FöRFATTARE
Ericsson, Lisa; Håkansson, Emma

INSTITUTION
Industriell ekonomi och samhällsvetenskap / Industriell marknadsföring och e-handel

SAMMANFATTNING
Using athletes as celebrity endorsers has led to the successful selling of products. Both theory and practice prove that the use of superstars in advertising generates a lot of publicity and attention from the public. Because of this, organizations pay millions of dollars each year for the endorsement of their products by athletes. For this reason it is of great interest to investigate this topic further. This thesis covers the area of using athletes as celebrity endorsers, which is also stated in the purpose of this thesis, which is to provide a better undersanging of how athlestea are used as celebrity endorsers in advertising. In order to reach this purpose, three research questions are stated, namely: Why do organizations use athletes as celebrity endorsers?; How are the athletes selected?; How can the risks involved in using athletes be described?. In order to answer our research questions and reach our purpose, two case studies of companies using athletes as celebrity endorsers in their advertising were used. The findings show that the primary reasons for using athletes as celebrity endorsers are to create and enhance the brand’s image, benefit from the company’s sponsorship contracts, and to create a close connection and association to athletes and sports. The main considerations when selecting an athlete is their fame and popularity, respect, and the existence of sponsorship contracts. Finally, we have found that companies view risks as something that comes with the decision to use athletes in advertising.

ISSN 1404-5508 / ISRN LTU-SHU-EX--05/049--SE / NR 2005:049