CELEBRITIES have been acknowledged to be effective endorsers of products. As far as running-shoes brand Saucony is concerned, the formula has been effective in the local market.
The Wolverine World Wide Inc. subsidiary selected Filipino-Italian actor Matteo Guidicelli, 26, to be its brand ambassador mainly to capture the millennial market.
Denice Lao, senior marketing associate of Saucony Philippines, said, while the brand already has “a credible reputation” for running shoes, they still want to get a bigger slice of the market.
“I think, [Guidicelli] has helped us introduce the brand to a wider audience,” Lao said during a press launch. Guidicelli arrived at the event in Makati City wearing apparel and footwear bearing the Saucony brand.
“When he [Guidicelli] came in, he helped a lot in building the brand to become more popular to the market, especially the millennials, because he has a big following from this group,” Lao said.
Joseph Asong, Saucony (Philippines) Inc. public-relations manager, also noted the popularity and clout of Guidicelli resulted in making the brand more popular to the youth.
“We want to ‘shout’ to the market that Saucony is a very diverse brand,” Asong said.
Advantageous
XSITE Solutions Inc. CEO Jojo Ajero pointed out in a Facebook messenger interview with the BusinessMirror that getting the right celebrity to endorse will be advantageous to the company.
In his interactions with most creative directors, Ajero said many agreed that once you use celebrity endorsers for your advertisements, the client can cut through the clutter far better than not using a celebrity at all. He said using celebrity endorsers will give the client three things, namely, transferred trust, strengthening the brand positioning and more exposure.
“For me, transferred trust is the primary role I would want any celebrity endorser to fulfill,” Ajero said. “Most celebrities are trusted to a certain degree, some even to a fault, and once they say that they use a specific brand in their daily lives, the trust in that brand increases.”
As far as the brand’s positioning and personality are concerned, Ajero said selecting a celebrity endorser is important. For retail, a brand can be positioned as a range brand, convenience brand, experience brand and as a price brand.
Diversity
AJERO further explained that a brand’s personality is “as diverse as people’s personalities, from sophisticated, rough, wholesome and sexy to serious, fun and athletic, etc.” For Ajero, a brand owner should select celebrity endorsers that will align, and even enhance, the brand’s positioning and personality.
“Guidicelli’s endorsement of Saucony is well on point,” Ajero said. “Last, if the celebrity has regular TV shows and numerous guest appearances, joins events aligned to the brand’s personality, and gets invited to concerts/corporate gigs, that will generate more exposure for the brand via the celebrity being remembered for his endorsement of that brand.”
Since a lot of millennials are technology-savvy and heavy users of social media, Ajero cautioned companies that millennials could determine if the celebrity influencers are just using a filer and are not genuine users of the brand.
“There is a tendency that it will backfire against the brand, so the brand owners have an obligation to ensure that their celebrity endorsers are committed to becoming true users of their brand,” he explained.
The selection of a local celebrity endorser is crucial to promoting a brand, which was born in 1898, to millennials.
The Saucony brand was established as a Saucony Shoe Manufacturing Co. in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, before it was bought by Wolverine World Wide in 2012.
Mind matter
GUIDICELLI is known among his fellow actors as a running and triathlete buff. He said during the launch that he considers using the brand “a partnership”.
“Discipline is part of pursuing a healthy lifestyle. Training is the hardest part, especially during the early stages,” Guidicelli said. “It is a mind-over-matter thing.”
He said his everyday regimen is running in the morning and either swimming or gym session in the afternoon.
“During Sundays, long runs [sic] of 20 kilometers is a must to build stamina and endurance.”
He said getting hired by Saucony is an “amazing experience,” because it motivates him to teach himself and his family the value of healthy living.
“At first, you are doing this for yourself and family. Later, you start inspiring people farther from you,” Guidicelli said. “It is a nice feeling and a lot of people are getting into fitness.”
Being healthy is everybody’s business, and it does not require an individual to pursue a high level of athleticism to pursue an active lifestyle.
“Everybody needs it. You don’t need to be a triathlete to be healthy. It is just understanding to be healthy,” Guidicelli said. “It is very nice to inspire people.”
Image credits: Rizal Raoul Reyes