Influence of Celebrity Endorsement on Brand Awareness in the Telecommunication Industry

Abstract

Celebrity endorsement has been around as a marketing communication tool for a long time and its use has continued to be on the rise despite the huge resources it demands. This is because it enables marketers to create awareness for their brands and leverage on the popularity and fan following of celebrities in favour of their brands. The study examines the influence of celebrity endorsement on brand awareness and the objectives are to assess the relationship between celebrity and attractiveness in MTN brand equity and trust worthiness in MTN brand equity. The adopted methodology was a descriptive design with a simple random sampling technique. A Structured questionnaire was designed in the data collection from the respondents of the study area. The collected data was analysed using simple percentage and frequencies and the results were presented in tables. The Findings of the study indicated that celebrity endorsement of MTN products improves the buying behaviour of consumers and the research concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between celebrity endorsement and brand awareness; and recommends that any brand which seek to remain competitive through enhanced brand recognition should employ celebrity endorsement as a strategic marketing communication tool in presenting their marketing messages to their audiences.