Effect of celebrity endorsers’ attributes on purchase intentions in South Africa

Celebrity endorsement is the most used strategy since consumers value celebrities in advertisements. Organizations invest in celebrity endorsements in the expectation that they will enhance consumer perception of a product or service, evoke favorable attitudes toward a brand, influence purchase intentions, and eventually increase sales and profits through increased consumer preference for a product, brand, or service. This paper examines the effect of endorser characteristics on purchasing intentions in South Africa. The survey sampled South Africans residing in Gauteng Province. The Qualtrics questionnaire was completed by 145 respondents ranging in age from 18 to 55 and living in various areas of Gauteng Province. Given the research objective, the paper analyzed only responses from participants who stated that they had been exposed to celebrity-related adverts. The findings show that these respondents saw advertisements featuring celebrities. To evaluate the hypotheses, regression analysis was performed. The results reveal that consumer behavior, such as purchase intention, is influenced by attractiveness (β = .271; p < 0.05) and attitudes (β = .520; p < 0.05). However, in this study, expertise (β = .089; p > 0.05) and trustworthiness (β = –.095; p > 0.05) were not related to purchase intentions. Understanding celebrity endorser’s attributes can help organizations determine the most successful marketing strategies for attracting new customers and maintaining existing ones.