Think Different worked extremely well for Apple and won them not just the Effies and several creative awards, but also the road to a successful turnaround of the business. While many companies attempt this strategy (to associate themselves up with celebrities in their marketing), few have experience meaningful success.
What does it mean to associate your brand with a celebrity or icon? It immediately drives awareness, especially when your brand is considered to be of lower equity than the star. Endorsements is supposed to drive the aspirational needs of the consumers, but I don't think it work for all categories of products. For example if the consumer want to be like Celeb X, he / she would buy brand Y because Celeb X endorses it. Don't we wish it was that simple.
The most important ingredient in celeb endorsement marketing is credibility. Even Think Different has its detractors, after all, Apple wasn't even in existence when Einstein was alive. But the endorsement rational here takes place a higher level, i.e., at a conceptual level where there's a credible fit between Apple's personality and strategy with the celebrity. Do you buy that?
Sometimes what we need isn't lengthy rationales or flawless campaign executions to justify if the endorsement works, consumers will instinctively know if it does and you'll see it through the rising sales figures.
I think Think Different worked well for Apple, but I'm not sure about these:
Pensonic Friends Campaign:
visual from www.pensonic.com
A host of local celebrities and personalities have been paid to endorse Pensonic, a Penang based home appliance brand. So many celebrities that I think can form a football team.
Sure the awareness level for the brand went up, but I don't think the campaign was very creditable. There seems to be a disconnect between the personalities of the and the personality of the brand. And because we don't really know what Pensonic stood for, the campaign just kinda backfired. The whole celeb endorsement approach seems too manufactured and cut-and-paste. Here's probably what the strategic rationale was for the campaign in the first place: To strategically position Pensonic as a rising local star / brand through association with local rising celebs / personalities.
How do you really expect the consumer to react? Believe the message and start buying the product? Maybe, they just want peole to "know the brand" and hope for the sale...
Here's Dr. Paul Temporal, Group MD of Temporal Brand Consulting, said about Pensonic in one of his press releases from his website:
"Dr Temporal assures us that there are a few Malaysian companies which have accomplished some measure of success. In his assessment, Pensonic would be one of the prominent brands that have been able to reach consumers’ hearts to as far the Middle Eastern countries."
Anyway, back to the point, for an endorsement campaign to work, there are some basic tests: consumers need to believe that the endorsers really use the product (i.e., the reality test), this is afterall the basic requirement, and if their personalities credibility fits into the brand personality of the products that they endorse and vice-versa (i.e., the test of fit or believibility). Perhaps we should even ask if the celeb endorsement route is a logical option at all in the first place (i.e., the logical test). Only if you can pass all 3 tests, you'll stand a chance with the consumer, otherwise, don't even think about it.
Celcom is Power Campaign:
visual from www.celcom.com.my
Here’s another endorsement campaign featuring Micheal Owen and some other English Premiere League players. Celcom, a local mobile network operator engaged these stars for their “Power” campaign. These guys are shown holding a mobile phone in the ad – and I really wonder who’s the mobile service provider they’re subscribed to? I have “phony” feeling it isn’t celcom’s. Come on, these guys are based in England (where Celcom do not have an office).
OK OK, these celebs are engaged because they’re supposed to tie-back to the whole “Celcom is Power" brand strategy thingy:
Commenting on the appointment of these football superstars as Celcom Power Icons, Dato’ Shazalli said, "By having them on board as part of the Celcom family, we will be bringing Celcom’s name to the global stage and gain recognition as a truly POWERFUL brand in the world of football."
"We have chosen these players as they are power personalities, representing the best in their league. They exude determination, constantly striving for perfection in their game. The players mirrors Celcom brand values and determination to be the most powerful brand in this country," Dato’ Shazalli added.
What has "power" got to do with a mobile operator? I can see "coverage", "innovation", "affordability", etc. fit but "Power"? Maybe they're thinking, "Power" in the same train of thought as "power being / having the ability or authority to do things with Celcom" – but it didn’t register that way with consumers that way. The message and impression that came acrossed was that Celcom was being too self absorbed in a chest thumping kinda way.
At the end of the day, the purpose of the endorsement campaign is to capture the consumers’ hearts and minds leading to increased sales. They aren’t just about how much money you spend or how big the stars you use, it’s all about making sensible, meaningful and credible connections with consumers. Unfortunely, Celcom’s campaign was built on all the wrong connections: wrong message with wrong stars – and as they say, two wrongs don’t make a right.
Celcom’s only victory really is the claim and ownership of the noun “Power”. So, who’s next? Power Rangers perhaps...
