Simples

So I’ve read quite a few blogs now, mine included, that have delved into the world of celebrity endorsement. So now, I’m going to look at a (possibly) more effective alternative to using a celebrity as a brand ambassador. Celebrity endorsed ads are expensive, time-consuming and often overrated. Especially when they could go completely wrong. The trouble with celebrities is that they have their own lives which are separate and possibly conflicting with the brand. They can get up to all sorts of mischief which can then have a negative impact on the brand image. There’s also the problem that celebs are often tied to multiple brands i.e. David Beckham. This can get confusing and dilute the power of the advert.

So what could be done instead? Create a celebrity out of thin air.

I’m talking about “spokes-characters”. They can be defined as fabricated characters which are created purely for the purpose of promoting a brand or product (Garretson & Niedrich, 2004). By using these characters, brands benefit from sole ownership of the endorser at a much lower cost. Animated characters, in particular, don’t require any sort of contract or ridiculous fee (Costa, 2010). Fabricated characters often produce more memorable adverts too, with Gio Compario increasing brand awareness of Go Compare by 50% in just 2 months and Aleksandr Orlov generating a 50% increase in market share for Compare the Market in less than 6 months (Costa, 2010).

Simon Myers, a partner at brand consultancy firm Figtree, notes that the most frequent use of these characters is in commodity sectors such as insurance, food or utilities. Brand characters may also be beneficial to markets where there is a weak consumer connection to bring more warmth and personality to the brand. The important aspect of using these characters is that they are not claiming to be knowledgeable experts about the product, but are simply intermediaries to the company professionals.

In the case of Aleksandr Orlov, the company have spawned a separate identity for him due to his popularity and public interest. He has his own Facebook and Twitter profiles, an autobiography and has even been interviewed on Daybreak. None of which had anything to do Compare the Market (directly), but there are obvious benefits for the company in terms of brand awareness and public appearance. As Urbick (2010) eloquently suggests, “paradoxically, characters tend to be more real than real people”. I find it fascinating that people relate more to a talking meerkat than to a human.

One major benefit of these spokes-characters is that they provide a direct association to the brand they are endorsing, whereas celebrities may conjure up many other memories for consumers such as the films they’ve been in or the songs they sing. Another typical feature of these adverts is a running storyline, which keeps you engaged and makes you want to see the next one. One company who used this tactic beautifully is BT. The story of Adam and Jane started back in 2005 and has evolved to focus on the son, Joe, at University. These adverts connect with the public as they are simply a portrayal of real life events, yet each one incorporates how BT is helpful in every situation. The adverts even managed to encourage viewer interaction by inviting you to vote on the outcome of the next advert, where the first poll (to choose whether or not Jane was going to be pregnant) generated 1.6 million votes (Banham, 2010).

The storyline is constantly adapting to customer needs as depicted through their feedback. The storyline of Joe moving to University connects to a lot of parents and highlights the importance of maintaining communication when your child moves out, which of course BT can help you with. The shifted focus to Joe’s life at University presumably hopes to target University students who will be in search of their first phone and internet provider. By being their first provider, they are more likely to create brand loyalty and secure life-long customers. And because the adverts are targeted to students, the focus has shifted from phone lines to internet providers to align with the prominent needs of the target audience.