SPORTS CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT IN FASHION MARKETING

Silke Schröder, KHP Consulting, UK

Li-Wei Mai, University of Westminster, UK

ABSTRACT

Despite the high costs, many fashion brands frequently use celebrities in brand and image building and
positioning. This paper reviews the main endorsement theories, and analyses the advantages and
disadvantages of celebrity endorsements in order to provide a holistic view on this subject. It is found that
the advantages tend to be associated with brand positioning and image building; on the other hand, the
disadvantages are the uncontrollable risks and the costs. It is evident that the match-up between the brand,
celebrity and consumers in terms of characteristics and personalities and their cultural meanings play a vital
role in the campaign. A case study based on Dolce & Gabbana's use of David Beckham was analysed in
order to provide an insight on the celebrity endorsement and in this case it showed a mixture of associations
with the use of the sports celebrity.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this paper is to review the celebrity endorsement theories and activities in the luxury fashion
market. This study applied content analysis in literature review and a case study on Dolce & Gabbana's use
of sports celebrity David Beckham to explore the impacts and outcomes of the celebrity endorsement.

Luxury fashion brands often build their brand images by using celebrities like Madonna, Audrey Hepburn
and Humphrey Bogart (Dolce & Gabbana, 2005; Davies, 2005). The phenomenon of luxury fashion brands
using football celebrities as brand endorsers is relatively new (Kaiser, 2004). Upon closer examination of
sports and football celebrity endorsements, the authors found a significant number of examples in luxury
fashion brands that are increasingly influenced by these celebrities. The new trend manifests itself on an
international basis: Italian luxury fashion designer Armani named a blazer after Beckham (The Sydney
Morning Herald, 2005) and created the official suits for the English football team at the Football Euro Cup
2004 (The Football Association, 2004); In 2004, Italian luxury brand Zegna’s ZegnaSport 2005 collection
was presented by Italian football star Alberto Gilardino (Ermenegildo Zegna, 2005). A very popular
example is David Beckham, midfielder for England and Real Madrid, who endorses Dolce & Gabbana. In
2004, David Beckham inspired Dolce & Gabbana’s Men’s Spring/Summer Collection (Dolce & Gabbana,
2005). To present the Collection, Dolce & Gabbana used Beckham look-a-likes as models (Kaiser, 2004).

When a brand uses a celebrity endorsement, it draws attention and generates publicity. Between 1986 and
2002 the amount of athletes’ endorsement investment by companies has risen significantly (Peetz, 2004).
Brands using celebrity endorsement aim to increase the awareness of the value of the brand so consumers
would identify themselves with it when making purchasing decisions (Ehrenberg and Barnard, 1997).
Consumers are accustomed to see pop star or fashion icon endorsing a brand. The use of an athlete's
endorsement on luxury fashion goods other than sports brand are a relatively recent phenomenon compared
with the use of models who are intended to establish symbolic associations of aesthetic and attraction with
consumers. In the case of luxury fashion brands, this clearly involves meeting the expectations of their
most profitable target markets. Indeed, with distinct activities like celebrity endorsements, luxury fashion
brands should try to meet the expectations of the target group. It is therefore essential to research the
perspective of the target group.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Since the 19th century, celebrities have been used in promoting products (Erdogan, 1999). McCracken
(1989) defines the nature of a celebrity as: “Any individual who enjoys public recognition and who uses
this recognition on behalf of a consumer good by appearing with it in an advertisement”. However, the use
of celebrities is not limited to association with advertisements (Byrne et al, 2003). Pringle (2004) explains
six ways and degrees of celebrity involvement with a brand: Celebrity Customer, Testimonial, Employee,
Owner, Sponsorship and Placement. An increasing volume of celebrity magazines like Heat, Now!, Hello!

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and Closer!, dedicated to providing insight into the personal lives of celebrities, suggest that the
phenomenon of the celebrity is of major importance in the UK. In this context, Mintel (2004) asserted that
the “British public have become increasingly obsessed with celebrities”. The perceived benefits of
celebrity endorsement have led companies and brands to make celebrities an integral part of their marketing
communications. However, it should be noted that “celebrity endorsements can be a double-edged
promotional sword.” (Miciak, and Shanklin, 1994, p. 52). Only a careful evaluation of the possible
advantages and drawbacks of using football stars will enable the researcher to devise the correct marketing
strategy.

An Analysis of Advantages and Disadvantages of Celebrity Endorsement

An analysis of advantages and disadvantages of celebrity endorsements drawn from literature is shown in
Table 1. The advantages tend to be associated with brand positioning and celebrities’ influences on
consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions. In contrast, the disadvantages and risks are costs and an
unintended celebrity image.

The Meaning Transfer Model (McCracken, 1989) and Match-Up Hypothesis (Erdogan, 1999) are
commonly used endorsement theories. The Meaning Transfer Model is ineffective in warning against
mismatches between brand and celebrity, which are of critical concern to this study. It states when linked
to a product or brand, celebrities can transfer meanings to that specific product/brand (McCracken, 1989).
Celebrities play a significant role in the three-staged model by transferring a meaning to a product, shaping
its personality, and then transferring this to the consumer. McCracken places increased importance on the
personality of the celebrity in terms of cultural meanings such as status, class, gender, age, personality and
lifestyle. Of particular importance are trustworthiness, expertise, likeability and physical attractiveness
(Erdogan et al, 2001) “[T]he number and variety of meanings contained in celebrities are extensive.”
(Erdogan, 1999, p. 304). McCracken (1989, p. 313) argues that even the most stereotyped celebrity does
not only have a single meaning and it is “precisely the meanings of the celebrity that makes him or her so
useful to the endorsement process.” The final and most critical step in transferring meaning is
accomplished by the consumer who must capture an essential similarity between the celebrity endorser and
the product. As such, luxury fashion brands have to understand the significance of the targeted consumer
and thus the Meaning Transfer Model directly links to the Match-Up Hypothesis.

Match-Up Hypothesis

The marketer’s task is to determine the symbolic meanings to be gained by the product and select the
appropriate celebrity accordingly (Erdogan, 1999). Thus, celebrity endorsers become a mechanism for
brand equity management (Till, 1998) making the choice of celebrity of utmost importance to the marketer
(Gwinner, 1997), especially for luxury fashion brands. This leads us to the Match-Up Hypothesis, the
triangular relationship between consumer, celebrity and brand. Matching the endorser with the product
(Farrell, et al, 2000) is critical as endorsements will be more credible and the brand image enhanced when
there is a match between the advocate and product characteristics. Messages conveyed by a celebrity image
and product message should be congruent (Erdogan, 1999). Further, it is essential to this project to consider
the fit between the sport, the athlete and the product (Martin, 1996). The concept of the Match-Up
Hypothesis underlines that a luxury fashion brand needs to carefully test the fit between the product and the
target group’s perceived characteristics of product and celebrity. Furthermore, the endorser must be
assessed based on the symbolic associations whether or not they are meaningful, positive, and consistent
with the marketer’s expectations (Till, 1998).

AN ANALYSIS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

The review in this section highlighted the important benefits and the risks. The Match-Up Hypothesis lies
at the core of this study in that it emphasises the importance of the celebrity-consumer-brand match and
will be used to determine whether football celebrities are in tandem with luxury fashion brands. Examples
of successful and unsuccessful celebrity endorsements are illustrated in Table 2. They further demonstrate
the difficulty in creating the perfect match between consumer, celebrity and brand. The use of Bruce Willis

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by Seagrams, Michael Jordan by WorldCom, and Whitney Houston by AT & T were considered
unsuccessful matches (Schlecht, 2003; Till and Busler, 1998; Walker et al., 1992; Till, 1998).

CASE STUDY ON DAVID BECKHAM AND DOLCE & GABBANA

A qualitative case study approach was adopted to provide an insight of consumers' perceptions of a
celebrity and a brand. Dolce & Gabbana's use of David Beckham was chosen for the purpose of the case
study. The case study was based on two focus group discussions held in London. Both focus groups (6 and
8 people) respectively are Dolce & Gabbana's target audiences, namely males aged between 25-40, fashion
conscious young wealthy trendy students or professionals. The discussion focused on the participants
perceptions Dolce & Gabbana as a luxury brand and the symbolic association of David Beckham and the
match-up between the brand, Dolce & Gabbana, and the celebrity icon, David Beckham. The focus groups
enabled a deeper understanding of the target group and purchasing motivations of luxury fashion brands
and an insight into celebrity endorsement. The focus groups findings are discuss in the following sub
sections.

Associations with Luxury Brands

The participants associated a number of words with luxury fashion for men: shop assistants, no long sizes,
velvet coats, silk ties, expensive, runway model, made to measure, iconic, exclusive, smart, brands, tight
clothes, trying to look like Beckham, big sunglasses, London’s Bond Street and Sloane Street. The
participants were also asked to rank the most important attributes for a luxury fashion brand, namely "good
quality", a tangible attribute, "takes the lead" (trendiness), followed by "stylishness", "exclusiveness" and
"distinctiveness". When they were asked about the most important reasons for the purchase, the
motivations tends to be symbolic and psychological.

The Dolce & Gabbana Brand and Consumers

The Dolce & Gabbana brand was perceived to involve many symbolic associations. Focus group
participants had a wide range of expressions about characteristics and the perceptions of the brand. Three
key dimensions of the brand perceptions were derived from the discussion transcripts. They are: (1)
fashion and style; (2) personality; and (3) price perception. When the participants were asked to describe a
typical Dolce & Gabbana consumer, they describe him as rich and young. Despite the fact that it was seen
as overstated and often for gay men, comments reflected that even those in jobs like lawyers and banking
would wear selected items (e.g. jeans) of the brand i.e. the participants themselves belong to the consumer
group. As the brand is much overstated, the clothes were not to be judged to be acceptable for work in the
office. Other professional groups like actors, models, bartenders or business school students were evaluated
as being more likely to buy a whole outfit, which means buying into an image – one of nouveau riche, or
driving a Audi TT, Mercedes SLK or 1950s/1960s Mercedes Benz with blacked-out windows. The general
comments from the participants suggest that the person who wears Dolce & Gabbana is pictured as young,
extrovert, well-groomed and wealthy.

Consumers’ Perceptions of Dolce & Gabbana Market Position

Although it is observed that participants perceived Dolce & Gabbana as being very distinctive, especially
style wise, the opinions about whether Dolce & Gabbana is iconic, varied. To the question, where Dolce &
Gabbana should be ideally positioned, opinions were mixed. From a pure strategic perspective, Dolce &
Gabbana was perceived to be doing the right thing – being more upmarket and iconic than Cavalli, but not
competing directly with Gucci. However, at the same time participants stated that they would not buy the
brand – a consumer perspective. To appeal to them and, Dolce & Gabbana should aspire only a reasonable
extent of distinctiveness (often too ostentatious) and as much iconic status as they can. Endorsements
through respected icons and exposure in special events were suggested

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David Beckham

David Beckham acquired his image both from on-field and off-field behaviours. Despite the fact that David
Beckham was paired with luxury fashion brands more than with high street fashion brands, based on the
focus groups participants, the target group would not be induced by him to buy a luxury fashion brand.
David Beckham relates particularly to younger, lower social groups – he is “the working class hero”. This
makes him even more inappropriate to endorse a luxury fashion brand, as he would make it more accessible
to particular groups from which the target group tries to distinguish themselves. Various views were
expressed and discussed which can be summarised in the following aspects: (1) football celebrity, (2)
English working class, (3) young and (4) diluted image and (5) over exposure through multiple
endorsements.

A Summary of Findings

The theoretical models, such as the Match-up Hypothesis and Meaning Transfer Model, often used in
explaining the relationship between the campaign of celebrity endorsement and consumers were discussed
in examining the success or failure of a selection of campaigns. The advantages are to promote brand
positioning and image. On the other hand, the disadvantages tend to associated with the uncontrollable
risks and the costs. The case study using focus groups discussion provides an insight towards how
consumers perceived the Dolce & Gabbana brand, David Beckham and inter-relationships between them
and consumers. The qualitative data provide a base for analysis of the sports celebrity endorsement on a
luxury fashion brand and assess the effectiveness of the communication based on the match-up theory.
Being a football star, David Beckham’s image is one of mass appeal which is perceived to attract lower
social class, and thus does not meet the expectations of a luxury brand that is exclusive. Although this
study does not provide a conclusive deliberation, it is invaluable in exploring the consumer views and in
assessing the match-up theories as whether or not this is a successful endorsement. Quantitative research is
recommended for future research in order to determine the success or failure of a endorsement marketing
campaign.

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Table 1. Benefits and Risks for Brands to use Celebrity Endorsements

Advantages
• Increase message persuasiveness (Knott, C. L. and
St. James, M., 2004)
• Build a congruent image between the brand and
the consumer (Byrne et al, 2003).
• Underpin a competitive differential advantage
(Erdogan, 1999).
• Create positive effects in the mind of consumers
(Erdogan, 1999).
• Celebrity endorsers “impact on the audience’s
attention, recall, evaluations and purchase
intentions” (Hsu and McDonald, 2002, p. 19).
• Celebrities can make advertisements stand out
from the mass of marketing communications
(Erdogan, 1999 cites Sherman,1985).
• Can help increase sales: When Boris Becker won
Wimbledon with the Puma racket sales increased
from 15,000 to 150,000 rackets a year (Stone et al,
2003, p. 96 cites Jeannet and Hennessey, 1988).
Disadvantages
• Celebrity Endorsements can be directly expensive in
the form of fees, and indirectly in view of their impact
on the brand (Knott and St. James, 2004).
• Companies have little control over the persona of the
celebrity as it is something that celebrities have
cultivated (in public) on their own over the years
(Erdogan, 1999).
• Bad publicity can lead to a relationship break as
illustrated by NBA Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe
Bryant, who was recently accused of rape, and Nutella
(Pincus, 2004). Further, tabloid headlines can have a
negative impact (Pincus, 2004).
• There can be no guarantee of consistent superior
athletic performance (Stone et al 2003).
• “There is a question of their behaviour or they could
lose form or break a leg” (Gray, R., 2003, p. 27 cites
Alun James).
• Overexposure through too many endorsement
contracts and a celebrity’s loss of popularity or a
change of image count among risks (Knott and St.
James 2004).

Table 2. Successful and Unsuccessful Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrity Endorser Company/Product Success (Yes/No)*

Liz Hurley Estée Lauder Yes
Cindy Crawford Revlon Yes
PepsiCo Yes
Bruce Willis Seagrams No
Michael Jordan Nike Yes
WorldCom No
Whitney Houston AT & T No
Jerry Seinfeld American Express Yes
Milla Jovovich L’Oréal Yes
Source: Schlecht, (2003); Till and Busler (1998); Walker et al. (1992); Till (1998)
* Note: Based on the sources, success refers to congruency between celebrity endorser and brand to explain the
effectiveness of the endorsement in promoting that brand.