IMPLICATIONS OF CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT BASED BRANDING EFFORTS OF MEDICINES IN INDIA: PREDICAMENT WHETHER PHARMACEUTICAL PRESCRIPTIONS ARE TACIT OR EXPLICIT

A celebrity is used to impart credibility and aspiration values to a brand, but the celebrity needs to match the product. A good brand campaign idea and an intrinsic link between the celebrity and the message are musts for a successful campaign. We have seen the instances where celebrities are use in branding of pharmaceutical products including medicines, diagnostic kits and healthcare supplements. Celebrities are no doubt good at generating attention, recall and positive attitudes towards advertising provided that they are supporting a good idea and there is an explicit fit between them and the brand. On the other hand, they are rendered useless when it comes to the actual efficiency of the core product, creating positive attitudes to brands, purchase intentions and actual sales. Does celebrity endorsement based branding efforts of medicines are fruitful in branding. Based on a survey of 500 doctors, it is found that celebrity based branding plays impart less significant role in on brand recognition and prescription of medicines.