| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study is to observe the impact of celebrity endorser authenticity and product congruence on brand experience, brand evaluations and celebrity evaluations. Celebrity authenticity is defined by the celebrity's ability to demonstrate rarity and stability, or their ability to maintain unique characteristics and talents consistently across time and situation. Congruence is the how well a celebrity endorser matches with the brand's product or product category. Previous studies suggest that both of these constructs independently enhance brand evaluations, such as brand loyalty, positive word of mouth, and emotional connection. In this case, authenticity and congruence were observed together. To test whether authenticity and congruence jointly impacted brand experience, brand evaluations and celebrity evaluations, an experiment was conducted. In order to ensure internal validity, known brands and known celebrities were not used. Instead, a vignette approach was utilized. I found that, overall, authentic and congruent endorsement independently produced the strongest brand experience and the strongest evaluations. Authenticity and congruence together did not produce a synergistic effect but independently, when a celebrity endorser was authentic versus not authentic, evaluations were better and when a celebrity was congruent versus incongruent, evaluations were better. Therefore, in conclusion, if brand managers are looking to enhance brand experience or brand evaluations through celebrity endorsement, it is best to hire a celebrity that is authentic and a celebrity that is aligned with the brand's product or product category. Additionally, if looking to enhance the evaluations of their currently contracted celebrity endorsers, perceived authenticity significantly impacts these evaluations. An overarching insight this study demonstrates, however, is that in an age of excess use of technology and social media where information is more readily available, it is important for companies to look beyond just profession when determining the best endorsement candidate to hire. | |
