Saving brands against 8216;Tiger-like8217; backlash

When a firm picks a single celebrity to endorse their brand,it can backfire - just like Woods' recent indiscretions affected Accenture.

When a firm picks a single celebrity to endorse their brand,it can backfire 8211; just like Tiger Woods8217; recent indiscretions affected Accenture. Now,a new research has examined different ways to secure brand loyalty.

8220;A widely applied method for improving how people feel about a brand is to pair the brand with positive stimuli,8221; say authors Steven Sweldens INSEAD,Stijn van Osselaer Erasmus University,and Chris Janiszewski University of Florida.

8220;A brand can be advertised using attractive imagery,endorsements by a celebrity,or used in event sponsoring. Invariably,advertisers hope that the favourable feelings generated by the positive stimuli will attach to the brand.8221;

This pairing process is called evaluative conditioning can occur in two different ways: direct transfer and indirect transfer.

8220;In indirect transfer,the positive feelings toward the brand are dependent on creating a link in memory between the brand and a positive stimulus. For example,MasterCard uses the popular NFL player Peyton Manning to advertise its product,creating a link between MasterCard and Peyton Manning,8221; the authors say.

The direct transfer means that the positive feeling from the stimulus 8220;rubs off8221; on the brand. For example,Nike sponsors 55 current NBA players,which associates the brand with a wide range of likeable athletes. 8220;For these fans,the Nike brand becomes more liked as a consequence of the sponsorship of many athletes,not because of the sponsorship of any one athlete,8221; the authors say.

In case of Tiger Woods,his recent indiscretions have had a tremendous impact on the company8217;s image. 8221;

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Advertising and product use can be structured to facilitate direct versus indirect affect transfer,which yields more robust brand attitudes than indirect affect transfer,8221; the authors conclude.

The study has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research.