The Role of Celebrity Endorsement on Consumer Brand Preference A Case of Daystar University Students in Nairobi Kenya.

Abstract

In the 21st century, celebrities are role models; whether financially, professionally or with respect to image. The power of their say acts as an influential brand tool in the marketing industry, particularly for young adults. Young people don’t seek complex explanations to convince them to choose the brand they do; they simply desire to be like their ideal celebrities. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of celebrity endorsement on consumer brand preference. The study sought to meet the following objectives: to determine the role of celebrity endorsement on consumer brand preference; to assess whether celebrity endorsement increases consumer purchase intention; and to find out the influence that celebrity endorsement had on brand image. The target population were undergraduate students at Nairobi campus of the university, totalling 2590 students. A sample size of 162 respondents stratified by gender was used. Data was collected by the means of questionnaires and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science and Ms Excel. It was established that the use of celebrity endorsement enhanced brand recall, grabbed consumer attention, increased consumers’ purchased intention, made products easy to be recognized amongst various brands, in addition to improving consumers’ perception on a product. Qualities such as expertise, believability and physical attractiveness of the celebrity endorsers played a vital role in increasing consumers’ purchase intention. The findings of the study revealed that multiple celebrity endorsement could lead to brand confusion. Moreover, negative information about a celebrity could affect a brands’ image. It was recommended that companies should get it right when selecting celebrity endorsers. The selection of celebrity endorsers with the right attributes is crucial to the success of endorsements on brands.