Event Title
Do Celebrity Endorsements Always Increase Sales?
Collaborator(s)
Erica Anderson, Rozalyn Gruing, Jena Myers
Faculty Sponsor
Kyeong Sam Min
College(s)
College of Business Administration
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Description
The objective of this research is to show whether the willingness of consumers to purchase products is determined by celebrity endorsements. Building on balance theory (Heider, 1958), we initially predicted that an ad campaign featuring a celebrity, rather than an ordinary person, will have a more positive impact on consumers’ attitude toward the product. / / To conduct this research we used a methodology that includes between-subjects experimental design. We randomly assigned 80 individuals to one of two different ad type conditions. In the celebrity ad condition, participants read and rated the Nikon Coolpix Camera advertisement endorsed by a celebrity (Ashton Kutcher) and, in the generic ad condition, participants read and rated the same advertisement endorsed by an ordinary person. We altered the appearance of each advertisement so that they look as identical as possible. The variables measured were consumers’ attitude about price, the celebrity, the product, and the advertisement. / / Surprisingly, we found that the presence of the celebrity endorser did not increase consumers’ attitude toward the product. However, we found a marginally significant interaction effect on the attitude between the ad type and gender. Specifically, female consumers liked the product more when it included Ashton Kutcher, rather than an ordinary person, whereas male consumers’ attitude did not change, regardless of the ad type. These findings were inconsistent with balance theory, but consistent with the match-up hypothesis (Busler & Till, 2000), predicting that the ad effect increases when there is a match between the ad and its recipient. / / / /
Do Celebrity Endorsements Always Increase Sales?
The objective of this research is to show whether the willingness of consumers to purchase products is determined by celebrity endorsements. Building on balance theory (Heider, 1958), we initially predicted that an ad campaign featuring a celebrity, rather than an ordinary person, will have a more positive impact on consumers’ attitude toward the product. / / To conduct this research we used a methodology that includes between-subjects experimental design. We randomly assigned 80 individuals to one of two different ad type conditions. In the celebrity ad condition, participants read and rated the Nikon Coolpix Camera advertisement endorsed by a celebrity (Ashton Kutcher) and, in the generic ad condition, participants read and rated the same advertisement endorsed by an ordinary person. We altered the appearance of each advertisement so that they look as identical as possible. The variables measured were consumers’ attitude about price, the celebrity, the product, and the advertisement. / / Surprisingly, we found that the presence of the celebrity endorser did not increase consumers’ attitude toward the product. However, we found a marginally significant interaction effect on the attitude between the ad type and gender. Specifically, female consumers liked the product more when it included Ashton Kutcher, rather than an ordinary person, whereas male consumers’ attitude did not change, regardless of the ad type. These findings were inconsistent with balance theory, but consistent with the match-up hypothesis (Busler & Till, 2000), predicting that the ad effect increases when there is a match between the ad and its recipient. / / / /
Comments
1st place, Oral Presentation, College of Business Administration