The trailer of Salman’s next film Bajrangi Bhaijaan released recently and in a short span of time accrued lakhs of views. I saw it too and I pose this question to you - if Salman Khan was endorsing your brand would you drop him from your campaign? I would.
Celebrity Endorsement is based on the marketing concept of Brand Attribution. The celebrity has certain traits associated with her/him. When a Brand wishes those traits to be associated with them, they sign up the celebrity to endorse their brand. Through the association of the celebrity, many of these ‘celebrity’ traits get rubbed on to the brand. Also fans of the celebrity start having a favorable view of the brand and may end up patronising them.
Now let’s get back to Salman Khan. Before conviction, the traits associated with him were - superstar, bold, fearless, macho, daredevil, winner & more. Brands like Thumbs Up, who wished these traits to be associated with them, signed on Salman Khan for endorsement.
Now with his conviction, the traits that are likely to be associated with him,over time, could be - law-breaker, criminal, negligent. And if a brand continues to be endorsed by him then there are fair chances that these traits may get rubbed on to the brand.
People buy brands that reflect them. Existing customers of Thumbs Up who do not see themselves as ‘law-breaker, criminal, negligent…’ may move away from it should Salman Khan continues to endorsed it.
What would you do If Salman Khan was endorsing your brand?
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In this series, Rajesh Srivastava, Business Strategist and Visiting Faculty at IIM Indore gives you a regular dose of strategy case studies to help you think and keep you one step ahead as a professional as compared to your peers. Rajesh is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and IIT Kanpur and has over 2 decades of experience in the FMCG industry. All previous
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