Endorsement Practice: How Agencies Select Spokespeople

Abstract

This research explores how an advertising agency selects a celebrity endorser. The study was conducted in two phases: in-depth interviews that helped the researchers have a greater understanding of the underlying process and a survey mailed to advertising agencies to better examine the steps of the model and test various hypotheses. A normative model of celebrity endorser selection was proposed as a guide for academics and practitioners alike. The model potentially can be useful at each step of the celebrity-endorser selection process.