Image Builders
The selection of a celebrity for a brand is done primarily on the basis of the need of the marketer: to boost the image of the brand or sales figures, to give the brand a contemporary look so as to make it relevant to the changing times.

Citizen, for example, uses celebrities to promote a specific range of watches. Actress Kelly Chan promotes the XS range of fashion watches for ladies in Hong Kong and other Asian markets. According to Citizen officials, XS models are stylish, elegant, classy and contemporary. The association with Kelly Chan helps Citizen target women customers. In India, Citizen is aggressively promoting its brand on the technology platform through its Eco-Drive models. "Our products (Eco-Drive) make a strong technology statement and speak for themselves. Citizen, therefore, is not considering celebrity advertisements in India as yet."

If the objective is to boost the brand image then a longer association with the celebrity is required. Lisa Ray has been associated with Rado for the last four years and she plays an important role in brand building, sales and marketing promotions, events and press conferences.

Lisa and Shahrukh with their superior public speaking skills communicate the brand philosophy very effectively. This helps the brands connect emotionally with their customers.

Thus, brand ambassadors nowadays do a lot more than pose for photographs and sign autographs. Lisa Ray recently spent four days at the Rado factory in Lengnau to understand the fine art of Swiss watchmaking.

Tiger Woods too played an important role in product development. Tag Heuer introduced the Link watch based on his feedback. Arnold Schwarzenegger is another star who played an important role in product development for Audemars Piguet. The Royal Oak T3 watch is the result of his interaction with the company's designers.

Value Addition
A brand may use celebrities to add value to product launches or events. A star-studded event is widely covered by the media, thereby giving a brand positive publicity and adequate mileage.

Audemars Piguet uses a concept known as 'Friends of AP'. AP recently organised a function in Mumbai to showcase its products. At this function, limited edition watches were gifted to two friends of AP, namely Raveena Tandon and Bobby Deol. Similarly, Omega has given away expensive watches as Lifetime Achievement Awards to Asha Bhonsle and Amitabh Bachchan.

Such measures create a positive media buzz for the brands. Page Three readers make a temporary association between the brand and the celebrity, thus making the brand desirable and this in turn may result in a purchase decision.

Indian passion for cricket is well known. The association with a cricketer, therefore, benefits a brand tremendously. Timex is a mass brand. It is repositioning itself in India so as to appeal to young and trendy customers. It wants to promote its international range, the Cognoscenti, among target customers, thereby moving them up the value chain. In order to do so, the company has associated itself with cricket. Which explains why Timex organised events in Delhi featuring Kapil Dev and Mandira Bedi. They have also appointed the young Australian pace bowler, Brett Lee, as the Timex brand ambassador for India and Australia. According to company sources, TV and press advertisements featuring Brett Lee will soon be released in India.

Some of the brands and their association with celebrities are listed as follows:

1. Movado: Twinkle Khanna
2. Longines: Aishwarya Rai
3. Omega: Anna Kournikova, Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Michael Schumacher, Sonali Bendre
4. Christian Dior: Yana Gupta
5. Tag Heuer: Shahrukh Khan, Tiger Woods
6. Maxima: Saif Ali Khan

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