EFFECTIVENESS OF USING THAI SUPER STARS FOR MULTIPLE BRAND ENDORSEMENT

Abstract

In Thailand, the advertisements for many leading brands use the same super stars to endorse products in television commercials (TVCs), with many super stars to choose from including Yaya (Urassaya Sperbund, Na Dej (Nadej Kukimiya), Pancake (Khemanit Jamikorn), Ken Teeradej (Theeradeth Wonpuapan), etc. This has led to questioning whether there is brand confusion and weak advertising recall by the majority of people. If many brands use the same super stars to endorse products and causes brand confusion and weak advertising recall, it would be extremely wasteful of the very large advertising budget used by these brands. However, some people have a different view that supports the super stars' brand endorsement since they believe in its effectiveness that the audience being able to recall the advertisements. Moreover, they believe the celebrities help to enhance product credibility and increase the consumers’ intention to buy the products.

Hence, this research aims to determine future guidelines, procedures and solutions to help business owners and marketers deal with the issue of using super stars for multiple brand endorsement and whether it is indeed beneficial to the business or rather that it wastes a large amount of the advertising budget. The study involved a quantitative survey of 400 respondents in Bangkok and nearby provinces and used the statistical package for social science research (SPSS) software to analyze the data.

The results show that all respondents could recall TVCs endorsed by Yaya and Na Dej. Moreover, most respondents (92-96%) could remember the correct product names. They were also convinced by Yaya and Na Dej about the product being promoted in the TVCs and had formed an intention to buy the products 2 times higher than without the advertising campaign. Furthermore the brand credibility was almost 3 times higher as a result. Heavy media weight was mentioned in the survey as a significant tool to overcome multiple brand confusion.