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Journal of Vacation Marketing
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Understanding the use of celebrity endorsers for hospitality firms
Vincent P. Magnini, Earl D. Honeycutt and Ashley M. Cross
Journal of Vacation Marketing 2008; 14; 57
DOI: 10.1177/1356766707084219

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Journal of Vacation Marketing Volume 14 Number 1

Understanding the use of celebrity endorsers
for hospitality firms

Vincent P. Magnini*, Earl D. Honeycutt and Ashley M. Cross
Received (in revised form): February 2007
Anonymously refereed paper

*College of Business and Economics, Longwood University, 201 High Street, Farmville,
Virginia 23909, USA
Tel: (434) 395–2833; E-mail: magninivp@longwood.edu

Vincent P. Magnini, PhD (Old Dominion Univer- and brand image can be significantly bolstered.
sity) is Assistant Professor of Marketing at Long- Conversely, selecting an inappropriate celebrity
wood University. His research has appeared in endorser severely reduces sales and brand reputa-
such publications as the Cornell Hotel and Res- tion. This research study collected data from a
taurant Administration Quarterly, the International
convenience sample of 213 adults in the USA and
found that trustworthiness, expertise, and genuine
Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Manage-
support are important characteristics for an effective
ment, the International Journal of Hospitality
celebrity endorser to possess. Further, the findings
Management, and the Journal of Services Mar- confirm that a match between the celebrity’s and
keting. company’s image and values and the celebrity
being perceived by the buyer as part of his/her
Earl D. Honeycutt, Jr, PhD (University of Geor- reference group are also statistically significant
gia) is Professor of Business Administration Mar- characteristics of an effective endorser.
keting at Elon University, NC. He has published
more than 175 articles in such outlets as Cornell
Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly,
INTRODUCTION
Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of
Hospitality firms are finding it increasingly
Advertising. challenging to penetrate marketplace clutter
to gain consumer awareness. This difficulty
Ashley M. Cross is an undergraduate student stems from the fact that primetime television
in the Department of Marketing at Longwood is 24 per cent promotional content, consu-
University. mer magazines are composed of 50 per cent
advertising, and newspapers contain as much
ABSTRACT as 64 per cent advertising.1 The average
KEYWORDS: celebrity endorser, credence consumer is saturated daily with increasing
qualities, experience qualities, hospitality numbers of promotional messages. For ex-
endorser, hotel endorser ample, consumers were exposed to approxi-
mately 3600 sales messages per day in 1996,
Promotional clutter makes it extremely difficult for an increase from 1500 in 1984.2 The limited
hospitality firms to capture the attention of pro- cognitive capacity of a consumer makes it
Journal of Vacation Marketing
spective buyers with sales messages. One way impossible to comprehend such large num- Vol. 14 No. 1, 2008, pp. 57–69
& SAGE Publications
firms attempt to penetrate clutter is by utilizing an bers of sales messages.3–4 Los Angeles, London, New Delhi
effective celebrity endorser. When the proper celeb- One method of breaking through this and Singapore.
www.sagepublications.com
rity endorser is selected to represent a firm, sales promotional clutter is to use an effective DOI: 10.1177/1356766707084219


Page 57

The use of celebrity endorsers for hospitality firms

celebrity endorser in advertisements. LITERATURE REVIEW
Research suggests that successful celebrity The effect of celebrity endorsers on
endorsements can contribute to higher ad- brand positioning and image formation
vertisement ratings and product evaluations.5 In recent years, a number of hospitality firms
Evidence also suggests that celebrity endor- have employed celebrity endorsers in at-
sements can have a substantial impact on tempts to change or solidify their competi-
financial returns for the firms that use them.6 tive positions and to formulate or reinforce
Endorsers are more effective when consu- their brand’s image in the minds of consu-
mers believe that celebrities are motivated by mers. Listed below are some examples:
a genuine liking of the product rather than
by endorsement earnings.7 • Mandarin Oriental, one of the world’s
Using a celebrity endorser can, however, leading luxury hotel groups, has pub-
be a double-edged sword. Selecting an in- lished ads that featured such celebrities as
appropriate celebrity can have a negative Vivienne Tam, Kenzo Takada, Isabella
impact on immediate sales as well as a lasting Rossellini, Jerry Hall, Lance Armstrong,
blemish on brand image. For example, ac- Michelle Yeoh, Frederick Forsyth, Va-
cording to the findings of a ‘Celebrity Influ- nessa Mae, David Tang, Elle McPherson,
ence Study’ recently conducted in the U.S. Bryan Ferry, and I.M. Pei.
by market research firm NPD Group, fa- • Hotel brand, Red Roof Inn, presented
mous Americans Donald Trump, Britney American actor and celebrity Martin
Spears, Paris Hilton, and Kobe Bryant can Mull in a series of television commer-
actually make consumers want to buy less of cials.
the products that they are endorsing.8 • Hotel brand, Motel 6, has featured
Therefore, the key question is: what fac- American writer and celebrity Tom Bod-
tors determine whether a celebrity endorser ett in a series of television commercials.
is a promotional asset or a liability? Several • Australian gold medalist swimmer and
empirical studies have analyzed variables that celebrity Ian Thorpe was appointed as
contribute to an endorser’s effectiveness,9–11 the Australian Holiday Ambassador in
but this study departs from existing research Japan in order to endorse Australia as a
in two ways. First, our research tests a more tourism destination.
comprehensive set of variables than previous • German soccer star Franz Beckenbauer
celebrity endorser studies; and second, in the was a paid endorser of South Africa as a
literature review, our article specifically re- tourism destination.
lates each of the proposed variables to
characteristics present in the hospitality in- Firms employ celebrity endorsers because
dustry. That is, this article is the first to consumers have a preconceived image of the
discuss how the following factors influence celebrity, and this image can often be trans-
the drivers of celebrity endorser effective- ferred to the endorsed brand.12 Theoretical
ness: (1) the abundance of experience quali- anchoring for this image transfer resides in
ties and credence qualities in hospitality associative learning theory (ALT). ALT con-
encounters; (2) the social and psychological ceptualizes one’s memory as a network com-
risks associated with hospitality purchase si- posed of various nodes joined by associative
tuations; (3) the difficulties associated with links.13 According to this theory, celebrities
the branding of hospitality offerings; and (4) and brands occupy nodes in the memory,
the impact of affective states of consumers on which become connected over time through
purchase encounter satisfaction that exist in the endorsement process. Consequently, at-
hospitality encounters. Therefore, in sum- titudes toward the celebrity are projected to
mary, the contribution of this article is a transfer to the endorsed brand through re-
series of findings and resulting managerial peated association.14 Recurring exposure to
implications that guide hospitality operators these two stimuli triggers simultaneous acti-
in selecting an effective celebrity endorser. vation of memory nodes, representing those


Page 58

Magnini, Honeycutt and Cross

stimuli, constructing an associative link be- the property), but it is not until a consumer
tween the two nodes.15 actually arrives and transacts at the property
Due to this memory association, a celeb- that many of the features of the hotel can be
rity endorser can potentially make an adver- assessed. The abundance of experience quali-
tisement more effective;16 can enhance ties in the hospitality sector are a result of the
message recall;17 and can aid in the recogni- high human component involved in a hospi-
tion of brand names.18 Similarly, celebrities tality transaction. Due to the existence of
can be employed to reposition brands or to these experience qualities it is of quintessen-
introduce new brands.19 On the other hand, tial importance for a celebrity endorser to be
if the wrong celebrity is selected then none trustworthy when representing a hospitality
of these positive outcomes will transpire.20 firm. Hence, even if the consumer has not
Now that the theoretical anchoring of the experienced the hospitality offering, the en-
use of celebrity endorsers has been explained, dorser will be perceived as reliable enough
the literature review discusses individual fac- to confidently represent the firm. Based
tors that determine the effectiveness of ce- upon these discussions, we hypothesize that:
lebrity endorsements.
H1: The greater the trustworthiness
of a celebrity endorser, the greater his/her
effectiveness.
Trustworthiness
Within the context of a celebrity endorse-
ment, trustworthiness is defined as the hon-
esty, integrity, and believability of an Expertise
endorser as perceived by the target audi- A celebrity selected to participate in an
ence.21 From a more pragmatic point of endorsement must have an acceptable level
view, trustworthiness can be described as the of expertise to make an effective endorse-
listener’s degree of confidence in, and level ment. Expertise is defined as the extent to
of acceptance of, the speaker and the which a communicator is perceived to be a
message.22 When celebrities make endorse- source of valid assertions.26 In the literature,
ments they must possess a high level of expertise has also been termed ‘authori-
trustworthiness because this directly provides tativeness’,27 ‘competence’,28 ‘expertness’,29
consumers with the confidence to believe or ‘qualification’.30 When a celebrity pos-
the information communicated by the en- sesses a high level of expertise s/he is more
dorser. Trustworthiness also attaches cred- persuasive. An increased level of persuasion
ibility to the delivered message. Stated enables the endorser to have a greater ability
differently, trustworthiness initiates a process to positively alter the consumers’ attitude.31
called internalization in which the promo- More specifically, a consumer’s perception
tional message influences the consumer’s be- of the endorser’s expertise makes the celeb-
liefs, opinions, attitudes and behavior.23 rity message more powerful; thus, making
Consequently, a celebrity endorser that pos- the consumers’ move toward purchase more
sesses a high level of trustworthiness will be likely.32
more likely to favorably change the attitude The importance of expertise is evidently
of a consumer.24 true in the case of a hospitality endorsement
This need for trustworthiness is germane because, as stated earlier (due to experience
for hospitality endorsements due to the fact qualities spawned by the high human com-
that transactions in the hospitality sector are ponent in the hospitality industry), consu-
high in experience qualities. Experience mers do not possess sufficient knowledge to
qualities are attributes that can only be eval- make an educated judgment about the trans-
uated during or after consumption.25 For action results. Due to this lack of knowledge,
example, a hotel’s website may list all prop- consumers may need the additional opinion
erty policies, features, and amenities (and can of an expert to push them toward the action
even go as far as providing a virtual tour of of selecting a specific hospitality provider.


Page 59


The expertise of a celebrity provides the tion of celebrity image, (2) the transfer of
consumer with a more concrete basis of meaning from celebrity to the endorsed
knowledge about the offering, which can item, and (3) transfer from the item to the
then assist in the formation of a positive consumer.37 Since image and values transfer
attitude regarding the hospitality provider. between these three levels, congruency be-
When a celebrity possesses a high level of tween the endorser and the brand is essential.
expertise about a hospitality offering, the Image and value congruency are vital for
endorsement will be more likely result in a hospitality endorsements. In the case of the
favorable action. hotel industry, hotel firms are currently find-
In addition to experience qualities, cre- ing it difficult to differentiate themselves
dence qualities abound in the hospitality from one another.38 In fact, without better-
industry. Credence qualities are defined as orchestrated branding strategies, many hotels
attributes that a consumer may not be able to chains are facing the potential risk of becom-
evaluate even after purchase and consump- ing ‘price-based commodities’.39 Due to
tion due to the amount of knowledge these circumstances, image and value con-
needed to understand what the good or gruency is imperative for endorsers of hotel
service does.33 For instance, if a hotel guest brands in order to create a clear picture of a
receives a mineral spa treatment, even after differentiated brand in the mind of potential
purchase, s/he does not know whether the consumers. Next, in the case of the tourism
detoxifying claims of the spa treatment pro- industry, proper image and value match be-
vider have been realized. Therefore, a celeb- tween the endorser and the tourism destina-
rity endorser who is perceived as an expert tion is critical because tourism destination
will help the many past consumers, who are images are extremely vulnerable to unfore-
relying on credence qualities, to believe that seen situational forces. For example, perhaps
their transactions were in fact worthwhile. one can argue that the image of Aruba was
Due to the impact of the expert endorser tarnished due to the sad circumstances that
past consumers will be more likely to spread befell American tourist, Natalie Holloway in
positive word-of-mouth regarding the hos- 2005. Since destination images are highly
pitality firm. Hence, we hypothesize that: susceptible to unforeseeable events, the
strong image and values of an effective celeb-
H2: The greater the expertise of a
rity endorser can be a significant asset. As a
celebrity endorser, the greater his/her
result, we hypothesize that:
effectiveness.
H3: The closer the match of image and
values of a celebrity endorser and that
which they endorse, the greater his/her
Match of image and values
effectiveness.
Celebrities are most effective when their
images closely match that of the firm for
which they endorse.34 This same correlation
holds true when considering the celebrity’s Genuine support
values.35 Advertising through a celebrity Genuine support can be described as a situa-
whose image and values are highly similar to tion in which it is known that the celebrity
the brand results in greater celebrity believ- supports the item that s/he endorses both off
ability in comparison to scenarios in which and on camera.40 Genuine support is bene-
the celebrity’s image and values and those of ficial because it increases the credibility of
the brand are dissimilar.36 A well-suited im- the endorser in the eye of the public. Some-
age and value match is vital due to the theory times this genuine support is achieved when
of meaning transfer. According to this theo- the celebrity is asked not only to promote
ry, there is a typical path for the transfer of the item, but also is asked to provide input
cultural meaning in consumer societies. The into the item’s design and features.41 This
transfer occurs in three stages: (1) the forma- situation then allows the product to be of


Page 60


greater importance to the celebrity, thus in- between the service provider and the custo-
creasing the possibility that s/he will become mer increases the degree of emotions and the
a frequent user of the offering. American potential for resulting satisfaction or dissatis-
Basketball Legend, Magic Johnson, for ex- faction also increases.45–46 That is, if the level
ample, regularly advises restaurant chain TGI of transactional involvement is high (as is the
Fridays1 regarding their menu choices and case in most hospitality-related transactions)
their restaurant ambience.42 the potential for a memorable experience,
Genuine support is important when se- either positive or negative, is also high. Con-
lecting a hospitality endorsement because sequently, if the celebrity endorser is part of
hospitality purchases often involve high le- the consumer’s reference group then the
vels of psychological and social risk.43 For consumer may be inclined to believe that the
instance, social and psychological risks are celebrity probably interacts similarly with the
great when selecting a family vacation desti- provider and, therefore, the provider must
nation (and the risk could be even greater be suitable. Hence, selecting a celebrity en-
when planning a honeymoon or anniversary dorser that is part of the consumer’s refer-
get away). Likewise, selecting a hotel in ence group is imperative for a hospitality
which to conduct a business meeting, sales firm offering. From this reasoning we hy-
presentation, or negotiation session entails pothesize that:
elevated levels risk. Thus, the celebrities’
willingness to use the service themselves H5: The greater the strength of a celebrity
provides evidence that the service offers endorser as a reference group, the greater
satisfactory results. When it becomes known his/her effectiveness.
that a celebrity uses a hospitality service that
they endorse it instills increased confidence
in the consumer that the service is worthy of
receiving. From this line of reasoning we Exclusivity
hypothesize that: Certain celebrities choose to endorse multi-
ple products, which decreases the effective-
H4: The greater the genuine support of
ness of their endorsements.47 However,
a celebrity endorser the higher his/her
when a celebrity opts to endorse a single
effectiveness.
item they are seen as being more believ-
able.48 While it is sometimes difficult, cor-
porations electing to use a celebrity endorser
Reference group should attempt to select a celebrity that does
Consumers often aspire to live like and look not have an overwhelming number endorse-
like popular celebrities. Celebrities serve as a ment deals. Finding a celebrity that possesses
reference group and they are able to influ- the appropriate balance of popularity, recog-
ence consumers when they consider making nition, and selective endorsements is a chal-
a purchase.44 Therefore, to make a celebrity lenge, yet such ‘due diligence’ will increase
endorsement effective, a corporation should the probability of endorsement success since
select a celebrity that not only gains the the celebrity will be viewed as being more
attention of the target audience, but is also credible.
someone who the consumer closely relates This exclusivity is important for a hospi-
to and has a strong desire to emulate. tality endorsement because, due to experi-
Due to the affect theory of social ex- ence qualities, consumers must rely on what
change, the importance of this match be- they are told by the celebrity endorser. This
tween the endorser and the audience is means that the celebrity must be as believable
evidently important when a hospitality offer- as possible when endorsing a hospitality of-
ing is being endorsed. The affect theory of fering and a lack of previous or simultaneous
social exchange posits that, in a service set- endorsements will assist in this area. There-
ting, as the degree of shared responsibility fore, we hypothesize that:


Page 61


H6: All other things being equal, the few- ‘strongly agree’ (9) for the following survey
er endorsements made by a celebrity, the items:
higher his/her effectiveness.
Operationalization of the trustworthiness vari-
able: ‘This celebrity is trustworthy.’
Operationalization of the expertise variable:
METHODOLOGY ‘This celebrity is an expert regarding the
The survey contained in Appendix A was item(s) that s/he was endorsing.’
employed to test six research hypotheses.
Operationalization of the image and values
The survey was distributed to a convenience
match variable: ‘The image and values of this
sample of 402 adults in the USA that resulted
celebrity matched well with the image and
in 213 usable responses. The survey was
values of the company(ies) that s/he was
distributed via undergraduate business stu-
representing.’
dents at a small university located in the
mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Students Operationalization of the genuine supporter
were given three hard copies of the survey variable: ‘This celebrity was a genuine sup-
and were instructed to have any non-student porter of the item(s) that s/he endorsed.’
American adults complete the surveys during
Operationalization of the reference group vari-
their fall holiday and return them to their
able: In the marketing literature, there exist
professor upon their return to school in
two types of positive reference groups: the
exchange for a small amount of course extra
first is termed a membership reference group
credit. The mean age of the respondents was
in which people feel that they become for-
40 years old and 50 per cent were female.
mal members; and the second is called aspira-
As seen in Appendix A, the first set of
tional in which people aspire to emulate a
survey items asked subjects to identify an
group.51 Since these two distinct dimensions
effective celebrity endorser and to respond
exist, two questions were used on the survey
to the items in reference to that celebrity.
to operationalize the reference group con-
The next set of survey items directed respon-
struct. ‘I could ‘relate to’ this celebrity;’ was
dents to recall a celebrity endorser that they
employed to assess membership effects; and ‘In
felt was ineffective and to indicate their level
some respects, I tried to emulate this celeb-
of agreement to the same set of survey items
rity’ was used to operationalize aspirational
in reference to that celebrity. This approach
effects.
of asking respondents to identify celebrities is
necessary to test the hypotheses because ex- Operationalization of the exclusivity variable:
tant research indicates that an individual’s ‘This celebrity had (has) a lot of endorsement
consumer characteristics influence percep- contracts with different companies.’
tions of endorser effectiveness.49 For exam-
ple, if a celebrity is perceived to be part of
the consumer’s reference group then this RESULTS
could enhance perceptions of endorsement Mean differences, standard deviations, and
effectiveness.50 results of the t-test are presented in Table 1.
The data were analyzed using SPSS 14.0 As stated in Hypothesis 1, individuals felt
for Windows. Since the hypothesis testing that the trustworthiness of an effective celeb-
entailed whether the means of the ‘effective rity endorser (M ¼ 6.94, SD ¼ 1.53) was
endorser’ scores differed significantly from significantly greater than the trustworthiness
the means of the ‘ineffective endorser’ of an ineffective celebrity endorser (M ¼
scores, a paired-samples t-test was con- 4.30, SD ¼ 1.96). Results of the paired-
ducted. The variables in this study were samples t-test indicate the mean difference to
measured by asking subjects to indicate their be statistically significant (t ¼ 17.01, p ,
level of agreement on nine point likert-type 0.001); thus, H1 is supported. Next, H2
scales ranging from ‘strongly disagree’ (1) to posits that a celebrity that is perceived to be


Page 62


Table 1: Paired samples t-test results
Paired differences

95% Confidence
interval of the
difference
Std Std Error Sig.
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t Df (2-tailed)
Pair 1 eff/trust – in/trust 2.643 2.268 0.155 2.337 2.950 17.006 212 0.000
Pair 2 eff/expert – in/expert 1.995 2.856 0.196 1.610 2.381 10.197 212 0.000
Pair 3 eff/image – in/image 2.704 2.507 0.172 2.366 3.043 15.743 212 0.000
Pair 4 eff/genui – in/genui 2.498 2.458 0.168 2.166 2.830 14.828 212 0.000
Pair 5 eff/relate – in/relate 3.005 2.717 0.186 2.638 3.372 16.140 212 0.000
Pair 6 eff/emula – in/emula 2.160 2.467 0.169 1.826 2.493 12.775 212 0.000
Pair 7 eff/lots – in/lots 0.629 3.053 0.209 0.217 1.041 3.008 212 0.003

an expert in the endorsed item’s category is difference is statistically significant (t ¼
more effective than a celebrity that is not 14.83, p , 0.001); thus, H4 is supported.
perceived as being an expert. Findings indi- According to these results, genuine support
cate that subjects did in fact rate an effective appears to be an attribute of an effective
endorser higher in the expertise category (M celebrity endorser.
¼ 5.66, SD ¼ 2.50) than an ineffective Hypothesis 5 posits that the greater the
endorser (expertise: M ¼ 3.67, SD ¼ 2.17). strength of a celebrity endorser as a reference
Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, results of group, the greater his/her effectiveness.
the paired samples t-test confirm that mean Consequently, the hypothesis was tested, in
difference is statistically significant (t ¼ part, by asking the respondent if they could
10.20, p , 0.001) and support H2. ‘relate to’ their example of an effective
Hypothesis 3 predicts that a celebrity that celebrity endorser (relate: M ¼ 6.06, SD ¼
is perceived by the consumer to match the 1.97) and whether they could ‘relate to’ their
image and values of the company that s/he is example of an ineffective celebrity endorser
doing the endorsement is more effective than (relate: M ¼ 3.06, SD ¼ 2.00). Findings of
one that does not possess this match. Results the paired-samples t-test indicate the mean
indicate that when respondents were de- difference to be statistically significant (t ¼
scribing an effective endorser the perceived 16.14, p , 0.001); hence H5 is supported
match was higher (M ¼ 6.98, SD ¼ 1.72) based upon this measure as the membership
than when the subjects were describing an dimension of reference groups appears to
ineffective endorser (M ¼ 4.28, SD ¼ 2.08). influence an endorser’s effectiveness. As ex-
Moreover, findings of the paired-samples plained in the previous section, since refer-
t-test indicate that mean difference was sta- ence groups also have an aspirational
tistically significant (t ¼ 15.74, p , 0.001) dimension,52 respondents were also asked
and support H3. whether they try to emulate the celebrity
As predicted by Hypothesis 4, an effective they selected. Findings indicate that consu-
celebrity endorser will have greater genuine mers are more apt to emulate an effective
support for the endorsed item [as perceived endorser (M ¼ 4.55, SD ¼ 2.37) than to
by the consumer] (M ¼ 7.05, SD ¼ 1.86) emulate an ineffective endorser (M ¼ 2.39,
than an ineffective celebrity endorser (genu- SD ¼ 1.83). According to the paired-samples
ine support: M ¼ 4.55, SD ¼ 2.03). Results t-test, this mean difference is statistically sig-
of the paired-samples t-test indicate the mean nificant (t ¼ 12.78, p , 0.001); thus this


Page 63


serves as the second indicator that H5 is factors that are unique to hospitality offerings
supported. and details the attributes that are necessary
Hypothesis 6 predicts that celebrities that for an effective hospitality endorser. From a
appear in numerous endorsements will be pragmatic perspective, hotel and tourism op-
perceived to be less effective than celebrities erators may need guidance in understanding
that have few endorsement deals. Hence, how to identify these necessary character-
when the respondent was referring to his/ istics of an endorser; hence, the following
her example of an effective endorser, s/he guidelines are provided:
was asked to state his/her agreement [1 ¼
strongly disagree; 7 ¼ strongly agree] with Trustworthiness: Results from this study indi-
the following statement: ‘this celebrity had cate that a celebrity’s trustworthiness is sig-
(has) a lot of endorsement contracts with nificantly associated with his/her endorsing
different companies’ and the mean score was effectiveness. In a general sense, past behav-
5.49 (SD ¼ 2.52). Likewise, when the re- ior is the best predictor of future actions.
spondent was referring to his/her example of Therefore, a celebrity’s track record, assessed
an ineffective endorser, s/he was asked to through the use of available information, can
react to the same statement and the mean be an indicator of his/her trustworthiness. In
score was 4.86 (SD ¼ 2.37). According to addition, Ohanian (1990) developed and va-
the paired-samples t-test, the mean differ- lidated a survey mechanism that firms can
ence is significant (t ¼ 3.01, p ¼ 0.003), but utilize to gauge whether or not consumers
is not significant in the hypothesized direc- feel that a particular celebrity is
tion; thus H6 was not supported. One possi- trustworthy.54 By employing this mechan-
ble conjecture as to why this hypothesis is ism, hospitality firms can ask consumers to
significant in the opposite direction could be utilize the semantic differential scales pro-
the pragmatic viewpoint that if a celebrity is vided in Table 2 to assess a celebrity’s trust-
an effective endorser then s/he is simply worthiness.
sought after by more companies with endor- Expertise: Study findings also indicate that a
sement offers. celebrity’s expertise is a driver of his/her
endorsing effectiveness. Like trustworthiness,
Ohanian (1990) also created and tested a tool
firms can use to assess a celebrity’s expertise
DISCUSSION for a particular endorsement.55 The survey
Consumers are bombarded with thousands items that hoteliers and tourism operators
of sales messages each day.53 One way to can employ to measure the public’s percep-
capture consumer attention in a cluttered tions of a celebrity’s expertise regarding their
marketplace is to employ celebrity endorsers. hospitality offering is listed in Table 3.
An effective celebrity endorser can bolster
both sales and brand image while an inap- Match of Images and Values: The results of this
propriate endorser can quickly have a nega- study clearly demonstrate that a celebrity
tive effect. Therefore, this article considers endorsement is more effective when the

Table 2: The trustworthiness dimension of the celebrity endorser – credibility
scale
Dependable ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Undependable
Honest ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Dishonest
Reliable ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Unreliable
Sincere ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Insincere
Trustworthy ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Untrustworthy
Source: Ohanian (1990)


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Table 3: The expertise dimension of the celebrity endorser – credibility scale
Expert ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Not an expert
Experienced ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Inexperienced
Knowledgeable ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Unknowledgeable
Sincere ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Unqualified
Trustworthy ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ Unskilled
Source: Ohanian (1990)

image and values of the endorser match the Reference Group: Lastly, our results provide
image and values of the sponsor company. In evidence that an endorsement is more effec-
order to best match the image and values of tive when a consumer perceives a celebrity
the hospitality brand with the image and to be part of his/her reference group. In
values of an endorser, practitioners must first order to achieve the desired match between
understand how consumers perceive their the firm’s target audience and an endorser,
brand. A research technique known as per- focus groups can be conducted with mem-
ceptual mapping can be used to achieve this bers of the target audience. Focus group
purpose. While a detailed description of the sessions should probe consumer perceptions
perceptual mapping process is outside the of themselves as well as their opinions re-
realm of this article, perceptual mapping is a garding potential endorsers.
means of collecting customer data and
graphing, in two or more dimensions, the
location of brands in the customer’s minds.56
After the consumers’ perceptions of the LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE
brand have been elicited, managers can then RESEARCH
attempt to amend or reinforce the image. A number of important research implications
Next, to assess consumer’s perceptions of a emanate from this article. First, the variables
celebrity’s values, managers can use qualita- identified in this research are likely corre-
tive research techniques such as sentence lated and a limitation of this study is that
completion or word association tools. Once these linkages between variables were not
the image and values of both brand and of examined. Therefore, future studies should
the celebrity have been identified it is easier employ a more restrictive methodology like
to achieve a match. structural modeling to determine the causal
paths between the constructs. Second, due
Genuine Support: Our findings indicate that a to the power of word-of-mouth communi-
celebrity’s genuine support of the endorsed cations in the hospitality arena, it would be
item significantly contributes to an endorse- informative to more closely examine the
ment’s effectiveness. In many circumstances impact of celebrity endorsements on the
(e.g. tourist destinations, full service, and word-of-mouth behaviors of past patrons.
resort hotels), hospitality firms select an en- For example, does the testimony of a celeb-
dorser who is already a loyal customer and rity spawn the desire of a patron to also offer
genuinely supports the service offering. This testimony? Third, some companies (outside
may be difficult for certain hospitality firms of the hospitality sector) now utilize ani-
(e.g., economy hotels); therefore, as men- mated characters in the role of celebrity
tioned earlier, one way to gain genuine endorsers to avoid potential public relations
support from the endorser in such cases is to dilemmas associated with a celebrity’s ‘real-
allow the celebrity to offer input into the life’ problems. Hence, future research should
design of the offering. Such collaboration consider the usefulness of animated endorsers
helps the celebrity ‘buy into’ the message in the hospitality industry.
conveyed in the endorsement. Another area ripe for investigation would


Page 65


be to study how the use of celebrity spokes- vertising Research 23(1): 57–61.
persons is perceived in various cultures. Ce- (8) Bhatnagar, P. (2006) ‘Sorry Paris, People
lebrity endorsements, for example, are more Don’t Buy the Burger Ad’, CNN Money,
common in Japan than in other countries.57 26 April 2006.
Due to the recent globalization of many (9) Anderson, K.E. and Clevenger, T. (1963)
hotel brands and the fact that tourist destina- ‘A Summary of Experimental Research in
Ethos’, Speech Monographs 30(June): 59–78.
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around the globe, culture’s inﬂuence on the ‘The Impact of Physical Attractive Models
practice of celebrity endorsements is a topic on Advertising Evaluations’, Journal of Mar-
of particular importance for those in the keting Research 14(4): 538–55.
hospitality business. (11) Ohanian, R. (1990) ‘Construction and Va-
Lastly, another limitation of this study is lidation of a Scale to Measure Celebrity
that a consumer’s past history with a hotel Endorsers’ Perceived Expertise, Trust-
brand was not considered in this research. It worthiness, and Attractiveness’, Journal of
is plausible that if a consumer has had a series Advertising 14(3): 390–414.
of past transactions with a hospitality provi- (12) Atkin and Block, ref. 7 above.
(13) Collins, A.M. and Loftus, E.F. (1957) ‘The
der then a celebrity endorsement may be less
Theory of Semantic Processing’, Psychologi-
effective because the consumer can base cal Review 86(2): 407–28.
perceptions of brand image upon his/her (14) Biswas, D., Biswas, A. and Das, N. (2006)
own past experiences. This conjecture ‘The Differential Effects of Celebrity and
should be empirically tested in future work Expert Endorsements on Consumer Risk
in order to give hospitality operators a better Perceptions’, Journal of Advertising 35(1):
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sers. (15) Klein, S. (1991) Learning Principles and Ap-
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APPENDIX A
SECTION 1: Please think of one celebrity endorser that you feel was EFFECTIVE
in positively inﬂuencing at least one of your purchase decisions.

IN REFERENCE TO THIS CELEBRITY, please indicate your extent of agreement
with the following statements:

This celebrity is trustworthy.

This celebrity is an expert regarding the item(s) that s/he was endorsing.

The image and values of this celebrity matched well with the image and values of the
company(ies) that s/he was representing.

This celebrity was a genuine supporter of the item(s) that s/he endorsed.

I could ‘relate to’ this celebrity.

In some respects, I tried to emulate this celebrity.

This celebrity had (has) a lot of endorsement contracts with different companies.


Page 68


SECTION 2: Please think of one celebrity endorser that you feel was INEFFECTIVE in
positively inﬂuencing at least one of your purchase decisions.

IN REFERENCE TO THIS CELEBRITY, please indicate your extent of agreement
with the following statements:

This celebrity is trustworthy.

This celebrity is an expert regarding the item(s) that s/he was endorsing.

The image and values of this celebrity matched well with the image and values of the
company(ies) that s/he was representing.

This celebrity was a genuine supporter of the item(s) that s/he endorsed.

I could ‘relate to’ this celebrity.

In some respects, I tried to emulate this celebrity.

This celebrity had (has) a lot of endorsement contracts with different companies.


Page 69

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