Celebrity endorsement is still an effective marketing tool, but consumers’ appetite for it is waning, an international report shows.

The Sensor report by MEC MediaLab – Mediaedge:cia’s (MEC) consumer insight and ROI division – asked more than 24,000 consumers across 25 countries what they thought about celebrity endorsement. Almost a third of them (29%) believe celebrities influence their purchasing decisions, with 25 per cent saying they have bought a product because a celebrity was promoting it. But the majority – 65 per cent – believe too many products are promoted by celebrities in their country.

However, attitudes towards celebrity endorsement differ significantly across different regions – for example, people in Latin America and Asia actually want more celebrity endorsement – but, crucially, from local celebrities:

• 52% of consumers in Latin America would like to see more local celebrities promoting brands in their country
• 46% of Asian consumers are keen to see more local celebrities promoting brands in their region

The level of influence that celebrities have also varies across regions, the report shows, with consumers in Latin America and Asia being twice as likely to admit to being influenced by celebrity endorsements than those in Europe or North America.

The research reveals that celebrity endorsement still plays an important role in generating brand salience and positively affecting brand image:

• More than half the global consumers polled (55%) believe celebrity endorsement makes a brand stand out
• 52 per cent agree it enhances a brand’s personality

However, the role of celebrities in advertising is complex. What celebrity endorsement doesn’t appear to do is build brand trust or belief in product efficacy, nor does it encourage word of mouth:

• Only 29% of consumers feel a celebrity helps them to trust a product
• Just 27% believe a celebrity helps them believe that a product actually works
• Only 26% say a celebrity makes them want to recommend a brand

The research also highlights risks for brands that use popular celebrities with broad appeal: 39 per cent of people find it hard to remember which celebrity promotes which product, but for celebrities who endorse more than one brand, this figure jumps to 68 per cent. At its most extreme, using popular celebrities with multiple endorsement deals can actually reduce brand saliency.

For example, when asked which brand UK consumers most associate with supermodel Kate Moss, out of more than 29 brands named unprompted, only Rimmel (21%) and Topshop (10%) achieved more than one per cent recall.

• In Germany, only one brand endorsed by Kate Moss – Calvin Klein – achieved more than 2.5% recall
• In Mexico, unprompted recall failed to reach 2% for any brand endorsed by Kate Moss

While few celebrities endorse as many brands as Kate Moss, the research demonstrates that one of celebrity endorsement’s greatest strengths – driving brand salience – can be completely negated by a celebrity who is spread too thinly across brands.

Damian Thompson, head of consumer insight, MEC MediaLab Global, said: “While the impact of celebrity endorsement may be waning, it remains an important and effective marketing tool for many brands, when done well; and it is still useful for reaching a wide audience, not just the minority who are actively interested in celebrities.

“However, interest in celebrity culture must surely have peaked in some countries, requiring brands to be more strategic in their use of celebrity endorsements.  Brands must analyse and understand the fit between celebrity, brand and consumer, as well as a celebrity’s relationship with the media, to implement a well thought-through activation plan, and ultimately measurable return.”