social acceptance of celebrities and increased credibility necessitates their matching principle with the commodity as crucial as any other feature (Randhawa and Khan, 2014, p. 173). The performance of relatively incongruent endorsers is not superior to that of the most congruent (Gilal et al., 2020). The brand-celebrity matched study attests to the validity and usefulness of the congruence principle. Congruence between the product and the source of the product is crucial because consumers want to connect the product to its origin (Gauns et al., 2018, 46). If customers feel that celebrities are truly using the brand and that it has a noticeable impact on their character, they are more likely to buy it. The researcher hypothesized that congruence positively impacts consumers buying intentions in this study.
H3: The celebrity characteristic congruence positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
Similarity
Consumers prefer celebrities who are similar to themselves based on their outlooks. Similarity is an apparent resemblance between the recipient and the messages source (Nguyen, 2021, p. 952). Customers are more likely to connect with a source address that they have some similar ground regarding hobbies, habits, or lifestyles (Parmar and Patel, 2014, p. 2). Organizations choose brand ambassadors who more or less share interests with the target market to build an emotional connection between the celebrity and the public (Adnan et al., 2018, p. 179). Consumers might become acquainted with the celebrity endorsement due to their alleged commonalities. As a result of feeling a connection to the messages origin, this presumption will prompt them to pursue the recommended product constantly (Pan and Meng, 2018, p. 234). When people feel some approachability with the celebrity, their effects are felt more strongly. This way will present a superior association (Jin, 2018). Any resemblance between the buyer and the celebrity creates a relationship, heightening the products allure (Felix and Borges, 2014, p. 280). Scholars have also identified celebrity likeness characteristics that boost the attractiveness likelihood (Moraes et al., 2019, p. 1160). These elements consist of comparable tendencies, values, acceptances, and tastes. The researcher hypothesized that similarity positively impacts consumers buying intentions in this study.
H4: The celebrity characteristic similarity positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
Expertise
How well the endorser is perceived to have the necessary knowledge, skills, or abilities to promote the product depends on their expertise (Kim, Lee, and Prideaux, 2014, p.132). If supporters have the necessary skills, knowledge, and expertise, they will undoubtedly be regarded as experts. For any organization, the concept of perceived expertise presented by celebrities can be useful. It is a common misconception that promoters like well-known celebrities have more expertise than true experts (Dwivedi, Johnson, and McDonald, 2016, p. 489). Celebrity expertise can be defined as the extent to which a speaker is perceived to be a source of significant statements. Therefore, customers purchasing intention is directly and favourably linked to the expertise implied in endorsement (Adam and Hussain, 2017, p. 80). The researcher hypothesized that expertise positively impacts consumers buying intentions in this study.
H5: The expertise characteristic of expertise positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
Compatibility between companies Promoter and their endorsement
According to Jain and Roy (2016, p.267), the compatibility of the advertiser is demonstrated when the fundamentally pertinent characteristics of the celebrity representation are consistent with the genuinely pertinent aspects of the company or promoted commodity. The association of a superstar with a product endorsement is just as important as any other component because it increases trustworthiness and encourages a customers favourable attitude towards a product (Sivesan, 2013, p. 1). Celebrity endorsements must be associated with the advertised product to convince consumers that the celebrity is promoting the product and truly uses it (Aziz, Ghani, and Niazi, 2013, p. 108). If a customer believes that the endorser is an idealistic mismatch and that everything they are advocating is purely fictional for commercial gain, they may reject them critically (Muda et al., 2014; Hussain, 2019). A company that ensures compatibility between the product and the endorser has higher chances of succeeding in its advertising.
Customers are more drawn to an item if they believe the celebrity sponsoring it supports them or is truly qualified to use it (Rahman, 2018; Yang, 2018). Therefore, an end user may be able to distinguish and choose a celebrity-endorsed item over a non-celebrity-endorsed item. There is connection between the brand and the endorser and between the endorser and the consumer.
In this study, the researcher hypothesised that compatibility positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
H6: The expertise characteristic compatibility positively impacts consumers buying intentions.
Purchase Intention
The probability that a consumer will buy is unquestionably increased by purchase intention. The term purchase intention often relates to the notion, inclination, or eventual purchase of goods (Sertoglu, Catli, and Korkmaz, 2014). The propensity or psychological attitude to purchase a specific good is known as buying intent. Purchase intention, commonly referred to as behavioural intent, conveys the possibility that a person will make a purchase. Actual purchases and purchase intention rates have a good association. Hani, Marwan, and Andre (2018) support this assertion and show that the mental preference of a customer toward a product has a significant impact on the purchasing decision (Yang, 2018). The mental preference can be externally stimulated through exposure to a celebrity-endorsed advert.
The Meditational Impact of Adverse Publicity of Endorsers
Celebrity endorsements can cost businesses a lot of money (Ugwuanyi, Okeke, and Emezue, 2018). This expense is not only measured in terms of money necessary to compensate them but also concerning the possible positive or negative impact on consumer perception that their image may have (Abbas et al., 2018). While endorsements have generally been beneficial, there is also a chance that they could go wrong (Ha and Lam, 2017; Ahmed et al., 2015; Zipporah and Mberia, 2014). In the United States, there have been occasions where endorsers have received negative press (Gong and Li, 2017). The author agrees that consumers intentions to buy a product or service are significantly influenced by the appeal of a celebrity (Bergkvist and Zhou, 2016). This research paper proves that endorsements greatly impact consumers intentions to buy a commodity.
Theoretical Models for Celebrity Endorsement
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The Social Influence Theory. According to social influence theory, people inside a distinct social network are affected by others to display particular behavioural patterns (Ha and Lam, 2017). The theory is categorized as normative or Informational (Huy, 2018). The normative social influence refers to members persuasion to comply with another persons norms in a group (Malik and Qureshi, 2016). Celebrities influence the consumers because of their social influence, which they draw from their fame and exceptional abilities.
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The Persuasion Theory. According to the persuasion theory, the attractiveness and credibility of the source are crucial factors in persuasion since they can influence customer behaviour and increase message receptivity (Wongweeranonchai, 2016). The employment of celebrities as service and product endorsers thus emphasizes the persuasiveness of messaging or communication from them because doing so aims to alter or affect consumers perceptions and attitudes toward the brand (Dekker and Reijmersdal, 2013; Schimmelpfennig and Hunt, 2020). There is no other way a celebrity can appeal to the masses; persuasion is invaluable and critical for the success of product endorsement.
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The Source Credibility Model. The target audiences opinions trustworthiness is defined as the believability and integrity of an endorser, and it suggests that a brand is likely to deliver on its promises. With likeability as its attribute, trustworthiness is a key predictor of source credibility and has the power to affect behaviour, beliefs, opinions, and attitudes (Wang, Kao, and Ngamsiriudom, 2017). Such impacts occur when consumers accept a sources impact on their attitudes and value systems (Spears, Royne, and Steenburg, 2013). Consumers will embrace influence they can relate to and reject it from sources they want to distance themselves from (Wang, Kao, and Ngamsiriudom, 2017). Therefore, since celebrities are viewed as aspirational leaders, they strongly have a propensity to persuade customers to embrace product messages and react to them by buying them (Martín-Santana and Beerli-Palacio, 2013). In short, for a celebrity to exert influence, they must foster trustworthiness and credibility in their endorsement.
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Source Attractiveness Model. According to the source attractiveness model, a messages impact is influenced by how well-known, likable, similar, and physically beautiful the source is to the responders (Dwivedi and Johnson, 2013; Zhang, Xu, and Gursoy, 2020). Overall, attractiveness comprises various virtues that customers may perceive in a celebrity endorser, such as academic prowess, behavioural traits, or lifestyles (Hennayake, 2017). It does not just refer to physical appeal (Zhu, Amelina, and Yen, 2022). According to the theories, utilizing famous people to promote goods and services is mostly done to draw brand awareness and influence consumers perceptions of it (Patel and Basil, 2017). This may also imply that in planning persuasive advertisements, businesses should use celebrities viewed as credible and appealing by their target audience (Mishra, 2015). Therefore, the source models may be crucial in persuading customers of the appeal or reliability of the brand.
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Product / Celebrity Matchup Hypothesis. According to the Product Matchup Hypothesis, an advert is effective if the consumer perceives congruence between the celebrity image and the brand. Consumers expect a high level of congruence between the product and celebrity (Molla, 2019, p.13). The matchup between a celebrity and a brand relies not only on ordinary congruency but also on the celebritys physical attractiveness. The Match-up Hypothesis of celebrity fits well with the Social Adaptation Theory. According to the theory, the impact of information depends on its adaptive significance. For example, when a company includes an attractive model in the advert, it may intrinsically prompt the idea in the minds of some consumers that using the brand-endorsed model will enhance their attractiveness, and they will like the model, hence providing adaptive information. High congruency between celebrity image and product enhances endorser attractiveness and believability, creating more purchase intentions and favourable attitudes toward a product. This model implies that in selecting a celebrity endorser, an advertiser should both the product attributes and the meanings associated with the celebrity.
Empirical Review
Several researchers have explored the congruency between brands and celebrity endorsers to explain the impact of celebrities on the promotion of brands. One of the countries where researchers have given mixed results on the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer intentions is Malaysia. Chen and Freeman (2015) conducted a quantitative study to evaluate how celebrity endorsement impacted young adults in Malaysia based on consumer intention and the TEARS model. The TEARS model entails trustworthiness, expertise, physical attractiveness, respect, and similarity. The researchers used structured questionnaires to interview 318 young adults and found out that respect, similarity, physical attractiveness, and trustworthiness are attributes that significantly impacted the young adults purchase intentions. Expertise did not have any significant influence on the consumers purchase intentions.
In another study that focused on Malaysian consumers, Adis, Ing, Manaf, Kim, and Mat (2019) studied how Korean celebrity characteristics impacted young Malaysian consumers attitudes towards imitating celebrity endorsementsand the consumer intention, focusing on 602 participants. The researchers, like Chen and Freeman (2019), found that celebrity characteristics of trustworthiness and attractiveness were directly and indirectly, while expertise did not have any significant direct or indirect impact on consumers intentions to imitate celebrities. However, Adis, Ing, Manaf, Kim, and Mat (2019) found that credibility did not significantly impact consumers attitude to imitate celebrity-endorsed advertisements.
In another study, Aziz, Omar, and Ariffin (2019) carried out a quantitative study on public university students in Malaysia to investigate how attractiveness, trustworthiness, expertise, and the fit between the endorser and the celebrity impacted consumer intentions on purchasing a product. Unlike Chen and Freeman (2015) and Adis, Ing, Manaf, Kim, and Mat (2019), the result revealed that only the fit between the endorsed product and the celebrity had any impact on the purchase among the consumers. Attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise did not lead to any purchases among the students. These studies in Malaysia revealed contradictory results even though they focused on young adults and university students as participants.
In another study carried out in Indonesia, Amelina, Yen, and Zhu (2020) investigated the impact of celebrity endorsement on impulsive buying intentions on Instagram. The researchers postulated that the celebritys expertise, attractiveness, trustworthiness, and interaction with followers positively influenced the consumers attitude toward product and brand attractiveness, leading to impulse buying. The researchers conducted an online survey involving 204 participants to test the hypothesis. They found that the endorsers attractiveness and trustworthiness positively influenced the consumers attitude towards a brand. On the other hand, the merchandise attractiveness was positively impacted by the trustworthiness and expertise of the endorser. This study contradicts the studies carried out in Malaysia, which indicated that an endorsers expertise does not significantly impact the consumers intentions.
Asante, Dogbe, and Zakari (2019) conducted a quantitative study on 700 customers to investigate the impact of celebrity endorsement on the reputation of telecommunication companies. The researchers found that celebrity endorsement did not significantly affect telecommunication companies reputations. Concerning the celebrity characteristics, they found out that attractiveness, trustworthiness, and likeability had a direct positive impact on the telecommunication companies reputation, positively moderating the celebrity endorsement impact on the reputation of the telecommunication companies. On the other hand, celebrity expertise had no direct effect on the reputation of the companies while positively moderating the celebrity endorsement impact and reputation of the telecommunication.
These studies, and others like Ngamsiriudom, Kao, and Wang (2017), Ugwuanyi, Okeke and Emezue (2018), Schoutenn, Janssen, and Verspaget (2018), Shcimmelpfenning and Hunt (2019) reveal mixed results when considering the impact of celebrity characteristics on the consumers buying intentions. These studies have not been carried out in the American context, and the researcher will study how celebrity endorsement affects consumers purchasing intentions. Also, the researcher will use a wider range of ages, from 18 to 54 years old. Most of the other studies have focused on young adults, which may not represent reality in the general population since the impact of celebrity endorsement could vary according to age.
Conceptual Framework
This study will be grounded on the matchup hypothesis and celebrity endorsement source credibility model. The tri-component source credibility model was developed by combining the source attractiveness model and source credibility model to formulate a consistent measurement of source credibility by producing a valid and reliable scale. The model entails three dimensions: the effectiveness of a celebrity endorsers advertisement, expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness.
In hiring celebrities to endorse products, companies rationalize that people consume celebrities images, and the companies believe that people will likewise consume the products associated with those celebrities. Hence, a celebritys physical attractiveness, congruence, and credibility concerning the product they are endorsing impact a consumers perception of the product (Molla, 2019, p.25). It has also been stated that celebrity endorsement adverts boost product sales and purchases, and people are more likely to buy a product if it is endorsed by a celebrity, showing that the media hugely influences todays consumers.
Additionally, consumers will connect more easily with a source that addresses lifestyles, hobbies, and similar habits (Parmar and Patel, 2014). Moreover, the compatibility of a celebrity with a product they are endorsing is vital since it increases customers favourable attitude towards the product (Sivesan, 2013). The study will examine the impact of celebrity endorsement (congruence, similarity, attractiveness, expertise, compatibility) on purchase intention.
Research Methodology
To answer the research questions, the author will conduct a quantitative study to investigate the impact of celebrity endorsement on consumers purchase intention. This section discusses the research philosophy, the research design, the research design, the development of the questionnaire, the data collection method, and the studys participants. It also contains the sampling method, sample size, and the critical research ethics adhered to during the study.
Research Philosohpy
The interpretivist research philosophy serves as the foundation for this research. Its goal is to develop an empathic awareness of how the consumers see the world to explore the intricacies of advertising (Kim, Lee, and Prideaux, 2014). This research chose interpretivism because it is subjective and shapes participants perspectives. Also, it develops an empathic awareness of how the study subjects see the world to explore the intricacies of social processes (Tamminen and Poucher, 2020). The interpretivist research philosophy is appropriate for this study because it will allow participants to express their opinions about celebrity endorsement and consumer purchasing power.
Reasearch Approach
According to the interpretative research philosophy, a subjective, the most viable research approach is inductive research methodology. It indicates that the study is experimental and that its findings are rich and personalized, focusing on achieving depth instead of scope (Opie, 2019). An inductively based evaluation technique allows interpretations to emerge as data is gathered to find patterns and links. This study examines the Influence of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumer Purchase Intention (Matua and Wal, 2015). Interpretivism is, therefore, the most effective strategy for reaching the researchs goals, along with the intrinsic approaches of inductive analysis and qualitative research techniques.
Research Design
The choice of research subjects can be made consciously in interpretivist studies. This studys primary goal is to evaluate the impact of celebrity endorsements on consumers purchasing intentions (Akhtar, 2016). The best method for obtaining unbiased and measurable data will be through quantitative research (Sileyew, 2019). Critical components of the research design are discussed in the following subsections.
Questionnaires and Measurement Techniques
The researcher designed a structured questionnaire containing 15 closed-ended formalized questions to collect the participants required data. A good questionnaire should explain the data requirement by asking specific questions that are easy to understand (Malik and Qureshi, 2016, p. 2430). Sections one, three, and four had multiple answer questions, which guided them in answering the questions. On the other hand, in section two, the participants were asked to rate their opinions on a five-point Likert scale mentioning 1 as very likely and 5 as very unlikely as shown in Appendix 4.
Content Validity
The researcher used the item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) and the Scale-level Content Validity Index S-CVI to determine the content validity of the survey instrument. I-CVI is on a scale of zero to one and expresses the proportion of experts agreement on the relevance of each survey item (Koller, Levenson, and Glück, 2017, p.5). On the other hand, S-CVI measured the proportion of the items on the questionnaire, rated 3 or 4 by the experts. The figure below summarizes the process followed in validating the questionnaire.
The researcher recruited five marketing research experts and four lay persons from the study population. A high number of experts are advisable since it increases because they have better evaluation abilities and their consistent judgments increase the validity and reliability of results (Koller, Levenson, and Glück, 2017, p.5). The final I-CVI and S-CVI results were 0.83 and 3, respectively, revealing the high content validity of the questionnaire.
Pilot Testing
Upon finishing the survey questionnaire design, the researcher carried out pilot testing. The researcher identified 30
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