Testimonial Evaluation | cpi CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE

What Added Value Did Sebastian Vettel Generate as a Celebrity Spokesperson for Tirendo?

Summary of the case study published in March 2013.

The idea of using celebrities as potent brand ambassadors in marketing is almost as old as marketing itself. The use of endorsements in advertising has seen a dramatic increase around the world, especially in the past 20 years. In the United States, 25% of all advertisements use celebrity testimonials, while 12% of all campaigns in Europe follow that example. And the trend is on the rise. But can this trend be justified by the added value of celebrity spokespersons?

In this context, cpi CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE analyzed the effect of the large-scale TV campaign of the emerging online tire dealer Tirendo to measure the impact attributable to the use of Sebastian Vettel as its celebrity spokesperson.

For the valid assessment of the advertising impact, cpi CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE performed a baseline measurement in October 2012 immediately before the TV campaign began to air to ensure that the effects measured during and after the campaign could actually be attributed to the campaign. The first measurement of the campaign’s impact was taken five weeks into the campaign. To isolate the impact of Sebastian Vettel’s endorsement and thus measure the actual return on celebrity investment (ROCI), the responses on marketing KPIs of those that recognized Sebastian Vettel were compared to the responses of those who could not identify Vettel.

Assessing the Impact of Celebrity Endorsements: Significant Positive Effects

On all eleven aspects investigated (including likeability, credibility, recognition value), those respondents who recognized Sebastian Vettel perceived Tirendo’s TV spot on average 20% more positively than those who indicated that they did not recognize Vettel. In addition, those who recognized Vettel found that Tirendo’s brand values were communicated by the TV spot significantly better (on average +15%).

In addition, Vettel also contributed significantly to Tirendo’s brand affinity and brand image: During the analysis period, those who recognized Vettel developed a significantly more positive brand image of Tirendo across all brand image dimensions than those who did not recognize Vettel (on average +22%). The brand affinity was 17% higher with those who recognized Vettel.

Logistic regression was used to demonstrate Vettel’s significant positive influence on the sales funnel in the form of a significantly higher conversion rate from people who know Tirendo by name to website visitors. Multivariate analysis indicated that the conversion rate was increased by one-fifth through Vettel’s endorsement and the resulting increase in brand strength. The positive impact that Sebastian Vettel’s endorsement had on the efficiency and effectiveness of the campaign could thus be consistently confirmed.

Evaluating Celebrity Endorsements with Innovative Tools

A celebrity’s fit to the advertisers’ goals for their campaigns is quite important. Is the campaign intended to increase brand awareness or is it seeking a positive image transfer? Tirendo, for example, was seeking a celebrity spokesperson who could contribute both to an increase in awareness of Tirendo within the target group as well as strengthen their brand image. To design effective celebrity endorsement advertising there are three basic rules to bear in mind, all of which Sebastian Vettel met in relation to Tirendo:

A Celebrity’s Potential Advertising Impact:

The celebrities used in advertising must enjoy high levels of recognition and a strong image within the target group. Only then can they increase the attention garnered by a campaign and positively affect the target group’s attitudes (towards brand affinity, for example) and behavior (such as the intention to make a purchase).

Celebrity Brand Fit:

In order for a celebrity’s potential advertising impact to be fully to the benefit of the brand being advertised, there needs to be an adequate fit between the perceived personality of the celebrity and the (target) brand image. Only then the celebrity will help to strengthen or reposition the brand in the desired form.

Celebrity Product Categories Fit:

In addition, the celebrity must also be a credible ambassador for the product to be advertised, otherwise there is a risk of a non-effective endorsement.

cpi CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE has developed four key indices and fit indicators that allow the success-oriented assessment of celebrity endorsements. The cpi-Index measures the potential advertising impact of a celebrity, the cpi-Celebrity-Brands-Fit-Index and the cpi-Archetypes-Map measure the celebrity’s match to the brand, and the cpi-Product-Categories-Fit measures the celebrity’s credibility as a spokesperson endorsing the product advertised.

Download the Complete Case Study

The entire study can be downloaded for free in PDF format here (in German).