Abstract
Fictional spokes-characters in promotion and marketing communication are becoming more popular with brands. This study examined the impact spokes-characters have on the brands they endorse. Celebrities have been used as endorsers since the late nineteenth century and marketers have established that they are one of the most effective methods of advertising. The popularity of celebrity endorsements springs from the numerous benefits that companies experience by employing them. The contribution of this study is in addressing an area in marketing that looks at consumer perceptions of spokes-characters, how these consumer views influence their perceptions of advertisements and brands that use spokes-characters, and ultimately the influence on purchase intention. The studysurveyed 260 consumers in the Braamfontein business district of Johannesburg, South Africa. The study found that consumers are in favour of spokes-characters and advertisements that use spokes-characters. Moreover, the researchers concluded that only a spokes-character’s attractiveness and expertise influence attitudes toward the advertisement and a spokes-character’s trust influences attitudes toward the brand. In addition, the study found that individually, both attitude variables have a positive effect on purchase; however, the relationship between the attitude towards the advertisement and the attitude towards the brand tended to be stronger.
Highlights
A fictional spokes-character is an animated being or animated object that is used to promote or communicate product benefits, service features, or a concept (Phillips et al 2019)
This study focuses mainly on the use of created non-celebrity spokes-characters as brand endorsers for products targeted at consumers over the age of 18
After the data was collected, it was processed for descriptive statistics through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS) 26, while structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted through the analysis of moment structures software (AMOS) 26
Summary
A fictional spokes-character is an animated being or animated object that is used to promote or communicate product benefits, service features, or a concept (Phillips et al 2019). Spokes-characters have been a frequently used promotional and marketing communication tool over the Mashwama, Chuchu & Maziriri. Marketers have used many persuasive advertising techniques to increase consumer advertising interest in their advertisements; one of the techniques was the concept of brand endorsement through the use of celebrities (Bekk & Spörrle 2010; Ndlela & Chuchu 2016). Advertisers believe that because of their popularity, celebrities do create and maintain attention, and achieve high recall rates for marketing communication messages (Erdogan 1999). A company using a celebrity always runs the risk of the brand being influenced by the celebrity’s professional and personal life, which cannot be controlled, and sometimes, the effect could be negative
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