Would it be wise to assume that during an athlete’s career it would be a credible decision to endorse products within their area of expertise? However after their career, providing they create the right image, they can then utilise their referent power to endorse products beyond their area of expertise.
The acceptable number of endorsements is proving to become a frustrating subject in this report; this raises concerns that the number of products endorsed by one celebrity, when the endorser is considered the ‘expert’, is in fact limitless. There does not seem to be existing research that has investigated consumer’s attitudes towards the number of endorsements that are credible in an expert field and this is an area that research will be committed to investigating in the next part of this study.
1.11 Teaching consumers how to behave
Behavioural learning theories assume that learning takes place as a result of responses to external events. These theories ignore the idea of an internal thought process, and view learning as it is drawn up in figure 1, below.
When referring to the works of Ivan Pavlov, learning can occur via the process of association, where initially neutral stimulus is consistently paired with an unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response; also known as classical conditioning.
The information or association that brands teach their customers is extremely significant when it comes to celebrity endorsements, as this is the information that these customers will seek to retrieve when making their purchasing decisions.
When a brand employs a celebrity to endorse their product they increase the exposure through advertising to display their brand and products with the celebrity at hand, in order to get consumers to put that celebrity and their brand in the same section of their memory. Figure 2 shows the Activation Memory Model, which supports this. Like traditional memory theories, the process of memorising information starts with the brand, then after processing the information we catalogue it into a relevant mental file with other relative subjects in our memory. This sequence will keep repeating itself until it is transferred from a consumer’s short-term memory, into their long-term memory.
Figure 3 displays the interrelationships between the 3 core memory systems; sensory, short-term, and long-term. The knowledge of this plays an important part in celebrity endorsements, as it is these memory systems that allow consumers to process information about brands, and then retrieve the information during their decision making process. A person’s memory is a powerful tool, which can either work for a band, or sometimes have adverse effects. For this reason it is important to make sure that the selection of the celebrity chosen to endorse the brand is a suitable one, as the longer the association between the celebrity and the brand, the more powerful the relationship in the consumers mind.
Another form of learning is operant conditioning (Foxall, 1994), which occurs when people behave in a way that over time has taught them will produce a positive outcome, avoid negativity, and shun punishment. This way of learning is taught by rewarding positive behaviours with positive reinforcements. For example in advertisements this may show a celebrity that the potential consumer admires using a product and being successful with it, making the consumer wanting to imitate their behaviour by purchasing the product and reaping the same rewards. However, at the same time operant conditioning diminishes unwanted behaviours with negative reinforcements, in the same ad there will be the person that doesn’t use this product, but they are alone/unpopular; possessing an undesirable characteristic. A worst case scenario would show a character being punished for conducting unwelcome behaviour, for example, being ridiculed by friends for not using the product at hand. These reinforcements condition people in to wanting to repeat the behaviours that reward them with positivity, and avoid negativity and punishment.
Bandura (1977) talks about a social learning theory, which determines the likelihood of a person adopting the behaviour of a model, which is dependant of the identification the person has with the model at hand. When people perceive themselves as similar to the model, they are more likely to copy the behaviour as the model.
If a celebrity acts a certain way, Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory suggests that consumers that think they are similar to the celebrity will imitate their behaviour. Therefore, in order to make endorsements successful the social learning theory supports the idea to endorse the product using a celebrity that is similar to the target market of that product/brand, in hope that the consumers will imitate the endorsing celebrity, by using the same brands/products.
The behavioural compliance theory (Basil, 1999) also agrees that people identify with models who fit the perception of how people see, or would like to see themselves.
1.12 Choosing the right celebrity
It is important for a company to choose the right celebrity as Atkin and Block (1983) believe that consumers have a preconceived image about celebrities and by allowing the celebrity to endorse the brand you will want them to be transferring the correct image to match the brand. Kamins (1990) states that advertising is more effective when the endorsers and the products they are endorsing have attributes that match. A quote by Andrew Bloch the managing director or Frank PR was published in PR Week magazine (2009) that epitomised the necessity for matching the correct celebrity with the relevant brand/product. He said “Will people believe David Beckham shops in Asda? Probably not. Will they believe Kerry Katona shops in Iceland? Absolutely!”
At the same time the celebrity must make a conscious decision and take responsibility for choosing to represent the correct products. By associating themselves with certain brands they will also be saying something about their own image as the image of the brand can also be transferred to the celebrity.
Atkin and Blaock (1983) talked about the preconceived ideas that consumers have about celebrities and Croft (et al, 1996) recognised that celebrities achieve high recall rates and get the attention of consumers in a cluttered environment because of their fame. These preconceived ideas and recall rates come from consumers ‘Schemas’ (Soloman et al, 2006), consumers group objects they see and how they group them will dictate how they are interpreted. Different subjects can activate different memories depending on how each person has categorised it. There are associated networks on how people will recall something they have remember and when a celebrity endorses a product it is likely that they will be categorised with that brand and any other objects that are associated with both of them. This is why an organisation has to be careful who they choose to endorse their brand because they want to be categorised with a positive set of objects. Using a celebrity could be especially effective for a product that is new to the market, as that product/brand has a lack of familiarity with its consumers they can then use the popularity and image of the celebrity and transfer it to that product (Yeshin, 2006). However, if a company decided to do this they would need to be careful not to be effected by the ‘Vampire Effect’, by where the celebrity overshadows the brand. The concern here is that the consumers would focus all of their energy on the celebrity and fail to note the brand at all (Erdogan, 2001).
The Social Judgement Theory (Sherif and Hovland, 1961) says that consumers will judge the celebrities based on the way that they already feel about them, or based on the knowledge they have on them.
When the pairing of the celebrity and the brand is made, the feelings about the celebrity will transfer to the brand, which is why choosing the correct celebrity to represent a brand is vital in its success.
A theory discussed by McCracken (1989) was The Meaning Transfer Model which is a model that seeks to explain how the endorser’s traits, such as age, class, gender, personality, and lifestyle are transferred to the product and from the product to the consumer. An example of the model in action would be Wayne Rooney and how he personifies the hope of young boys from disadvantaged backgrounds all over Britain can one day emulate his success. This is probably why he was chosen to host the program ‘Wayne Rooney’s Street Striker’, which is a reality TV program on Sky1 that gives youths from around the UK the opportunity fair their talents on national television and go on to win the opportunity to attend a prestigious Brazilian Soccer School. McCracken (1989) goes on to say that the effectiveness of the endorser is, to some extent, reliant upon the meaning they bring to the endorsement.
When choosing the celebrity to represent a brand, it is useful to consider how the relationship between the celebrity and the brand may be perceived by the consumer. The Balance Theory (Heider, 1958) takes the elements of this relationship into account, and suggests how the consumers will perceive them as belonging together. For example, if a celebrity that the consumer admires endorses a brand that the consumer would not normally consider in their evoke set they may alter their perceptions in order to make the relationship more consistent.
In cases like this, where the triad is not full formed, the consumer’s alteration in attitude could result in them deciding that they do not like that celebrity after all, or they may change their attitude towards that brand.
The choice of celebrity to endorse a brand is an important one, as getting it right could be crucial to success, whereas getting it wrong can have significantly detrimental effects. However, there are many theories that can aid marketers in making their decision.
When a style icon (maybe David Beckham for the purposes of this example) is used to endorse a men’s skin care range, the Social Comparison Theory (Richins, 1992) suggests that consumers will buy products from this range because they aspire to be like David Beckham. They compare themselves with him; “Am I as attractive as David Beckham?” This links with the consumer’s tendency to fanaticise (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). In this case it would be attracting the opposite sex, like David Beckham does, or being as successful as him.
The above example also represent ideas that are significant in Symbolic Self Completion Theory (Wicklund and Gollwitzer, 1982), as having an incomplete self definition and wanting to be accepted by their peers, the consumer can be pressurised in to feeling that they need to own the right brands. The consumer will feel that need to portray an image that is socially acceptable, and fits with their desired social identity and their ideal self.
1.13 What can make a celebrity less marketable?
Despite obvious advantages of using celebrity endorsement often these benefits may become a liability if a celebrity is accused of breaking the law, declines in popularity, receives bad press, or loses credibility by endorsing too many products (Cooper, 1984). Till and Shimp (1998) found that negativity created by a celebrity can damage the images of a brand because of the associated links.
Further research done by Till in 2001 showed that endorser images can be negatively affected by their association with inappropriate products. In essence, the athlete’s image is particularly at risk if the product is one that is linked to health risks.
An article written by Mullman and Zmuda (2009) asks whether Beckham’s marketability is fading along with his footwork as the evidence suggests; Beckham has been dropped in his endorsement deals by both Pepsi and Gillette in the past year. Reasoning behind the apparent departures were suggested to be for possibly one of three reasons, the first being that Beckham apparently wanted more control over his image, the second was that he had upset Pepsi with plans to launch his own bottled water brand and the third was because he has a declining status since moving to the US to play in Major League Soccer. Further reports suggested that his apparent “affair” with pa Rebecca Loos required additional damage control to “Brand Beckham” (O’Leary, 2004). Following this the way in which the couple were seen to be handling these allegations did not seem natural and supported ideas that the Beckhams are seen as a commodity; which has had an impact on the marketability of the Beckhams’ as a pair.
In order to protect themselves against the actions of a celebrity companies can get protection through the use of ‘death and disgrace insurance’. This is literally an insurance policy that is inserted into a celebrity’s contract and simply provides a means in which the sponsoring company can cancel or withdraw a promotional campaign due to the death, disablement or disgrace of the celebrity (AIG, 2006). The reason for this extra protection is due to the fact that often bad press alone is not enough for dismissal, particularly if no legal action is taken (UK Times, 2005); especially if the celebrity is a fun-loving person, who is simply acting within the bounds of their character (Erdogan and Drollinger, 2008).
However, even if a celebrity has “disgraced” themselves terminating their contract or the associations with the brand is not always in the best interest of the brand. A recent example I have found is when Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps, was dumped by Kelloggs over a photo of him taking drugs. Following this departure actavists boycotted Kellogs and reports say that severing the relationship has actually damaged Kelloggs brand. Vanno monitors reputations of many brands and where Kelloggs was ranked ninth before the Phelps incident, they are now ranked 83rd, which is apparently more damage than an industry wide peanut butter scare (Graham, 2009).
Considering the damage that Kelloggs have caused themselves by parting ways with Phelps, Adidas and Danone may have done the sensible thing when they decided to continue their relationship with the French football player, Zidane, following his infamous head-butt during the 2006 World Cup Final. In fact many reports suggest that the incident made Zidane an international celebrity and has actually helped him win endorsement deals (Valla, 2006).
A more recent example is the ‘Tiger Woods scandal’; whereby Woods has been accused of having a number of infidelities and has since lost several of his endorsements (Talmazam, 2009), including Gatorade (worth an estimated $1 million), Tag Heuer ($5 million), and Accenture ($20 million) (Sitt, 2009), as well as others.
The above examples shun Hovlands (et al, 1953) Source Credibility Model in favour for McCrackens (1986) Meaning Transfer Model. Which raises the ideas that providing that an athlete can maintain their celebrity status is there always a product that will use them as an endorser? And is any behaviour acceptable as long as a person lives through the bravado of being famous?
1.14 Summary
The reason behind the decision to investigate the endorsements of sports celebrities in particular is because in terms of their occupation, an athlete’s ability to continue is short-lived compared to that of an actor/actress. The investigation at hand will focus on the celebrity’s ability to be financially productive past their playing career through the means of marketability.
The secondary research has identified key findings that will have a major influence on what will be investigated at the primary research stage. Two areas have been identified that presents endorsement opportunities for celebrities, which are; areas of expertise and areas of attractive appeal. On top of this, in the body of the text 4 key models were also acknowledged as being imperative to explaining the effects that these celebrities have on consumer perception and this provides useful information into the usage of celebrities as endorsers in advertising. These models are; (1) The Meaning Transfer Model, (2) The Celebrity Congruence Model, (3) The Source Credibility Model and (4) The Source Attractiveness Model.
2. Research
2.1 Statement of the Problem
There have been a number of studies and theories established that attempt to gain a better understanding of celebrity endorsements. Most of these studies have categorised ‘celebrities’ without considering how this person gained their celebrity status and the duration they will have this status. This study will concentrate on those celebrities in the sports industry and will investigate ways to maximise a personality’s income using promotions and endorsements during their ‘retirement’, following the end of their playing career.
2.2 Objectives
- Explore attitudes and opinions towards celebrity who endorse multiple brands and investigate if there is a ‘optimum’ number of products that a celebrity should be seen to endorse
- Investigate if the attitudes and opinions of consumers are different for celebrities that endorse products in their own area of expertise, in comparison to the endorsements that are done outside a celebrities specialist area
- Explore the attitudes and opinions that consumers have towards ‘retired’ sports personalities in an endorsing capacity
- Identify the demographics of the consumers whose purchases are influenced by celebrity endorsement
2.3 Methodology
The subject of celebrity endorsement as a whole is an area with rich content in existing knowledge, and when conducting this research project it was important to stay focused on the areas of the subject that offered the most significance, keeping in mind the primary research would investigate retired sports celebrity endorsements. The purpose of the secondary research was to build knowledge, allowing the research to draw conclusions, and ask further questions.
Research and the way people view the world is important to establish in social sciences. Everyone views the world in their own way, whether they are conscious of this or not. However, when conducting research considering the philosophy of research helps to contribute a deeper, wider, perspective of research, and therefore giving the research project a clearer purpose within a wider context (Carson, et al, 2001).
In research researchers are often divided into 2 communities (or paradigms) depending on the research practices that they adopt, the community that they belong to depends on their ontology and their epistemology (Kuhn, 1970). Epistemology is the ‘theory of knowledge’. A theory of how we know what we know, of how we know the world around us. In social sciences it decides which scientific procedures produce reliable social scientific knowledge (Booth and Harrington, 2008). Ontology is the theory of being. A theory concerned with the nature of what exists. In social sciences it is concerned with the assumptions people make about what kind of things exist, the conditions of their existence, and the way they are related (Booth and Harrington, 2008).
The two major paradigms that researchers initiate with are either positivism or interpretive. The researchers within the positivist paradigm are scientific and objective in their research, and they use quantitative research methods, and often conduct hypotheses-based studies. However, the researchers in the interpretive paradigm are exploratory and subjective in their research, and they use qualitative research methods.
A mixed methodology (Booth and Harrington, 2008) approach was taken to this research project. Qualitative research was conducted for the explorative areas of the research objective, and the quantitative research was used to confirm the findings.
Denzin and Lincoln (1994) recognise how the relationship between the researcher and the subject, as well as environment, can shape the enquiry. This is why qualitative studies are so difficult to replicate.
Due to the exploratory nature of the research objectives a qualitative research was utilised for this particular study. Using qualitative research to examine consumer attitudes and behaviour in relation to a product or service, with an overall aim of understanding the consumer relationship with a brand is common (Gordon and Langmaid, 1988). For this research project the aim was to explore and explain the customer motivations, attitudes, and behaviour towards celebrity endorsements for retired sports stars, and qualitative research is the best choice of methodology in this instance (Gordon and Langmaid, 1988).
Other research methods include observational research, word association tests, diads, and role-playing interviews; all of which are valid and often useful, but the methods for this particular study were chosen to best satisfy the research objectives.
To begin the project, secondary research was initially conducted to collect a broad understanding of the subject at hand. Following this, primary research was performed, in order to answer research questions which were decided upon following the secondary research. This primary research was executed first by conducting focus groups with potential consumers, then by carrying out an depth interview with a professional practitioner within the industry, and finally concluding the research with a survey, answered by consumers. This is explained further in the following sections.
2.4 Secondary Research
Prior to conducting primary research it is important to conduct secondary research to build an initial knowledge bank. The subject of celebrity endorsements is one with an enormous wealth of readily available literature in the academic field, and it would be injudicious to shun this valuable asset. The finding of existing knowledge has been pulled together to ensure that the objectives of this new study fills a gap in the current pool of knowledge, and does not just repeat or reiterate what we already know.
The major advantages of secondary data are that it is easily accessible, relatively inexpensive, and quickly obtained (Malhotra, 1999). At the same time as observing the advantages of secondary research, it is also sensible to recognise it limitations that are associated, such as the often lack of relevance, accuracy, and credibility to the enquiry of the study. In this study there was a conscious effort to limit the effects that secondary research often has, by using widely recognised sources as and when they were available. If used in isolation secondary research will prove to be generally insufficient, and will not satisfy the aims and objectives of this study, if it did the purpose of the study would be judged redundant. However, in this case the secondary research revealed key theories which guided the primary research, and also highlighted gaps in the knowledge that indicated the channels to explore, hence the motive of the study.
The secondary research that was conducted for this study was used to gain a broad understanding of celebrity endorsements, investigating areas in particular that will build a solid foundation for the primary research to come. The external sources used were a mix of both academic and recognised practitioner materials to give a fair reflection of the topic. The resources used included academic journals, text books, industry magazines, the internet, and other media sources, all of which would be considered reliable sources. The academic journals and text books built a major platform for the previous conceptual framework for this investigation, by offering a broad knowledge base on existing studies and theories. The trade magazines and press contributed something extra in the sense of application to the industry.
2.5 Primary Research
A hybrid approach was taken in this study, by where the research was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 is a qualitative method that, in this case, consists of focus groups, and phase 2 is the quantitative method, which will be a survey. It is common for qualitative research to be followed by quantitative, as once the attitudes and opinions have been identified, during the focus groups and in-depth interviews, the quantitative methods allow the researcher to measure how wide spread they are (Wilson, 2003).
2.5.1 Qualitative
It was decided that the qualitative research would be conducted in 2 parts. The first part was to investigate celebrity endorsements from the consumer perspective by using focus groups. The second part was to explore the perspective of the practitioners, which, more specially, would offer an insight to the challenges to making these endorsements a success. This part of the research was conducted using in-depth interviews.
2.5.1.1 Focus Groups
Focus groups were chosen as the desired research method for the consumer’s perspective as they offered the opportunity for group interaction, and therefore giving the researcher the chance to observe interpersonal influences around the subject. This was the determined factor when selecting the method, as it could be strongly argued that these social, interpersonal influences play a huge part in the culture of celebrity endorsements. Focus groups were considered the most valid method achieving the research objectives, in this case the researcher used their knowledge of the research objectives to dictate the subject areas to explore further, ignore, and return to later (Wilson, 2003).
Thematic appreciation tests (TAT) (Zickmund, 2000) were incorporated within the focus groups. The TAT proved to be a great icebreaker for the discussion, and really got the participants into the spirit of the conversation.
A group of pictures showing iconic celebrities were shown to the participants, as well as pictures of brand logos of brands that these celebrities endorsed. The participants were asked to match the pictures of the celebrities with the brands that they endorsed. The celebrities used were David Beckham, Tiger Woods, and Lewis Hamilton. These celebrities were chosen as it was thought that they would be easily recognised, and therefore easy for the participants to engage with. There was a conscious decision not to use retired sports celebrities within this area of the research, because when retired celebrities were discussed it was important to test the recall rate of the participants, to see if retired celebrities that are already being utilised in company endorsements work as effective marketing tools.
On top of the photos, a cartoon was utilised as a tool to get people to search for their honest thoughts and feelings about the subject. The cartoon asked for participants to say what they thought the response of the lady in the cartoon would be to another lady who wanted to purchase some washing up liquid because it was being endorsed by David Beckham. When indirect questions are used in this way it helps participants to project feelings and beliefs about a person, object, or situation (Hair, et al, 2006). This technique was used in hope that it would improve honesty in the answer, in a situation that participants may normally be unwilling or unable to give an answer. This particular test investigating the importance of the product fit with the player, even for somebody with the stature of David Beckham.
According to Mariampolski (2001) these creative methods, using tools and projective techniques elicit attitudes that are latent or unformed in the consumers mind, and the exercises used stimulate unconventional responses.
This method of research is core to exploring the attitudes and opinions, and the findings of the first stage of the research will contribute towards the development of phase 2.
Also 3 focus groups were carried out. Typical focus groups consist of 6-8 participants (Gordon, 1999); however in this study the focus groups had 4-6 participants. Focus groups of this size are known as mini groups. Holding focus groups of this size offered advantages over larger groups for this particular study, as they allowed for respondents to overcome moments of embarrassment, reduced socially desirable responses, and also offered obvious advantages when recruiting.
A predefined discussion format, including a protocol of questions, was designed to learn about the opinions and attitudes of the participants, and this agenda was followed during the focus groups. The questions listed in this discussion format were chosen with achieving the objectives set for this study in mind. During this section of the session the questions were posed on the group and they are asked to discuss their responses freely.
2.5.1.1.1 Sample
A non-probability, convenience sample was used to identify and recruit participants for this phase of the research. Non-probability is a subset of a population in which the chances of selection in the population is unknown (McDaniel and Gates, 2002).
A convenience sample is useful for researchers who want to obtain information, but have limitations on cost and time. The convenience sample offers the benefit of samples that are easy to obtain (Shao, 2002).
The main weakness of a convenience sample is that the results may be considered biased and lacking generalisability (Malhotra, 1999). In total 3 focus groups were conducted, the first being a group of friends that were known to the researcher through her football team, based in Bristol. The second focus groups were conducted with a group of friends of the researcher, which have a social relationship in Bristol. The final focus group was a random group of people, unknown to the researcher, and were approached in Enfield library, Middlesex, and asked to participate in exchange for a free meal. In this case in particular the researcher tried to limit the risk of the convenience sample by using different groups of people with regards to gender, relationship to researcher, geographic location, and ethnic origin. In order to prove this a small bio of each participant has been written up at the beginning of each focus group.
2.5.1.2 In-depth Interviews
Ideally it would have been perfect to conduct focus groups with a number of practitioners within the industry, as this would give the research observe objections to opinions one professional may have over other professional opinions, where they may think of areas that only an expert would think of. However, immediately this was deemed out of the question, simply because it was considered almost impossible to get a group of busy professional together, in the same place, at the same time, with no financial reward. This is the reason why in-depth interviews were selected as the alternative method.
In-depth interviews, however, do have distinct advantages. Interviews allow the participant to be probed at length about the subject at hand, and as a result more insight may be gained, especially as the added pressure of being in a group is eliminated (McDaniel and Gates, 2002).
Once the method was selected, the initial plan was to interview practitioners within the industry to get an idea of what boundaries they face with making celebrity endorsements a success and what are the factors extending this success rate in to a celebrity’s retirement.
Unfortunately the success rate of recruitment was dire. There was only one response, but fortunately this was from the most experienced and famous sports agent and solicitor that was contacted; Mel Stein, who in his career represented the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle, and more recently, Wayne Rooney. In an attempt to arrange more interviews phone calls were made to several sports agents, and companies, but again, there was no success. As a result only a single interview was conducted, which is difficult to use as a representation of the thought, feelings, and opinions of the entire industry. Nevertheless, the thoughts and feelings of Mel Stein have been reflected upon in this study, as his input was considered too valuable to ignore.
2.5.1.2.1 Sample
A non-probability, judgement sample was used to identify and recruit participants for the in-depth interviews.
When deciding to do this, a list of sports agents and sports marketing companies was collected using the internet, and vigorous research was carried out to collect a list of contact details for these agents and companies. As it would have been very expensive and time consuming, as well as the factor that it was easier to obtain e-mail addresses, as opposed to telephone numbers, it was decided that an e-mail sent to all of the addresses would be sent in a guerrilla style plea for their participation in an academic study.
Needless to say, recruiting professional to participate in a free academic interview was proving to be extremely difficult to do. Only one person replied to my e-mail and agree to participate in an interview. The researcher then tried to adopt a snowball sampling source, but was even more unsuccessful here and therefore had to settle for only the single interview.
2.5.2 Quantative
The reason for choosing to conduct a survey was to reinforce the findings from phase 1 and build some demographic data about who is influenced by celebrities when making purchases.
The questionnaires used will be self-administered using the likes of e-mail and facebook. The researcher has approximately 300 contacts on facebook, and 100 in an e-mail directory, these are the people that formed the basis of contacts to answer the survey. It was decided that the survey would be administered this was as administering surveys via the internet are rapidly deployed, inexpensive, and encourage high response rates (McDaniel and Gates, 2002). Whereas Wright and Crimp (2000) argue that self administered surveys sent via the internet are time consuming to administer.
Administration via the internet has its advantages and disadvantages. The absence of the researcher erases any pressure of influence that their presence may have on the respondents, but at the same time, the absence of the researcher means that in times of confusion the questions at hand cannot be clarified, which epitomises the importance of a pilot test.
Questionnaires should be user-friendly, look professional, attractive, motivational in nature, encourage respondents to answer honestly and accurately, and most importantly they should be valid (Malhotra, 1999). Because of this, a great deal of attention was given to the design of the survey, this is why it was decided that the online survey building tool, Survey Monkey, was utilised, as it gave the survey a professional and easy to use presentation.
In support of the design, a ‘funnel’ approach was implemented to the survey, the investigative questions were used at the beginning of the survey to build a rapport with the respondent, and the demographic questions were left until the end. The personal questions were limited to stop the respondent feeling that their privacy was being encroached. The essential ones were included, but the desirable ones were abolished.
For the main body of the questionnaire the scale measurement that will be used is likert, as the primary intention is to discover whether the respondents agree or disagree with the findings from phase one, however, ordinal and ratio scale measurements will also be utilised.
To stop respondents from not admitting their true feelings about a subject, or lacking to analyse their own attitudes, deleting the neutral point on the scale was considered (Wilson, 2003), but this decision was reconsidered as it was feared that this would force respondents in to deciding on a particular perspective, when their response was not significant, and therefore a neutral response was in fact included.
The questions formed for the survey were done so off of the back of the qualitative research that had previously been conducted. Ensuring that gaps that need to be filled or areas where the knowledge needed to be reinforced were done so.
2.5.2.1 Sample
A non-probability, convenience sample was used to recruit participants for the survey. The survey was sent via e-mail and facebook to the researcher’s friends, family, and work colleagues. However, as the initial target of 100 responses was not received, a snowball effect was implemented. The researcher resent the e-mail to the same set of people as done previously, but this time asking them to forward it on to their friends and family members. Following this approach, 82 respondents was achieved.
2.5.3 Validity and Reliability
Validity refers to the degree that research measures what it is supposed to measure (Shao, 2002), and it is considered a key concept in assessing the quality of research (McGivern, 2006), which epitomises its significance. Reliability refers to the ability to produce consistent results if the same measurements are repeated (Shao, 2002). In reality perfect reliability is highly unlikely. To achieve this, the exact same respondents would need to be asked the exact same questions, in the exact same environment, and even this would not promise you the same results, as external factors, such as participants personal experiences since the last test may affect their responses (McGivern, 2006). Quantative research is considered more reliable as the repetition of results is more likely than in qualitative research (Kuhn, 1970).
Measures were taken throughout the research in order to increase the level of validity and reliability. At each stage of the research the researcher asked herself two questions. Has the research been carried out correctly? And is we did this study again would we get the same results?
The greater part of this researcher was qualitative, which, according to Sykes (1990) makes issues concerning validity and reliability notoriously difficult to measure. The researcher decided to start with the elementary matters, for instance, using mini focus groups (4-6 people), as opposed to full size focus groups (8-12 people). The reason for this is that being in smaller groups puts less pressure on people to try to impress, according to Nancarrow’s (et al, 2001) theory of ‘impression management’, meaning that the participants were more likely to express the way they genuinely felt.
The lack of structure associated with interviewing technique can often reduce the reliability of the study, as the interviewer can influence the participant (Shao, 2002). For this reason a set of questions based around achieving the research objectives were written before and used within the focus groups and the depth interview; giving the research more structure, and increasing its reliability. A university colleague was also asked to attend the focus ground, to act as a moderator, holding a position with duties to prompt the researcher to ask questions when necessary, keep the subject moving in times of need, and stop any bias.
The sample used within this particular research project was largely represented by friends and family of the researcher. It could be claimed that using these people within the sample could limit the external validity and reliability of the research. The answers of these participants may represent a bias to their age, interest, and socio-economic class, as the focus groups were mainly made up of friend and family of the researcher, and therefore being a close match to the demographics of the researcher, as a result not being a fair reflection of the entire UK population.
Also, by being friends and family members of the researcher could affect their responses, with a different interviewer different answers may have been given. However, it could also be argued that within familiar company, the participants felt more relaxed, and therefore felt more comfortable about giving honest answers. This could be argued either way, and with the time and cost constraints of the project the researcher felt that the sample used was sufficient enough to be considered a fair representation of the population.
The researcher tried to over come these biases by supporting the findings from the focus group by conducting a survey. As the survey was conducted via the internet a bigger demographic could be reached.
Reliability is the ability to reproduce consistent result should the same measurements be taken again. In this case time and cost proved to be large boundaries. The survey was administered using the internet and e-mails, by administering the survey in this way the researcher has excluded a large proportion of the population; those who do not have access to, or cannot use the internet and e-mail. Despite this the researcher believed that the sample used could be seen as a fair representation of the population of interest, as they could not see a direct correlation between non-internet users and consumers of celebrity endorsed products.
External validity is achieved when generalisations can be made about the wider population from the sample provided (McGiven, 2006). In the case of the practitioners perspective this will not be the case, as one person cannot answer for the entire population that they are being used to represent. However, his input will simply be recognised as an opinion from one very experience, and influential person within their industry.
Once the questionnaires was in place a small pilot study was conducted in the same way as the ‘actual’ test was administered, but with a smaller sample size, as only 10 people were asked to answer. The people were pre-informed that they would receive the survey to ensure that feedback was received from this sample. This pilot test provided the opportunity for weaknesses and unclear questions to be identified.
This pilot test ensured that the correct scales were used and that questions were phrased in an understandable way; i.e. not using leading, negative, or misunderstanding questions. This pilot test was conducted with my university colleagues, as it was decided that they would not be used within the real research as they have too much knowledge about the subject at hand. If participants are too aware of the experiment, and the subject, the implications offer huge threats to the validity of the research, as this knowledge will affect their behaviour (Hair, et al, 2006).
A further precaution taken to ensure that the data collect was valid and reliable, was data cleansing (Hair, et al, 2006). The results of the survey were physically checked to detect and remove corrupt or inaccurate data, for example, incomplete records from the record set.
3. Data Analysis/Findings
3.1 Focus Group Findings
From the focus groups several key issues emerged; the importance of a suitable celebrity-product match, the impact of negative press is not always negative, motivations for purchasing celebrity endorsed products, and how retired sports celebrities play a different role in endorsements than that of current sports stars.
During all 3 of the focus groups the participants showed a lack of faith in endorsements; due to not believing that the sports celebrities used, or even liked all of the products that they endorsed. Several of the respondents consistently referred back to the likelihood of a celebrity using the product, because of the ‘believability’, as a result of an irrelevant product-celebrity match. One participant spoke passionately about endorsements containing Lewis Hamilton, and her belief system with regards to his use of the products he endorses.
“No I don’t believe that they use everything that they promote.” “He [Lewis Hamilton] doesn’t bank with Santander, he probably doesn’t even do his own banking, actually, he doesn’t even bank in this country to save on tax…” “…he probably doesn’t even drive a Mercedes either, he probably has got one though, he’s probably been given one” JB, 29
Another participant supported the idea that celebrities in general do not in fact use the products that they endorse.
“I don’t think that they use it at all” MC, 18
The trend of not believing that the celebrities liked all of the brands/products that they endorse was consistent throughout all of the focus groups. The general consensus tended to be that when the celebrities did use the products/brands it was because they were under an obligation to use these products, and were in fact doing so for the financial rewards.
“Well he [David Beckham] wouldn’t be allowed to wear anything else would he?” NB, 24
“Some of them are paid to use certain phones, so they have to use it” BR, 18
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they are going to use it though” VN, 18
Despite the fact that these participants felt that they were becoming more marketing savvy (i.e. more aware of endorsements and questioning the value of the endorsement) this does not seem to effect the influence that the endorsements have on their purchasing decisions.
“Yeah, I want to bank at Santander because Lewis Hamilton is on it!” LK, 18
In this case the endorsements at hand could have effected this participant’s banking choices because he was possibly part of Santander’s target market when entering into an endorsement agreement with Hamilton, which would make the endorsement a success.
During the focus groups it was clear to see that when brands did put together a suitable product-celebrity relationship it would be a success.
“Yeah, the product should be associated with what the person does” LK, 18
The most convincing cases spoken about were when the endorser was endorsing a product that they would use during their occupation, as this was the reason that they had celebrity status and there would already be an existing link between the celebrity and the product they would be using. The example following refers again the example of Lewis Hamilton and his endorsements for the bank; Santander.
“Actually I don’t think it does when it’s banking and stuff, because it doesn’t have anything to do with racing, but when it comes to Adidas I think there’s quite a strong link.” VN, 18
Another participant in the same focus group explained what she would consider an acceptable endorsement, but reiterated how she did not “trust” Hamilton to tell her how to bank.
“If you got David Beckham, and he’s like, advertising some trainers from Adidas everyone’s gonna trust it. But him (Lewis Hamilton), he’s a racing driver, no one is gonna trust him to tell you how to bank.” LG, 18
The respondent below gave another example, specifying that they would purchase tennis equipment from a tennis player, but only tennis equipment, and not non-sporting products.
“When he [Federer] does rackets and things like that, but everything else I wouldn’t, it has to be tennis stuff” BR, 18
Further enquiries into this ‘believability’ phenomenon suggested that the lack of trust was decreased by the increase of exposure of the celebrity using the product in natural conditions. In the first focus group the quotes below demonstrate this, as these statements were made in a very defensive manner when others suggested that celebrities did not use the products that they endorsed. Initially this respondent spoke about Beckham’s affiliation with Adidas, and how he must use their products because she has seen him using them are frequent occasions.
“Yeah, but he [Beckham] wears the boots, he [Beckham] always wears boots” JC, 31
The same respondent then went on to stress Woods’s commitment to the Nike brand.
“Tiger Woods every time he goes out everything, his shoes, his trousers, everything, his gloves are Nike, and his bag, they are all Nike.” JC, 31
The respondent previously referred to was not the only participant of the focus groups that used witnessing the use of these products as opposed to other brands, as evidence for celebrity use of their endorsing products. Below, SN, 25, reminds the other participants that they have never seen Beckham wear competing brands, and only his endorsing brand.
“But you always see Beckham in Adidas trainers, you never see him in Nike, or any other brand. He always, always got Adidas trainer on” SN, 25
The following conversation states that a sports celebrity’s endorsement could encourage a consumer to make a purchase, but if they behaved in a manner that the consumer didn’t like it could also have as big an impact, but in a negative way; i.e. stopping them from making that purchase. However, if the consumer liked the product enough, despite the association, they would still make the purchase.
“You basically think, if it’s someone you look up to, like a role model, you would, it would influence you, but if it was somebody you didn’t like “ JB, 29
“But if they behaved in a way you didn’t agree with, it could put you off” JC, 31
“I think it just depends how much you like the product, if you liked it enough you wouldn’t care, but if you were considering buying something you thought was ok, and then remembered that Tiger Woods uses it, it could stop you from buying it.” JH, 26
Tiger Woods was the most prevalent subject matter that arose when respondents talked about celebrities who had behaved in a way which would stop them from purchasing products that they endorsed.
“Yeah, because it’s what you associate with the person, you associate with the product itself. Like people associate, like in one scenario, people associate Tiger Woods with affairs, so you wouldn’t buy from Tiger Woods would you?... I wouldn’t, because I would want to give my money to him” BR, 18
“Me either” LG, 18
Previously participants expressed their desires to circumvent purchasing products that are being endorsed by celebrities that behave negatively, but this does not seem to be the case for all negative behaviour. Sometimes the negative behaviour can impress consumers, below one participants describes an event that involved Lewis Hamilton, and a car violation he apparently committed.
“That’s why he got arrested in Australia, because he came out of the racing course and started doing donuts in the street in his Mercedes CLK… then he got the car confiscated” MR, 26
It was the following statement made by a participant in the same focus group that epitomised how negative behaviour can sometimes have a counter effect and be perceived as impressive. Which take us back to the old; ‘there is no such thing as bad press’.
“Really? Cool!!!” NB, 24
A number of motivations were revealed for purchasing products because of the impact of the endorsing celebrities of the product/brand. The first reason was ‘aspiration’. The respondent below spoke about his desire to play as well as Wayne Rooney.
“…if I like the sportsman who is using it, like Rooney, I would like to play as well as him…
I mean it! For football stuff and it shows my support for my team and my favourite player.” MR, 26
“You buy it because you want to be as good at sport like them. Like Rooney, his new shoes, I want to get them. You see him wearing them, and look how fast he kicks the ball.” MR, 26
Another type of aspiration was also described by a participant in one of the other focus groups. Here he talks about having the same sex appeal as Beckham by using the same products/brands.
“Yeah, because Beckham’s got sex appeal, so you want to wear it… That’s not what I mean, but Beckham has [got sex appeal], and other men want to be like that” BR, 18
Others suggested that the reasons they purchased products endorsed by celebrities was because the use of a celebrity endorsement implied that the product must be of good quality, and therefore the inclusion of a celebrity endorsement gives the consumer extra confidence over the competing products.
“...if I see Alan Shearer promoting something, as my idol, I would definitely buy it. You don’t think it’s a crap brand if he’s wearing it, do you? I would buy it.” NB, 24
“And like perfume stuff. You would guess it would be good quality.” SN, 25
It was also suggested that celebrities were used to distinguish what is fashionable, and an endorsements would be used to signify this.
“If they [celebrities] are wearing it you would think it was fashionable…” SN, 25
“Like look at Ronaldo, Ronaldo is promoting car fuel. He’s got nothing to do with car fuel, but people will buy it because he’s such a big icon in football at the moment.” NB, 24
Another factor that seems to be a major factor in the purchase decision making process is fear of embarrassment. Participants claimed that society has put pressure on them to wear endorsed products and in order to ‘fit in’ these consumers are willing to pay a higher price for it.
“…you should not have to feel embarrassed just because you bought something from Asda, but to be honest I don’t buy anything from Asda because of that reason, and its bad that people feel bad because they have to go and buy the David Beckham stuff just to fit in with society.” NB, 24
“…you have to, otherwise in school you’ll get laughed at.” MR, 26
“…especially at school, but even out of school people are rude. Like that guy on the tube taking the mick out of you, Miguel, because you were wearing a scarf in April, just a pathetic little thing that came out of a grown mans mouth, that’s just what people are like unfortunately, they are judgemental.…because he’s [Beckham] wearing that, everyone feels that they have to wear it, and then people pay over the top because of that.” NB, 24
When participants reflected on the motivation of buying endorsed products for their children a frequently addressed subject they talked about was bullying.
“Do you want them [children] to get bullied?” FP, 27
During the first focus group one respondent in particular was adamant that she would buy celebrity endorsed products for her children. However, the statements above were made by a 31 year old woman, who does not currently have children. It would be difficult to assess whether the statements are a fantasy, or would really become a reality if this person did have children.
“I’d buy it, definitely, if I had kids I would, if they liked it I would… I would, yeah, the kids have to have the best stuff, too right… No, I’m sorry; I’d go around in rags as long as they looked nice” JC, 31
The reason for questioning whether the situation above was realistic or not was because the participants that participated in the focus group, that did have children, reflected on their situations in a very contrasting light.
“I wouldn’t, it would depend if I could afford it” JH, 26
“No Primark!... It depends how much money you got.” HL, 29
Money seemed to play a major part of this decision making, maybe if different people were involved in the focus group, people who were financially more advantaged, their reaction would be different.
A projection test was conducted to test the idea of ‘super branding’. A cartoon was shown to the participants whereby David Beckham was endorsing washing up liquid and a female consumer asked her friend if she wanted to purchase the product because Beckham was the endorser. The purpose of this was to investigate how the participants would view a sports celebrity of Beckhams status and the obvious mismatch of the product he had been pair with in this situation. Many of the participants instantly questioned the product fit.
“Why is David Beckham promoting washing up liquid? Because that’s what I’d ask.” LG, 18
Others delved a bit deeper and questioned whether Beckham would in fact carryout a mundane task such as washing up. The sparkle of celebrity stardom did not seem to match with the day to day household chores associated with washing up liquid.
“I’m not being funny, what’s he got to do with washing up liquid. Would you ever imagine David Beckham going to wash up a dish?... it is just a false image of him.” NB, 24
“You would never see him washing up.” MR, 26
“Would David Beckham be doing washing up liquid in the first place?... I don’t think it relates very well” VN, 18
The analysis of the situation went a little further with the oldest members of the focus group. The first stated that Beckham could be the endorser of “almost anything”, but not washing up liquid, demonstrating that even the likes of Beckham has his limits.
“I wouldn’t. He would never do a product like that, it’s obvious. I mean, you could put Beckham on almost anything, but not something like washing up liquid, it just doesn’t match.” JC, 31
The following 2 participants, from different focus groups, went on to give examples of what is acceptable, associating both Beckham and Woods with products that match with their occupation, but dismissing the idea of an endorsement with washing up liquid as she did not believe that Beckham would wash a dish.
“…realistically, you’re not going to are you? I mean, like we said before, it’s seems acceptable when someone is using something they should know about, Beckham with boots, Tiger with clubs, but not washing up liquid. Like Beckham’s going to wash a fucking dish.” JB, 29
“Yeah, but if you were going to buy trainers because David Beckham supported them, you’d be like, ok, but if he was doing washing up liquid you be like, what, because it’s not nothing to do with David Beckham.” LG, 18
Furthermore, another participant paid tribute to the feel good factor of buying products that are endorsed by Beckham, and then stating that washing up liquid would not be included as a product type that would offer this feeling to it’s consumers.
“I wouldn’t either. There’s one thing that it makes you feel good, makes you want to copy a famous person, but you wouldn’t get that feeling from washing up liquid. Especially from David Beckham, you wouldn’t do the dishes and think oooh, just like Beckham.” JH, 26
From the same projection tests some contrasting, yet controversial statements were made. These statements were made by the minority of the group, but nonetheless one female in every focus group held proposed an argument for why this endorsement would be a success. The first quotation below refers to an “obsession” with a celebrity provoking the purchase.
“Yeah, but if she had an obsession with David Beckham she be like whoa, if she liked that individual it would work, and she would be like, I’m gonna get it” EK, 18
FP, 26, could possibly be considered the type of person EK, 18 (above), was referring to. The quotation below shows the desire this person has for wanting to purchase the nonsense product, because of its association with Beckham. This participant wants to be associated with Beckham by purchasing the product and provoking the thought of others when they associate the washing up liquid with Beckham when they see it in her kitchen.
“Actually, do you know what, I’d probably buy it!... No really! I probably would, it would make washing up more interesting… I don’t really care, I’d probably buy it, when people saw it in my kitchen they’d think of David Beckham.” FP, 26
The final statement here simply refers to how a sexual attraction to a celebrity sports person would be enough to incite a purchase.
“I think she would say yes, because he looks hot with his top off” SN, 25
The statements above suggest that with some consumers there really are no barriers on the type of products that sports celebrities endorse, if there is an infatuation, or loyalty, that would mean that the influence of an endorsement by the appropriate person (in this case Beckham) is enough to convince the consumer to purchase the product, no matter how much sense it may make to others.
When listening to participants from all three focus groups discuss Beckham, in particular, it was as if they referred to him in a different category of sports celebrity than the ‘norm’. People from 2 out of the 3 focus groups conducted, even talked about Beckham as a brand, as opposed to just an endorser. The 3 quotations below are specific examples of when these incidents occurred.
“Brand Beckham” SN, 25
“Doesn’t he (Beckham) have his own perfume, with what’s her name? But that’s his own [brand], does that count?” MC, 18
“Yeah, Beckham has become a brand of his own now I think.” VN, 18
Due to the fact that Beckham seems to have established himself in a whole separate category of endorser than other sports celebrities, this may excuse the reason why some of the participants would accept it if he endorsed a product such as washing up liquid.
On a separate occasion during one of the focus groups there was a discussion featuring an incident when Beckham was once pictured by the media when he was wearing a skirt. One of the participants went on to say that despite this being considered very abnormal behaviour for a man to pursue; he thought that other men would imitate the behaviour, simply because it was Beckham.
“I bet a lot of people would wear it, just because he [Beckham] wore it.” MR, 26
Does this mean that the Beckham would adhere to different marketing rules than that of the counterparts?
A male participant said he would question the sexuality of men who do dishes, but the introduction of an endorsement by a male celebrity the perception of those who wash up could be changed. He concluded that the sex of the endorser in not so important, but the fit of the product and person is.
“…you don’t believe that he’s going to wash up a dish, but in the current society, if you see a man doing the dishes he’s probably gay. But maybe if Beckham promoted washing up liquid you would think hang on; maybe it’s ok for a man to do the dishes…. I don’t think Beckham would be the right choice, but maybe another man.” NB, 24
The product fit is build on what society deems as the ‘norm’ and not just a simple match between the product and the sportsperson’s occupation; which probably explains why women have not traditionally featured in commercials for beer or bookmakers, as this is not a sociological ‘norm. Above was an example that did not fit with this participants social values, as he did not perceive washing up as a masculine activity for a sports man to participate in. Once conceding that it was acceptable for men to wash dishes other members of the group suggested that an ideal endorser would be a chef, and not a sports person.
“Gorden Ramsey, someone who is relevant.” MR, 26
“Yes Marco.... umm... Pierre White?” SN, 25
Keeping a focus on men, they considered other celebrities that they considered to be a better endorser for a product such as washing-up liquid. Again, as previously recognised, the participants chose potential endorsers that had a match between the product and the endorser’s occupation.
Sports celebrities need have caution when selecting the type of products that they choose to endorse, as it is dangerous to endorse 2 brands with products that may fit in to the same category. If a sports celebrity endorsers 2 separate brands that produce the same types of products, this could have less impact on the consumers.
“I just think that stuff like Beckham, where he does Adidas, and then he does Armani underwear, at the end of the day, Adidas do boxers as well. So then you haven’t got to buy just one pair, you have to buy 2 pairs… he can’t be wearing them all, and which ones does he like best. It just stops being believable.” NB, 24
When a sports celebrity does enter an agreement to endorse for 2 brands that have overlapping products the sportsperson, and the brand, have a responsibility to ensure that they draw attention to the actual products that the sports celebrity is endorsing, to ensure that they do not confuse the consumers, and essentially be more profitable themselves.
Going into the findings related to retired sports celebrities, it emerged that current sports celebrities and those that are now retired from their profession are not in competition for endorsements. A current sports celebrity and a retired sportsperson endorse products from different product categories, and that attract different target markets; which can be observed in the industry.
The following statement was made by a participant who looked to the future in a time when she could still potentially be purchasing products that are endorsed by David Beckham, once he is retired. This example was important to demonstrate her opinion that current retired sports celebrities are used to endorse products targeted at consumers that are would have paid them interest in their prime.
“Maybe they [retired sports celebrities] appeal to the older generation, I don’t know, I just guess, so people, who like, knew them in their prime. So maybe like David Beckham, when he’s retired he will still appeal to us because he was in our time” MC, 18
The following statement implies that active sports celebrities endorse “fashion” and the “latest stuff”, which insinuates that they would endorse products targeted at a young target market group. However, retired sports celebrities would endorse products that have a target market that would relate to them.
“A current sports star would be doing the latest stuff, and latest fashion, but a retired person could do things like food, but not things like shoes. I think that some of them can be a bit cheesy, but they still do a good ad for the products.” MR, 26
This time speaking particularly about endorsements suitable for an active sports celebrity, the respondent below shared some of the same ideas.
“Sports stars in their prime do young products. Like Ronaldo, you think he’s super cool, kind of thing.” NB, 24
The product fit is particularly important when it comes to sports products. When a consumer purchases a celebrity endorsed sports product they often aspire to be as good as that celebrity, (as previously recognised in our findings) which is why an active celebrity would probably have the best impact, as they would receive media coverage on their successes, which would remind the consumers about the product, and reinforce why the product works so well.
“And it depends on the product, like if it was a sporting product you might want the best at that time, but if it’s a non-sports product you would prefer a personality, or a legend” LG, 18
The findings so far suggest that all retired celebrities should be used to endorse products that are aimed at consumers from the same generation. However, there is evidence to advocate an exception to that rule. Gary Lineker is an example that was repeated time and time again within the focus groups. Gary Lineker seemed to be a character that appealed to the participants of the focus groups, who were aged between 18 and 31.
The statement below applauded Lineker for his performances in the Walkers crisps adverts. The participant then went on to label Lineker as a ‘football icon’, despite the fact that he is no longer an active player.
“Yeah, Gary Lineker with Walkers, and the Carlsburg, it’s funny… Gary Linkeker is for everyone, he’s so funny. Like when he wears that body suit and stuff. Walkers do it good. He’s a football icon, but when you see Walkers you think of Gary Linker.” NB, 24
During a separate focus group another participant commended Lineker for his humour during the Walkers crisps adverts. However, on this occasion the participant specified that this was not the reason for purchasing the crisps, but the crisps did remind him of the entertaining adverts.
“Walkers I just find really funny, not because it’s funny I would buy the product, but when you see the bag you make a link, because you remember it because it is funny, so subconsciously you choose those crisps over the others.” VN, 18
The statement below compares the commercial value that Lineker would have in comparison with Michael Carrick, a current footballer who plays for Manchester United, declared that Lineker would be a better choice endorser than Carrick for this product. Again, we are reminded that retired players are not a good fit for sporting products, but in this case, for a confectionary product, Lineker has proven to be a huge success.
“Yeah, like Gary Lineker would sell more crisps than, ummm…. Michael Carrick, and because Gary Lineker has a better character as well, Carrick is quiet” (BR, 18) “He would definitely sell more crisps, but probably not football boots, because you want to buy sports products from current players” (VN, 18)
When discussing endorsements by retired sports celebrities one of the participants, below, made another significant point, as in order to be successful the person at hand would need to be currently famous, probably still in the public eye.
“They’d have to still be famous to be doing it. They’d have to be a proper legend.” VN, 18
An important element to the successes of the likes of Gary Lineker is that fact that he is still a key sporting figure in the media, as remember by VN, 18, below:
“But he’s [Gary Lineker] still on the face of TV, on Match of the Day” VN, 18
After linking all of this evidence together it would imply that the reason for Lineker having the ability to break the rules and endorse products that appeal to the younger generation is because he fits some essential criteria. The first is that he could be considered a ‘legend’ because of his contribution to English football. The second is that he is the host of a current football program (Match of the Day) that would attract an audience of a mixed aged, providing they had an interest in premiership football in the UK. Then on top of this Walkers has successfully used Lineker to deliver comical adverts that entertain the nation, not matter what their age.
The participant below said the he would use endorsements as a quality assurance check, if a celebrity was endorsing it, retired or not, he would assume that the product must fit a quality specification.
“But they are still famous. So even if they look a bit silly you still think ‘ah, it must be good stuff’.” MR, 26
It would probably still be safe to say that if the product was a sports product, which was being endorsed by a retired sports celebrity, in a market where it would be competing against many sports products that are being endorsed by the best sports people in the world, it would still be an unsuccessful endorsement. However, if it was non-sports product, the quality assurance check may be utilised.
3.2 Depth Interview Findings
When speaking about the number of endorsements a sports person should have Mel explained that players often try to find a select few products to endorse, not for any particular commercial reason, but mainly because when players spend a lot of time exercising their commercial commitments, it angers the football manager.
“Ideally a footballer would have a select few if those few products are worth enough, but in practice it’s not really the case, we normally try to get as much in as we can when we can…”
Within the players career they try to exploit their celebrity status and benefit from as many commercial opportunities as they can. This does not mean that they would do just any products. Mel went on to explain that there are some products that a sportsman would not allow themselves to be associated with for the sake of their image.
“A sportsman wouldn’t be associated with alcohol, gambling or places like the spearmint rhino because it would reflect negatively of their lifestyles and they need to protect their image.”
It is not only the category of product that the celebrity must be wary of, but in order to make the sportsman the most efficient and available endorser they must be careful about the extent that they commit to a brand. If an umbrella brand has many product categories this may close opportunities for them to engage in commercial deals with other brands that also have products within another brands sub-category. Mel has put this in to context with his example below.
“By committing to one brand it will stop other brands that are in the same market from using that same person. I mean if Adidas use a person, Adidas cover clothes, watches, glasses, which will exclude other brand in the sub-markets. If someone is wearing an Adidas watch, Rolex aren’t going to want to use them.”
The exposure with different products under that brand name may close opportunities for the celebrity.
Mel then went on to explain that it is not only important to promote the right product, or find the right fit between the product and the celebrity, but more opportunities will arise for sport celebrities that can demonstrate a likable personality. The talent of the sportsman will not be substantial to get him the best endorsement deals if they do not have a personality that the public can engage with.
“…you need the right personality with the night product. I mean, a person like Gary Neville has no personality, he won’t sell you anything. But you can have a much less talented person who will sell much more because they have the right personality.”
Mel also explained that it is also vital for the person to represent the correct values for the brand. To explain this he used Ian Botham (the retired cricketer) as an example. Ian Botham was at one point the celebrity face of Shredded Wheat. Shredded Wheat is a healthy cereal, suitable for an aging sportsman (i.e. good product fit), and as a married man with children, he was good representation for the family cereal. However, once Ian Botham got divorced his values changed and did not match that of the cereal, and he is therefore no longer endorsing it.
“Ah, that’s true, but now they’ve [Shredded Wheat] dropped him because he doesn’t reflect their values. They’re a family cereal and now he’s divorced.”
However, even if a sports celebrity does have the status, and the likable personality, as well as a suitable fit for the product at hand; these elements alone are not enough to guarantee that brands will want to use this sportsman to endorse their product. The celebrity must represent the brand and speak positively of it, which is why it is easier when celebrities endorse products they do actually like and use. Mel spoke about an example when a client of his (Paul Gascoigne) ruined his relationship with a brand he was endorsing when he spoke about their product in a negative light to the media, it goes without saying that this behaviour would be deemed as intolerable.
“But then there are some celebrities who’ll mess every opportunity up anyway. I mean Gazza had plenty of endorsements and managed to ruin most of them. When he was the face of ‘Brut’ he was asked at a press conference and he was asked how long he had used it and he said something like “ahh I don’t use aftershave, it brings me out in a rash”. He’d always mess it up.”
Mel then spoke more specifically about the criteria for making a retired sport personality have commercial value after their career. He insisted for a retired sports person they must continue to gain media coverage to keep them within the public eye outside of their commercial activity.
“For a sports person to win endorsements after their careers they need to continue to be A or B list celebrities, they can’t just sit around being a Z-lister and expect to make money off of the back of their old careers, they still need to be celebrities. For example if Ian Wright or Gary Lineker went in to property development instead of tv presenting they wouldn’t be promoting any products, but they are still popular personalities and that’s what makes them marketable.”
3.2 Survey Findings
Note: While the researcher understands that it is not statistically significant, percentages have been used in this section, purely to illustrate the distribution of the sample population, where appropriate.
Table 1 shows the result of the first statement within the survey that was conducted. This statement asked respondents how strongly they agreed with the following statement; ‘I would buy a product being endorsed by a sports celebrity I admire’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) we can see that the largest group of respondents, 38% are in the ‘maybe’ category. The second most populated category is ‘agree’, with 33% of the sample. These findings show that 71% of this population sample would at least consider purchasing a celebrity endorsed product. Only 5% of the sample strongly disagreed with the statement, this small percentage were the only ones that felt so strongly against the idea.
The line graph above better illustrates the relationship between the age and the category chosen. The lines of the graph indicate that there is a noticeable relationship and suggests that the likelihood of purchasing a celebrity endorsed product decreases as a person gets older, and increases with younger consumers.
Table 2 shows the level of agreement agreed with the following statement; ‘I would buy a sports product being endorsed by a sports celebrity I admire’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) we can see that the largest group of respondents, 36% are in the ‘agree’ category. The second most populated category is ‘maybe’, with 31% of the sample. A combination of ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’ represent 41%, however, a combination of ‘disagree’ and ‘strongly disagree’ is represented by 29% of this sample population. The ‘maybe’ category could be construed as an ‘opt-out’ option, but at the same time the respondent did not feel strong enough to completely discount the idea of purchasing a sports product that is endorsed by a sports celebrity, therefore in totality 71% of this sample population would consider purchasing a sports product that was being endorsed by a sports celebrity.
The lines on the graph above display clearly the correlation between age and the feelings towards buying sports products that have been endorsed by sports celebrities. Again, this relationship weakens as the respondent gets older, and is strong with the younger members of the sample population.
Table 3 shows the level of agreement with the following statement; ‘I would buy a non-sports product that is being endorsed by a sports celebrity I admire’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) it can be observed that the largest group of respondents are evenly split between the ‘agreed’ category and the ‘maybe’ category with 31% each. However, the ‘disagree’ category had 29% of the sample population, and ‘strongly disagree’ had 9%. Overall the sample population did not demonstrate any strong allegiance to particularly agreeing or disagreeing that they would purchase non-sporting products that are endorsed by sports celebrities, but a higher percentage strongly disagreed with purchasing non-sporting products than they did with purchasing sporting products from a sport celebrity endorsement, as not one ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement. This indicated that there is purchase elasticity when the type of product that is endorsed changes. It appears that the population would be more inclined to purchase products that are linked to an endorser’s occupation.
When an analysis was undertaken looking specifically at the responses from the different age categories, the same trends as noticed in the previous questions were repeated. There was a vague indication to suggest that the younger end of the sample would be more likely to purchase these celebrity endorsed products than the older generation. However, it was noticed that for the older age groups 46-55, 56-65, and 66+, either did not adjust their responses, or suggested that they would be more likely to purchase a non-sporting product from a sports celebrity endorsement. This shift in response was only slight, but one possible conclusion drawn from this was that these age categories would be less likely to purchase sports equipment, as they would be less likely to engage in sporting activities, which is possibly why their responses were negative previously.
Table 4 shows the level of agreement with the following statement; ‘I would buy a sports product that is being endorsed by a retired sports celebrity that I admire’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) it can be observed that the largest group of respondents is ‘maybe’, with 43%. A combination of ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’ represent 43%, however, a combination of ‘disagree’ and ‘strongly disagree’ is represented by 17% of this sample population. The ‘maybe’ category could be construed as a ‘opt-out’ option, but at the same time the respondent did not feel strong enough to completely discount the idea of purchasing a sports product that is endorsed by a retired sports celebrity, therefore in totality 86% of this sample population would consider purchasing a sports product that was being endorsed by a sports celebrity.
In comparison with the results from statement 2; ‘buying sports products from a current sports celebrity’, the overall potential purchaser (those who have answered strongly agree, agree, or maybe) have increased from 71% to 86%. The reason for this is because the results here have increased with the older age categories; 46-55, 56-65, and 66+, despite a slightly less aggressive decreased by the younger age categories. This suggests that these people would prefer to purchase equipment from sports celebrities from their own eras, as sports stars aged 46 and over are likely to be retired.
Table 5 shows the level of agreement with the following statement; ‘I would buy a non-sports product that is being endorsed by a retired sports celebrity that I admire’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) it can be observed that the largest group of respondents is ‘maybe’, with 38%. The second most populated category is ‘disagree’ with 36%; therefore indicating a bad match between non-sporting products and retired celebrities.
Statement 3 looked at the samples feelings towards current sports celebrities endorsing non-sports products. In comparison the overall sample population have resulted in less positive figures. The older age categories; 46-55, 56-65, and 66+, have shifted slightly towards ‘agreement’, however, the younger age categories have shifted more to ‘disagreement’. Again, this is a similar case to that of table 4, in suggesting that these people would prefer to purchase products that are endorsed by sports celebrities from their own eras, as sports stars aged 46 and over are likely to be retired.
Table 6 shows the level of agreement with the statement; ‘if a celebrity I admired was endorsing a products I believed was irrelevant to them, it would stop me from buying it’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) we can see that the largest group of respondents, 43% are in the ‘disagree’ category, and combined with the respondents in the ‘strongly disagree’ category it accounts for 50% of the responses. The other 50% of the responses are mad up by 24% in the ‘maybe’ category, which could possibly turn into purchases, but are not guaranteed, and then 26% in the ‘strongly agree’ and agree categories.
The results here are more negative than positive, insinuating that a bad product fit will affect the consumer’s decision to purchase.
Table 7 shows the level of agreement with the following statement; ‘Sports celebrities endorse too many products’. Trying to investigate the optimum number of endorsements proved to be an impossible task for the researcher, and they understood that asking if a celebrity endorsed too many products could mean many things to many different respondents, as ‘too many’ is a very subject phrase to use, but it was decided that no matter how many each respondent considered ‘too many’, if it was too many to that person it would be considered important information.
It is clear to see that the majority of the sample population think that sports celebrities endorse too many products. 50% either strongly agree, or agree with the statement; however, only 31% disagree. Despite a large proportion of the respondents thinking that sports celebrities endorse too many products, this data alone would not be sufficient to decide if this would be construed negative, or it would affect purchase making decisions, the result from table 6 would suggest not hugely.
Table 8 shows the level of agreement with the following statement; ‘I would not buy a product that was being endorsed by a sports celebrity who I thought endorsed too many products’.
From the total population of the sample (N=84) we can see that the largest group of respondents are in the ‘not affected’ category, with 41%. The second most populated category is ‘disagree’, with 33% of the sample. These findings show that 76% of this population sample would either not have their decision effected, or their decision to purchase a product reaffirmed by seeing the product there are purchasing endorsed by a celebrity that they consider to endorse ‘too many’ products.
The results from table 9 reaffirm these findings furthermore. Table 9 shows the level of agreement with the statement; ‘If a sports celebrity I admire was endorsing a product that I liked I would not care how many products they endorsed.
From the total population sample the largest group of respondents are in the ‘agreed’ category’, with 43%, and the second most populated category is ‘strongly agree’, with 26%. Only 14% disagreed with this statement. Two different conclusions have been drawn from these figures, the first is that if a consumer likes a product, their beliefs on the number of products that the endorser endorsers is not enough to affect their purchase decision. The second conclusion is that consumers consider the idea of sports celebrities endorsing ‘too many’ products as a positive thing, and the exposure from endorsing ‘too many’ products encourages them to purchase products endorsed by that celebrity.
Table 10 shows the level of agreement with the following statement; ‘I would buy a product for my child/grandchild if they liked the sports person who was endorsing it’. Only 50% of the respondents had children or grand children, therefore for this statement the sample population was half the size (N=42).
The answers here are very wide spread and they do not offer much insight into the thoughts and feelings of parents and grandparents towards purchasing celebrity endorsed products for their children and grandchildren. Further data was collected on the relationship of the respondent to the child (i.e. parent or grandparent) and age of the children and grandchildren they had. The problem with this was that most of the respondents had relationships with children in several of the categories, and therefore the data could not offer much insight, as it was difficult to recognise which child they were referring to when they gave their responses. In order to make more sense out of the data a larger sample size would be required. Furthermore, this type of data would be more relevant to collect by using a research method suited to an exploratory study.
Table 11 shows the level of agreement with the statement; ‘my children/grandchildren often ask for products that are being endorsed by sports stars that they like’. Again, the data collected here was only relevant to those that have children or grandchildren, so the sample population was reduced by 50% (N=42).
The largest group of respondents is the ‘disagree’ category, with 48%. According to this data more persons under the age of 18 do not request celebrity endorsed products than those who do. The best way to investigate the feelings that under 18s have towards celebrity endorsed product would be to ask them. The feelings on this subject would probably be distinctively different for a 5 year old than a 17 year old, but as previously mentioned, the respondent here had relationships with children from several age categories and if was impossible to detect which age group their answer reflected.
4. Conclusions
This study has attempted to investigate celebrity endorsements, with particular focus on the long-term marketability of celebrity sports personalities. The findings from this study could be used as a foundation to a more detailed study from which some firms conclusions could be drawn. The analysis of the research and findings are therefore indicative, and not by any means conclusive or transferable to the population of interest.
After analysing the results of the primary research we will now reflect back to see if the initial objectives of the research have been achieved.
Objective 1: Explore attitudes and opinions towards celebrities who endorse multiple brands and investigate if there is an ‘optimum’ number of products that a celebrity should be seen to endorse.
During the research it was decided that electing an optimum number of endorsements that a sports celebrity could undertake was an impractical element to attempt to quantify. The participants of the primary research positioned the number of endorsements that sports celebrities generally have as ‘too many’. Obviously this is extremely subjective, but it was decided that the actually number of endorsements was not the issue, the perception in the consumers mind is the key. However, despite the claim that sports celebrities endorsed ‘too many’ products; during the Quantative research specifically, statistics strongly indicated that the number of products a celebrity endorsed would not influence a consumer’s decision making process when they considered purchasing a product that was endorsed by a particular sports celebrity.
In conclusion, the quantity of endorsements is not an issue that will affect the result of sales, which in reality is the most significant variable that marketers will be concerned with. This is fitting with the attitude of the industry at the moment, according to Mel Stein, the sports agent, who said that “Ideally a footballer would have a select few if those few products are worth enough, but in practice it’s not really the case, we normally try to get as much in as we can when we can…”
The reason that the industry can behave like this is because many people would not be fazed by this behaviour. During the survey 50% of people agreed that sports celebrities endorsed ‘too many’ products (Table 7, p.58), but then 76% of respondents said that they would either not be effected, or disagreed that an endorsement by a celebrity that they perceived as endorsing to many products would stop them from purchasing the product (Table 8, P.58).
Objective 2: Investigate if the attitudes and opinions of consumers are different for celebrities that endorse products in their own area of expertise, in comparison to the endorsements that are done outside a celebrities specialist area
During the focus groups many of the participants stressed the importance of having a relevant fit between the products the sports celebrity is endorsing and the sports celebrity themselves.
“If you got David Beckham, and he’s like, advertising some trainers from Adidas everyone’s gonna trust it. But him (Lewis Hamilton), he’s a racing driver, no one is gonna trust him to tell you how to bank.” LG, 18
The Source Credibility Model (Hovland, et al, 1953) recognises that consumers look at the perceived ability of the sports person as the expert of the sports product to make valid assertions. Therefore, the consumers will consider their endorsement as a message from an expert in the products confirming that the product is good. Furthermore, Kelman (1961), and Till and Busler (1998) have previously spoken about the positive influence that a perceived ‘expert’ can have on a consumer’s decision making because they are congruent with the consumers belief system. This is because the consumer believes that the sportsperson is offering expert advice, because they see them using the products in their natural environment.
The primary research insinuated that different rules apply to endorsements depending on who the sports celebrity is, how popular they are, and how attractive they are perceived to be. One deplorable discovery during the focus groups was that some female participants agreed that they would purchase washing up liquid because it was endorsed by David Beckham. The reasons given for wanting to make this purchase was predominantly due to their attraction for him.
“I think she would say yes, because he looks hot with his top off” SN, 25
The Source Attractiveness Model (McGuire, 1968) supports the idea that the attractiveness of a celebrity will have a favourable effect on consumers. Which collaborates with the idea that the sole reason they would want to purchase the product is because they find Beckham attractive, despite that the endorsement itself not making much commercial sense. This theory is further supported by Ohanian (1991) who believes that physically attractive communicators are more successful in changing people beliefs.
However, when discussing the possibility of David Beckham endorsing washing up liquid with a male participant his attitude was that for a man to been seen washing-up it would bring his sexuality in to question. Despite being an extreme attitude, it could be explained by The Meaning Transfer Model (1989), as it seeks to explain how the endorsers traits, in this case gender, are transferred to the product and then from the product to the consumer. As washing-up liquid is generally considered a feminine product, this could explain why it caused confusion in the mind of the participant.
Objective 3: Explore the attitudes and opinions that consumers have towards ‘retired’ sports personalities in an endorsing capacity
The primary research conducted for this study suggested that current sports celebrities and retired sports celebrities are not in competition for endorsements. The reason for this is that they will occupy different types of endorsements. The retired celebrities will be endorsing non-sports products that are age relevant, as their target market will be from the older generation (46+) and the active sports celebrities will endorse sports products and non-sports items that are targeted towards the younger generation.
The following statement implies that active sports celebrities endorse “fashion” and the “latest stuff”, which insinuates that they would endorse products targeted at a young target market group. However, retired sports celebrities would endorse products that have a target market that would relate to them.
“A current sports star would be doing the latest stuff, and latest fashion, but a retired person could do things like food, but not things like shoes.” MR, 26
Using Gary Lineker as a case sample, as this was a retired sports celebrity that was referred to many times during the research, there is evidence to advocate Lineker as an exception to appealing to the 46+ demographic. Gary Lineker seemed to be a character that appealed to the participants of the focus groups, who were aged between 18 and 31.
The statement below compares the commercial value that Lineker would have in comparison with Michael Carrick, a current footballer who plays for Manchester United, declared that Lineker would be a better choice endorser than Carrick for this product. Again, we are reminded that retired players are not a good fit for sporting products, but in this case, for a confectionary product, Lineker has proven to be a huge success.
“Yeah, like Gary Lineker would sell more crisps than, ummm…. Michael Carrick, and because Gary Lineker has a better character as well, Carrick is quiet” (BR, 18) “He would definitely sell more crisps, but probably not football boots, because you want to buy sports products from current players” (VN, 18)
When discussing endorsements by retired sports celebrities one of the participants, below, made another significant point, as in order to be successful the person at hand would need to be currently famous, probably still in the public eye.
“They’d have to still be famous to be doing it. They’d have to be a proper legend.” VN, 18
An important element to the successes of the likes of Gary Lineker is that fact that he is still a key sporting figure in the media, as remember by VN, 18, below:
“But he’s [Gary Lineker] still on the face of TV, on Match of the Day” VN, 18
During the interview with Mel Stein he said:
“For a sports person to win endorsements after their careers they need to continue to be A or B list celebrities, they can’t just sit around being a Z-lister and expect to make money off of the back of their old careers, they still need to be celebrities. For example if Ian Wright or Gary Lineker went in to property development instead of tv presenting they wouldn’t be promoting any products, but they are still popular personalities and that’s what makes them marketable.”
Again, Mel has used Lineker as an example to best explain why sportsmen post sports career can still be commercially viable. Gary Lineker has the ability to break the rules and endorse products that appeal to the younger generation is because he fits some essential criteria. The first is that he could be considered a ‘legend’ because of his contribution to English football. The second is that he is the host of a current football program (Match of the Day) that would attract an audience of a mixed aged, providing they had an interest in premiership football in the UK. Then on top of this Walkers has successfully used Lineker to deliver comical adverts that entertain the nation, not matter what their age.
Objective 4: Identify the demographics of the consumers whose purchases are influenced by celebrity endorsement
The findings in the survey showed that 71% of the population sample would at least consider purchasing a celebrity endorsed product. The graph on page 50 indicates a correlation between age and the desire to purchase celebrity endorsed products. According to this graph those within the younger age categories are more interested in purchasing celebrity endorsed products, the graph shows a peak in the 26-35 age category, suggesting that they are the most likely to purchase celebrity endorsed products.
Research was also conducted to investigate the influence that celebrity endorsements has on those aged under 18 years old. The research tried to retrieve information about attitudes and opinions of this generation via their parents and/or grandparents. These results were deemed inconclusive, as they were very widely spread and gave no indication as to what their relationship was with endorsements. These results can be seen in tables 10 and 11, on page 58.
The participants within the focus groups were all within the ages of 18 and 31, which limits the investigation in to demographics. All of the participants showed an interest in celebrity endorsed products, but it would be ignorant to assume that they could answer of behalf of the population.
- Recommendations
Although this research was primarily exploratory and further research would need to be conducted in this subject area, some recommendations have been made which could be sought to aid marketers currently in, or looking to going in to the sports celebrity endorsement industry.
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