The Influence of Customer Loyalty on Celebrity Endorser Choice Decision Making: An Exploratory Survey of Customers of Selected Celebrity Endorsed Products in Kenya.

Abstract

Previous scholars have extensively explored customer loyalty as one of the fundamental objectives of marketers. By and large, most of researchers have viewed this mono-directionally in respect to customers vis-à-vis products where customer loyalty has been construed to signify loyalty towards consumer products. However, in the context of celebrity endorsement, the researchers in this paper explore customer loyalty in bi-dimensional perspective, that is, convectional customer loyalty towards a product and customer loyalty toward a celebrity. The configuration of the two dimensions is considered to determine the subsequent effects resulting from the extent of the two aspects.

The researchers introduce a Celebrity-Product Loyalty Congruency (CPLC) model as an instrument to aid in celebrity endorser choice for product advertising. Existing literature on the study area has been reviewed in an effort to identify areas of concurrency/parity and points-of difference serving as research gaps in the reviewed literature. The paper is expected to fill the gaps identified regarding not only the perception of customer loyalty but also to help circumvent the difficulty of celebrity endorser choice. Exploratory research design was used in this study targeting customers of selected celebrity endorsed brands in Kenya. Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS as the ideal statistical analysis tool. The analyzed data reveal that customers would be more inclined to buy products to which they possess high degree of loyalty than to celebrities in Kenya.

Key words: Celebrity Endorsement, Brand Loyalty, Celebrity Attributes.