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http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s11747-016-0503-8&domain=pdf
Web End = http://crossmark.crossref.org/dialog/?doi=10.1007/s11747-016-0503-8&domain=pdf
Web End = J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2017) 45:5575 DOI 10.1007/s11747-016-0503-8
ORIGINAL EMPIRICAL RESEARCH
The effectiveness of celebrity endorsements: a meta-analysis
Johannes Knoll1 & Jrg Matthes1
Received: 18 February 2016 /Accepted: 25 September 2016 /Published online: 12 October 2016 # The Author(s) 2016. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract Celebrities frequently endorse products, brands, political candidates, or health campaigns. We investigated the effectiveness of such endorsements by meta-analyzing 46 studies published until April 2016 involving 10,357 participants. Applying multilevel meta-analysis, we analyzed celebrity endorsements in the context of for-profit and non-profit marketing. Findings revealed strong positive and negative effects when theoretically relevant moderators were included in the analysis. The most positive attitudinal effect appeared for male actors who match well with an implicitly endorsed object (d = .90). The most negative effect was found for female models not matching well with an explicitly endorsed object (d = .96). Furthermore, celebrity endorsements performed worse compared to endorsements of quality seals, awards, or endorser brands. No publication bias was detected. The study has theoretical and practical implications, and provides an agenda for future research.
Keywords Meta-analysis . Celebrity endorsements .
Advertising effects
Celebrity endorsements are a well-established marketing strategy used since the late nineteenth century (Erdogan 1999). While the strategy was first applied in traditional brand or product marketing (Erdogan 1999), it has spread to any form
of marketing communication, including political marketing (Chou 2014, 2015), health communication, and the marketing of non-government organizations (NGOs; *Jackson 2008; *Wheeler 2009; *Young and Miller 2015). Current estimates indicate every fourth to fifth advertisement incorporates this strategy, though this varies across countries (USA: 1925%, Elberse and Verleun 2012; Stephens and Rice 1998; UK: 21%, Pringle and Binet 2005; India: 24%, Crutchfield 2010; Japan: 70%, Kilburn 1998; Taiwan: 45%, Crutchfield 2010). In addition, longitudinal analyses show a steady increase over the past years (Erdogan 1999; Pringle and Binet 2005).
Hence, many studies have been conducted to test whether consumer attitudes and behavior are changed by celebrity endorsements. So far, results have been summarized in three narrative (Bergkvist and Zhou 2016; Erdogan 1999; Kaikati 1987) and one quantitative review (Amos et al. 2008; see the Appendix for a summary of the...