A Grand Project on

Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumer Buying Behavior with

respect to Soft Drinks

Prepaid by Guided by

Hardik D Jani (Roll no: 35) Prof .Kruti Patel

MBA Semester 4

Submitted to

S K P I M C S

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DECLARATION

We/ I, hereby, declare that the Comprehensive Project report Project titled, “Impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer buying behavior with respect to soft drink industry ” is original to the best of our/ knowledge and has not been published elsewhere. This is for the purpose of partial fulfillment of Kadi Sarva Vishwa Vidhyalaya University requirements for the award of the title of Master of Business Administration, only.

Student Name Signature

Hardik Jani (35)

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr.Chaitalya Gadhavi of S. K. Patel Institute of Management and

Computer Studies, Gandhinagar have submitted their Grand Project Report on “Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumer Buying Behavior with respect to Soft Drinks” in the year of 2012-2013 in fulfillment of Kadi Sarva Vishwvidhlaya requirements as a part of their course of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMME.

Dr. Bhavin pandya Prof. Kruti patel Prof. Sandhya harkavat

Director Faculty guide Coordinator

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Preface

Everyday consumers are exposed to thousands of voices and images in magazines, newspapers, billboards, websites, radio and television, etc. Every brand attempts to steal at least fraction of a person’s time to inform him/her of the amazing and different attributes of the product at hand. The challenge of the marketer is to find a hook that will hold the subject’s attention. In helping to achieve this, use of celebrity for endorsement of a brand is widely used marketing strategy. In this modern age, people tend to ignore all commercials and advertisements while flipping through the magazines and newspapers or viewing TV. But even then, the glamour of a celebrity seldom goes unnoticed. Thus, celebrity endorsement in advertisement and its impact on the overall brand is of great significance. In this process, the companies hire celebrities from a particular field to feature in its advertisement campaigns. The promotional features and images of the product are matched with the celebrity image, which tends to persuade a consumer to fix-up his choice from a variety of brands. Although this sounds pretty simple, but the design of such campaigns and the subsequent success in achieving the desired result calls for an in-depth understanding of the product, the brand objective, choice of a celebrity, associating the celebrity with the brand, and a framework for measuring the effectiveness.

Stars, who are known to shape destinies, cast an enormous influence. We’re referring to the powerful effect of celebrities on destinies of brands. One approving nod from a famous face can translate into millions in brand sales. People love to live in dreams. They worship celebrities. Celebrities may be sports stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahindra Singh Dhoni,Roger Federer.Ronaldo and tiger woods’ or Film Stars like tom cruise, bredd pitt, Salman Khan, John Abraham. They treat them as God. . Perhaps that’s why the world over, companies have been using stars to endorse everything, from food to food chains, from soft and hard drinks to health drinks, from clothes and accessories to cars. 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 celebrity endorsement.

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Acknowledgment

I express my sincere thanks to my project guide Prof.Kruti Patel for guiding me right from the inception till the completion of the project. I sincerely acknowledge them for extending their valuable guidance, support for literature, critical reviews of project and above all the moral support they had provided to me with all stages of this project.

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Table of Content

Topic Page No

Executive Summery 7

Industry analysis 8

Literature Review 18

Theoretical aspect of the study 22

Research Methodology 31

Data analysis 33

Findings 46

Limitations 47

Conclusion 48

Bibliography 49

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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 exist 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 celebrity endorsement.

The field of consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of product, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. And understanding the consumer behavior is the prime and toughest task in front of every marketer. There are a lot of factors, which influence consumer buyer behavior. This study aimed at to understand the influence of celebrity endorsement on consumer buying behavior. Marketers pay millions of Dollars to celebrity endorsee hoping that the stars will bring their magic to brand they endorse and make them more appealing and successful. But all celebrity glitter is not gold.

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.

What therefore seems relevant by the study is that, yes, definitely celebrity endorsee influence consumer buying behavior and brand building but while using celebrity endorsee, marketer has to take care of all the aspect that whether they brought personality and image of celebrity matches or not, whether celebrity endorsee has deep penetration among the masses or not, whether he is considered as credible source or not etc.

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Industry Analysis

Indian Advertisement Industry

Indian economy is growing and the market is on an expansion mode. Businesses are looking up to advertising as a tool to cash on business opportunities. Growth in business has led to a consequent growth in the advertising industry. Indian advertising industry has emerged as one of the major industries and has broadened its horizons be it the creative aspect, the capital employed or the number of personnel involved.

Advertising industry grew by 9 to 10 per cent in comparison to the double digit growth rate of 20 per cent in 2010. According to ad industry estimates, the growth this year has been similar to 2011.

The Rs 30,000-crore advertising industry has been dealing with tightened purse strings as companies across sectors dealt with issues ranging from rising input costs to demand slowdown on account of lower disposable income and inflation. The big boys of the advertising club — fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies — were careful with their money, especially in the first half of the year, complicating matters further. Sample this: Ad spends by FMCG companies have been hovering between 12-13 per cent of sales from 14 -15 per cent earlier.

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India stands at No. 5 worldwide in the advertisement industry. Television - Valued at Rs 329 billion (US$ 5.76 billion) in 2011, the television (TV) industry is expected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent through 2011-16 to touch Rs 735 billion (US$ 13 billion). Radio- The radio industry with around 36 FM radio operators, is estimated at Rs 1,200 crore (US$ 210 million). Print- An estimated growth of 10 per cent is anticipated till 2015. Digitization- Digital advertising is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30 per cent during 2011-16.

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Introduction to the Soft drink Industry:

The industry began in mid 1900’s with leading companies like Pepsi Co. and Coca Cola controlling the beverage business sector with sweetened soft drinks and carbonated soda water. American audiences attached excitement and convenience to these popular drinks, and a variety of soft drink brands began to originate such as Dr.Pepper, Sprite, etc. The beverage industry has undergone rapid expansion over the last decade. The only obstacle for these beverage companies was the high number of calories and sugar levels their drinks contained; a drawback for health-conscious consumers.

A soft drink (also called pop, soda, coke, soda pop, fizzy drink, or carbonated beverage) is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains carbonated water, a sweetening agent, and a flavoring agent. The sweetening agent may be sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or a sugar substitute (in the case of diet drinks). A soft drink may also contain caffeine or juice. Products such as energy drinks, Kool-Aid, and pure juice are not considered to be soft drinks. Other beverages not considered to be soft drinks are hot chocolate,hot,tea,coffee,milk,milkshakes,and schooled.

Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume. If the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Widely sold soft drink flavors are cola, lemon-lime, root beer, orange, grape, vanilla, ginger ale, fruit punch, sparkling lemonade, squash, and water. Soft drinks may be served chilled or at room temperature. They are rarely heated.

The first marketed soft drinks (non-carbonated) in the Western world appeared in the 17th century. They were made from water and lemon juice sweetened with honey. In 1676, the Companies des Lemonades of Paris was granted a monopoly for the sale of lemonade soft drinks. Vendors carried tanks of lemonade on their backs and dispensed cups of the soft drink to thirsty Parisians.

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Carbonated drinks made without any alcohol are called Soft Drinks. They are also known as Coke/Soda/Pop etc. Hot chocolate, teas, coffee etc are usually excluded from this classification. They are sold in a variety of sizes and manner. In the U.S., they are often sold in two-liter bottles, one liter plastic bottles, 24 and 20 US fluid ounce bottles and in 12 US fluid ounce cans. Packaging is also available in many different quantities

In Japan, 1.5 liter bottles, 500 mL and 350 mL bottles and cans are sold. At times, the fizzy soft drinks are served as fountain drinks in which carbonation is added to a concentrate immediately prior to serving. In Europe, plastic and glass bottles of sizes 2, 1.5, 1, 0.5, 0.35, 0.33 liters, aluminum cans of 0.33, 0.35, and 0.25 liters are popular. Almost all soft drinks are made of refined sugars. Hence, they are often criticized for causing obesity and other health related problems. A link to problems of sleep, bones, and teeth has been proven by many studies.

Market Structure:

The soft drink industry is a global marketing phenomenon. In essence, it is simply a blended water drink with sweeteners, flavors and additives. The success in advertising and marketing this product lies in convincing billions of consumers to drink these instead of straight water or other less expensing alternatives. The brand recognition of this industry is extraordinarily high. In 2002, world sales exceeded US $193 billion. In contrast, fruit sales were just US $69 billion. Global consumption is currently in excess of 327 billion liters.

Pepsi and Coca-Cola, between them, hold the dominant share of the world market. Cadbury Schweppes follows a close third. Coca-Cola has approximately half of the world market share and sells 4 out of the top 5 soft drink brands in the world. Coca Cola sales for 2006 reached US $24.1 billion. It has profit margins of 20% and a market capitalization of US $130 billion. Pepsi sales stood at US $36 billion but this also includes snacks and other foods.

Some analysts view the definition of soft drinks incomplete and wish to add ready to drinks also, to this industry. If they are added as well, these would add another 1.3 billion servings to 50 billion servings for these drinks.

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Industry Definitions:

Fizzy drinks: drinks injected with carbon dioxide at high pressure are called Fizzy drinks.

Floats: soft drink with scoops of ice-cream Soda: another term for soft drink Pop: another U.S. term for soft drinks Coke: a derivative and brand name of Coca-Cola, often used as a label for

soft drinks in general.

Market Metrics:

Soft drink market size for FY00 was around 270mn cases (6480mn bottles). The market witnessed 5- 6% growth in the early‘90s. Presently the market growth has growth rate of 7- 8% per annum compared to 22% growth rate in the previous year. The market size for FY01 is expected to be 7000mn bottles.

Soft Drink Production area

The market preference is highly regional based. While cola drinks have main markets in metro cities and northern states of UP, Punjab, Haryana etc. Orange flavored drinks are popular in southern states. Sodas too are sold largely in southern states besides sale through bars. Western markets have preference towards mango flavored drinks. Diet coke presently constitutes just 0.7% of the total carbonated beverage market.

Growth promotional activities

The government has adopted liberalized policies for the soft drink trade to give the industry a boast and promote the Indian brands internationally. Although the import and manufacture of international brands like Pepsi and Coke is enhanced in India the local brands are being stabilized by advertisements, good quality and low cost.

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U.S. Market

The U.S. is closely linked with soft drinks with Coca Cola being an American in much of the world. About 500 soft drinks companies operate in the U.S. Annual sales of refreshments total approximately US $88 billion, of which three quarters are soft drink sales. There are about 500 soft drink bottlers in the United States.

Soft drink companies manufacture and sell beverage syrups which are essentially bases to bottling operators that then add sweeteners and/or carbonated water to produce the final product. Independent bottlers work under license with various soft drink manufacturers and are generally allotted specific territories to serve. Manufacturers not only provide the bottlers with syrups and bases, but also often provide other business services such as product quality control, marketing, advertising, and engineering as well as financial and personnel training.

In return, the bottlers furnish the required capital investment for land, buildings, machinery, equipment, trucks, bottles and cases. As noted previously, the soft drink industry distributes and sells its product in two primary forms: packaged and fountain service. In fountain service, the soft drink product is dispensed and served in cups in restaurant or other retail oriented location with a food service station.Coke, Pepsi and Cadbury Schweppes control over 91% of the U.S. market share. They employ about 63,000 people in the U.S.

Indian Market

Soft Drinks in India industry profile provide top-line qualitative and quantitative summary information including: market size (value, and forecast to 5). The profile also contains descriptions of the leading players including key financial metrics and analysis of competitive pressures within the market. Essential resource for top-line data and analysis covering the India soft drinks market. Includes market size data, textual and graphical analysis of market growth trends, leading companies and macroeconomic information.

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Highlights

-The soft drinks market consists of retail sale of bottled water, carbonates, concentrates, functional drinks, juices, RTD tea and coffee, and smoothies. However, the total market volume for soft drinks market excludes the concentrates category. The market is valued according to retail selling price (RSP) and includes any applicable taxes. Any currency conversions used in the creation of this report have been calculated using constant 2010 annual average exchange rates.

-The Indian soft drinks market generated total revenues of $3.8 billion in 2010, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% for the period spanning 2006-2010.

-Carbonates sales proved the most lucrative for the Indian soft drinks market in 2010, generating total revenues of $1.9 billion, equivalent to 50.5% of the market's overall value.

-The performance of the market is forecast to decelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 9.1% for the five-year period 2010-2015, which is expected to lead the market to a value of $5.9 billion by the end of 2015.

World Market:

Global sales of soft drinks exceed 327 billion liters and are valued at more than US $393 billion annually. North America, Europe and Japan are the most mature markets for global soft drinks. Coco Cola and PepsiCo Inc have significant control over the global soft drinks market and both have similar business organizations and processes worldwide. The industry includes other than the soft drink manufactures themselves, the bottlers and various raw material suppliers. Suppliers of cans, plastic and glass bottles are included in this category.

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Globally, the soft drinks majors continue to face challenges. One key global trend is a move away to healthier drinks, which may put some pressure on yearly growth in sales of soft drinks. The push to diet beverages have been well covered by the major producers – with sales of diet Coke and diet Pepsi still strong. A recent trend is the rise in popularity of sports drinks. Bottled water has also experienced very strong growth. Finally the quality of water used in the manufacture of soft drinks poses serious issues for the industry. Major players are working on the issue as water scarcity becomes a global issue.

Industry Players:

The Coca-Cola Company

Coca Cola is the number one brand globally and has been for over 40 years It is sold in virtually every country of the world. The successful expansion that began in World War II has continued unabated up to this date. Now, the company has more than 400 brands in its portfolio. Tab, produced in 1963 was one of the company’s landmark marketing successes.

PepsiCo Inc.

Pepsi-Cola was created in 1898 in New Bern, North Carolina, by druggist Caleb D. Brad ham. PepsiCo Inc. holds about one-third of the U.S. market and is the second largest soft drink major in the world. It owns Frito-Lay snacks and other businesses. Pepsi soft drinks include brands such as Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Slice, Mountain Dew and Mug Root Beer.

Cadbury Schweppes

Cadbury Schweppes PLC is the number three global soft drink producer. The portfolio includes Squirt, La Casera, TriNa, Spring Valley, and Wave. It has cornered more then 17% of the world market. Total sales exceed US $12.9 billion.

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Trends and Recent Developments

Private labels are becoming more prominent. Private Labels are brands owned by stores and retailed through them. These private label manufacturers are retailing their brands very aggressively these days. Although, lowering of prices is an open option for the soft drink majors, it reduces their profits. Private labelers offer heavier discounts and sales are increasing.

In 2007, a new issue is the lack of recycling of plastic bottled water containers. Although the trend to bottled water is high, environmentalists point out many of these are simply filtered tap water and that the discarded bottles are causing environmental damage. The fallout among consumers is unclear at mid-point 2007.

After nearly a year of deliberation, Cadbury has finally announced a date for the de-merger of its US soft drinks arm, American Beverages. Although it appears to make sense to separate this group from the company's confectionery operations, the separation could leave Cadbury vulnerable to a takeover, which its turnaround plan may be unable to prevent.

The de-merger, which was first announced as a possibility back in March 2007, will now take place in May and will see the creation of Dr Pepper Snapple Group as a separate entity with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange and its own management team. The confectionery arm is to be renamed Cadbury plc and will be listed in London.

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Celebrity branding and its effect on the consumer

It is a known fact that the best endorsements achieve an eclectic balance between the product (brand) and the celebrity. Giving a brand a 'face' is more than just a marketing strategy to increase sales or gain market share, it is a decision that can change the future of the brand forever.

Choice of the celebrity, hence, is of utmost importance and is usually done based on many different parameters - appeal, looks, popularity or even just a fantasy figure to endorse a brand.

In today's highly competitive markets, big brands are at logger-heads when it comes to products, each having a similar product to that of a rival. Where does one brand gain that quintessential advantage - advertising, service, promise of trust, or even the all important price factors? Advertising seems to be the best platform where brands prefer to compete on - right from hiring the best advertising agencies to getting the biggest celebrities. What would be the formula to success then? Well, a good creative agency, a large enough promotional budget and a huge star to endorse your brand would definitelyensure in the minds of a brand management team a feeling of security, success and a triumph over the competitors brand.

The general belief among advertisers is that brand communication messages delivered by celebrities and famous personalities generate a higher appeal, attention and recall than those executed by non-celebrities. The quick message-reach and impact are all too essential in today's highly competitive environment.

The different models applied by brands to achieve the full potential of suchendorsements, highlight the need for a convergence between the theoretical andpragmatic approaches of brand building and effective advertising. The importance of a celebrity-brand match and the various roles played by them as brand-associates show the momentum this strategy has gained in the last decade or so. We put forward certain ideas like 'positioning by association', 'diminishing celebrity utility' and the Multiplier Effect which show the triangular relationship between the brand, the consumer and the Celebrity.

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Literature Review

Title : CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT : A MARKETING STRATEGY

Author : Ms Radhika Madan Lecturer - Marketing IILM College, Gurgaon

This paper shows that Celebrity endorsement strategy can be an effective competition weapon in mature markets in order to differentiate products from competitors' since there is heavy advertising clutter. Celebrities have always been the easiest way to attract the customers because of their mass appeal. Though there are

Title : EFFECTS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR AND BRANDING OF A BRAND

Author DR. GIRIDHAR K.V Assistant Professor, Department of Com. & Mgt., Sahyadri Arts & Commerce College Kuvempu University, Shimoga - 577203. The study has focused on “the effect of celebrity endorsement on consumer buyingbehavior on brand” mainly on three prospective, marketer, celebrity and consumer. Celebrity endorsements will be more effective when used consistently over time to increase the strength of the link between the celebrity and the endorsed brand.

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Title : Impact of Celebrity Advertisement on Customers’ Brand Perception and Purchase Intention

Author :

Qurat-Ul-Ain Zafar Scholar, Faculty of Management Sciences, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan

Mahira Rafique Scholar, Faculty of Management Sciences, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan

Celebrity endorsement has reasonable impact on customers as per their attitude and purchase intention. Celebrity endorsement has come out as not only an influential factor but rather a causal factor in the results of this paper. Physical attractiveness, credibility and congruence of celebrity with reference to the endorsed advertisement all have impact on the customer’s perception about the advertised product. The tests have by and large bore favorable significant results in the light of variables used

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Tiltle: A Study on Consumer Buying Behaviour on Celebrity Endorsement and Brand Building of Automobile Industry in Tamil Nadu, India

Author:Annadurai PughazhendiResearch Scholar , PSG Institute of Management (PSG College of Technology)Coimbatore, India

D. Sudharani RavindranProfessor, PSG Institute of Management (PSG College of Technology)Coimbatore, India

This paper investigate that the choice of celebrities to fulfill that role has become common practice for brands competing in today's cluttered media environment. There are several reasons for such extensive use of celebrities. Because of their high profile, celebrities may help advertisements stand out from the surrounding clutter, thus improving their communicative ability. A brief assessment of the current market situation indicates that celebrity endorsement advertising strategies can, under the right circumstances, indeed justify the high costs associated with this form of advertising.

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Title : Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumers’ Buying Behavior

Author : Pradeep Agrawal Research Scholar, Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. 221005

Dr. S. K. Dubey Associate Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. 221005

This paper shows that Celebrity endorsement decisively gives more visibility to the product endorsed. What-so ever the Ground realities may be, but the masses still try to imbibe a style imitating the celebrities. The Brands, taking into consideration all the related factors, can make best use of either the ‘Bollywood stars’ or ‘Sports star’ to endorse their product. Yet not many studies are conducted to test if the celebrity advertisement appeal carries on towardsboth male and female, or only towards a particular gender. Companiesmust understand that the fees for celebrity talent can be substantial, cost of national advertising, especially on television, is extremely high, and the type of spokesperson affects the levels of awareness and recall Studies with regards to celebrity endorsers, researchers have included the issue of demographics.

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Theatrical aspect of the study

What is celebrity endorsement?

The use of celebrities in order to increase the sales and/ or the recall value of a brand is called celebrity endorsement

The late '80s saw the beginning of celebrity endorsements in advertising in India. Hindi film and TV stars as well as sportspersons began encroaching on a territory that was, until then, the exclusive domain of models. There was a spurt of advertising, featuring stars like Tabassum (Prestige pressure cookers), Jalal Agha (Pan Parag), Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving Cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Suitings). Of course, probably the first ad to cash in on star power in a strategic, long-term, mission statement kind of way was for Lux soap, a brand which has, perhaps as a result of this, been among the top three in the country for much of its lifetime.

Endorsements by celebrities have started since a long time. The very fact that their use has continued for so long is proof enough of its immense advantages, but they have several disadvantages too. When it comes to celebrity endorsement, the first brand that comes to the Indian mind is that of Lux, the Beauty Bar of the Stars. Since its inception, Lux the brand has grown positioning itself thus. However, recently Lux has tried to change its positioning from being a woman’s soap to being soap for men as well. Sticking to its strategy of using celebrities to appeal to its target audience, this time around it has used Shah Rukh Khan to endorse Lux. But this time the response has been confusing.

One of the first sports endorsements in India was when Farokh Engineer became the first Indian Crickets to model for Brylcream The Indian cricket teams now earns roughly Rs. 100 crore through endorsements. There was a spurt of advertising, featuring stars like tabassum (Prestige Pressure cookers). Jalal Agha (Pan Parag).Kapil Dev (Palmolive Shaving cream) and Sunil Gavaskar (Dinesh Sutings)

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RISE OF CELEBRITY CULTUREThe modern mass media has increased the exposure and power of celebrity. Often, celebrity carries with it immense social capitals that is highly sought after by some individuals. High paying jobs and other social perks unavailable to most people are readily available to celebrities, even for wok not connected to the talents or accomplishment that made them famous. For example A retired athletes might receive high “speaking fees ‘ or compensation for public appearances, despite his talent having been sports.Often, celebrities cannot escape the public eye & risk being followed by fans. As well, child celebrities are notorious for having poor emotional health in adulthood, and often turn to drug and alcohols abuse when their fame fades.

In India today, the use of celebrity advertising for companies has become a trend and a perceive winning formula of corporate image building and product marketing. Associating a brand with a top-notch celebrity can do more than perk up brand recall. It can create linkages with the stars appeal, thereby adding refreshing and new dimensions to the brand image. In a world filled with faces, how many do you remember? Admittedly the ones that evoke some kind of feel in you, whether it’s humors, acceptance, appreciation or recognition. These are the faces you’d turn to look at, the ones that would stop you in your tracks. And that’s when you have more than just a face. You have personality. “Personality that’s reflective of your brand and promises to take it that extra mile”.

As existing media get increasingly cluttered, the need to stand out has become paramount- and celebrities have proved to be the ideal way to ensure brand prominence. Synergizing personality with product and message can create an instant breakthrough. Result? Brand buzz. People begin to notice, opportunities come about. People want to be part of the brand.“Touch it. Feel it. Experience it.”

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IS IT SMART TO USE CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT FOR BRANDING?

Stars, who are known to shape destinies, cast an enormous influence. No, we’re not talking about astrology here. We’re referring to the powerful effect of celebrities on destinies of brands. One approving nod from a famous face can translate into millions in brand sales. Perhaps that’s why the world over, companies have been using stars to endorse everything, from food to food chains,from soft and hard drinks to health drinks, from clothes and accessories to cars (and the tyres onwhich they run).

Even political parties are awestruck by the charisma of stars. Such is the magnetism of celebrities in this country that in the recent general elections, major political parties fielded a record number of film stars and cricketers to contest from important constituencies around the country.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS AS A STRATEGY

Signing up stars for endorsements is a time-tested strategy and has been effectively used by some of the top brands in the world including Nike and Pepsi. In India too, HLL has used Hindi film stars to endorse their beauty soap Lux since the fifties. Vimal, Thums Up, Gwalior and Dinesh are some of the other brands that used star-appeal in the early days of mass advertising. And who can forget Kapil ‘Palmolive’ Dev?

Marketers believe that star endorsements have several benefits, key among them being building credibility, fostering trust and drawing attention or any or all of which can translate into higher brand sales.

So how does one decide whether to put a celebrity in an ad? Ideally, this should be dictated by the communication idea. MG Parmeswaran, Executive Director of FCB Ulka says, “As advertising professionals, we recommend celebrity endorsements when the case is justified.

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Celebrity Endorsement in Indian Soft Drink Companies

Pepsi ( Oh Yes Abhi!)

New Delhi, January 29, 2013: The newand young India is impatient and wants to do things ‘right now’. This is the pulse of the nation, the new youth hilosophy that Pepsi aims to bring alive through its mega campaign and new brand positioning, ‘Oh Yes Abhi’. This marks the beginning of a new journey for Pepsi in India and will be followed by a series of innovative and exciting initiatives over the course of the year.

The up-coming commercial scheduled to go on-air on February 1 creates a spectacular viewing experience for consumers, portrayingRanbir Kapoor, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Priyanka Chopra in their moments of impatience. Priyanka is impatient to go and perform on stage; Ranbir is impatient to go and eat PaniPuri coupled with his Pepsi; Dhoni, the calm and composed sportsman is impatient to celebrate after winning the World Cup.

Commenting on the new Pepsi positioning Deepika Warrier, Vice President, Marketing-Beverages, PepsiCo India said,“Oh Yes Abhi is all about the impatient youth, who believe in making the most of the moment and therefore wants action ‘right now!’. Oh Yes Abhi! translates into - live for the present as tomorrow is too late,‘now’ is the time to bring about a change; ‘now’ is the time to take action; if you wish to make it big, work on it ‘now’ and many such sentiments synonymous to the young generation today. Our latest campaign illustrates all this and much more in a quintessential irreverent Pepsi package”.

Homi Battiwalla, Senior Director – Marketing (Colas, Juices and Hydration), PepsiCo India further added,,“By anticipating the pulse of the nation ahead of the curve, Pepsi yet again establishes itself as a trend-setting brand. Our new brand positioning, Oh Yes Abhi! reiterates the hunger for impatience seen in the youth today and brings it alive in a revolutionary format. This campaign is a great combination of impatience of the cola and impatience of youth presented in a grand manner.”

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The TVC brings alive Pepsi’s youthful irreverence and demonstrates the Oh Yes Abhi! moments of these Pepsi brand ambassadors and youth icons. Priyanka Chopra, in her latest pop star look is shown waiting impatiently, all anxious to go on the stage for her first live performance; while Ranbir Kapoor, stuck in a traffic jam on Mumbai’s busy streets, craving for street foodand a chilled glass of Pepsi, instantly runs towards a PaniPuri stall to gorge on it one after the other.

On the other hand, MS Dhoni, known to beexpressionless about winning or losing in true sportsman style, is shown breaking into a celebratory dance in the middle of the field after the much awaited World Cup 2011 win.“This film not only captures the stars in their impatient avatars, but also shows many moments from our everyday lives that exemplify the belief of ‘now’. Shot at different locations, whether in the middle of a cricket stadium or a crowded Mumbai street or in a small town, the ad-film proves to be a true spectacle for consumers. Moreover, we’ve worked with Nirvana Films who’ve been successful in showcasing the product in a completely new and larger than life manner”, added, Surjo Dutt, Executive Creative Director – JWT India.

Consumers can experience the Oh Yes Abhi fever through extensive above-the-line communication. This will be supported by radio activation, on-ground amplification andan outdoor campaign amongst other initiatives. The excitement continues on digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter; and aims to build hype on various impatient moments.

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Coke (Open Happiness)

Open Happiness is a global marketing campaign for The Coca-Cola Company that was rolled out worldwide in the first half of 2009, following the company's "Coke Side of Life" advertising campaign. It was developed by the Wieden + Kennedy creative agency.

The campaign was launched on the reality television series American Idol on January 21, 2009, and rolled out to other national markets over the following weeks. In the United States, commercials following the Open Happiness theme appeared during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, and during ABC's broadcast of the 81st Academy Awards on February 22, 2009. Marketing for The Coca-Cola Company based on the Open Happiness theme also appeared in the United States as print ads in newspapers, in television commercials, in outdoor advertising, and in in-store advertising.

Coca-Cola has launched a new TVC extending its ‘Crazy for happiness’ campaign. The soft drink major has roped in Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra for the new commercial. The TVC created by McCann WorldGroup India revolves around the tagline 'Bewajah khushiyan lutao, Coca-Cola pilao' (Spread happiness without reason, share a Coca-Cola).

The TVC opens in an Irani cafe where a hassled waiter is shown working frantically. He is clearing dishes, taking orders from patrons and receiving instructions from the owner of the café. Seated at a table are Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Siddharth Malhotra. Dhawan asks for three bottles of Coke. Bhatt changes the order to four bottles. She gives a casual shrug when asked why by Dhawan and Malhotra. When the waiter sets the bottles on the table, Bhatt picks up the extra bottle and offers it back to the waiter. Surprised at her unprecedented gesture, he looks at his boss for approval. The boss nods in the affirmative and the waiter along with the three youngsters enjoy their drink. A voice over signs off saying, 'Bewajah khushiyan lutao, Coca-Cola pilao'. 

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On the new TVC, Anupama Ahluwalia, vice-president, marketing, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said, “Brand Coca-Cola has been at the forefront in making a cultural point of view that encourages optimism and positivity in our everyday lives. This summer, the ‘Bewajah khushiyan lutao, Coca-Cola pilao’ campaign inspires everyone to spread and share happiness without any reason, through little gestures like sharing an ice cold bottle of Coca-Cola. We hope that the new Coca-Cola campaign serves as the thought starter, the trigger which encourages people to undertake simple acts of kindness towards others.”

Prasoon Joshi, CEO and chief creative officer, McCann World Group India, said, “Take one of the world’s most loved brands and team it with the young and vibrant stars of Bollywood, along with some peppy, foot tapping music. That’s how we made the latest Coca-Cola campaign. The whole idea of the campaign was to take the 'Crazy for happiness' theme to an individual level, with a call to action. The emotions of togetherness and celebration, energised by a bottle of Coca-Cola, are very real and identifiable, and we are sure that everyone will connect to this.”

The company has planned an integrated communication plan including OOH, digital, point of sale merchandise and other on-ground initiatives across key markets.

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Thumbs Up (Ajj Kuch Tufani Karte hay )

Thums Up’s 2012 summer campaign employs a new tagline, ‘Aaj kuch toofani karte hain’. The TVC also showcases a new star cast, headlined by South Indian actor (and the brand’s ambassador in the South)Mahesh Babu.

The TVC, created by Leo Burnett, shows Babu and his friends cutting short a thirty minute trip across the city to just three minutes by taking the route less travelled – gliding down wires, jumping roofs and slipping down pipes, in the daredevil style typical of the brand.

According to the brand, “This campaign marks the evolution of the Thums Up man from being the ‘Angry Young Man’ to the ‘Cool Risk Taker’ to the follower of ‘Playful Mastery’ and now the advocate of ‘Bold Masculine Leadership’.”

Commenting on the film, Sainath Saraban, executive creative director, Leo Burnett, said, “The new ‘Aaj Kuch Toofani Kartey Hain’ campaign with Mahesh Babu, Sahil Shroff, Dhaval Thakur and Angela Jonsson has been designed to give the consumers a differentiated and thrilling experience.” Nomad Films is the production house and Nick Livesey is the director. 

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Mountain Due ( Dar ke age Jit hay)

Following the appointment of Hrithik Roshan as brand ambassador last month, Mountain Dew has rolled out a new campaign. The brand continues with its 'Darr se mat daro, darr ke aage jeet hai' plank.

The ad created by Taproot India shows how Roshan putting his fears aside after drinking Mountain Dew and jumping into the water from a high cliff. The ad goes on air on 22 March.

On the campaign, Ruchira Jaitly, category director - flavours, PepsiCo India, said, “We are excited about the new summer campaign by Mountain Dew, with our brand ambassador Hrithik Roshan. This campaign is true to the brand philosophy ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet Hai’ and brings alive how one can face the worst fears and vanquish them. It was a challenge to shoot this ad, given the location and the need to look authentic, and we had the perfect partner in Hrithik, who went all out to make the dive come alive. We look forward to a strong surround campaign to bring alive this new creative.” Agnello Dias, creative director, Taproot India, added, “Everybody feels fear. To be courageous is defined by one’s fear rather than the fact that they feel no fear at all. Hrithik’s personality in real life and on-screen is well rounded and multi-dimensional. That’s a great thing about him because he can be vulnerable and fearful like a normal person and transform into a heroic and fearless performer the next moment. He has the ability to carry off both with equal ease.”

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Research Methodology:

Title of the study: “Impact of celebrity endorsement on consumer buying behavior with respect to soft drinks “

Objectives of study: The objectives of the study are as follows:

To identify the factors that motivate and affect the purchase attitude of the consumers

To study the consumers perception on endorsement of celebrities through advertisement of consumer response

Sources of Data

For the study purpose both primary and secondary data are used. The primary data collected from customers who are consuming soft drink through structured Questionnaires the secondary data collected from the various website and research projects.

Sampling Size:

It is the total number of respondents targeted for collecting the data for the research. Sample size of 00 persons will be taken for this research.

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Research Instrument

Structured Questionnaires

Sample plan

Sample unit

Customers who are consuming soft drinks.

Sample size

200 sample for research work.

Sampling method.

The sample is selected by using non probability convenience sampling method.

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Data Analysis

What is your occupation?

80

40

40

40

Occupation

Students Business classservice classOthers

Interpretation:From this pie-chart it is clear that majority of the respondents are students and rest of the share is occupied by service and business class

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Age:

80

50

50

20

Age

18-2526-3232-39More than 40

Interpretation:

This pie-chart depicts that mostly respondents are young and while rest are above 25 years.

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Gender

180

20

Gender

Male Female

Interpretation:This pie-chart depicts that 98% of the respondents are male and 2% areFemales.

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Which category of products you like most?

(a) Soft drink (b) juice (c) others

12040

40

Which category of products you like most?

Soft drinksJuse others

This pie-chart depicts that 120 of the people like soft drink and 40 people like juice and rest people like other drink.

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If soft drink than which product you prefer mostly?a) Pepsi b) Coca Cola c) Local brands d) Not Specify

50

60

50

40

If soft drink than which product you prefer mostly?

Pepsi Coca ColaLocal brandsNot specify

Interpretation:This pie-chart depicts that 50 of the people like Pepsi and 60 people like coca cola and 50 people like local brand

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Do you collect any information or take advice before your purchase decision?a) Yes b) No

120

80

Do you collect any information or take advice before your purchase decision?

Yes No

Interpretation This chart shows that 120 people take advice before purchase decision

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If yes than which factor affects you most?a) Friends b) Advertisement c) Opinion Leader d) Others

45

6555

45

which factor affects you most

Friends Advertisements Opeinion Leder Others

Interpretation:The chart depicts that 65 of the people consider advertisement while going forThe purchase, followed by advice from friends 45,opinion leader 55 and 45 people Consider other factor..

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Which factor related to product affects you most?

a) Price b) Quality c) Celebrity endorsement d) Others

45

5075

30

Which factor related to product affect you most?

Prise Quality Celebrity Endorsement Others

Interpretation:The chart depicts that 75 of the people consider celebrity endorser while going for the purchase, followed by price-with30,quality with 50 and 30 people Consider other factor. As people usually are more interested towards well known brands and if these brands are advertised by famous celebrity it creates a huge impact.

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Do you like to see any celebrity endorsing your brand?

a) Yes b) No

120

80

Do you like to see any celebrity endorsing your brand

Yes No

Interpretation This chart 120 people like to see celebrity endorsing in their brands. This clearly shows how much important these celebrities are in the daily life of common man.

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What comes in your mind when you go for Soft drinks?

a) Celebrity endorsement b) Brand c) Quality d) Test

65

55

45

35

what comes in your mind when you go for Soft drinks ?

Celebrity Endorsement Brand Qulity Test

Interpretation:This pie-chart depicts that 65 of the people consider celebrity endorser while going for The purchase, 55followed by brand name-with ., quality with 45 and 35 people Consider test . ..

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Do you think celebrity endorsement work as an effective tool of persuasion for Soft drinks?

a) Strongly Agree b) Agreec) Disagree

45

95

60

celebrity endorsement work as an effective tool of persuasion for Soft drinks?

Strongly agreeAgreeDisagree

Interpretation:This pie chart depicts that mostly people agree that Celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion. 45 of people strongly agree that celebrity endorsement is an effective tool of persuasion and 95 people slightly agree that it work as tool of persuasion and 60 of people disagree that it is one of the tool.

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In case of Soft drinks celebrity persona you like most?a) Bollywood Stars b) Sports Stars c) Others

65

75

60

In case of Soft drinks celebrity persona you like most

Bollywood Stars Sports Stars Others

Interpretation:This pie-chart depicts that 65 people like to see bollywood stars to endorse their Brands and 75 of them sports star. While remaining 60 want others

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Is celebrity endorsement making you loyal toward soft drinks?a) Yes b) NO

140

60

Is celebrity endorsement making you loyal toward soft drinks?

Yes No

Interpretation:This pie-chart depict that 140 respondents agree that endorsement of Pepsi by their favorite celebrity make them loyal toward Pepsi and 60 don’t agree with this.

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Findings:

After completing survey I found that:

The research shows that the celebrity endorsement playing a key role on Indian consumers

Most of respondent said that when they were going to purchase soft drinks first celebrity of the particular brand comes in the mind of the consumer when they see different brands of the soft drinks

Film stars and sports stars both are equally effective as a celebrity endorsement

Out of 200 respondent 140 respondent said that celebrity endorsement make them loyal toward the soft drinks

Most of the respondent agree upon that the celebrity endorsement is the effective persuasion

Limitation:

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There are following constraints of the study which can be explained as:-

the time of research was short due to which many fact has been left untouched

The Area undertaken in research in Himmatnagar only. But to do a completer research a wide area is required, so the area is also a constraint of the study.

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Conclusion:

In India celebrities’ position in the mind of people is very high. People looks as their Idol and millions of people follow them. In all region of the country different celebrities follow by their fans like a god. In cricket Sachin Tendulkar ,Ms Dhoni, Virat Kholi . In bollywood male endorser and female endorser both effective in ads like Amitabh Bachchan ,Shahrukh Khan , Salman Khan , Ketrina Kaif ,Bipash Basu ,Ashwrya Rai Bachchan .These celebrities also using their name for endorsement very effectively.

Celebrity endorsement in soft drinks playing a key role for the soft drinks companies. Soft drink is product which purchase for enjoyment. It is not necessary product for the consumer. So all soft drink companies are highly concentrate on advertisement campaign especially for TV advertisement. For all soft drink companies like coca cola, Pepsi use celebrity as a market strategy and got positive result. Consumer is highly affected by celebrity when he/she going to buy a soft drink. That show how celebrity endorsement is effective with respect to soft drinks.

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Bibliography:

REFERENCES:

Philip A.Stroke(2009), "impact of celebrity endorsement on stock prices", Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 14 No.March .

Roy, Shubhadip (2007), "Consumer’s perceptual space and Indian celebrities in relation to brand attributes", Journal of Business Research, Vol. 37 No.1,

Shimp (2007), "Celebrities as spokesperson", Journal of Retailing, Vol. 76 .

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2008040851250500.htm http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1507842.cms http://in.movies.yahoo.com/news-detail/15671/Celebrity-endorsements-

ensure-highersale- http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=183 http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/Articles/Celebrity

%20Endorsement1.htm · http://catalogue.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/1998/cjsm/v2n1/dyson.htm http://www.campaignindia.in/Video/338791,coca-cola-urges-people-to-

spread-happiness-sans-reason-in-summer-campaign.aspx http://www.campaignindia.in/Video/337684,mountain-dews-latest-darr-

ke-aage-jeet-hai-adventure-goes-on-air.aspx http://www.pepsiohyesabhi.com/?

utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Text&utm_term=keyword&utm_campaign=PepsiIPL&gclid=CL-0_NO40rYCFVEO6wod7jsAuw

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