Linked to the concepts of hierarchy of effects AIDA model, strategic role of brand ambassadors in brand promotions, celebrity fitment & endorsement strategy
We are living in a brand-saturated world. Beyond product and service brands which rule our lives, today we find strong person brands casting their influence on us. Branding is all about right fitment, relevance, associations, relationships and so much more. Every purchase, every touch- point between the brand & customer establishes a connect, which keeps evolving. Another facet of relationship which is increasingly being seen today, is between different brands. Two brands joining hands for promotional purpose is co-branding, which increases the strength of influence on customers and enhances the equity of both brands. One type of co-branding most visible today is the association of person brand with other business brands. This is the celebrity endorsement strategy.
Brand ambassadors or celebrity endorsers have been a lot in the news recently, with so much happening relating to various brands and sectors. Let us look into those recent news pieces and understand the association from different branding perspectives.
One legendary brand, with fan following across genres & generations is Amitabh Bachchan. One sector that has gained popularity with many brands entering in, is relating to the crypto space. Amitabh Bachchan being roped in as first ever brand ambassador of Crypto exchange, CoinDCX was the big news around. A well-established, highly regarded brand like Amitabh Bachchan getting associated with a new brand CoinDCX can be analysed from different angles.
As mentioned in the news, Indians have begun to show their liking towards investing in cryptocurrency, which is a newly emerging asset class. An asset class is a group of financial instruments that exhibit similar characteristics, behave similarly in the marketplace and are subject to the same laws and regulations. Among the variety of traditionally available asset classes like stock investments, bonds, real estate etc,,crypto is the new entrant, generating curiosity & excitement among many.
At this early stage of the brand building process, that too in a new category, the news story mentions that the need is to popularize the crypto category, educate prospective users and to raise awareness on safe crypto investments. One brand-building model which is customer-based-brand-equity (CBBE) pyramid given by Keller, focuses on these different elements at the first stage of the pyramid which is the Salience stage.
There is another popular model, the AIDA model, also known as hierarchy of effects model which implies that consumers go through different stages during their purchase decisions. These stages as given by AIDA model are Attention/Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. Every campaign by a marketer is designed to fulfil certain objectives, which have to sync well with the stage that the consumer is in, during purchase decisions.
With crypto being a new space, but one which is witnessing continuous growth over last few years, target segment is at the awareness stage and this is what the campaign needs to address. Brand CoinDCX has identified high equity brand Amitabh Bachchan to be the best fit for their campaign to fulfil the required objectives.
Association of Amitabh Bachchan with CoinDCX is attention grabbing. At the awareness stage, presence of this big Bollywood star, his knowledge & wisdom will benefit both, the sector & the brand. As mentioned in the news clipping, quoted by Sumit Gupta, co-founder and chief executive officer, CoinDCX, “We are honoured to have Amitabh Bachchan as our brand ambassador. Being a crypto investor himself and having launched his own NFT (non-fungible token) recently, Amitabh Bachchan is well-versed with the crypto space. His knowledge will prove valuable in building trust and credibility amongst new users. We are certain that his association with CoinDCX will help bring greater visibility to the world of crypto and develop a strong brand recall for us."
This one quote can be analysed, providing different insights on branding. Collaboration between two brands is always a win-win proposition for both. Here the words expressed by CEO, CoinDCX, “We are honoured to have Amitabh Bachchan as our brand ambassador” brings across the equity that brand Amitabh Bachchan has in Indian market and this equity is much higher than that of CoinDCX, a new player in the market.
How Amitabh Bachchan gains from this collaboration? His image gets a boost, as in-spite of belonging to age-group close to 80 years, he appears as a brand evolving with changing time, adapting to new trends and thus establishing connect with younger audience. Further, “Being a crypto investor himself and having launched his own NFT (non-fungible token) recently”, this fact statement shows how this brand doesn’t remain static at any time, capitalises well on its equity.
The quote by CEO of CoinDCX also mentions that, “Amitabh Bachchan is well-versed with the crypto space. His knowledge will prove valuable in building trust and credibility amongst new users.” This indicates that this celebrity brand constantly moves ahead, showcases his stellar performance, always backed by complete knowledge.
All of these are definitely principles of success for any brand. For the 'new users' as target segment, someone as credible and trustworthy as Amitabh Bachchan can help to allay the fear that holds people from making Crypto investments. His knowledge and his own stakes can clearly indicate, crypto to be a safe investment option that too to the wider audience, as he has a strong connect with all generations who have seen him & loved him in all kinds of movies and shows.
Therefore, at the awareness stage, through Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador, CoinDCX will be able to educate the audience from all age groups and create the right appeal on crypto investments.
Choosing the right brand ambassador is a strategic decision by the brand. As ambassadors who are celebrities lend personality, give positioning, evoke emotions, add equity to the brand and so much more. Brand ambassadors are one of the most influential branding elements. So many brands we see around, big or small which rope in famous, influential celebrities as their brand endorsers to position themselves in the minds and hearts of the consumer.
Brand endorsement strategy calls for a fit between the brand and the endorser on the values they believe in, their personality traits, and very importantly their sense of social responsibility. In the current time, when brand activism is in vogue, wherein brands are expected to act responsibly, raise their voice on social issues and initiate change for the betterment of society, same is expected from the brand endorsers as well.
Another news around Amitabh Bachchan we came across recently was relating to his cancelling of endorsement contract with the tobacco brand Kamla Pasand and returning the money received for the promotion. He also made clear that he signed the deal, not aware that it falls under surrogate advertising. This single move talks big about the values, brand Amitabh Bachchan stands on and further enhanced the trust people have in him. Moreover, this step sets him apart from other celebrities like Ajay Devgan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan who endorse different pan masala brands.
As per Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines, celebrities should restrict from participating in advertisements of products which by law require a health warning in their ads or packaging. Also, they should not indulge in the promotion of brand extensions of products whose advertising is prohibited by law and thus, fall in the category of surrogate advertising.
Celebrities have influential power which need to be exercised responsibly towards social good even if it entails sacrificing short-term financial gains. One single move by Amitabh Bachchan of canceling contract with tobacco brand falls in line with the law and will go a long way in strengthening his image. This will also prove beneficial to all brands endorsed by him like CoinDCX, where trust matters most.
Such acts make the brand sustainable. Every brand ambassador is a personal brand, and they need to consistently portray values which people identify them with. Especially in the current world, where social media is the constant watch-dog, and implications positive or negative of every act get visible immediately.
Among the host of associations which come to mind whenever we think of Amitabh Bachchan, most prominent one relates to government’s pulse polio campaign, ‘do boond zindagi ki' where since last 2 decades, he plays the mighty role of inducing people of the country to give polio doses to safeguard the lives of their children. Same person endorsing tobacco brand which decays the health of the citizens, leads to a major clash in the portrayal of brand Amitabh Bachchan which can harm his image and trust factor immensely. Looking at the power of his influence, he was asked by National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) to stop endorsing chewing tobacco brand.
It is extremely important for brand ambassadors to continuously evaluate and re-evaluate their association with brands to ensure that it doesn’t disturb their image & values, which form the foundation of their responsible celebrity brand status.
Another news relating to crypto space with Bollywood star as brand ambassador made waves when newly turned unicorn, the crypto brand CoinSwitch Kuber for their #KuchTohBadlega campaign roped in Ranveer Singh. As we delve into the news piece and compare it with earlier CoinDCX one, we can derive new insights and further understand the strategic importance of Brand Ambassadors in the process of brand-building.
On the AIDA model, while CoinDCX aims at creating awareness about crypto category and educating people on crypto investments, the ad film of CoinSwitch Kuber focuses on generating interest & desire. This objective along with the target segment is clearly mentioned in the company statement, as covered in news, “The ad films drive the narrative of the potential of cryptocurrency to become the preferred choice of investment for the diverse Indian population, especially those living in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Each of the ad films is designed to convey a different key trait of the CoinSwitch Kuber platform."
Awareness creation by CoinDCX is going to eventually become the base for all crypto companies and enable them to focus on other promotional objectives. As we see, CoinSwitch aims to build interest and desire in the youth through the appeal of Ranveer Singh. Their idea is to grow the already existing hype of crypto investments in the minds of the youth and make it their preferred choice.
While CoinDCX focuses on the safety attribute of crypto investments by leveraging the credibility factor of Amitabh Bachchan, CoinSwitch on the other hand aims at making crypto accessible by focusing on it being simple, easy to understand. This positioning along with Ranveer Singh’s association creates mass appeal and fits in very well with the mindset of its target audience, small town youth. The setting, characters, image of Ranveer Singh depicted in the different ads carry the feel of movie ‘Gully Boy’, which again find a fit with the target market, the purchase stage they are in, their mood & emotion.
Ranveer Singh said times are exciting for the crypto landscape in India. "I am glad to come onboard as the brand ambassador of CoinSwitch Kuber, India’s largest crypto asset platform. The company is a key player in the crypto revolution in India and I’m happy to be a part of their journey." This statement by Ranveer Singh as covered in the news brings out his emotion towards this co-branding exercise. The exciting, energetic, always on the move kind of personality of Ranveer Singh matches with the current crypto landscape in India. Different roles that he plays in Bollywood movies, brings out his venture-some attitude, always inclined towards trying new things and so being a part of the crypto revolution, through CoinSwitch Kuber adds to his image & brand equity as well.
In the 2 scenarios explained above, it is clearly visible how two brands belonging to the same sector are creating different brand personality, appealing to different target segments, building distinct positioning platforms, showing their presence at different stages of the AIDA model, all through the right celebrity endorsement strategy.
Best fit Brand Ambassadors lead to the meaningful impact.
In the end, its important to mention that the presence & effect of macro forces, which are popularly termed as PESTEL forces cannot be undermined. The future potential and growth of cryptocurrency to a large extent depends on the law of the country and RBI guidelines & regulations. In accordance with that, the association of celebrities with these new age brands might undergo changes.
Brand Ambassadors being a person brand, issues surrounding their personal lives also impact the brands they are endorsing. As seen recently, when Shahrukh Khan has been in the news for not-so-right reasons. He is the face of various brand campaigns like LG, Hyundai, Big Basket, Byjus, and so on. Byjus being a brand in the education sector, with students and parents as its target audience, had to pause its ads featuring SRK in the wake of his son’s arrest in a drug case. The move by Byjus came in as a quick reaction to the backlash received from the audience. Though the ads have resumed after a temporary halt, but this danger looms large over the brands who bank on Brand Ambassadors' equity to build their own.
A brand is for the customers, and paying heed to the customers' reactions build brand image that is always going to be trusted, leading to long term benefit & sustenance.
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