CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON TEENAGERS’ PERCEPTION AND BRAND BUILDING: A STUDY ON BRANDED APPARELS

Abstract

The Indian textiles industry, currently estimated at around US$ 150 billion, is expected to reach US$ 250 billion by 2019. This is due to the change in buying behaviour of rapidly growing middle class allied with strong economic fundamentals, and exposure to famous international brands. The market has gained immense importance due to the teenagers’ tremendous increase in spends on fashion categories. Unique Consumer Perception (UCP) has become a key word in guiding their purchase decision. Marketers have also strategised the celebrity endorsement route, to communicate with these targeted segments. The researchers tried to understand and analyse the gap that exists in understanding teenager’s perception towards these endorsement strategies and its impact on brand building activity. A sample size of 329 teenagers from 4 major cities of Gujarat have been used. The results have shown that at each stage of brand building, the impact of consumer perception differs as the state of consumers has changed from marginalized to multi-headed consumer.