The influence of perceived celebrity endorser credibility in advertising on purchase intention of Thai consumers

Thai advertisers have used the celebrity strategies widely to promote products while the number of studies on celebrity credibility is still limited. The aim of this research is to develop the comprehensive celebrity credibility measurement model for aiding celebrity selection in Thailand. This model was tested using the structural equation modeling approach. The sample consisted of 420 Thai consumers living in Bangkok Metropolitan area. Furthermore, in order to bridge the methodological gap regarding the celebrity and product match-up in the previous studies (Till & Busler, 1998, 2000), the present research allowed the respondents to self-select the celebrity and product in order to better reflect the true perceptions of Thai consumers. The results showed the modified celebrity credibility measurement model was validated with Thai consumers. However, only perceived attractiveness and perceived expertise were significantly related to the purchase intention. The revised model, therefore, provides advertisers and marketers with practical guidelines to select an appropriate celebrity endorser in order to enhance the effectiveness of advertising and the resulting campaigns