Gain in influencers’ popularity might hit celebrity endorsements

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Companies are ditching celebrities and moving to influencers for advertisements. Influencers are more affordable than celebrities, giving the brands better returns and conversions.

This is slowly leading to companies cutting their celebrity endorsement marketing budgets and channelling them towards influencers. “I strongly believe that influencer marketing is eliminating celebrity endorsement from a regular and monthly investment standpoint," said Jatan Bawa, founder of oral care brand Perfora. The entrepreneur explains that celebrity endorsements are being treated as one-off brand awareness-raising activities due to their high cost and need for precise messaging.

In contrast, influencer marketing is more cost-effective, leveraging the influencer's existing reach and eliminating the need for additional marketing expenditure. Over the past two years, the brand has spent 1-2% of its annual marketing budget on a couple of celebrity endorsements, while it regularly spends 15% of the same budget on influencers. This comes to ₹20 lakh a month.

“We will continue to press the pedal on influencer marketing because it helps us get more eyeballs from our target audience," Bawa said. Marketers are betting on digital celebrities as they see better return on investments. Mathematically, as they come in at lower rates than celebrities, they provide better returns.

Moreover, it is easier to track and attribute, and they are known to drive sales better. “Influencer marketing often delivers a better return on investment due to lower costs, higher engagement, and targeted audiences," said Ayush Tainwala, CEO of Bagzone Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd, the holding company of handbag brand Lavie.