The Impact of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand Knowledge: A Comparative Study in Mauritius

Abstract

Celebrity Endorsement, a tool used by several organisations, has today helped to attract customers so as to build a stronger image. Charisma, achievements and ethical actions are some of the traits of good endorsers. This paper is an effort to establish the relationship between Celebrity Endorsement and Brand Knowledge. This research considered two big brands in the sports apparel industry – Adidas and Nike. The aim was to determine whether there was a difference in the Brand Knowledge of Adidas and Nike consumers when impacted by Celebrity Endorsement. For this purpose, the Brand Knowledge of the respondents was assessed as well as how the latter perceived celebrity endorsers. This study adopted a quantitative survey methodology by distributing digital questionnaires. The study revealed that there was a relationship between Celebrity Endorsement and Brand Knowledge and also, although no significant difference in the Brand Knowledge of Nike and Adidas consumers was recorded earlier, however, when impacted by Celebrity Endorsement, their Brand Knowledge differed. The paper contributes to the creation of knowledge such as understanding the complexity and impacts of Celebrity Endorsement in more depths. Managers of Nike and Adidas could use this knowledge to enhance their endorsement strategies. While previous research focused on other impacts of Celebrity Endorsement, this paper attempted to shed light in an unexplored area.