Celebrities and BrandsFrom Colas to E-commerce

Celebrities have been a part of the Indian culture for several decades. In the recent times, several film celebrities have been used as a model by e-commerce companies. Likeability, trust worthiness and the appeal of the celebrities to aspirational groups of consumers are some of the reasons why celebrities are gaining popularity in the era of social media (social media drives the word of mouth about celebrities faster than the traditional). A celebrity can either endorse an e-commerce portal or comment on it based on the expert opinion (a celebrity endorsing a personal care and beauty website based on her expertise in this domain).

There are three conceptual aspects that explain the popularity of celebrities in the Indian context. The Heider theory in terms of its application to consumer behaviour links the equilibrium of a consumer when he responds to a brand and a celebrity associated with it. It operates at the individual level of the consumer links the equilibrium associated with an object (brand), the consumer and the celebrity. In an ideal situation, a consumer would like the website First Cry (catering to the requirements of new born babies) because Amitabh Bachchan says that he (celebrity) likes the brand (object). The three entities will be strongly tied together with a positive attitude towards one another. According to this theory there is always an equilibrium maintained in the three relationships. In a negative situation, a consumer may change his liking towards a celebrity if the celebrity endorses a brand that the consumer may not like.

The reference group concept at the group level is the second conceptual angle that makes the consumer like the celebrity-endorsed brand. According to the reference group theory, any group/influence that is exerted on the consumer's attitude or preferences or values is an associative group that the consumer likes to connect. For instance, there may be a group that likes Fastrack brand and at the group level this may attract like-minded individuals who would like to be a part of the group. Online media has given a fillip to such behavioural formation of groups. At a cultural level, (the third conceptual point) in a collectivistic culture like India (where group belongingness and harmony, group decisions and affiliations overwhelms individual independence), celebrity groups appeal to consumers who are a part of the collectivist culture (this does not mean that there is no individualistic consumer in the culture; it only means that the orientation of the social mainstream is collectivistic). Hence, the classical conceptual perspectives will hold good even when e-commerce websites use celebrities (SRK for Big basket and Yepme, Hrithik Roshan for Myntra's HRX collection, Salman Khan for Yatra and Ranveer Sigh for Quikr).

And these celebrity associations may also score on metrics too. Bigbasket reported that its campaign with a celebrity can reduce customer acquisition costs and triple its customer base.

Question: a) Why are Indian consumer amenable to purchasing brands endorsed by celebrities ?

b) What are the important reasons why celebrity endorsement is critical to brand management in India.