The Pros and Cons of Spokespeople in Marketing
By Colleen Doyle
Lee Iacocca gave Chrysler a face in the 80’s when the struggling motor company needed it most and helped engineer one of the greatest corporate comebacks in history. In the 50’s, Tony the Tiger introduced Sugar Frosted Flakes to kids who immediately began telling their parents how “Grrrreat” they were. 1985 was the year Michael Jordan introduced Air Jordan’s to the world, earning legendary fines for wearing the banned shoes during MBA games and creating mass hysteria for the product.
Spokes “persons” take on many forms, but all are intended to relate well to the target audience on some level and lend credibility to the product. Consumers want to know about the items they are investing in, and while the information may be the same coming from a nameless announcer or unfamiliar face, it’s not as believable.
Seeing a successful business owner so deeply invested in his own company resonated with auto buyers and gave Chrysler the esteem it was lacking before Iacocca stepped in front of the cameras. And if Jordan is wearing his shoes at fines of $5,000 a game, they must be some pretty good shoes!
As for Tony… kids like cartoon characters.
Of course there are spokes characters that may seem less than logical choices for the product they peddle, but work nonetheless. Why buy insurance from a duck or gecko? In cases like these, it’s more about making an existing brand work better. Both Geico and Aflac had name issues. Geico (an acronym that starts with the word “Government”) didn’t test very well. And not too many had even heard of Aflac. Both companies dealt with the challenge of marketing insurance—not the sexiest branding opportunity. So they adopted spokes characters that reinforced their name in a positive, user-friendly way.
The added bonus of conjuring up characters that you can control is avoiding pitfalls associated with less than ideal behavior. Bad press lost quite a few endorsements for Tiger Woods, the Olson twins, and O.J. Simpson, among many others celebrities too numerous to count. But, chosen carefully, a spokesperson can provide a believable, relatable platform for consumers while strengthening a brand. Sometimes long after the endorsements are over.