Brand Ambassador Hedging

Two kinds of Tigers have been in the headlines lately. One is obviously Panthera Tigris the big cat, our national animal which is facing extinction. The other Tiger is still the king of the Greens, the Golfing great Tiger Woods. He is the highest paid sportsperson in the world. And not too long ago ruled our hearts. Accenture hired him as a brand ambassador and the message was loud and clear- ‘Go out and be a tiger’.

Tiger Woods- the fall from Grace

Late last year Tiger Woods confessed to repeatedly cheating on his wife, and went as far as checking into rehab for sexual addiction. Though the episode has affected the family, the brands endorsed by Tiger have also been decimated. From Nike to Accenture none of them feel comfortable with the emerging scenario. While Nike, EA Sport and Gillette have adopted a wait and watch policy, others like Accenture and Gatorade went ahead and dropped him instantly.

Gillette has been the worst affected with all three of its brand ambassadors under criticism - Tiger(Infidelity), Thierry Henry (Cheating in the world cup qualifier) and Roger Federer ( wailing on court after losing the Wimbledon).

Why have Brand Ambassadors?

The obvious question is why do corporations pay these celebrities millions to endorse their brand?

Without getting very technical I can put it in three categories-

Personalisation- It is very difficult for consumers to visualise a brand as a living creature. To make the brand more human and more acceptable, corporations have been signing on real life people to endorse their products. A good example is Steve Jobs who personifies what Apple stands for. TATA Motors usually uses Ratan Tata as its Brand Ambassador.

Attributes- Some times the physical and mental attributes of the brand are best communicated by using the brand ambassador. Sony used Kareena Kapoor and her now infamous size ‘Zero’ to show how slim the Sony ‘Vaoi ‘laptops were.

Instant Recognition- Unfortunately most brands come under this category. They want to capture mind share almost instantly. It does not help when most companies are living quarter to quarter and that translates into an ill thought of attempt to get some instant recognition from their Brand Ambassadors. That’s why you have Mahender Singh Dhoni endorsing 17 brands. Sachin Tendulkar endorses close to 16.

Then how does one go about decoupling a brand from its ambassador in case things go wrong? In other words should corporate have a plan in place for Brand Ambassador Hedging?

Brand Ambassador Hedging

The obvious reaction to such a scenario would be a fool proof way to brand your brand against such a risk. In other words we have to find a mechanism for Brand Ambassador Hedging. Brand is a perception that people carry in their mind. If not for brand creation Coca-Cola would just be carbonated sweet water. It is the mechanism of creating, communicating and reinforcing the very values that this carbonated sweet water stands for, that has converted it to Coca-Cola. Brands are created over a period of time and have the ability to outlast a fad. That is the difference between say The Spice Girls and Led Zeppelin. The former was clearly a fad while the latter is a brand.

There is a way according to Business

However, people on the business side felt that there was a way out. Consultant Nikhil Lasrado feels that Brand Managers could use multiple brand ambassadors, a case in point being Louis Vuitton, that has ambassadors ranging from movie stars (Sean Connery) to ex-presidents (Mikhail Gorbachev) to ex-astronauts (Buzz Aldrin) and even rock stars (Keith Richards). Nike and Gillette can drop Woods and focus on the likes of more "dependable" stars like Federer. Accenture has unfortunately got a single brand ambassador - though dropping Woods may seem a bold move, it will struggle to find a quick and fitting replacement.

The second option is to reduce the tenure of branding contracts to one-year. Gatorade has burnt its fingers with Woods' 5-year $100 million contract. Adidas has a 10-year agreement with Tendulkar (whose private life is, luckily, as impeccable as his sport life!).

A more radical strategy would be to let the brand be its own ambassador. The Coca Cola Company has constantly shunned brand ambassadors (India being the exception) for its larger-than-life everyday drink image.

Companies could also use employees as brand ambassadors. IBM has used employees in TVCs for its Smarter Planet campaign. This has the dual effect of targeting both prospective clients as well as future employees.

The Smart Alternative: Chintamani to the rescue.

Some companies have gone for a hedge by using animated and doodle instead of people. Asian Paints until recently used ‘Gattu’ to promoted its brand. ICICI uses ‘Chintamani’ to show emotions associated with tax planning: ‘Chinta’ (Worry) before tax planning and ‘Mani’ (Money) after it, by using ICICI services. Former journalist Archana Venkat’s story identifies this trend of using animation characters as brand ambassadors by citing other examples such as Pandu Mangal of Amaron Batteries, Boomer Man, Cheetos Cheetah and the Kellogg’s team of animated characters, to name a few. (Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/2007/08/09/stories/2007080950010100.htm)

But no other company has taken the lead on this as Vodafone that replaced its iconic Pug with the animation character ‘Zoozoo’. Vodafone is a large advertiser of the IPL and has been showing variants of ‘Zoozoo’ to show case the multiple services offered by the service provider.

The advantage of using such a strategy is that rarely can these brand ambassadors make a social faux pas. The brand manager has total control over both the brand and its ambassador.

Customer is still King

Despite all these strategies, the final choice rests with the customer. If customers start showing negative reaction to a particular celebrity then it is always better for the brand to start identifying other ways to link up with customers. And if the particular product or service does not meet customer expectations then no matter who is the brand ambassador, the product will not sell.

(Ends)