Do celeb advts influence your buying decision?

The Times of India

If your favourite movie star or sportsperson is endorsing a product, does it influence your buying decision? It's a thought one should ponder over, as many are turning spokespersons for realty brands.

If your favourite movie star or sportsperson is endorsing a product, does it influence your buying decision? It's a thought one should ponder over, as many are turning spokespersons for realty brands.
As we manoeuvre our cars through the city of Mumbai, we are greeted with large billboards towering over our heads. From Amitabh Bachchan to Sachin Tendulkar, all of them are signing themselves up for various endorsements and have their faces splashed on hoardings. From endorsing a toothpaste brand to luxury car, our favourite celebrities are all over the place. And real estate too hasn't been spared. Do celebrity endorsements help boost real estate sales? Let's find out...
Developers roll out a red carpet for celebrities:
"It is a well-known fact that celebrities carry with themselves a certain position of trust since they are role models in the area of expertise. The idea of celebrity endorsement is to position a developer's product using the celebrity's position stature in his her field. For e.g, if a cricketer is associated with consistency and superior performance, then a developer who wants to position his brand as one that consistently delivers a good quality product would look at approaching him for an endorsement. Many a times, a potential home-buyer may not identify with the product, but will identify with the celebrity," says Saurabh Mehrotra, national director advisory, Knight Frank (India) Pvt Ltd.
Experts say that celebrity endorsements have become one of the strongest tools for real estate developers to position their projects in a unique way. "Celebrities are influencers and impact the rationale of a potential home-buyer while making a decision. If his her favourite celebrity is endorsing a particular project, then it gives a reassurance to the buyers that it is a safe bet," says Veena Kumar, a psychologist.
Celebrities can complement a brand-building exercise when a company is looking towards creating excellent brand recall. This can be one of the effective strategies to create awareness about the project. It can also help in generating a certain level of goodwill among buyers that can, in turn, generate sales.
Glamour has always been a driving force for marketing any commodity or product. Moreover, a celebrity can help build brand equity. So, if a builder wants to highlight any particular project and its unique feature, the celebrity can effortlessly make the feature or project a talking point amongst the home-buyers or target audience, say experts."Celebrity endorsements surely help in grabbing eyeballs; however, the celebrity per se, may not add any value to the project. And if the target audience feels that the celebrity is a misfit for that product, the endorsement can backfire," says Dharmesh Jain, chairman and managing director, Nirmal Lifestyle.
"On the upside, a tie-up with a celebrity helps in creating a certain demand due to the 'pull factor'. Also, the longer a celebrity is associated with a product, higher is the recall value," says Ashok Chhajer, chairman, Arihant Superstructures Ltd.
The real-estate sector gains a lot from celebrity endorsements, as they help cut through the noise in the marketplace, by adding a premium value in highlighting a unique feature of a residential project and gaining focused attention from customers.“For players looking for a keen sense of exclusivity, celebrity endorsements can help. However, while high profile personalities can give a certain validation to the projects they recommend, contemporary home-buyers generally tend to seek developers who meet standards of excellence, quality, price and timely delivery," says Ashok Mohanani, CMD, Ekta World.
Celebrity endorsements do heighten the sense of interest in a particular product and generate buzz, but ultimately, it is the quality of the investment that helps to sell real estate. "Usually, end-users focus more on the quality of offering, price point and other factors more than celebrity endorsements before taking a decision," says Pankaj Kapoor, MD, Liases Foras.
When people invest in homes, there are several factors that come into play. If the developer does not meet the benchmark of quality, price and delivery, no amount of celeb value will influence the buyer's decision.
In a nutshell, while a celebrity endorsement certainly helps generate curiosity amongst customers and results in increase in footfalls, it may not result in better sales as the home-buyers of today; lay more emphasis on the reputation of the developer, price point, infrastructure, connectivity, amenities on offer and timeline of the delivery over sheer glitz and glamour.
 

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