Celebrity testimonials have been shown to exert a variety of beneficial effects on brands and products: they can raise brand awareness, contribute to the emotional appeal and repositioning of brands as well as improve perceived product quality.[1] Advertisers can reap these benefits if the celebrity endorser has a strong ability to influence consumers’ attitudes and behavior and if the celebrity and the advertised brand and product are a credible fit.

We have used research results and the requirements of brand managers to develop valuable tools to empirically assess the fit between celebrities, brands, and products. By relying on our tools and expertise, our clients make sure that they engage with a celebrity that will make the best contribution possible to the desired reinforcement or change in brand image.

What Our Brand-Fit and Product-Fit Tools Offer You


  • Reliable Determination of a Celebrity’s Fit with Your Brand

    Our tools are scientifically-based and field-tested


  • Collection of Relevant Brand Personality Attributes

    Collection of 29 personality traits to create comprehensive descriptions of brands and celebrities (additional collection of client-specific brand image aspects is also possible)


  • Clear Profiling of Celebrities and Brands

    We use these 29 personality traits to create a clear profile of celebrities and to position celebrities and brands


  • Prediction of Successful Image Transfer

    We use the cpi-Celebrity-Brand-Fit-Index to project the celebrity’s impact on the desired strengthening or repositioning of the brand image


  • Ensuring the Credibility of the Endorsement

    We determine the perceived fit of the celebrity to the product category being advertised (Product Category-Fit)


  • Ranking & Benchmarking

    Our large database allows us to conduct a comprehensive comparison and ranking of a variety of celebrities regarding their fit to brands and products


  • Target Group and Segment-Specific Analyses

    Determine how celebrities fit to your brand and product in your target group as well as in different segments (such as sociodemographic groups)


  • International Applicability

    Our tools can be reliably used in all your target markets

Methodology – How We Collect Data to Determine a Celebrity's Brand and Product Fit


  • Online surveys to match your target audience requirements


  • Reliable and valid study design: Standardized collection of personality traits and product categories


  • Personality traits associated with the celebrity: Collection and analysis of the target audience’s free associations with the celebrity


  • Collection of celebrity and brand personality profiles with 29 personality traits and / or custom features: Determination of the current perception of the celebrity and the current perception of the brand from the consumer’s perspective as well as the target brand perception from the company’s perspective


  • Comparison of the personality profiles of the celebrity and the brand for an initial indication of celebrity-brand-fit


  • Determination of the cpi-Celebrity-Brand-Fit-Index: Statistical measurement of the similarity of the target brand personality and celebrity personality and consolidation to a normalized index value


  • Benchmarking for the fit of the celebrity to the brand based on the cpi-Celebrity-Brand-Fit-Index


  • Determining the celebrity’s suitability as an endorser for the product as well as benchmarking against other celebrities (21 product categories)

Development & Validation: How Our Fit Tools were Developed and Validated

Our objective was to provide marketing decision makers with reliable and scientifically sound tools for determining the fit of celebrities with brands and products.

Based on research results,[2] brand management frameworks and expert interviews, we were able to generate a set of features that can describe the personalities of both brands and celebrities. Using empirical studies and factor analyses, this set was then reduced to 29 distinctive personality traits. These traits allow us to comprehensively measure the perception of celebrity and brand personalities.

In addition, we have developed a set of 21 product categories to cover every major industry and their products. This allows us to analyze the extent to which a celebrity is a credible endorser for different products. The usefulness of considering the product category fits has been confirmed empirically: In two studies measuring the effectiveness of in total 32 celebrity endorsement campaigns, we were able to show significant (p < 0.05) positive correlations (0.7–0.8) between our product fit measure and the following marketing KPIs: spot likeability, brand sympathy and perceived product quality.[3]

Fig. 1: Data-Driven Matching of Celebrities and Brands – Measurement and Benchmarking of Relevant Personality Traits

Fig. 2: Credible Endorsements: Product Category Fits for a Celebrity and Benchmarking

Do You Engage in Archetypal Brand Management?

With our empirically developed cpi-Archetypes-Map, you can now measure and display both brands and celebrities with respect to their similarity to the eleven classical archetypes. Learn more HERE.

constanze_gaßmannAny questions?
We will be glad to assist you.

Constanze Gaßmann
Head of Market Research

+49 (0)30 95 60 91 19

[1] [3] Cf. cpi CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE/respondi: Effectiveness of Endorsement Campaigns – Empirical Assessment of 16 current TV campaigns, studies from October 2013 and February 2014 (in German).

[2] Cf. i.a. Mäder, R. (2005): Messung und Steuerung der Markenpersönlichkeit. Entwicklung eines Messinstruments und Anwendung in der Werbung mit prominenten Testimonials. Wiesbaden: Gabler (in German).