Know-How Exchange : Student Questions

I think that in fashion, not much regard is given to anything other then appearance which Kate Moss certainly has. That is why they hire her, she is a stunning looking woman that represents current fashion trends.

When the story of her taking drugs was released, it was like, so what? Its not like we didnt know that Kate Moss took drugs, or anyone else in fashion industry for that matter. I dont think anyone was surprised but companies nonetheless fired her, temporarily, because of the whole CSR thing. If they didnt do so, then we would judge them. We wouldnt judge Kate Moss but we would judge Chanel management for not firing her and endorsing an drug user to represent Chanel image.

Fashion is all about scandals and thats why it was all just a big scham, they knew they were going to hire her soon. True, Kate Moss is a brand herself and as such she can endorse fashion brands? Did Real Madrid sign David Beckham because of his football skills? I dont think so. They needed a player who is a big brand so that they can make money, specially in Asia where David Beckham was and still is 'the king' and Real Madrid had no fans in that part of the world.

I dont think their behaviour has an affect on brands in fashion industry and even if it does, whatever their behaviour, however shocking, people will still follow the brand. The more scandalous you are, the better.

Different can be said of other industried where I think celebrity endorsments are highly risky, specially because of their unpredictable behaviour and where drug scandals would not be tolerated as they are in fashion industry.

Hi Wang_mengmeng,

Hope you're having a terrific day!

A celebrity's past sins have hurled some right out of the spotlight into utter darkness. But for others their public failures seem to escalate them to the top of public interest. Often this interest brings increased economic gains and media hounds.

ASK PRINCE...CONTROVERSY STILL SALES...
Back in the late 70's the artist better known as Prince has a song called "Controversy". He was quite aware of the popularity being controversial brings. Having folks debate over some of those areas brought him much exposure and *MT.

*MT = "MIND TIME"...THE AMOUNT OF TIME A CELEBRITY CAN HOLD IN THE PUBLICS MIND PAYS GREAT DIVIDENDS...
Examples

R. KELLY...
you might remember R. Kelley's issues with minors/sex, pornographic videos and court hearings regarding these affairs. They have seemed to elevate him into a whole popularity and increased record sales because of the controversy.

P. HILTON...
don't forget Paris Hilton's issues with videos and how those recorded video's got into the wrong hands to bring her private affairs to the public eye. From the front end you would have thought that would have caused a great deal of people to say hands off but She's done all kinds of commercials, books and records since then.

IN A "FAST-PACED-NANO-SECOND-SOUND-BYTE-DIGITAL-MEDIA-WORLD" NEGATIVE PUBLICITY MAKES SOME A HUGE SUCCESS...
The fact that P. Hilton can still attain all of these endorsed product successes proves that the negative publicity only adds fuel to the fire for some on the celebrity endorsement scene.


NOW TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS

Q1...why on earth do those famous brands rehire her?

*CPE< It appears that her fame has transcended her negative publicity.

So remember the following equation. *NP<*F


*NP...NEGATIVE PUBLICITY can be transcended by *F...FAME.


Q2...does the behaviour of a celebrity really have an effect on a brand?

*CPE< I'd say NO. But can a brand be impacted by a celebrity "positively or negatively" YES.

Q3...how much weight do we really give to the use of celebrity in our spending decision?

*CPE< The answer to that question really depends on the consumers worldview. Some consumers will spend more because of an endorsement...others will spend less because of the same endorsement...while still others who do not know the celebrity at all will not respond (in terms of choosing to buy a product or in terms of choosing to buy more of a product) because of the celebrities endorsement.

Q4...is it the time to challenge the celebrity endorsement literature such as 'match-up' hypothesis?

*CPE< we should always be challenging our theories to make sure that they are relevant. Because as Einstein told one of his student assistants "in the last year the answers have changed". Einstein had given the same questions on an exam two years in a row and I guess the student was a little bit disturbed by the fact that Einstein was giving the same test. So yes we should consider that our answers are changing all the time. Our only real problem in life is our failure to be more creative than we’ve ever been. If you “Invent” your opportunity YOU WILL create your future. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

wang_mengmeng,

Q5...But would a big star like Kate Moss over shadow the endorsed brand?

*CPE...the brand is what the brand is...However Kate Mosses own personal crisis can effect how the brand appears to the general public's eye.

ATTRACTION TO THE PRODUCT WILL VARY AS THE WORLDVIEW OF THE CULTURE VARIES...
Remember the opinions will vary as the worldview's of the public varies. Some customers like a more true to life wholesome endorsement while others enjoy the controversy associated with the "Rough-Neck" image of the tramped out lifestyle of the celebrity. In other words the more risque the celebrities life the more light drawn to the celebrity.

It's like in sales the wrong sales person can effect the clients perception of the brand so drastically that the customer can decide not to take an interest in the brand. For example a person can have such a bad experience after meeting a celebrity of the endorsed brand that they decide not to support the brand until the celebrity is discontinued.


Q6...but can troubled celebrity increase the sales of their endorsed brand?

*CPE...Again the brand is what the brand is...a troubled celebrity can increase the sales of their endorsed brand "only" if their audience has an attraction to that type of worldview. Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah, *CPE (Customer Passion Evangelist)

'controversial celeb like kate moss' I think sounds too harsh and I wouldnt go that far to say that she is contraversial. model taking drugs can hardly be contraversial if we take into account the nature of modeling job. kate moss was simply unlucky she was caught doing it on camera. its a public secret that models take drugs (maybe i am wrongly informed and prejudiced against fashion industry) and not just models, everyone for that matter. think of Madonna and her Pepsi endorsment scandal, now thats contraversial and why? Because Pepsi fired her, she never did campaign for them and she played around with something more important to people than drugs, she fooled around with religious sacraments.

about yout topic...
'pros and cons of celebrity endorsement' perhaps.
'is all publicity good publicity' (clishe, I know, but its good to explore with real life examples)
explore perhaps why CocaCola has never used celebrity endorsements, I think they never did (I could be wrong)

i hope i helped a little.
good luck,
Emi