Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements on Brand and Brand Building - ITC

Summer Internship Project Report

Submitted towards Partial

Fulfillment

Of

Post Graduate Diploma in Management

(Approved by AICTE, Govt. of India)

Academic Session

2011 – 2013

Submitted By:Sanith S. NairBM-011187

Under the Guidance of:

Industry Guide: Faculty Guide:

Mr. A.K. Narendranath Prof. Anagha ShukreSr. Controller, Area Chairperson - Marketing Project & Production (G.M.) IMS, GhaziabadOgilvy One

Acknowledgment

I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals and organization. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them.

I am highly indebted to Mr. A.K. Narendranath for his guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project and also for his support in completing the project.

I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and members of OgilvyOne Worldwide, Gurgaon for their kind co-operation and encouragement, which helped me in completion of this project.

I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to Prof. Anagha Shukre for giving me her attention and time.

My thanks and an appreciation also goes to my colleagues in developing the project and people who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.

Sanith S. NairBM-011187

Table of Content

Sl. No.

Chapter Topic Page No.

1 1 Executive Synopsis 1

2 2 Company Profile 3

3 3 Objective of the Project 19

4 4 Research Methodology 21

5 5 Analysis & Findings 23

6 6 Conclusions & Recommendations

42

7 7 Limitations 45

8 8 Bibliography 46

9 9 Annexures 47

List of figures

Figure Page No.

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List of tables

Table Page No.

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Table 21 41

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that content presented in the project entitled “Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements on Brand - ITC Ltd.” in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Post Graduate Diploma In Management from IMS - Ghaziabad is an authentic record of my own work, carried out under the kind guidance of my industrial mentor Mr. A.K.Narendranath and my Faculty Mentor Prof. Anagha Shukre. I have not copied the matter embodied in the project from any resources.

Sanith S. NairBM-011187

TO WHOSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Sanith S.Nair, BM 011187, student of PGDM (G)-(Full Time) 2011-13 batch, IMS Ghaziabad, has executed his project in Marketing under my supervision and guidance. During the project execution he was found to be very sincere and attentive to small details, which were discussed with him. I wish him good luck and success in his future studies and endeavor.

Prof. Anagha Shukre I.M.S. Ghaziabad

PREFACE

It was an honour to do summer internship in such a prestigious organization under

the auspicious leadership of Mr. A. K. Narendranath (Sr. Controller, Project & Production (G.M.)). I am thankful to many known and unknown persons, who were associated with me and helped me to complete this project

Throughout my project I got an opportunity to interact with numerous numbers of people and to about the advertising field. It also helped me to apply theoretical knowledge in practical as well as we apply sales promotion technique, below the line advertisement etc.

The main project was started with questionnaire that I have prepared priorly. The whole research work was based on the primary data that I have collected through questionnaire. On the basis of prior information, I found the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement on products of Brand ITC, preference check among male and female. Also found the preferential factor for brand choice among chief decision maker of the family.

EXECUTIVE SYNOPSIS

India is a country where people love to live in dreams. They worship celebrities.

celebrities which might be cricket stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahinder Singh Dhoni or Film Stars like Shah Rukh Khan or John Ebrahim. They treat them as God. Marketers use this very preposition so as to influence their target customers may be existing or potential ones.For this they rope in these celebrities and give them whopping amount of money. They believe that by doing this they can associate their products with their target customers. This is called ce l eb r it y endo rs e m en t .

Aristotle said, “Beau t y i sagrea t erreco mm en d a ti on t hanany l e tt erof i n t roduc ti o n .” This could aptly summarize why innumerable products are endorsed by celebrities, with or without a significant need or benefit from the same.

Similarly every product has an image. The consumer tries to consume a brand which has the maximum fit with his/her own personality/image. The celebrity endorser fits in between these two interactions, where he tries to bring the image of the product closer to the expectation of the consumer, by transferring some of the cultural meanings residing in his image to the product.

Now, despite the potential benefits derived from celebrity endorsements, they increase a marketer’s risk manifolds and should be treated with full attention and aptitude. A brand should be cautious when employing celebrities to ensure promise believability and delivery of the intended effect. The growing importance of mythical characters as celebrities and their sway over the target segments are ample proof of public demand for icons to look up to. As the celebrities traverse from a mere commercial presence to public welfare message endorsements, a whole new dimension is added to this process and helps us in achieving a holistic view of the impact which celebrities generate in every sphere and segment through their well-versed endorsements.

Industry Profile

Indian Advertising Industry

The Indian advertising industry is talking business today. It has evolved from being a small-scale business to a full-fledged industry. It has emerged as one of the major industries and tertiary sectors and has broadened its horizons be it the creative aspect, the capital employed or the number of personnel involved. Indian advertising industry in very little time has carved a niche for itself and placed itself on the global platform.

Indian advertising industry with an estimated value of Rs.13, 200-crore has made jaws drop and set eyeballs gazing with some astonishing pieces of work that it has given in the recent past. The creative minds that the Indian advertising industry incorporates have come up with some mind-boggling concepts and work that can be termed as masterpieces in the field of advertising.

Advertising agencies in the country too have taken a leap. They have come a long way from being small and medium sized industries to becoming well known brands in the business. Ogilvy and Mather (O&M), Mudra, McCann Ericsonn, Rediffussion, Leo Burnett are some of the top agencies of the country.

Indian economy is on a boom and the market is on a continuous trail of expansion. With the market gaining grounds Indian advertising has every reason to celebrate. Businesses are looking up to advertising as a tool to cash in on lucrative business opportunities. Growth in business has lead to a consecutive boom in the advertising industry as well.

The Indian advertising today handles both national and international projects. This is primarily because of the reason that the industry offers a host of functions to its clients that include everything from start to finish that include client servicing, media planning, media buying, creative conceptualization, pre and post campaign analysis, market research, marketing, branding, and public relation services

Advertising & Marketing Industry Profile

In an industry that seems to be feast or famine, this will be the era when ad companies asked, "Where's the Beef?" In the previous decade, a robust economy and a hot technology sector helped increase levels of ad spending to fuel the growth of the industry. Holding companies benefited enormously in this environment and set the tone for the rest of the industry. The trends these companies follow or set are the same trends that will influence the rest of the industry for years to come.

Although the idea of the global Ad holding company is not new, it was in the 90's that they flourished. The rise of global brands and multinational companies encouraged the growth of the holding company-- a single company that could service brands and companies globally. The holding company structure would also hedge against the eventual ad downturn by diversifying services to include public relations and other marketing services. These publicly traded companies enjoyed sky-high valuations (and the ability to fund deals with their stock) and hit the acquisition trail in the late 1990s, resulting in some spectacular deals. WPP Group briefly became the world's largest advertising conglomerate after its $4.7 billion acquisition of Young & Rubicam late in 2000. In 2001 Interpublic acquired Chicago-based True North Communications for $2.1 billion and in 2002 Paris-based Publicis Group's acquisition of Bcom3 set the merged company squarely at the table with the big boys. Not to be left out, US conglomerate Omnicom also completed a few hundred acquisitions during this period. Each deal spurred on the next as the pool of potential strategic acquisitions became smaller. The rapid pace of acquisitions left little time for the holding companies to integrate operations and evaluate the deals before an economic downturn forced these issues to the forefront.

The ad downturn and subsequent recession revealed weaknesses in the holding companies strategy. Although the diversified nature of the holding companies did provide a small cushion as advertising outlays dropped, the companies learned painfully that they were not recession proof and even though being a public company had its benefits, once things went south shareholders were quick to criticize. Few firms (large or small) have escaped the downturn without cost cutting or restructuring, and the holding companies have had more than their share of both. Despite the corporate strategy involved in surviving a downturn, ad firms still continue to live or die by their creative work. Clients are demanding greater returns for their ad dollars and have been more than willing to switch agencies that don't measure up to expectations.

The large conglomerates may use size to their advantage but smaller independent agencies have little trouble competing in the creative arena, with Wieden Kennedy adding "Just do it" to pop culture vocabulary for Nike and W. B. Doner providing "Zoom Zoom" to Mazda. Small and independent agencies may also benefit from fewer outside distractions to focus on creating ads rather than following acquisitions, share prices, or creative accounting.

The future of the ad industry is not in doubt -- things will get better but only companies that have positioned themselves correctly will be able to capitalize on the upswing. To do this, many firms are looking toward technology as the point of departure for huge returns. The convergence of the Internet with television, the growth of wireless communication, and the increasing use of digital video recorders all offer new avenues and challenges for advertisers. Further consolidation (at a slower pace) across national borders is also expected as ad firms try to deliver global capabilities in an increasingly competitive market.

Company Overview – Ogilvy & Mather Pvt. Ltd

Building brands is at the core of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide activities. The company emphasizes it uses a holistic approach to brand building, touching every contact point a consumer might have with the brand. It could be the packaging, merchandising, and advertisements on billboards, television, radio or the Web. The company even uses public relations to create a more conductive environment for the brand.

Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide divisions include Ogilvy One (direct marketing to individuals), Ogilvy Interactive (marketing through Web sites and wireless devices), and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide offers services, including consumer marketing, corporate branding, public affairs lobbying, and creative media. Ogilvy PR operates two specialist units: B/W/R, a corporate entertainment firm, and Feinstein Kean Healthcare (FKH), a service firm specializing in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry.

The company was acquired by number 2 advertising conglomerate WPP Group in 1989. WPP also owns PR giants Hill and Knowlton and Burson-Marsteller. Clients of the WPP Group include the majority of companies in the Fortune Global 500 and the NASDAQ 100, including Ford, IBM, Kellogg, Eastman Kodak, Novartis, Pfizer and American Express.

Introduction to Ogilvy & Mather

Type: Subsidiary of WPP Group

Industry: Advertising, marketing, public relations

Founded: Manhattan (1948)

Headquarters: Manhattan, USA

Subsidiaries:

Ogilvy One Worldwide

Ogilvy Interactive

Ogilvy PR Worldwide

Ogilvy Health world

Ogilvy Action

Neo@Ogilvy

Website: www.ogilvy.com

Ogilvy One Worldwide:

Ogilvy One Worldwide is the world's strongest, most experienced and most highly-awarded one-to-one marketing network. The fully integrated OgilvyInteractive unit is the world's largest full-service digital marketing agency.

Employing the Customer Ownership® model, Ogilvy One builds long-lasting, profitable relationships between the world's best brands and their customers.

Ogilvy One’s services are built around three pillars:

- Consulting: to gain deep understanding of a client's customers and strategies to maximize their value.

- Communications: to develop brand-true, creative communications across all media.

- Connections: to implement bridges that connect clients with their customers.

History

Ogilvy & Mather was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy, as "Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson, & Mather" in Manhattan. The company became a leading worldwide agency by the 1960s.[citation needed] Central to its growth was its strategy of building brands such as American Express, BP, Ford, Barbie, Maxwell House, IBM, Kodak, Nestlé, and Unilever brands Pond's and Dove.

Ogilvy & Mather was built on Ogilvy's principles, in particular, that the function of advertising is to sell and that successful advertising for any product is based on information about its consumer.

His entry into the company of giants started with several iconic campaigns:

"The man in the Hathaway shirt" with his aristocratic eye patch; "The man from Schweppes is here" introduced Commander Whitehead, the elegant, bearded Brit, bringing Schweppes (and "Schweppervesence") to the U.S.; "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock"; and "Pablo Casals is coming home – to Puerto Rico", a campaign that Ogilvy said helped change the image of a country and was his proudest achievement.

One of his greatest successes was "Only Dove is one-quarter moisturizing cream". This campaign helped Dove become the top selling soap in the U.S.

In 1989 The Ogilvy Group was purchased by WPP Group.

Expansion, Innovation and Diversification

In 1955, O&M helped launching Unilever's Dove as '1/4 moisturizing cream'. In 1960, Shell Oil started an account, increasing O&M's revenues by almost 50%. Later, accounts were also secured from General foods, Bristol-Myers, and Lever Brothers, to name just a few. By 1962 the agency's billings had increased dramatically, and Ogilvy had established himself as an innovator in the business. Indeed, the 1960's and early 1970's marked a period of expansion and innovation. In 1964 Ogilvy, Benson & Mather Inc. of New York merged with Mather & Crowther Ltd. of London to become Ogilvy & Mather International. In 1966 O&M became the first ad agency to go public on both the London and New York stock exchanges.

During the same period O&M also became more diverse in its range of advertising. It developed campaigns for large corporations, non-profit organizations (e.g., the World Wildlife Fund), whole nations (Puerto Rico, Singapore, France), and international clients whose markets were primarily outside the US. By 1975 O&M had grown extensively. In addition to General Foods and its other base accounts the agency had established accounts with American Express, IBM, Merrill Lynch, Campbell's Soup, and Mercedes Benz. Branch offices were set up around the world to handle the large amount of international business the firm had developed and subsidiaries were consolidated under the umbrella of the parent company. On the 5th of May 1994 IBM made marketing history by consolidating its entire $400 million global advertising account at one agency, Ogilvy & Mather.

Growth on the scale experienced by O&M also resulted in adverse effects. O&M's creativity became stifled as the immensity of the operation created bureaucratic impediments. The agency became conservative, feeling an obligation to its shareholders to secure consistent dividends and minimize risks. The agency successfully produced conservative campaigns for large companies, but creatively speaking, had stagnated. David Ogilvy was aware of what was happening and, on the eve of his retirement, made some dramatic changes, taking new, creative people on board. To avoid creativity problems in the future, O&M created a network of semi-autonomous subsidiaries that, while having access to the resources only a large company can provide, still work in a "small shop" environment.

Ogilvy Becomes Part of the WPP Empire

In May of 1985 Ogilvy & Mather International Inc. became the Ogilvy Group.

In 1989, O&M was acquired by number 2 advertising conglomerate WPP Group. David Ogilvy wasn't at all pleased with the hostile takeover and called WPP CEO Sorrell "an odious little shit".

Brands serviced by Ogilvy

ITC Ltd.(since 1988)Adidas (since 2007)Lenovo (since 2005)Mattel (since 1959)MetLife (since 2008)Motorola (since 2000)Nestle (since 1956)SAP (since 1999)Siemens (since 2008)Citizens Financial Group (since 2010)Cisco (since 2002)Coca-Cola Company (since 2001)DHL (since 2002)DuPont (since 2003)GlaxoSmithKline (since 1983)

TABASCO (since 2011)Tobacco Institute (ended 1998)Unilever1(ParentCompany)(since 1954)Vodafone (2009)SC Johnson (2011)American Express (since 1962)Amway (since 2009)British Gas (since 2008)BP (since 1999)Citizens Financial Group (since 2010)Cisco (since 2002)Coca-Cola Company (since 2001)Gillette (since 1962)IBM (since 1994)

Introduction to ITC Ltd. (Client)

ITC Limited or ITC is an Indian public conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Its diversified business includes four segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards, Paper & Packaging and Agri Business. ITC's annual turnover stood at $7 billion and market capitalization of over $33 billion. The company has its registered office in Kolkata. It started off as the Imperial Tobacco Company, and shares ancestry with Imperial Tobacco of the United Kingdom, but it is now fully independent, and was rechristened to India Tobacco Company in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974.

The company is currently headed by Yogesh Chander Deveshwar. It employs over 26,000 people at more than 60 locations across India and is listed on Forbes 2000. ITC Limited completed 100 years on 24 August 2010.

ITC has a diversified presence in FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business and Information Technology. While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging, Agri-Exports and Cigarettes, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery.

History

ITC was formed on August 24, 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. Later the name of the Company was changed from Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited to India Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. ITC contains a wide range of businesses - Cigarettes & Tobacco, Hotels, Information Technology, Packaging, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Agri-business, Foods, Lifestyle Retailing, Education & Stationery and Personal Care . Finally the company changed its name to 'ITC Limited’ on September 2001.

The earlier decades of the Company's existence were mainly depending on growth and consolidation of the Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco businesses, In the Seventies it started to transform into a corporate. In 1975 the Company launched its Hotels business with the acquisition of a hotel in Chennai, which was rechristened 'ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel Chola'. The objective of ITC's entry into the hotels business was rooted in the concept of creating value for the nation In 1979, ITC entered the Paperboard business by promoting ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited, which today has become the market leader in India.

In 1985, ITC set up Surya Tobacco Co. in Nepal as an Indo-Nepal and British joint venture. Since inception, its shares have been held by ITC, British American Tobacco and various independent shareholders in Nepal. In August 2002, Surya Tobacco became a subsidiary of ITC Limited and its name was changed to Surya Nepal Private Limited (Surya Nepal). Also in 1990, leveraging its agri-sourcing competency, ITC set up the Agri-Business Division for export of agri-commodities. The Division is today one of India's largest exporters. ITC's unique and now widely acknowledged e-Choupal initiative began in 2000 with soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh. Now it extends to 10 states covering over 4 million farmers. ITC's first rural mall, christened 'Choupal Saagar' was inaugurated in August 2004 at Sehore. On the rural retail front, 24 'Choupal Saagars' are now operational in the 3 states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

In 2000, ITC forayed into the Greeting, Gifting and Stationery products business with the launch of Expressions range of greeting cards. A line of premium range of notebooks under brand “Paperkraft” was launched in 2002. To augment its offering and to reach a wider student population, the popular range of notebooks was launched under brand “Classmate” in 2003. “Classmate” over the years has grown to become India’s largest notebook brand and has also increased its portfolio to occupy a greater share of the school bag. Years 2007- 2009 saw the launch of Children Books, Slam Books, Geometry Boxes, Pens and Pencils under the “Classmate” brand.

In 2008, ITC repositioned the business as the Education and Stationery Products Business and launched India's first environment friendly premium business paper under the “Paperkraft” Brand. “Paperkraft” offers a diverse portfolio in the premium executive stationery and office consumables segment. Paperkraft entered new categories in the office consumable segment with the launch of Text liners, Permanent Ink Markers and White Board Markers in 2009.

ITC also entered the Lifestyle Retailing business with the Wills Sport range of international quality relaxed wear for men and women in 2000. The Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal wear (2002) and Wills Club life evening wear (2003).

In 2000, ITC spun off its information technology business into a wholly owned subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited, too more aggressively pursue emerging opportunities in this area. Today ITC Infotech is one of India’s fastest growing global IT and IT-enabled services companies and has established itself as a key player in offshore outsourcing, providing outsourced IT solutions and services to leading global customers across key focus verticals - Manufacturing, BFSI (Banking, Financial Services & Insurance), CPG&R (Consumer Packaged Goods & Retail), THT (Travel, Hospitality and Transportation) and Media & Entertainment.

ITC's foray into the Foods business is an outstanding example of successfully blending multiple internal competencies to create a new driver of business growth. It began in August 2001 with the introduction of 'Kitchens of India' ready-to-eat Indian gourmet dishes. In 2002, ITC entered the confectionery and staples segments with the launch of the brands mint-o and Candy man confectionery and Aashirvaad Atta (wheat flour). 2003 witnessed the introduction of Sun feast as the Company entered the biscuits segment. ITC's entered the fast growing branded snacks category with Bingo! in 2007. In just over a decade, the Foods business has grown to a significant size with over 200 differentiated products under six distinctive brands, with an enviable distribution reach, a rapidly growing market share and a solid market standing.

In 2002, ITC's philosophy of contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the entire value chain found yet another expression in the Safety Matches initiative. ITC now markets popular safety matches brands like iKno, Mangaldeep, Aim, Aim Mega and Aim Metro. ITC's foray into the marketing of Agarbattis (incense sticks) in 2003 marked the manifestation of its partnership with the cottage sector. ITC's popular agarbattis brands include Spriha and Mangaldeep across a range of fragrances like Rose, Jasmine, Bouquet, Sandalwood, Madhur, Sambrani and Nagchampa.

ITC introduced Essenza Di Wills, an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care products for men and women in July 2005. Continuing with its tradition of bringing world class products to Indian consumers the Company launched 'Fiama Di Wills', a premium range of Shampoos, Shower Gels and Soaps in September, October and December 2007 respectively. The Company also launched the 'Superia' range of Soaps and Shampoos in the mass-market segment at select markets in October 2007 and Vivel De Wills & Vivel range of soaps in February and Vivel range of shampoos in June 2008.

The ITC financial statements divide its business into four main categories, which are shown in below diagram:

FMCG business of the company is divided into following seven sub-segments:

Though ITC has interests in so many diverse businesses – cigarettes has been the main money earner for the company till date. In 2008 Cigarettes alone contributed more than 85% of company’s profit after tax.

BrandsList of products & brands

In FMCG, ITC has a strong presence in:

Cigarettes: 

(W. D. & H. O. Wills, Gold Flake Kings, Gold Flake Premium, Navy Cut, Insignia, India Kings, Classic (Verve, Menthol, Menthol Rush, Regular, Citric Twist, Mild & Ultra Mild), 555, Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol, Lucky Strike, Players and Flake.)

Foods:

(Kitchens of India; Aashirvaad, Minto, Sunfeast, Candyman, Bingo, Yippee, Sunfeast Pasta brands in Ready to Eat, Staples, Biscuits, Confectionery, Noodles and Snack Foods);

Apparel:

(Wills Lifestyle and John Players brands);

Personal care:

(Fiama di Wills; Vivel; Essenza di Wills; Superia; Vivel di Wills brands of products in perfumes, hair care and skincare)

Stationery:

(Classmate and Paper Kraft brands)

Safety Matches and Agarbattis:

[Ship (through ownership of WIMCO); iKno; Mangaldeep; Aim brands]

Other businesses include:

Hotels : ITC's hotels (under brands including WelcomHotel) have evolved into being India's second largest hotel chain with over 80 hotels throughout the country. ITC is also the exclusive franchisee in India of two brands owned by Sheraton International Inc.- The Luxury Collection and Sheraton which ITC uses in association with its own brands in the luxury 5 star segment. Brands in the hospitality sector owned and operated by its subsidiaries include  Fortune and  Welcome Heritage brands.

Paperboard, Specialty Paper, Graphic and other Paper; Packaging and Printing for diverse international and Indian clientele. Infotech (through its fully owned subsidiary ITC Infotech India Limited which

is a SEI CMM Level 5 company)

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background to the topic

Marketers spend enormous amounts of money annually on celebrity endorsement contracts based on the belief that celebrities are effective spokespeople for their products or brands (Katyal, 2007). Celebrity Endorsement is viewed as a billion dollar industry in today’s era. Various companies are signing deals with celebrities in the hope that by using celebrities they can accomplish a unique and relevant position in the minds of the consumers. Celebrity endorsement is increasingly being employed across various industries regardless of the product type. It is known to be playing the role of a signaling strategy. Also, According to Reynolds (2000) celebrity endorsement can give a brand a touch of glamour.

Everything said and done, one have to weigh the potential risks vs. the potential rewards as celebrity endorsements are always a high-risk, high-reward situation and there is always a human element that you might not know about ( Miller 1994).

1.2 Rese a rch Aim

Indian consumer attitudes are changing at a rapid pace and they are becoming more aware of the products that they use to define their ‘self’. The research is carried out to obtain a view about the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement process on a brand , here ITC Ltd. Is it as positive as it is assumed to be?

Most advertisements, be it of any form, majorly focuses on the young generation therefore their perception about the celebrity endorsed form of advertisement is of utmost importance, also g e t t i n g t o k n o w t h e attitude t h e y o u t h p r o v i d e s t h e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e m o s t current incidents or attitudes of any country, hence the age group fro 12-45 has been targeted in this research and various views of them regarding the brand endorsement of ITC products by celebrities have been asked.

1.3 Rese a rch Objectives

To check the effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsements on Brand ITC To check the Brand Usage of ITC Products among genders - male & female To find a co-relation between the Product choices with the chief decision

makers of the family. To evaluate ITC on the dimension of brand perception differ according to

the gender.

1.4 Synopsis of the Chapters

The framework of this piece of study has been structured to gain insights into the above purpose and thus includes 6 chapters namely the literature review, Methodology, Analysis and Discussion, Conclusion, limitations, managerial implications and future research. A brief outline of each of them is given below:

Chapter 2 is the literature review, which relates to the study of the previous secondary data available on this topic. This chapter primarily includes what celebrity endorsement is all about, the merits and demerits associated with it, the effectiveness of celebrity versus non- celebrity endorsements, multiple celebrity endorsements and the four most important models pertaining to choosing the ‘right’ celebrity which constitute the central part of this research.

Chapter 3 establishes the method to be adopted to carry out this study and thus it talks about the appropriateness of qualitative research as compared to the usage of quantitative approach for this particular research. Also the use of interviews has been reasoned in this chapter. Apart from this the criterion for the selection of the sample size is disclosed.

Chapter 4 reveals the analysis and interpretation of the responses, which were collected during the interviews. A wide range of sub-topics under this theme has been touched upon; some of the results are consistent with the literature review and some opposing.

Chapter 5 related to the final conclusion where all the findings from the research have been summarized.

Chapter 6 finally expresses the limitations that were faced while conducting this research. It also states an extensive area appropriate for future research and finally divulges the managerial implication, wh ich would

facilitate in a better execution of celebrity endorsed campaigns.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

“Celebrity is an omnipresent feature of society, blazing lasting impressions in the memories of all who cross its path.”

- Kurzman et.al (2007)

Indian market is not by a large space, an easy audience to target for the advertisers. The one billion people of the country are speckled in terms of beliefs, ethnicity, states, culture, language, dialects, norms and values. Other aspects such as the economic discrepancy in the country separates it in a way which has resulted in a large number of lower and upper middle class, with a very small class falling under in the middle class. This demonstrates a vast disparity in the buying power and decision-making clout, one, which the advertisers should keep in mind. Indian advertisement has been placing a vital amount of importance on both recall and persuasion as brand differentiating messages. Very often, various advertising styles are used by advertisers to influence consumer brand choice behaviour and among these different available choices one very popular choice is Celebrity Endorsements.

Celebrities influence on consumers appears to be larger than ever before. When used effectively celebrity endorsers have the potential of serving a valuable role in enhancing a brand’s competitive position and developing brand equity. A person who enjoys public recognition from a large share of a certain group of people and uses this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in advertisements is known as a celebrity. (McCraken 1989). They are usually known to the public for their accomplishments in areas other than the product endorsed by them.

This stands true for classic forms of celebrities such as actors like Shah Rukh Khan, models like Milind Soman, Sports athletes like Sachin Tendullkar and entertainers like Deepika Padukone for brands like ITC etc., but also for less obvious groups such as businessmen like the Ambani’s or politicians like Rahul Gandhi.

In India especially, it is not difficult to find motives for the increasing use if celebrities in advertisements as Indians have always been in awe of the stars of the celluloid world.

Today celebrity endorsement is being seen more and more as an integral part in an integrated marketing communication strategy. Hamish and Pringle (2004) suggest 3 macro factors present in the market today that in principal justify the validity of celebrity endorsement as a promotional strategy. The first factors the increasing opportunity for interactivity between brands and their consumers. Second is the “era of consent” situation present today where consumers have more control over the messages they receive. And lastly is the increasing media fragmentation and commercial communication clutter. (Temperley and Tangen, 2006).

2.2 Celebrities as a form of Aspirational Reference Group

From a theoretical perspective, celebrities are considered to be effective endorsers as because of the presence of their symbolic desirable reference group alliance. Assael (1984) suggests that the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement is present because of its ability to tap into the consumer’s symbolic union with its aspirational reference group. (Menon)

Reference groups among consumers are viewed as being a critical source of brand meanings as it helps them to evaluate there believe about the world particularly with others who share the same beliefs or are similar on relevant dimensions. Consumers form associations between reference groups and the brands they use and transfer this meaning from brand to self and one of the most reliable form of reference group is Celebrity Endorsers.

Celebrities are deemed to be referents by consumers, which refers to imaginary or actual individuals envisioned to have significant bearing on the consumer’s evaluations, aspirations and behaviour. The power of the celebrities lies in these influences that they exert on consumers, even though they themselves are physically and socially distant from an average consumer.

Consumers have a tendency to form an attachment to any object that reinforces one’s self identity or desired image, renders feelings of connectedness to a group or to any object that elicit nostalgia, and perhaps the most vivid example of this form of attachment maybe found in the consumers preoccupation with the celebrities. (O’Mahony and Meenaghan, 1998).

2.3 Celebrity versus No n ‐ celebrity endorsement effectiveness

The prevalent utilization of celebrity endorsement in marketing program is not an accident. Research has found that as compared to the other genre of endorsers such as the company manager, typical consumer and the professional expert, by far the celebrities are the most effective.

According to Tom et al (1992) results endorsers were more effective in creating a link to the product than celebrity endorsers based on the classical conditioning paradigm. This argument was based on the fact that companies had more controlling power over created endorsers and they build these characters in such a manner that they are fitting with the brand and target audience and also that these characters were not allowed to endorse more than one brand. The celebrity endorsers on the other hand had created a persona of their own over time and the company lacked control over them.

Differences were found in the cognitive responses, but there was no statistically significant difference in attitudes towards advertising and the intention to purchase the endorsed brand in the celebrity and non-celebrity endorsed situations.(Mehta 1994). On the contrary Atkin and Block 1983 and Petty et. al 1983 found that as compared to the non-celebrity endorsers, the celebrity endorsers produced more positive attitudes towards advertising and greater purchase intentions.

McCraken (1989) found that the use of celebrity endorsers stand for an effective way of transferring meaning to brands as it is believed that celebrity endorsers bring their own emblematic meaning to the endorsement process and that this cultural meaning residing in the celebrity is passed on to the product which in turn is passed on to the consumer. McCraken (1989) argued there lays a difference between celebrities and anonymous person as it is assumed by him that celebrities have the capability of delivering meanings of extra depth, power and subtlety and also offers a range of lifestyle and personality which cannot be matched by anonymous people.

In the similar vein he continues to prove that most heavily stereotyped celebrity produces not just single meanings but also interconnected multiple meanings indicating that celebrity endorsers are far more effective than non-celebrity endorsers. In the light of company reports and academic writing it is safe to argue that celebrity endorsers are more effective than non celebrity endorsers in generating desirable income.

2.4 Pros of Celebrity Advertise m ent

Academic researchers have conducted sufficient empirical research to express the benefits of product endorsement, in addition to the intuitive arguments that rationalize this practice. It is observed that the presence of a renowned persona helps in solving the problem of over communication that is becoming more and more prevalent these days.

The increased consumer power over programmed advertisement has made advertising has made advertising more challenging. To ease this threat and to help create and maintain consumer attention to advertisements celebrity endorsement strategy is seen to be advantageous. Celebrities have the potential of helping the advertisements stand out from the surrounding clutter, guiding towards a improved communicative ability by cutting through excess noise in a communication process( Sherman 1985). Also one probable solution in the face of tarnished company image is the hiring of a celebrity to restore it. Celebrity Endorsement assists in the image polishing of the company’s image.

A stream of studies identifies the attributes such trustworthiness, similarity, likableness, expertise that cause a celebrity to stand as a persuasive source which in turn creates a sense of certainty. It is shown by research and experience that consumers are highly ready to spend and more comfortable , when products that relate to their desired image is endorsed by celebrities. (Internet World 2001) as it helps them to take more notice of celebrity endorsements and improve their level of product recall.

Another reason for the use of celebrity endorsement is because it has a strong impact on the learning style and memory which is critical to marketing communication success. This is because most consumers are not in a purchasing situation when they come into contact with the brand message. Marketers make use of celebrity endorsements as they lead to better information storage in the minds of the consumers which can be readily retrieved when the purchasing situation dose arise.

All these lead to the conclusion that celebrity endorsements are likely to have a positive effect on product choice behavior. (Goldsmith, Lafferty and Newell 2000).

2.5 Cons of Celebrity Endorsement

The very first downside of celebrity endorsement is the term ‘Lazy Advertising’ used to address the extreme usage of celebrities to endorse products, which poses a question on the validation of success of celebrity endorsement as a prevalent marketing communication activity. It is believed that using celebrities can turn out to be an unnecessary risk, unless there appears to be a very logical relation between the endorser and the product. (Beverage Industry 1989, USA Today, 1995). ITC Ltd, in fact have started to utilize star power to attract maximize their customer base and attract new potential customers.

Celebrity endorsers may now and then become a liability to the brand they endorse. Negative information and publicity regarding the celebrity is one risk associated with the use of celebrity endorsers. If the celebrity is strongly associated with the brand then the impact of the negative publicity will brim over to the product. (Till, 1996). Many companies have been badly affected by the negative publicity accruing from the celebrity’s misdeeds. One very prominent example is Pepsi which suffered with three tarnished celebr i t ies - Mike Tyson, Madonna, and Michael Jackson and Thumbs Up from Salman Khan. (Katyal, 2007).

Clutter in brand endorsement is very high up these days. (Kulkarni and Gaulankar, 2005). This is due to celebrity greed which leads to a celebrity endorsing many diverse products. (Erdogan, 1999)

Overexposure is a common occurrence between highly recognized and well-liked endorsers and highly competing brands and leads to making the consumer confused and unable to recall correctly which brand the celebrity stands for. This not only compromises the value of the celebrity in the eyes of the star’s fans but also brings to the customers notice the true nature of endorsements which is more compensation inclined and not so brand or product inclined. A classic example here is of Shahrukh Khan. He is endorsing more than 8-10 different brands simultaneously and it leads to an Identity clash between the people in regards to brand recall and brand loyalty. A universal concern here is that consumers will fail to notice the brand being promoted because they are focusing their attention on the celebrity.

2.6 Selecting the ‘Right’ celebrity

Shimp (2000) put forward five factors in order of decreasing importance namely, (1) the celebrity credibility, (2) celebrity and audience match-up, (3) celebrity and brand match up, (4) celebrity attractiveness, and (5) miscellaneous considerations, which were considered by advertising executives while making their celebrity-selection decisions. Models and concepts were constructed by scholars to draw the liaison between celebrities, the brand they endorsed and the perception of the people related to the two. (Khatri, 2006). One of the earliest models was the Source Credibility Model by Hovland et al. (1953). Apart from this there were 3 additional models recognised by Erdogan (1999) which were the Match-up Hypothesis by Forkan (1980), the Source Attractiveness Model by McGuire (1985) and the Meaning Transfer Model by McCraken (1989). The following part will take a closer look at the stated considerations and the associated models.

2.7 Multiple Celebrity Endorse m ents

One of the first enquiries into the phenomenon called celebrity endorsement was by Mowen and Brown (1981), where the results of his study underlined the importance of the advertiser launch a exclusive agreement with a celebrity.(Cronin, 2003). Save for exclusivity comes with a high price tag even though the traditional advertising literature advocates the importance of an exclusive product contract with a celebrity. This high value ticket has lead to a trend of companies sharing stars. Earlier studies hint at the fact that in order to erode consumer’s acumen of endorser’s trustworthiness, as well as advertisement and brand evaluation, by simply knowing that the celebrity is endorsing multiple products.(Tripp, Jensen, Carlson, 1994).

On the contrary, Hsu &Donald(2002) found that it might be beneficial to endorse a product with multiple celebrities as it leads to attracting and connecting to the different and diverse sets of target audience to the product. In fact this strategy of using an assortment of celebrities is quite high-flying among sports brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok. (Temperley & Tangen, 2006).

Erdogan and Baker had interviewed several advertising agency managers and reported that the practitioners’ insight indicated that “a brand has a wide range of consumers and sometimes the use of multiple celebrities is needed to cover the whole target audience, though it must be made sure that each celebrity’s values reflects core brand values” (Hsu & Donald, 2002). By using multiple celebrities in collaboration one can more successfully endorse a specific product. This is evident in the marketing strategy used by the ITC’S Personnel care department who matches its product line depending on the celebrities and the meanings associated with them.Additionally, the boredom which is caused by the presence of a single celebrity can be reduced with the help of multiple celebrities.(Hsu & Donald, 2002)

While surfing through the different channels of television one realises that several brands are being endorsed by some celebrities. For illustration, Amitabh Bachchan is seen to enact for Pepsi, Cadbury, Dabur, and Nerolac. On the other hand Pepsi has been endorsed by Sachin Tendulkar, Aamir Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rahul Dravid. The following table provides a brief overview of different brands endorsed by multiple celebrities in India.

Prevalence of Multiple Celebrity endorsement in India

2.8 Consumer’s perspective

“The heterogeneity in consumer’s responses to emotional appeals in advertising is well documented in the behavioural literature”.(Moore, Harris & Chen, 1995). McCraken (1989) goes on to describe a consumer as a ‘self’ that constantly detracts into their lives the symbolic properties from consumer products in order to construct aspects of themselves and the world. The results of the study conducted by O’Mahony and Meenaghan (1998) designate that a consumer holds by and large a positive attitude towards celebrity endorsements. Research confirms that the celebrity endorsement can have an impact on the consumers recall evaluations, attention and purchase intentions. At the same time it needs to be taken into consideration that although consumers might have a favourable disposition towards celebrities, this does not necessarily always translates into purchase intentions.(O’Mahony and Meenaghan, 1998).

Consumer’s perception begins with their self-image and lifestyle.(Busler, 2003).Daneshwar and Schwer (2000) formulated an estimated equation on the purchase intention of the consumers which is based on the literature that points to the fact that purchase intention in an environment of endorsements depends on consumers identifying with the association and its consequent purpose on their socioeconomic profile. The equation goes as follows:

PURCHASE INTENTION = f (often, income, gender, occupation, age, education)

It is often seen that the understanding of the bond between the endorsed product and the product itself is difficult for the consumer to judge and thus this is critical to understand while discussing celebrity endorsement. (Hsu & Donald, 2002).Using the internationalization process, Friedman & Friedman (1979) posited that consumers were more likely to purchase expensive and/or complex products which were endorsed by expert celebrities rather than typical customers. Using the same theory, Lafferty and Goldsmith (1999) that consumers are more likely to purchase a product when the perception of corporate credibility is high and when the purchase intention when endorser credibility which maybe a celebrity, is again perceived to be high. But it is seen that once the consumer has the product in his or her hands, however, the design, quality, and price of the product are what consummates the sale, not the

association with a celebrity, which enlighten us with the verity that celebrities get consumers to try products, not to necessarily buy products.

Daneshvary and Schwer (2000) refer to individuals with higher levels of education might be less influenced by any form of advertising than those with less education, because education provides individuals with analytical skills allowing them to decipher information from several sources prior to making a purchasing decision, making them less likely to purchase a product based on one source.

The celebrities are often looked upon by the young as their role model. (Choi & Rifon, 2007). It is seen that celebrity endorsement specially encourages the young to embrace their individuality by celebrating their contemporary icons and heroes. (Temperley, Tangen, 2006).

2.9 Brand ITC- Celebrity Endorsement

Brand endorsements by celebrities are a widespread phenomenon in India and worldwide. For decades, the celebrities present in the Indian films have provided lifestyle cues to youth. Given the popularity, size and reach of the celebrities present in the film industry have the power to influence the attitude and behavior of millions of people, particularly the youth in India. Just like any big Brand in the market, ITC have also used Celebrities for promoting their products and have increased their presence in lifestyle, food products as well as in Personal care product category.

The company as such have utilized various film stars for endorsing their product like Shahrukh for Sunfeast biscuits, Deepika padukone and Katrina Kaif for their personal care product like Vivels and Fiama Di Wills, and Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor for their Lifestyle product like Wills lifestyle and John players.

In fact usage of Celebrities for their product promotion have helped them in gaining a foothold in the market as visibility and popularity of this stars enhanced their product reach among masses.

But the final pull or brand image of the product will always rest on the quality of the product and business will be created on that basis. Through my research, I have tried to know the effectiveness of celebrity impact on the product.

2.10 Conclusion

The literature review has discussed concepts and theories regarding the basics of celebrity endorsement, the pros and cons of it and its effectiveness as a aspirational reference group. Celebrity -versus non-celebrity endorsement effectiveness has been reviewed in order to examine the difference of their influences on consumer perception of endorsed products. It was noteworthy to highlight the studies on celebrity endorsement (Such as McCraken,1979) as it serves as a symbolic communicative of social distinction in negotiating prestige and status specially in a country like India where high income disparities and social mobility magnifies the tendency to claim differential status through the brand one consumes.

The l i t e r a t u r e review also appraises the effect of current prevalence of multiple endorsements. Further, a brief overview of the importance of selecting the right kind of celebrities has been brought to the front with the help of celebrity endorsement theories such as Source Credibility Model, Source Attractiveness Model, Meaning Transfer Model and more. Also, there is a detailed section on the implication and economic worth of celebrity endorsements.

Alongside these, the last section of this chapter talks about the use of Celebrity endorsement by Brand ITC. The reason for focusing on India is because this specific form of marketing communication activity is seen to be growing by leaps and bounds in India. Furthermore, another reason for choosing celebrity endorsement is because consumers in the country hold the celebrities in really high regards. Thus, this would enforce the study as it is to study the Indian consumer perception on celebrity endorsements as little research has done on it.

Chapter 3: Methodology

“Knowing what you want to find out leads inexorably to the questions of how will get the information.’”

-Miles and Huber man (1994, pp.42)

3.1 Introduction

In the previous chapter the literature review connected to research question of this study is brought up. Methodology is the answer to the why and how the research was carried out in the first place. This increases the possibility of receiving appropriate answers to the research questions and derives valuable insights into the topic at hand. The main focus of the methodology here is driven by primary research, thus undertaking research that is novel in nature. Alongside this it highlights the methods that would be put to use to explore this study. The choice of research approach is the first topic discussed in this chapter, followed by data collection, sample selection and data analysis

3.2 Resea rch Methods

“Research means different things to different people” (Amartunga, Baldry, Sarshar and Newton, 2002) and the intention behind it are to investigate innumerable data, theories, experiences, concepts and law. “The procedural framework within which the research is conducted” is the definition of research methodology. (Remenyi et al., 1998). The two broad and distinct approaches to social research cover the Quantitative and Qualitative methods of enquiry.

Research Design:

A research design is an arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of Data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with Economy in procedure. It constitutes the blueprint for collection, measurement and analysis of data. My research design is exploratory research design, which is Quantitative in nature. It is also known as Descriptive Research, which is used in survey and observation.

3.4 Data Collection

Data Sources:

In dealing with any real life problem it is often found that data at hand are inadequate, and hence, it becomes necessary to collect data that are appropriate. The researcher can collect data either through primary source or secondary source.

a) Primary data: These are those data, which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. I have used structured questionnaire for the same that have been filled by 208 respondents.

b) Secondary data: These are those which have already been collected by

someone else and which have already been passed through the statistical process. I have collected it from various sources like Internet, published data, journals, reports and statistics from private and public institutions etc.

Population of the study

Age Group of 16-45 of Delhi – NCR region have been my population of study.

Sampling Size:

It is the total number of respondents targeted for collecting the data for the research. Sample size of 208 persons has been taken for this research.

Sampling Technique:

I have used convenience-sampling technique in this research project.

Sampling Frame:

Frame is the list of respondents.

3.5 DATA PROCESSING

Daily data have been entered into MS-Excel sheets. After the exhaustion of the specified geographical area, the data was analyzed using simple graphical and tabulation techniques. The data sheets mentioned have been attached in the annexure of the report.

Analytical Tools

After collection of data, another work necessary for any data collector is to correctly analysis that data. The statistical tools help us to correctly analyze the data. In my project I have used software named SPSS for analysis of the data feeded in Excel Sheet. I have used the following statistical tools:

a) One Way Annovab) T-testc) Cross Tabulation andd) Chi-Square Test.

3.6 Data Analysis

Once the data is collected it needs to be thoroughly analyzed in order to arrive to a valid conclusion. The key areas under the chosen topic which has been analyzed against the data available from the literature review are the general perception of the Indian consumers about the celebrity endorsement process, their personal preference, does it result in brand recall and hence influence purchase, what are the views on multiple celebrity endorsement and the necessity of the existence of a appropriate relationship b e t w e e n the product and the celebrity. The i m p a c t of negative publicity has been explored.

Chapter 4: Analysis and Discussion

4.1 Introduction

This chapter aims obtain the objective of the study by critically analyzing the quantitative data through thoroughly examining the interviewee’s responses and beliefs . This has been achieved through evaluating t h e most relevant responses by the participants. The data has been analyzed and discussed by comparing the comments made by the respondents with the literature review keeping in mind the research objective of the study. Thus, the rationale of this analysis is based on the answers provided by the respondents based on the questionnaire provided to them.

This chapter begins with the general opinion of the consumers regarding the celebrity endorsement process and whether it aligns with their personal preference.

4.2 General Opinion about Celebrity Endorsement versus Personal Choice

Firstly, the respondents were asked to voice their opinion about the celebrity endorsement process in general and then state whether it had the capacity to influence them personally.The interviewees were able to elaborate and build on their thoughts as the questions were close-ended. The responses from the participants enabled the achievement of interesting insights into this particular phenomenon.

4.2.1 General view

The general opinion that can be derived from the answers provided by the respondents is that celebrity endorsement is a ‘way of impressing the brand’s name in the minds of the people and influencing them to buy the product or at least create a desire in them to own the product.’ In the words of the participants it makes the ‘brand more recognizable.’

It is observed that the presence of a renowned persona helps in solving the problem of over communication that is becoming more and more prevalent these days. Thus, when used effectively celebrity endorsers have the potential of serving a valuable role in enhancing a brand’s competitive position and developing brand equity. And in a way ITC benefitted by the usage of Celebrity Endorsements. They have suggested that India is a country where the ‘practice of celebs rooting for a product’ is seen as a big thing, Along with bollywood stars, the cricketers are viewed as great influencers in India as in the words of a respondent ‘Cricket is a craze in India.’ These thoughts concur with the statement passed by the Hind times tabloids which goes as ‘In India especially, it is not difficult to find motives for the increasing use if celebrities in advertisements as Indians have always been in awe of the stars of the celluloid world.’ Now instead of Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar has replaced him in Sun-feast Biscuits Ads.

But everything said and done, the dominant opinion of the chosen sample was that ‘Marketing is all about creating an appealing illusion for the customer. Marketing is a l l about creating an appealing illusion for the customer....and getting celebrities to endorse products serves this purpose to its best in India where the middle class and lower class do idolize these celebrities and go buy these brands. People who idolize Shah Rukh Khan would buy sunfeast biscuits instead of Parle G and people who idolize Dhoni would buy Coke instead of sprite.

1) Age Group

Age Group RespondentsBelow 18 718 - 24 10925-30 4531-35 2536-40 1041-45 12

7

109

45

2510

12

Age Group

Below 1818 - 2425-3031-3536-4041-45

From the data collected and its analysis, it have been analyzed that 52% (109) of the population is of age group 18-24 years. And they are the people who actually get influenced by the celebrities. They actually knew about the celebrity endorsements done for ITC Ltd. Products.

2) Gender Ratio

Gender Ratio RespondentsMale 81

Female 126

81

126

Gender Ratio

MaleFemale

I had done convenience sampling and the gender ratio that I have got is as mentioned below. 61% of the respondents were female and 39% of the respondents were male.

3) Occupation

Occupation

Respondents

Service 98Business 4Housewife 7Student 98Others 1

98

47

98

1

Occupation

ServiceBusinessHousewifeStudentOthers

54% of my respondents were combination of Service people and Student community. Rest of them was mixture of business people and housewives.

3) Annual Income

Annual Income RespondentsLess than 2,00,000 1122,00,001-4,00,000 464,00,001-6,00,000 336,00,001-8,00,000 10More than 8,00,000 7

112

46

33 10 7

Annual Income

Less than 2,00,0002,00,001-4,00,0004,00,001-6,00,0006,00,001-8,00,000More than 8,00,000

As mentioned above, 47 % of the respondents were students, so the majority of them belonged to Annual income less than Rs. 2,00,000 lakh.

Motivation factor for buying aA) Personnel Product

Motivation Factor a) Personnel ProductEsteem 31Brand 145Price 29Celebrity 3

31

145

293

Motivation Factor a) Personnel Product

EsteemBrand Price Celebrity

For personnel care products, Out of the 208 respondents, 145 people, i.e. 70% of the population said that the motivation factor for them for buying the product is the Brand associated with it. It helps them to create an authencity about the product. 15% of the population associated themselves with Esteem and 14% with Price of the product. But only 1% of the population was actually bothered about the Celebrity aspect attached with the product. So, ITC as a unit have strong Brand recall and they can put more emphasis on it on Personnel care department.

Motivation factor for buying a b) Lifestyle Product

Motivational Factor b) LifestyleStatusTrends 97Price 37Celebrity 7

97

377

Motivational Factor b) Lifestyle

StatusTrendsPriceCelebrity

For lifestyle Product, 69% of the population go with the new trends available in the market and 26 % are motivated based on price mentioned. And rest 5 % gets motivated by the celebrity used and follows him or her for their latest trends and uses it for themselves. Only 5% will follow celebrities attached with the product as a motivational factor for using their product.

Motivation factor for buying ac)Food Product

Motivational Factor c) Food ProductQuality 171Packaging 15Brand Name 21Celebrity 1

171

15 21 1

Motivational Factor c)Food Product

QualityPackagingBrand NameCelebrity

Out of the total population surveyed, most of them, that is, 82% of the people will find motivation to buy the food product based on quality of the product offered. 10% of the respondents will buy the product based on Brand Name attached and 7% based on Packaging. Surprisingly, only one respondent said he / she will be motivated to buy the product based on Celebrity attached to it.

Which media vehicle do you use for getting information about the product?

Media Vehicle UsedT.V. 114Internet 57Radio 2Newspaper 35

114

57

2

35

Media Vehicle Used

T.V.InternetRadioNewspaper

Most of the respondents, nearly 55% found T.V. as medium for getting information about any product. 27% of the population, i.e., students found Internet as a medium for getting information. 17% liked the information flow through newspaper medium.

What factor affects your buying behavior towards a purchase?

Factors for PurchasingPrice 71Opinion-Leader 21Celebrity Endorser 16Brand Name 100

71

2116

100

Factors for Purchasing

PriceOpinion-LeaderCelebrity EndorserBrand Name

When we questioned the respondents about the factors that actually affects their purchasing behavior, 48% of the people said that they will go for Brand name of the product. 34% of the population said that they consider price as factor in regards of purchase. 10% decided on basis of opinion leader and Celebrity endorsers influenced 8% of the populations.

Do you like to see any celebrity/Brand Ambassador endorsing your brand in media?

Want Celebrity Endorser or not

Yes 115No 43Can't Say 48

115

43

48

Want Celebrity Endorser or not

YesNoCan't Say

One of the interesting fact that emerged out from the survey was that 56% of the respondents believed that they required Celebrities for endorsing the products of any company and they believed it will create visibility to the product. 23% were confused regarding usage of Celebrities while 21% out rightly said no for celebrity endorsements.

If yes, what feature about the celebrity do you consider?

Celebrity Features NeededPopularity 91Personnel Image 51Field of Profession 31Consistent Performance 35

91

51

31

35

Celebrity Features Needed

PopularityPersonnel ImageField of ProfessionConsistent Performance

Most of the respondents who had supported for Celebrity endorsements, i.e., 56% of the population. Out of it , 44% said they will go with the popularity of the celebrity. 25% said, they will look into personnel image of the endorser and will decide to purchase the item based on that. 17% were having the opinion that consistent performance of the celebrity used mattered a lot and rest 15% believed that celebrities based on the field of profession they belong to influence them.

Out of the following celebrity personal, who do you like the most?

Celebrity Personnel you want to seeBollywood Stars 89Cricketers 39Models 16Common face 63

89

3916

63

Celebrity Personnels you want to see

Bollywood StarsCricketersModelsCommon face

43% of the people wanted Bollywood stars to endorse the products as they create a great visibility factor among the masses. 30% said, they wanted any common face so that they can relate to them and it will help to create a deeper impact inside the customers mind. 19% said they prefer cricketers and only 8 % supported for models in creating awareness about the product.

Which Personal Care product of ITC are you most aware of ?

Personnel Care product of ITC AwarenessFiama Di Wills 115Vivel 80Superia 6Essenza Di Wills 7

115

80

6 7

Personnel Care product of ITC Awareness

Fiama Di WillsVivelSuperiaEssenza Di Wills

In personnel care department of ITC, around 55% have heardabout Fiama Di Wills soap.38% were aware of Vivel soaps. Only 3% of the population knew about Superia and Essenza Di Wills soap.

How many times you purchase the above products in a month?

Purchase Rate of Personnel Care Pdt.Once In month 111Twice in month 68More than twice in a month 27

111

68

27

Purchase Rate of Personnel Care Pdt.

Once In monthTwice in monthMore than twice in a month

54% of the targeted population purchased the items once in a month. 33% said they purchase personnel care product around twice a month and there are 13% of spenders who are actually beauty conscious and purchase the items more than twice a month.

Which Food product of ITC are you most aware of?

Awareness of Food ProductAashirwaad Atta 95Sunfeast Biscuits 70Bingo Chips 36Kitchens oF India 7

95

70

367

Awareness of Food Product

Aashirwaad AttaSunfeast BiscuitsBingo ChipsKitchens oF India

Of the ITC’S Food product, around 46% knew about Aashirwaad Atta. 34% knew about Sun feast biscuits. 17% respondent identified bingo chips.7 % of the population like youth preferred ready to eat materials like Kitchen’s of India.

How much quantity do you purchase?

a) Aashirwaad Atta

b) Sunfeast Biscuits

c) Bingo Chips

d) Kitchens Of India

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200

26

136

127

33

145

42

21

80

171

178

148

113

TotalIn BulkDaily Basis

From the figures mentioned above, we can clearly say that Aashirwaad Atta was purchased by most of the people in bulk basis while, ITC’S other food product like Sunfeast biscuits and Bingo chips were consumed more on daily basis by the respondents.

Which Lifestyle product of ITC are you most aware of?

Purchase Quantity ofDaily Basis In Bulk Total

a) Aashirwaad Atta 26 145 171b) Sunfeast Biscuits 136 42 178c) Bingo Chips 127 21 148d) Kitchens Of India 33 80 113

Awareness of Lifestyle Pdt.Wills Lifestyle 77John Players 124

77

124

Awareness of Lifestyle Pdt.

Wills LifestyleJohn Players

In lifestyle section of ITC Brand, 62% people were aware of their product John Players while 38% had the awareness about Wills Lifestyle. So the endorsement of the products was in right direction.

Where do you like to go for shopping?

Shopping PreferenceLocal Kirana Stores 22Departmental Stores 67Supermarket Stores 65e-shopping 7Organized retail stores in malls 47

22

67

65

7

47

Shopping Preference

Local Kirana StoresDepartmental StoresSupermarket Storese-shoppingOrganized retail stores in malls

Most of the respondents used to purchase their ITC products from Departmental Stores and Supermarket stores, which was 32% and 31% respectively. 23% of the population liked to shop in Organized retail stores in Malls for their easy accessibility and 11% opted for local kirana stores. Only 3% of the population preferred for E-shopping.

How you differentiate one brand from the other?

Differentiating Factor among Brands

Product Feature 142Color 7Celebrity Endorsement 6Brand Image 52

142

7

6

52

Differentiating Factor among Brands

Product FeatureColorCelebrity EndoresmentBrand Image

As per the question asked, I wanted to find out the differentiating factors among different Brands. And 69% of the respondents said that they choose or differentiate different brand based on Product features. 25% will choose based on Brand Image of the product. And only 3% each for Celebrity Endorsement and color of the product.

Who is the Chief decision maker for following purchases?

Chief Decision Maker Father Mother Both Children Totala)Lifestyle 41 28 103 36 208b)Food Product 5 122 78 3 208c)Personnel Care 6 76 109 17 208

a)Lifestyle

b)Food Product

c)Personnel Care

0 50 100 150 200 250

41

5

6

28

122

76

103

78

109

36

3

17

208

208

208

TotalChildrenBothMotherFather

From the figure we can analyze that, in Decision making process for purchase in Lifestyle and Personnel care, both father and mother take most of the decisions. But in Food product, the main decision maker is mother only.

Does the presence of celebrities in advertisements help you recognize and recall brands more promptly?

173

33

Do celebrity endorsement help in Brand Recall

YESNO

The main feature for which the whole survey was conducted was whether the Celebrity endorsement in reality help in Brand recall of the product. And as expected, 84% of the respondents were able to identify the brand of ITC based on Celebrity endorsed. And rest 16% believed otherwise. The consumer ho lds by and large a positive attitude towards celebrity endorsements. Research confirms that the celebrity endorsement can have an impact on the consumers recall evaluations, attention and purchase intentions. At the same time it needs to be taken into consideration that although consumers might have a favourable disposition towards celebrities, this does not necessarily always translates into purchase intentions.

Identify the Celebrity based on product endorsed:

Do celebrity endorsement help in Brand Recall

YES 173NO 33

a) Fiama Di Wills

24

180

4

Fiama Di Wills

Kareena KapoorDeepika PadukoneKatrina KaifTammana Bhatia

Out of 208 respondents, 87% of the people knew that Fiama Di Wills soap is actually promoted by Deepika Padukone. 12% people responded that Kareena Kapoor is endorsing the product.

B) SUNFEAST BISCUITS

Celebrity based on product endorsedFiama Di Wills

Kareena Kapoor 24Deepika Padukone 180Katrina Kaif 4Tammana Bhatia 0

Celebrity based on product endorsedSun feast Biscuits

Shahrukh khan 192Saif Ali Khan 11Akshay Kumar 2Aamir Khan 3

192

112 3

Sunfeast Biscuits

Shahrukh khanSaif Ali KhanAkshay KumarAamir Khan

In Food product, 92% of the people knew that the sunfeast biscuits are promoted by Shahrukh Khan. And 5% of the people thought that, the product is endorsed by Saif Ali Khan.

c) Lifestyle (John Players)

Celebrity based on product endorsed

John PlayersHrithik Roshan 103Ranbir Kapoor 71John Abraham 25Shahid Kapoor 8

103

71

258

John Players

Hrithik RoshanRanbir KapoorJohn AbrahamShahid Kapoor

This was actually a tricky question as both Hrithik and Ranbir were the faces of John Players. Ranbir infact replaced Hrithik who now have been replaced by few models. Here 50% of the respondents said that Hrithik Roshan promotes John Player and 34% of the people were of the opinion that Ranbir Kapoor promoted the brand.

Conduct the Cross tabulation of Chief Decision Maker of Lifestyle with the dimensions of Brand Differentiation Factor being evaluated.

Ho: No relationship exist between chief decision maker of Lifestyle and Brand differentiation

H1: Relationship exist between chief decision maker of Lifestyle and Brand differentiation

Chief Decision Maker - Lifestyle and Brand Differentiation Factor Cross tabulation

Count

Brand Differentiation Factor

TotalProduct Feature Color

Celebrity Endorsement Brand Image

Chief Decision Maker - Lifestyle

Father 27 1 0 13 41

Mother 16 3 2 7 28

Both 70 2 3 27 102

Children 29 1 1 5 36

Total 142 7 6 52 207

Chi-Square Tests

Value df Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 12.060a 9 .210

Likelihood Ratio 11.513 9 .242

Linear-by-Linear Association

2.192 1 .139

N of Valid Cases 207

a. 8 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .81.

Here, Chi-square calculated value is 12.060 with degree of freedom 9 and P-value=. 210 > 0.05 (level of significance). Therefore, Accept Ho.

Thus no relationship exists between chief decision maker and Brand differentiation.

Conduct the Cross tabulation of Chief Decision Maker of Food product with the dimensions of Brand Differentiation Factor being evaluated

Ho: No relationship exists between chief decision maker of food product and Brand differentiation.

H1: Relationship exists between chief decision maker of food product and Brand differentiation.

Chief Decision Maker - Food Product * Brand Differentiation Factor Cross tabulation

Count

Brand Differentiation Factor

TotalProduct Feature Color

Celebrity Endorsement

Brand Image

Chief Decision Maker –

Food Product

Father 3 1 0 1 5

Mother 87 6 3 26 122

Both 50 0 3 24 77

Children 2 0 0 1 3

Total 142 7 6 52 207

Chi-Square Tests

Value dfAsymp. Sig. (2-

sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 10.514a 9 .311

Likelihood Ratio 11.091 9 .270

Linear-by-Linear Association

1.795 1 .180

N of Valid Cases 207

a. 12 cells (75.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .09.

Here, Chi-square calculated value is 10.514 with degree of freedom 9 and P-value=. 311 > 0.05(level of significance). Therefore, Accept Ho.

Thus no relationship exists between chief decision maker and Brand differentiation.

Conduct the Cross tabulation of Chief Decision Maker- Personnel Care with the dimensions of Brand Differentiation Factor being evaluated.

Ho: No relationship exists between chief decision maker- Personnel Care and Brand differentiation.

H1: Relationship exists between chief decision maker- Personnel Care and Brand differentiation.

Chief Decision Maker - Personnel Care * Brand Differentiation Factor Cross tabulation

Count

Brand Differentiation Factor

TotalProduct Feature Color

Celebrity Endorsement

Brand Image

Chief Decision Maker - Personnel Care

Father 5 0 0 1 6

Mother 52 5 4 15 76

Both 71 2 1 34 108

Children 14 0 1 2 17

Total 142 7 6 52 207

Chi-Square Tests

Value dfAsymp. Sig. (2-sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 12.217a 9 .201

Likelihood Ratio 13.157 9 .156

Linear-by-Linear Association

.103 1 .749

N of Valid Cases 207

a. 11 cells (68.8%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is .17.

Here, Chi-square calculated value is 12.217 with degree of freedom 9 and p-value=.210 > 0.05(level of significance). Therefore, Accept Ho.

Thus no relationship exists between chief decision maker and Brand differentiation.

Does the evaluation of the ITC on the dimension of brand perception differ according to the gender?

Ho: No significant difference on the evaluation of the ITC on the dimension of brand perception (1,2,3,4) differ according to the gender

H1: Significant difference on the evaluation of the ITC on the dimension of brand perception differ according to the gender

Descriptives

N MeanStd. Deviation

Std. Error

95% Confidence Interval for Mean

Minimum MaximumLower Bound

Upper Bound

brandperception 1

female 80 3.16 .770 .086 2.99 3.33 1 5

male 126 2.87 .829 .074 2.73 3.02 1 5

4 1 2.00 . . . . 2 2

Total 207 2.98 .818 .057 2.87 3.09 1 5

Brandperception 2

female 80 2.90 .949 .106 2.69 3.11 1 5

male 126 2.64 1.128 .100 2.44 2.84 1 5

4 1 2.00 . . . . 2 2

Total 207 2.74 1.066 .074 2.59 2.89 1 5

brand perception 3

female 78 3.14 .893 .101 2.94 3.34 1 5

male 126 2.66 1.097 .098 2.47 2.85 1 5

4 1 2.00 . . . . 2 2

Total 205 2.84 1.047 .073 2.69 2.98 1 5

brand perception 4

female 80 3.16 .878 .098 2.97 3.36 1 5

male 126 2.63 1.063 .095 2.45 2.82 1 5

4 1 2.00 . . . . 2 2

Total 207 2.84 1.025 .071 2.70 2.98 1 5

Annova

Sum of Squares dfMean Square F Sig.

brandperception 1

Between Groups

5.067 2 2.533 3.890 .022

Within Groups

132.856 204 .651

Total 137.923 206

brandperception 2

Between Groups

3.784 2 1.892 1.677 .189

Within Groups

230.129 204 1.128

Total 233.913 206

brandperception 3

Between Groups

11.914 2 5.957 5.682 .004

Within Groups

211.774 202 1.048

Total 223.688 204

brandperception 4

Between Groups

14.322 2 7.161 7.228 .001

Within Groups

202.094 204 .991

Total 216.415 206

Consider the case of brand perception 1. Here, F- value is 3.890 with p- value .022,<0.05. Thus reject Ho.

Therefore, Celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion of buying a product differs with respect to the gender.

To find out the difference in the level of brand usage among male and female

Ho = No difference in the level of brand usage among male and female.

H1 = Difference exist in the level of brand usage among male and female.

Descriptive Statistics

N Mean Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

Brand Usage 208 2.95 1.299 1 5

Gender 208 1.62 .515 1 4

Mann-Whitney Test

Ranks

Gender N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks

BrandUsage female 81 86.15 6978.50

male 126 115.47 14549.50

Total 207

Test Statisticsa

Brand Usage

Mann-Whitney U 3657.500

Wilcoxon W 6978.500

Z -3.576

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .000

a. Grouping Variable: Gender

Here 81 female have mean rank 86.15 with 126 male with mean rank 115.47.The group with the higher average rank scored higher on the test.Here, mean rank for the male is more than that of female.

Mann Whitney U value with P value=.000 less than alpha, so reject Ho.

Thus male and female differs in the brand usage with male having higher brand usage with compared to female.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

Celebrity endorsement is truly a multifaceted and debatable research topic. After mulling over the analysis it is evident that all the participants were very much aware of the fashion of celebrity endorsing products. There appeared to be a clear demarcation between consumers, one being the ‘celebrity enthusiast’ and the product enthusiast’. It was observed that even though celebrity endorsement as a marketing communication activity is viewed in a positive light since the consumers used terms like ‘glamorous’ and ‘eye catching’ to define it, the general view relating to opting for celebrity endorsed product as a personal choice was pessimistic. During the interviews, participants had articulated that in India the ‘middle and the lower class’ people were the ones for whom celebrity endorsement was of value in terms of their purchase decision, but it’s not meant for them. People were able to identify the ITC products based on the celebrity endorsing it. They were able to recollect what product, the celebrity endorsed.

Looking back at the analysis it can clearly be seen that the celebrities are quite often viewed by people in some phase of their lives as their icon if not consistently throughout their lives. The consumers follow the trends set by them both in terms of external beauty and valuable characteristics. But this phenomenon is deemed to be short lived in the consumer’s lives.

In relation to ‘good looks’ it was seen that the for the consumers the advertisements should include attractive models to endorse the product as no one wants to view or be like their unattractive counterparts. For the consumers who opted for celebrity endorsed products their need for good looking models seemed to influence their purchase but on the other hand the consumers who were in favour of product quality and features, for them good looking personas appearing in advertisements were a mere source of entertainment. In either case the presence of good look was asked for, even though the need for it differed.

Credibility of the celebrities appeared to be of utmost importance for the ‘celebrity enthusiast’ for influencing their purchase decision, where on the other hand the ‘product enthusiast’ gave the impression of being indifferent towards it. For them credibility of the celebrity endorsing the product was of no value.

The ‘familiarity’ of the celebrity as an essential criterion for inducing a purchase of a celebrity endorsed product had to acknowledge rejection at the hands of all the consumers. As per their thought process a celebrity being familiar is not enough.

A profound number of consumers were not in favour of the notion that the celebrities were in the habit of using the products which they endorse. With the exception of one celebrity Shah Rukh Khan as stated in the analysis, none of the consumers have witnessed celebrities sporting their self endorsed brand. This negative element was significant as for the ‘celebrity enthusiast’ credibility has been stated as a very important criterion. This makes consumers overly aware of the true nature of endorsement which has more to do with generous compensation for the celebrity and less to do with brand/product attributes. Thus, leading for consumers to feel overt cynicism about their motives. (Tripp et al. ,1994). Such actions make the consumer believe that it’s all about money for the celebrities.

In respect to the perfect fit, for both categories of consumers a logical association between the product and the proposed is a must. In terms of the ‘celebrity enthusiast’ the perceived fit is of great importance to develop the linkage on the basis of which it would purchase the product. The existence of a common link is also important for ‘product enthusiast to derive meaning of the product.’

Hence it can be concluded that since there is a heavy advertising clutter and almost no room left for actual product differentiation in markets, celebrity endorsement strategy can be used to differentiate products from that of the competitors’ in mature and saturated markets, provided the ‘right celebrity’ is found. (Erdogan, 1999)

The results obtained in respect of multiple celebrity endorsements were quite unanticipated. The respondents showed tolerance towards this aspect of celebrity endorsement with the condition that same celebrity refrains from endorsing product from the same category. In the case of brand recall, respondents agree that the existence of celebrities does help in recalling the product faster and in some cases also leads to consumers going ahead and purchasing the goods. But in most of the incidences it does not result in inducing a purchase.

In terms of the popularity of the so called ‘vampire effect’ of the celebrity has revealed really interesting findings. Some participants were in the view that the celebrities do take away the limelight from the product as it is believed that the consumers are so mesmerised by the presence of the celebrity that they tend to overlook the product. In contrast to this some respondents voiced that it is because of the presence of these celebrities that the product is noticed and remembered by the consumers.

The results of this study regarding negative publicity are quite contradicting to the previous literature where negative publicity of the celebrity is taken in a cynical attitude. There were some respondents whose thoughts were synonymous to the previous literature. While the thought of the remaining respondents were in contrast stating it’s not always the fault of the celebrities and in many cases the media who unnecessarily evades the privacy hypes up the situation Some candidates have stressed on the importance of age and personality of the celebrities while attaching meaning to the product. It was observed that the gender of the celebrity on the other hand, is not much of a concern with the consumers.

All in all, the positive or negative impact of celebrities on the brand is open for further pondering. But till the time the corporate world keep footing the large sums of pay demanded by celebrities and till the consumers continue picturing celebrities sporting a halo over their heads, celebrity endorsement as a marketing strategy will be prevalent till then.

Chapter 6: Limitations, Managerial

Implications and Future Research

6.1 Limitations

No research is complete without admitting the limitations that was faced while conducting a study which will contribute to present learning. This study too like the others have certain constrains which has been discussed below.

The first constraint is that the chosen sample size is small and hence not sufficient enough to make concrete recommendation. The limited sample makes it difficult to generalise the data and view it as the undisputed thought process prevalent amongst Indian consumers. It could be lacking and also might prove to be different. Another facet to this is that all the participants were students and not from any other field of life which thereby restricting the inflow of diverse opinions on the issue at hand. Moreover, all these participants belonged to the urban sector, hence the rural sector which comprises the major part of the population has not been taken into consideration.

Time was another big concern in this research. In the short duration of only three months it was not possible to cover the varied sections of the society because of which this research has been restricted only to the students and the upper-class segment of the society. As a consequence the data submitted is less in comparison to what this research has highlighted.

The research also focuses on the age group between 21- 26 years, which limits the inflow of different viewpoints that could have been considered for final evaluations. Due to such reasons an overall view in regard to different age groups couldn’t be concluded. Probably, if an older generation or the kids were taken into consideration then a completely diverse perspective could have been assumed.

Moreover, it cannot be assured that the respondents put across their feelings in the truest of the manner as their impression or beliefs regarding a particular product or over a particular issue is influenced by various aspects such as family, religion, fellow mates, colleagues, surroundings, friends’ circle etc. Also, there are times when the respondents answer according to the needs

of the researchers, not taking the interview on a serious note. This hinders the progress of the research to be conducted in an absolute authentic manner.

Even though the choice of qualitative research has provided the most appropriate results for this particular research, it limits the estimation of the accuracy of the results. Had it been quantitative in nature the results would have not been on approximate terms rather it would have been less subjective and more exact.

Also despite being an Indian myself, as a novice researcher I was limited in my skills and experience in conducting the indepth interviews from with the help of which the proposed results were arrive upon.

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Annexure

“Effectiveness of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand (ITC)”

Section: A- Personal Details

Name: _______________________________________________________________________

Contact or E-mail ID: __________________________________________________________

Gender: Male Female

Age Group: Below 18 18 - 24 25 - 30 30 - 35 35 - 40 40-45

Occupation: Service Business Housewife Student Others: _______________

What is your annual income (in lakhs)?

Less than 2, 00,000 200,001- 4, 00,000 4, 00,001- 6, 00,000 600,001- 800,000 More than 8, 00,000

Section: B- Consumer Behavior

Q- Which media vehicle is used by you for getting information about the product?

T.V. Internet Radio Newspaper & Magazines

Q- What factor affects your buying behavior towards a purchase?

Price Opinion-leader Celebrity endorser Brand name

Q- Do you like to see any celebrity/Brand Ambassador endorsing your brand in media?

Yes No Can’t Say

Q- If yes, what features about the celebrity do you consider? Popularity Personnel Image Field of Profession Consistent Performance Q- Out of the following celebrity personal, whom do you like the most?

Bollywood Stars Cricketers Models Common Face

Q- Motivation factor for buying a?

a) Personnel Care Products

Esteem Brand Price Celebrity

b) Lifestyle

Status Trends Price Celebrity

c) Food Product

Quality Packaging Brand Name Celebrity

Q- Which Personal Care product of ITC are you most aware of?

Fiama Di Wills Vivel Superia Essenza Di Wills

Q- How many times you purchase the above products in a month?

Once in a month Twice in a month More than twice in a month

Q- Which Food product of ITC are you most aware of?

Aashirwaad Atta Sun feast Biscuits Bingo Chips Kitchens of India

Q- How much quantity do you purchase? (Tick Appropriately)

Products Daily Basis In BulkAashirwaad AttaSun feast Biscuits

Bingo ChipsKitchens of India

Q- Which Lifestyle product of ITC are you most aware of?

Wills Lifestyle John Players

Q- Where do you like to go for shopping?

Local Kirana Stores Departmental Stores Supermarket Stores e-shopping

Organized retail stores in malls

Q- How you differentiate one brand from the other?

Product Features Color Celebrity Endorsement Brand Image

Q- Who is the Chief decision maker for following purchases?

Products Father Mother Both ChildrenLifestyleFood ProductsPersonnel Care

Section: C- Brand Awareness

Q- Does the presence of celebrities in advertisements help you recognize and recall brands more promptly?

Yes No

Q- Identify the Celebrity based on product endorsed:

Brand Name Brand Ambassador

Food Product

Shahrukh Khan Saif Ali Khan Akshay Kumar Aamir Khan

Personnel Care

Kareena Kapoor Deepika Padukone Katrina Kaif Tammana Bhatia

Life Style

Hrithik Roshan Ranbir KapoorJohn Abraham Shahid Kapoor

Section: D Brand Perception

Rating scale answer choices as:

1-Strongly agree, 2- Agree, 3- Indifference, 4- Disagree, 5- Strongly disagree

Questions Rating (1 to 5)“Celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion of buying a product”

1 2 3 4 5

“ In your opinion does the personality, age, gender, and lifestyle of the celebrity endorsers

has a direct impact on the brand / product”

1 2 3 4 5

“The ads shown are relevant with the brand image of product as well as the Celebrity ”

1 2 3 4 5

“Celebrity endorsement hold the power to influence you personally ”

1 2 3 4 5

“ Attractiveness has a direct impact on the brand/product”

1 2 3 4 5

“ Sometimes the popularity of the celebrity overshadows the product / brand”

1 2 3 4 5

Q- How do you feel about celebrities who have negative publicity endorsing products?