Author(s): Hassler, David Maximilian
Date: 2012
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/15955
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Celebrity endorsement; Negative spillover; Negative publicity; Meaning transfer model; Associative network theory; Domínio/Área Científica::Ciências Sociais::Economia e Gestão
The aim of this research is to investigate if a celebrity can be a mediator between two brands so that a negative event happening to one brand can spill over to a completely unrelated brand, which shares with the first brand only the celebrity endorser. Even though celebrity endorsement is a popular marketing strategy and celebrities often endorse multiple brands, so far there has not been any systematic study on this topic. Drawing on Associative Network Theory and the Meaning Transfer Model as theoretical framework, this research finds out that negative publicity about a brand can spill over and thereby not only hurt consumers’ attitude toward the celebrity endorser but also toward a second brand that is endorsed by the same celebrity. An unexpected finding is that celebrities can act as a protective shield for brands by weakening the direct impact of negative publicity.
