The company profile of Smarterly is aimed to improve its performance through the use of influencers as marketing strategies. It employs the approach because it reduces the cost of production at relatively low while maximizing profits. The company does not spend a lot of capital in building customer brands since influencers significantly help in identifying the target market. Such a platform enables customers to make comparisons in buying market stocks and shares. The target market is informed to make the best financial decisions that result in improved performance of the company and customer satisfaction. The company deals with financial matters and have developed competitive strategies to manoeuvre competition from traditional service organizations. Such companies, use conventional methods in achieving customer satisfaction through customer satisfaction; hence Smarterly Company will benefit by using key open leaders in reaching majority of customers at ease. Therefore, the company has employed the new technology of advertisement as the competitive edge, thus attracting a large audience. By so doing, the company can invest at least $ 10 in a week. The competitive advantage of the company is easy to integrate within the company because it requires little capital; hence it does not require significant capital to penetrate in the market. Influencers are either voluntarily or paid to raise their views on a particular brand, thus influencing customers in adopting the product. They make it easy for the influencers to actively engage with the product hence building the reputation of the product. Therefore, influencers may be informed of celebrities because they have a positive reputation with the consumers that help brands engage with customers within their proximity.
Celebrity endorsers
Celebrity’s endorsers are integrated into the financial system as a merchandising mix because they have increased engagement with the customers who increase brand engagement. However, Associative Learning Theory was promulgated to consider the role of endorsers and product influence of the company. Endorsers develop a positive reputation of the products in the society depending on mechanisms they operate with consumers and across the media platform. When a celebrity endorses a particular brand, their product image transfers to the brand, thus determining its penetration by the consumers. Hence, endorsers bolster the efficiency of the advertisement by promoting brand recognition. They are used to position the financial status of the company, thus penetrating in the market with ease. However, for effective marketing strategies, endorsers must portray particular attributes that promote the success of the company.
Endorser attributes
Influencer trustworthy
Influencers trustworthy build a good reputation for the company. The credibility of the message determines the best endorser to integrate into the business. This is because it influences beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in an internalized approach. Trustworthy entails features such as honesty, integrity and believability of the endorsers to the target market. It is termed as the willingness of the influencer to ascertain the credibility of a particular product. By so doing, Smarterly Company will be able to attract more audience with low cost and build credibility to the target market. Finance sector requires a lot of credibilities because it is difficult for customers to appreciate a particular company that will be responsible for their money. Traditional banks have penetrated, making it difficult for the upcoming companies challenging to penetrate due to the competitive edge. However, endorsers due to media digitalization have facilitated ease penetration of the companies through the volatile competitive industry.
The degree of trustworthy of endorsers by the audience influences the consumer behavior towards the company brands such as pension savings. Fraudsters, especially in the financial sector, have increased in contemporary society that affects the credibility of the consumers in adopting new financial departments in terms of savings. Consequently, the degree of confidence that the audience has on a particular product of the Smarterly Company will be influenced by the degree of trustworthiness of the endorsers. However, influencers may pose a positive influence on the target market, although the relevance of the message will determine the consumer behavior towards the company brands such as savings.
Expertise
Similarly, expertise is another attribute that determines the assertion of the influencer. Ability of the celebrity in making a valid reputation on the Smarterly brands is the key concept for the effective performance of the company. Therefore expertise strategies of the endorser determine people’s status depending on the knowledge, experience and skills they portray. The reputation displayed by them determines audience reputation towards brands. Thus, perception of endorsers influences the purchase intentions of the consumer. Therefore credible endorser is a game-changer in the business perception because it will record immense improvement upon building a reliable reputation from the audience. According to Cross’s (2008), he stated that celebrity expertise leads to the effectiveness of the endorsers.
Celebrity power
Additionally, Celebrity power also referred to as star power influences the adoption of a particular product. Their popularity on the society determines the level of trustworthy that the target audience will have on the company brands. It defines the potential of the endorser to influence the audience in response to the message they are portraying. Marshal (1997) stated that power is determined by the credulity of the endorser that has to the target audience. Their influence is facilitated by being popular, famous, fashionable, trendy and admirable by the audience. Such features make endorsers gain a positive reputation from the audience hence become famous.
Therefore, integrating endorser who has star power will benefit the company and affects its market shares positively because many people will adopt the brands. Similarly, the company brands will have a positive reputation to the target audience hence thriving at a faster rate. By so doing, the company will gain a positive advantage of competition and outcompete the traditional banking systems. The reliable and credible audience builds the reputation of the company’s brands, thus increasing market shares. Consequently, the market shares will translate to profit maximization in the entire firm that will affect the performance of the company. Therefore, celebrity power influences the audience to purchase or adopt a particular product so that they may have the same reputation as endorsers. For example, endorsers have a positive reputation in fashion design across the world, and the industry has widely used it. The fashion industry has thrived significantly under the digitalized social media due to the influence of endorsers. The public reputation of the celebrities is perceived to their lifestyles they live that attract the audience. For example, the association of the endorsers with Smarterly brands will influence the audience to purchase its brands due to the positive reputation that celebrities pose. Therefore, celebrity power should be based on the personal attributes of the person. The videos and message they pass on social media such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok and other platforms have a positive reputation to a particular product.
Match of celebrity image and values
Matching of the image and values of the celebrity is another attribute that influences the audience. Match up the hypothesis of the product by the celebrity have a significant role in harmonizing company brands to the target market and audience. Congruency of the message and endorse image determine the value of the brands. High degree of celebrity perception and brand influences the credibility of the company’s brands. Therefore, high celebrity characteristics are directly proportional to the endorsed brand. Besides, the matching concept between the values and celebrity perception with the advertised brand bolster the endorser credibility.
Interestingly, Smarterly Company should determine features of the target market, celebrity personality and the brand regarding the main objective of the company to increase its efficiency and reputation to the target audience. Match up the hypothesis of the celebrity is emphasized by social adoption theory. It states that adaptive relevance of the message determines the degree of influence. It highlights the ability of the audience to recognize the effectiveness of the brand but not only considering the reputation of the celebrity. Sometimes, stars may convey a message to the audience that will only suit their star but not the brand they advertise. Congruency of the message and product will influence the product credibility. Therefore, the relationship between the product and the celebrity is considered for efficient advertisement. Thus, the concept is referred to as “vampire effect” because the celebrity engrosses the product with their personal life and become part and parcel.
Physical attractiveness
Physical attractiveness is another attribute considered when selecting appropriate endorser for the company brand. Physical attractiveness of the celebrity determines the degree of popularity among the audience. Beside, attractiveness can be perceived on the relevance of the content rather than the physical attractiveness only. An effective relationship between physical attractiveness and the significance of the content maintains the credibility of the audience to a particular celebrity. Attractive personnel have a positive reputation because they are associated with positive qualities that are rewarding to the audience. People are more comply more often to requests from more attractive people than unattractive people. Some people argue that good looks are significant assets in the field of product development. Therefore, an endorser’s physical attractiveness is a vital catalyst in the brand’s effectiveness to the audience. Besides, physical attractiveness does not only change the audience believes but also influences the purchasing power of the product.
Genuine support
Similarly, genuine support of the celebrity influences the efficiency of the audience on the endorser perception. Such credibility is related to the product that the celebrity is advertising to the audience. The celebrity lifestyle is important because it builds a positive reputation from the audience. Company include celebrities in creating product design and features that increase the credibility of the brand. Integrating such strategies in the product development motivates celebrity to become a frequent user of the brand that increases the reliability of the product to the audience. By so doing, the product achieves more relevancy to the audience, thus developing trustworthy and effectiveness of the product.
Exclusivity
The exclusivity of the celebrity is significant in product development. Endorsers are supposed to endorse one product at another to avoid conflict of interest between products. If they support multiple brands at a particular time, they affect the credibility and efficiency of the products. It reduces the effectiveness of the products. This is because it leads to psychological confusion of the product hence leave consumers to make decisions on their own on effective brand. Moreover, such aspects reduce the credibility of product because the consumer is left in a state of a dilemma. After all, it is usually conflicting to make an efficient decision on the best alternative.
In case a celebrity makes unsuccessful attempts in endorsing a particular product, exclusivity protects the reputation of the company. Thus failure to particular product determines the credibility of the other product. Therefore, exclusivity serves as insurance against negative perception. However, celebrity marketing can be represented in an ideal way to understand its credibility effectively.
Artistic exposure frequency
The approach is attributed to psychology models that affect the advertisement of the product.
Exposure frequency is a two-factor theory that states that exposure frequency of a stimulus and its evaluation by the receiver have an inverted u-shape. In interpreting the approach in marketing perception, it argues that increased exposure of the product by the celebrity increases the understanding and credibility of the product to the audience until an equilibrium is reached whereby the purchase of the products becomes optimal. Consequently, customers may get used to a particular product, and due to complementary products, they may shift to such brands hence evoking downward curve. At that level, customers change their perception toward a particular product; hence more strategies need to invoke to make the product more relevant to the audience in the long-term.
However, after the product achieves optimal exposure to the consumers, the market shares increases that leads to profit maximization. Since the market segmentation is dynamic, the effectiveness of the advertisement deteriorates with time after reaching an optimal level. According to Vakratsas & Ambler (1999), they stated that the exposure frequency of celebrities has a wear-out effect. They further discuss that effectiveness of celebrity endorsement on particular product decreases after a series of threshold increment above optimum. Therefore, due to such influence, marketers consider the effectiveness of the celebrity endorsement and consumer hence integrating them in the advertisement program. Besides, increasing celebrity exposure increases the purchase of the product to the target market.
Abnormal revenues of a product featuring celebrity
The success of the newly released product influences the consumer perception on the product. Increasing abnormal revenues of product that feature celebrity may provide the consumer with unexpected information that improves their reputation to such a product. Such information by celebrities stimulates diagnostic approach, thus resulting in higher unexpected revenue outcomes that can be either positive or negative. Therefore, celebrities encourage the perception of the product by consumers through examining the lifestyle of the celebrity.
The traditional market theory explains the consumer’s reputation on the product. The theory argues that the available information in the market determines investor’s consideration of new products. If the market behavior changes, the investors change their cash flows in engaging in trading behaviors. Consumer behavior is dynamic and therefore changes more often. Thus, increased awareness to the consumers by celebrity have a positive impact on the company products. The success of the celebrity fan influences the success of the product hence have a significant effect on the product. The concept argues that increased engagement of the customer with the product increases the perception of the product. Such roles are disseminated effectively by celebrities. If celebrities have a negative reputation to the media regardless of the followers they command, it may affect the effectiveness of the product marketing. The reputation of the celebrity determines the success of the product in the target market. Efficiency marketing will help Smarterly company to increase competitive advantage, thus recording higher revenues. Therefore, negative and positive abnormal returns of a product by celebrity results to improved market popularity which is an attribute of the celebrity endorsement.
The fit of a new product with the reputation of a celebrity
concept of fit and its role in the transfer of knowledge and brand equity is defined by the congruency of new product and celebrity. The strong fit of product is influenced by strong branding towards consumers. Increase in the celebrity engagement with consumers increases the fit of the brands hence leading to brand extension product. Such involvement has a positive impact on the success of the sequels. In the context of the match-up hypothesis, the congruency between celebrity image and endorsed product influence consumer behavior towards the product regarding celebrity reputation. However, the unexpectedness of celebrity featuring in particular product attracts consumers thus increases customer surprise that results in the demand of the product.
Hence, customer surprises contribute to more market shares compared to expected attentions such as direct advertisement by the company. According to the model, further argues that the influence of fit on consumer interest to have u-shaped instead of monotone positive. They are thus translating to more relevancy of consumer towards product when a celebrity endorses the new product. Therefore strong fit is emphasized by the equity of transfer between product and celebrity. Consequently, as the fit of a brand to endorser reputation decreases, the degree of surprise increases and influences curiosity target consumers.
In conclusion, influencers play a vital role in marketing new products that contribute results to the brand’s perception. Smarterly Company applied influence of celebrities based on the attributes of the celebrities that build a good reputation of the products. Similarly, the concept of fit, abnormal revenue and exposure frequency provide a better understanding of the celebrity endorsement in the Smarterly Company.