Relevance of celebrity endorsement for traditional food brands By Mr Dawinder Pal Head of Marketing at Bikano
In a world celebrated for its vibrant and
pulsating consumer culture, elaborate and cost-intensive marketing and branding
campaigns, and innovative business models, celebrities have become an
inalienable part of a product’s journey into end-users’ hearts and minds. While
different product/service categories have different levels of celebrity
engagement in their communication with the consumer, food products have a
special connect with celebrities endorsing them. After all, we are what we eat.
For its part, a food brand would typically desire that its products evoke a
positive imagery with a celebrity in the minds of end-consumers which would
help the brand in further customer acquisition and retention boosting its revenue
and profitability. In a similar vein, a traditional food brand while leveraging
the inherent quality of its offerings and the popularity would wish that an
inspiring association with a celebrity would add to the appeal of its products
rooted in traditional culinary heritage.
Traditional
food brands have greater responsibility: Food is a living extension of culture
Food preparations passed down through time and
generations in a way represent and epitomize our culture. For a brand known for
its traditional food products, there is greater responsibility if not burden to
carry the cultural legacy and ‘spreading the good word’. In addition to retaining
the pristine purity of its food products, they need to amplify the messaging
not only about the goodness of its own products but also the traditional food
products in general. And in a world where celebrities are treated as role
models and held in such high esteem, roping in celebrities for brand
endorsement for traditional food brands becomes important.
Celebrity
elevates a product or a company to a brand
Without doubt, the celebrity has a major role
in converting an obscure plain vanilla product into a memorable, iconic brand.
By becoming the face of the product or the company, he or she authenticates the
quality and the value of the product thereby instilling and engraving the
product in the minds of the consumers for life. Every time a product is thought
of, the particular campaign featuring the celebrity would come to the
audience’s minds thereby facilitating a recall of the brand. Given that many
traditional food items would have lost popularity with time, in the revival of
such items by a traditional food company, celebrity endorsement becomes crucial
and even helps the company leapfrog to becoming a brand in course of time.
Congruence
between a celebrity’s personal image and the food brand critical
It goes without saying that the traditional
food company must find a suitable celebrity match for its brand and products.
Just as the food brand itself is known for its signature products and goodies
and even culinary styles, celebrities are also known for a certain lifestyle,
values and ideals they espouse in public life, and even fondness and preference
for some kinds of food products over others. As such, a complete alignment
between a food brand’s persona and core values and the celebrity’s public image
and standing must be found. Only this will lend authenticity and credibility to
the brand’s campaign conducted and led by the celebrity which in turn would
catalyze brand recognition and recall by end-consumers. For instance, a
traditional food brand must not seek endorsement from a celebrity known for
his/her lack of appreciation or dislike for traditional food items. This may
even backfire on the brand and its reputation denting its market prospects and
goodwill among end-customers.
Advent
of social media has reset the context for brand-celebrity partnership
Today, brands are spoilt for choices not only
when it comes to selecting marketing and advertising platforms, but also
celebrities. In fact, social media has come to redefine how brands can
establish connect with their customers through celebrities. For a food brand,
due to the nearly 24/7 presence of celebrities as well as patrons and
end-consumers on social media, any endorsement and promotion of its products
would keep the conversation around the brand constantly flowing keeping the
end-consumer interested, or at least curious. Any positive word would only
yield more positive word for the brand. Now that influencers have emerged in
droves on social media known for their niche skillsets and qualities with a
loyal fanbase, brands can even exercise their choice of opting for an
influencer instead of a celebrity in the traditional mode. Importantly from the
standpoint of a traditional food brand, not only are more people than ever
today are more impelled by an affinity for ‘all things past’ including food, a
substantial number of influencers happen to be chefs and food experts. Nonetheless,
remember that since social media often serves as a direct medium of communication
between a brand, celebrities and end-consumers with each segment being
independently able to interact with the other two in real-time, political
correctness, moral uprightness and above all, transparency must become the
end-goal for everyone.
To sum up, while celebrity endorsement is
indeed helpful for traditional food brands, the companies must remain truthful
and trustworthy in terms of quality and value that they offer to their
customers. Celebrity endorsement must only be a means and should not become an
end in itself.