Mall celebrity endorser characteristics and its influence on mall saliency amongst consumers

• Main Author: Berroya, Victoria Carla Yap
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2020
• Subjects: Endorsements in advertising; Celebrities; Endorsements; Consumer behavior; Consumers—Attitudes; Marketing
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/3466; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/10304/viewcontent/CDTG004208_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Filipinos being self-confessed mall rats pose as lucrative markets for Shopping Malls in the Philippines. The rising competition has paved the way to mall players using different marketing strategies and advertising campaigns. With many products enjoying successful increase of brand recall through the use of celebrity endorsers, it was just a matter of time the mall industry also jumped into the band wagon. It is common knowledge that celebrities demand huge talent fees. This becomes a subject for proper and responsible decision making for mall management. Getting a celebrity endorser is a big investment that comes with a lot of risk. It is vital that their selection of these celebrities be made to ensure that their advertising objectives are met. The study focuses on the relationship between celebrity traits and brand recall in the shopping mall industry. Specifically it aims to determine significant Mall Celebrity Endorser Characteristics that positively influence Mall Saliency. The study employs a descriptive research design with a total sample size of 400 respondents. Respondents from the cities of Mandaluyong, Taguig, Quezon, Manila and Pasay were randomly selected to answer the questionnaire. The data gathered are interpreted and analyzed statistically using Chi-square to test the association for significance and Contingency Coefficient C to test the extent of the relation between the variables. v There are five hypotheses statements in the study. All of them theorizing that each of the five celebrity endorser traits (Trustworthiness, Expertise, Attractiveness, Respect and Similarity), once perceived by the mall consumer will more likely lead to the recall of the mall being endorsed. Results show that for the Trustworthiness, Expertise, Attractiveness and Respect traits, cross tabulations of these traits and mall saliency provides as indication of independence between both variables which rejects the said hypotheses. The study concludes that out of the five mall celebrity characteristics, only Similarity (specifically, similar background and aspirational model) is proven to be significantly associated with Mall Saliency. However, the strength of this association is weak. Since the great majority of the hypotheses are disconfirmed, the study gives evidence that Mall Celebrity Endorsers are not effective drivers of Mall Saliency. It is then recommended that mall management who employ celebrity endorsers take on other options in their advertising campaign to find better use of their financial resources. The study also found a number of other factors that can be utilized for future research which can generate data that is beneficial to shopping mall decision makers.