The consumer today is smart, informed, well researched and looks beyond believability of a known face holding a product saying it is great. Advertising is moving from a reel to a more real space. There is a rising trend of brands looking for unconventional, real and relatable endorsers creating an increasing demand for Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kapil Sharma and Radhika Apte, among others. From just being aspirational, the focus now is on making characters credible. As society evolves, stories are increasingly about day to day life. This explains the appeal of many of these names at the cost of the more ubiquitous and expensive existing ‘repeat’ faces.
Clearly, the celebrity endorsement space is seeing a paradigm shift. Celebrities are no longer just ambassadors, they are influencers. Unconventional brand ambassadors are being drawn in from different fields like sports, business, cookery, Bollywood, photography etc. The market for endorsements has matured and brands are no longer looking just for a pretty face, but for influencers.
Hathway signed up tennis player Sania Mirza. Also, while Snapdeal unveiled its Diwali sale campaign with superstar Aamir Khan, the company also enrolled R. Madhavan as its brand ambassador to push Snapdeal down South.
Havells created a clutter breaking campaign with Shakti Kapoor trolling Prem Chopra while Rekha grabbed headlines when she acted like a ‘tantrum throwing diva’ in the ad for Snickers. Using unconventional celebrities not only helps differentiate vis-à-vis other creatives, it also helps spark conversations…this being the essential word for millennials and people glued to their second screens.
Unconventional endorsers are often digitally savvy
The concept of unconventional ambassadors has a big digital leg attached to it. Most celebrities today are signed up for their massive digital following, apart from appearances, and conventional ad shoots. They are social influencers who impress the target consumer, that is, the youth. And the young can be found on digital media for hours at a stretch. By using some of these unconventional people creatively, brands can still get their message across and get credibility and recognition too. For instance, online furniture and home products brand Pepperfry cast Radhika Apte, Shahana Goswami and Shruti Seth in three separate films for its recent campaign.
The list of brand ambassadors is also expanding beyond film and cricket stars. Men and women from different sports are in demand as are choreographers, DJs, chefs and stand-up comedians. A new category of digital celebrities is gaining ground. The bottom line is the person should fetch eyeballs whether it’s a home chef or a musical genius. Anyone who can get eyeballs and can spark conversations is in demand.
The work for brand ambassadors is changing. Earlier, they featured in print and television commercials or made an appearance at an event. Now, the role of the unconventional brand ambassador today is more personal in nature and the contracts are deeper.
Brands needs to keep in mind two keys while roping these brand endorsers
Relevance: A good endorser must have a substantial reach and credibility to form a ‘connect.’ Ultimately he should be relevant to influence the TG for the right messaging.
The influencer quotient: The endorser must create a favourable impression with the audiences perhaps even prior to the brand association, in order to influence consumers more credibly.
Vinit Karnik is business head, ESP Properties, GroupM
