Brand Ambassador or Brand Dilution?

Celebrity endorsements are not a new promotion strategy, in fact they have been used ever since marketers realised popular people are (good?) role models and many people follow their example, so logically it's safe to deduce that if popular people consume a particular product then everyone who follows them will do the same....

Aishwarya Rai is Brand Ambassador
for Longines watches 

Of course celebrity endorsements have come much further than that. Now the marketer has to first determine the meaning of the brand, find the right celebrity who's values represent the brand, and who the target market can relate to before they sign them up to endorse the product. At least I hope that is what brand/ marketing managers do. 

But it seems that not everyone seems to be following this formula. India, which has one of the largest and fastest growing consumer markets, still follows the old school ideas of celebrity endorsement which means getting the most popular film stars/cricketers/singing sensations to act as brand ambassadors for their product, regardless to whether they share any link to the product being promoted or to the market they are trying to appeal to. 

Of course this has brand managers frustrated as best, as they spell dire consequences of brand dilution, brand erosion and loss of brand meaning, especially as very few celebrities really support what they are promoting. In fact, some may promote as many as 15+ products in one year. For many stars this is an excellent way of not only increasing their public profile but also raking in the big bucks, as there is a lot of money within the business, and they can't wait to get their hands on another endorsement...and it doesn't hurt their own brand image as well, as the adage goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity!

On the topic of celebrity brands, many stars have refused to fade away after their 15 mins were up, coming with a range of products created by themselves or collaboratively with others, to keep themselves in the spotlight. Brand extensions of themselves? Abe Sauer covers it in Reality Star Brands: A Report Card

But the future may not be all that bleak, a shining example of successful brand extensions (or unsuccessful brand dilution) is Virgin. Richard Branson, has dabbled in everything from transportation, to banking, to telecommunications, even gaming, and spacetravel! A stunning example of a company who has taken product diversification to the max, it is truly a brand manager's best and worst nightmare, truly let it deserve the title of 'Elastic Brand'. Their secret to success? Is it Richard Branson? If i had to hazard a guess i would say it was the strong brand value and what it represents to the people. 'Virgin' is all about taking a chance, and finding opportunities in industries where's there's scope of improvement and jumping right in (but I'm sure there's more to that story!). For the latest of Virgin's ventures check out Barry Silverstein's The Elastic Brand: Virgin expands in every direction.