The Use of Different Endorser Types in Advertising: A Content Analysis of Magazine Advertisements

ABSTRACT

Most of the literature assumes that endorsements, particularly by celebrities, are a frequently used advertising strategy. However, no study has yet investigated the use of the different endorser types identified by academic literature. This study seeks to close this research gap by analyzing German print advertisements. It finds that endorsement strategy in general is used much less than academic literature assumes, and that the relative significance of the different endorser types is incongruent to expectations. Moreover, the data suggest that, contrary to the literature's assumptions, credibility is not the most important underlying construct for endorsement advertisements, the endorser type used is frequently determined by the product category that is being advertised, and campaigns based on authenticity and similarity are gaining considerable importance in advertising practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Advertising
• advertising strategy
• brand management
• celebrities
• celebrity endorsement

Notes

1. According to the World Bank (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?order=wbapi_data_value_2012+wbapi_data_value+wbapi_data_value-last&sort=desc, accessed January 20, 2017).

2. According to Eurostat (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&language=en&pcode=tps00001&tableSelection=1&footnotes=yes&labeling=labels&plugin=1, accessed January 20, 2017).

3. Except for Choi, Lee, and Kim (2005), who have, in addition to the U.S., also examined Korean advertising practices.

4. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse (agma) is the German association for media analysis. It was founded in 1954 and commissions an annual survey of media user behavior of German consumers. Agma uses panels of up to 50,000 consumers and analyzes the outreach of media such as print, TV, radio, movie theaters, billboards, and online media. Due to its acknowledged validity and rigor, tariffs for advertisements in different media are frequently based on the study's results (Wolff, 2006).

5. The very high percentage of employee endorsements in teen magazines (14%) is likely due to the very low portion of advertising content in this magazine category. Since the ratio could be totally coincidental, no meaningful conclusions can be drawn.

6. The very high percentage of celebrity endorsements in sports magazines (25%) is likely due to the very low portion of advertising content in this magazine category. Since the ratio could be totally coincidental, no meaningful conclusions can be drawn.