This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Google Scholar Articles by Magnini, V. P. Articles by Cross, A. M. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Understanding the use of celebrity endorsers for hospitality firms

College of Business and Economics, Longwood University, 201 High Street, Farmville, Virginia 23909, USA, magninivp{at}longwood.edu

Earl D. Honeycutt

Elon University, NC

Ashley M. Cross

Department of Marketing at Longwood University

Promotional clutter makes it extremely difficult for hospitality firms to capture the attention of prospective buyers with sales messages. One way firms attempt to penetrate clutter is by utilizing an effective celebrity endorser. When the proper celebrity endorser is selected to represent a firm, sales and brand image can be significantly bolstered. Conversely, selecting an inappropriate celebrity endorser severely reduces sales and brand reputation. This research study collected data from a convenience sample of 213 adults in the USA and found that trustworthiness, expertise, and genuine support are important characteristics for an effective celebrity endorser to possess. Further, the findings confirm that a match between the celebrity's and company's image and values and the celebrity being perceived by the buyer as part of his/her reference group are also statistically significant characteristics of an effective endorser.

Key Words: celebrity endorser • credence qualities • experience qualities • hospitality endorser • hotel endorser

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?