The Influence of Celebrity Advertising On Consumer Brand Preference in Nigeria: Case Study of Chivita

This study focuses on examining the perception of Nigerian Consumers about the celebrity endorsement process and the subsequent impact on their preference of brands. Competing in a turbulent and competitive business landscape requires organizations to continuously introduce innovative products which meet the trends, lifestyles and expectations of customers. Advertising is the most common and effective tool used in creating awareness and convincing customers about the brand name. There are various types of advertising and one of the most common current advertising forms is celebrity endorsement advertising. The objective of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of celebrity advertising leading to brand preference of consumers in fruit juice related products. Specifically, this research examines the level of respondents’ awareness of celebrity endorsement on chi vita, how celebrity endorsement influences consumers’ preference of chi vita; if the celebrity endorsement influences consumers intention to purchase chi vita, how loyal the respondents are to the brand of chi vita; how celebrity endorsement influences consumers loyalty of chi vita; the effects of changes in celebrity adverts on the consumers preference for chi vita. The findings revealed that celebrity endorsers do impact the consumers in some ways as they refer to the celebrities as an important reference group but the impact is not so significant. It is also found that Nigerian consumers perceive the celebrity endorser as a role model who influences their brand preference