[kailashnj]

Very Well said Mpower!! Brand endorsement are done because of the fact that these celebrities have some appeal and hence people will buy products which they endorse. Why other wise would companies pay so much for advertisements if that did not work.

[Eddy]

Slightly OT, but the sales of TVS Victor did get a "boost" with Sachin endorsing it

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Slightly OT, but the sales of TVS Victor did get a "boost" with Sachin endorsing it

Actually, very relevant Eddy

Tomorrow, if Sachin has a problem with his TVS Victor (used by his watchman, lets say : ) ) & tweets about it, you can expect sales to come crashing down.

Celebrity brand disapproval can be as powerful as celebrity brand endorsement

[noopster]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

And not even 0.001 percent of those tom,dick or harilal have the means or the brains to buy a Range Rover. A Range Rover customer will still buy a Range Rover, in the same way Sachin Tendulkar being the brand ambassador of BMW is not the reason that someone will buy a BMW.

No offence but you are mistaken. A fellow tbhpian had an interesting conversation with a "tapriwala" (guy running a chai/samosa stand) in an IT park around here. The guy wanted to buy a new SUV. On further investigation it came out that all his peers had Audi Q7s and this guy wanted something "different".

There's a significant segment of the population that isn't "savvy" in the sense that you and I interpret it but can afford luxury SUVs thanks to new money typically from real estate booms.

Such people will not login to Team BHP but you can rest assured they will know who Salman Khan is. Hence my point.

[Jeroen]

I always find it fascinating that there are apparently people who buy something because a celebrity does so.

Could be worse though, you could buy something because a bunch of Geeks on an internet forum such as this would endorse it.

But if it is so important for the Brand why would JLR just not fix it? Either they think they can afford not too, or apparently, they are being very stupid.

Jeroen

[vij]

Surely a PR disaster for RR. This obviously wont be just "a" tweet. It will get re-tweeted by thousands amongst his millions of followers and their followers. It got picked by TeamBHP and will get picked by other auto forums and websites. It will make it to some of the auto magazines and India TV could make news out of it with an "over the top" headline - "Range Rover Aur Salman Khan ka Takkar" or something even more ridiculous.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I always find it fascinating that there are apparently people who buy something because a celebrity does so.

True, but this thread isn't about (positive) endorsement. It is about the reverse. Wouldn't you be more reluctant to put your money on a product that has been tried and rejected by somebody you trust? *I* would!

Could be worse though, you could buy something because a bunch of Geeks on an internet forum such as this would endorse it.

Cheeky!!

You always have to exercise a certain discretion while sifting through "review" forums. For example, I use tripadvisor religiously while planning any travel and same goes for gsmarena or photographyblog while buying a phone or camera. "Expert" reviews are all fine but sometimes it helps to have the layman perspective too. One rule of thumb I follow is to take the extreme reviews (both positive and negative) with a pinch of salt. You'll be surprised, for example, how many people complain, "We just had 3 fresh towels in our bathroom when we reached, and it took the hotel 20 minutes to send additional ones." So over time you learn to weed out the chronic complainers as well as the gushy complimenters ("The pool was awesome- deep at one end and shallow at the other!!! I have never seen this anywhere else!!! Great job XXX Resort!!!") and focus on those that appear balanced and sensible.

In this case, Salman wasn't even really lambasting JLR, just complaining in what was obviously a light tone that the vehicle he paid a bomb for needed its brake pads changed a number of times in the first year or so. We can argue whether it was twice or 9 times, or that he isn't the only Range Rover customer to have faced this issue, or even that the dealership did a good job and that he shouldn't complain. But that is his right.

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Slightly OT, but the sales of TVS Victor did get a "boost" with Sachin endorsing it

Yes. I bought one after seeing the Ad only .
I already had a splendor then
I waited 2 months for delivery (October 2002)

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Slightly OT, but the sales of TVS Victor did get a "boost" with Sachin endorsing it

.... & Sales of Suzuki got the similar "boost" of the same person whose RR is the subject of this thread.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I always find it fascinating that there are apparently people who buy something because a celebrity does so.

Could be worse though, you could buy something because a bunch of Geeks on an internet forum such as this would endorse it.

But if it is so important for the Brand why would JLR just not fix it? Either they think they can afford not too, or apparently, they are being very stupid.

Jeroen

If the geeks on internet had as much as brand/ product recall for the average consumer, I bet I would have been any Tom, Dick or Harry endorsing the beauty soaps/ cremes, hair shampoos, clothes, phones, drinks, & what not. Obviously not all brands have managed cheap & effective advertising strategy as Amul has managed. At times a new product or brand needs a celebrity to leverage few numbers in market, like what Airtel did til few years ago, 7 when they achieve desired success, they move on without the celebrity.

IMO a successful celebrity owning a particular product gives an image of credibility to the product, which can be easily tarnished by few lemon products, like in this case. This can never be the case of any non-celebrity buyer (s) like we have few in our forum - @skanchan (Hyundai), @Harishv (Skoda), & there are many others, who simply do not have the audience or fan following to create any major impact.

Otherwise, I feel JLR have come a long way on the quality front (though clearly not as far as the Japs), from the mess they were before Ford's acquisition of the brands (Tata ownership of these two was a business decision, & had almost nothing to do with their auto division IMO).

[PPS]

Here is what Salman tweeted later on.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

IMO a successful celebrity owning a particular product gives an image of credibility to the product.

Apparently that is how it works. i just dont understand why it would give credibility. These celebrity are unlikely to do this for free. He must be getting paid for it, or gets a big fat discount. If anything he aint doing if for free! So what makes it special then. I call it naive, but then again it's probably just human nature at work here. People think its cool to own the same car as some celebrity. I'd say its lack of autonomous thought and behavior.

Jeroen

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by noopster

No offence but you are mistaken. A fellow tbhpian had an interesting conversation with a "tapriwala" (guy running a chai/samosa stand) in an IT park around here. The guy wanted to buy a new SUV. On further investigation it came out that all his peers had Audi Q7s and this guy wanted something "different".

There's a significant segment of the population that isn't "savvy" in the sense that you and I interpret it but can afford luxury SUVs thanks to new money typically from real estate booms.

Such people will not login to Team BHP but you can rest assured they will know who Salman Khan is. Hence my point.

The original argument was if people take their luxury car buying decision depending on the celebrity endorsing the brand and I stick to my earlier stance. These are not cars that you arrive on, these are cars which make you look that you have arrived in life. And it is so because of the brand's inherent strength and not the celebrity associated with it.
Although I may be possible that 'tapriwala' may want to buy the SUV that Salman drives, it has nothing to do with celebrity endorsement of the car.

P.S. An Audi Q7 customer isnt a Range Rover customer. They are world's apart.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

The original argument was if people take their luxury car buying decision depending on the celebrity endorsing the brand and I stick to my earlier stance.

It seems you have not really read my post or are deliberately missing the point. Anyway that is your choice.

These are not cars that you arrive on, these are cars which make you look that you have arrived in life. And it is so because of the brand's inherent strength and not the celebrity associated with it.

Says who? You seem to have bought into a lot of Marketing brouhaha. No brand has "inherent strength" - it is carefully cultivated through campaigns and depends a lot on perception.

Although I may be possible that 'tapriwala' may want to buy the SUV that Salman drives, it has nothing to do with celebrity endorsement of the car.

P.S. An Audi Q7 customer isnt a Range Rover customer. They are world's apart.

This is purely your opinion. If I have the money to spend, I will go and buy any car I bloody well like. I guess you are dismissive of such buyers because you figure (mistakenly) that they constitute an insignificant minority. Please ask any of your acquaintances in Western Maharashtra about these "guntha mantris" as they are colloquially referred to. They may lack a classical education and white collar jobs but they have power, influence and tonloads of money. And yes, they do know who Salman is and his opinion on a certain vehicle may well colour their own opinion about it. Am sure there is a similar consumer profile in other states as well.

Edit: Your original argument was that 0.0001% (or less-quoting from memory) possess the brains or money to ever buy a Range Rover. So you are being disingenuous when you say it started as a discussion on celebrity endorsement.

[CARDEEP]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Apparently that is how it works. i just dont understand why it would give credibility. These celebrity are unlikely to do this for free. He must be getting paid for it, or gets a big fat discount. If anything he aint doing if for free! So what makes it special then. I call it naive, but then again it's probably just human nature at work here. People think its cool to own the same car as some celebrity. I'd say its lack of autonomous thought and behavior.

Jeroen

That's what you & me know as informed netizens, but, do you think all others across the globe know & understand the same... why would there had been so many issues, riots, problems, lust driven holy men, etc everywhere. & this gullibility of common people is what is being exploited by these companies.

[MaserQ]

JLR should have jumped to resolve the situation. That second tweet should have been about how well the company handled the problem. Audi can land a coup of sorts if they can sign him on to endorse their cars, especially the big, bad Q7.