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Publications
  • June 2012
  • Article
  • Journal of Advertising Research

The Economic Value of Celebrity Endorsements

By: Anita Elberse and Jeroen Verleun
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Abstract

What is the payoff to enlisting celebrity endorsers? Although effects on stock returns are relatively well documented, little is known about any impact on sales—arguably a metric of more direct importance to advertising practitioners. In this study of athlete endorsements, we find there is a positive payoff to a firm's decision to sign an endorser, and that endorsements are associated with increasing sales in an absolute sense and relative to competing brands. Furthermore, sales and stock returns jump noticeably with each major achievement by the athlete. However, whereas stock-return effects are relatively constant, sales effects exhibit decreasing returns over time. We outline implications for practitioners.

Keywords

Stocks; Value; Advertising; Sales; Brands And Branding; Decisions; Economics; Marketing Strategy; Investment Return

Citation

Elberse, Anita, and Jeroen Verleun. "The Economic Value of Celebrity Endorsements." Journal of Advertising Research 52, no. 2 (June 2012): 149–165.
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About The Author

Anita Elberse

Marketing
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • September 2020
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    Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands

    By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente
    • July 2020 (Revised October 2020)
    • Faculty Research

    Live Nation and Pharrell Williams

    By: Anita Elberse and Kate Christensen
More from the Authors
  • Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia Network By: Anita Elberse and Julia McNicholas
  • Paris Saint-Germain: Building One of the World's Top Sports Brands By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente
  • Live Nation and Pharrell Williams By: Anita Elberse and Kate Christensen
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