CSUEB marketing professor explains dos and don’ts of celebrity endorsements

• March 5, 2013 5:00am

Celebrities now appear in about 15 percent of U.S. advertisements, and AdAge estimates that companies invest $50 billion each year on corporate sponsorships and endorsements.California Smart Business magazine interviewed Jagdish Agrawal, interim dean and professor of marketing for the College of Business and Economics at California State University, East Bay, about navigating the treacherous world of celebrity endorsements.

“We have a celebrity-driven culture so the ads make a lot of sense in a cluttered marketplace,” said Agrawal. “But executives need to proceed with caution because hitching your brand to a celebrity is expensive and can be fraught with danger.”  A business should understand the role of the celebrity in their marketing mix. Celebrities are great for creating buzz but studies show that they have a limited impact on sales, he said.

Read "How to navigate the treacherous world of celebrity endorsements"

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