Consumer, brand, celebrity: Which congruency produces effective celebrity endorsements?

Celebrity endorsement research mainly focuses on celebrity-brand congruency, presented as a primary condition for the success of these marketing communications. In this view, the consumer functions as an outsider of the celebrity-brand dyad, even though endorsement efficiency depends on psychological processes by the consumer (i.e., identification, social influences). This study therefore proposes a model of celebrity endorsement to test the simultaneous effects of three congruencies among the brand, the celebrity, and the consumer. Data collected from samples of real French women (mean age: 43.36 years) (N = 720) indicate that only the brand-consumer match exerts a significant impact on brand attitude, brand commitment, brand identification, and behavioral intentions. Celebrity-brand and celebrity-consumer fits have a limited influence on the outcomes. These findings challenge the exclusive prominence of celebrity-brand fit as a research and practical consideration and confirm the consumer's active role in the endorsement.