What would you do? : A qualitative study which explores how a customer’s brand loyalty will be affected, as their favourite celebrity begins to endorse a competitive brand.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore how a consumer's brand loyalty will be affected by a celebrity he/she adores, as the celebrity begins to cooperate with a competitive brand. The methods of this research have been done through qualitative research, and the interviews were conducted in a semi-structured way. The results showed that in a scenario where the respondents' favourite celebrity endorses competitive brands, some consumers will overlook marketing activities from the celebrity that advises them to purchase substitute (competitive) brands. The results showed that some respondents would purchase substitute (competitive) brands and that some would not. However, in most cases the respondent would not last over time as they would go back to the original brand, while others would only stay for as long as the celebrities are in collaboration with the competitive brand. Lastly, in terms of brand loyalty, unexpected findings were found of the research, that the respondent’s loyalty can be negatively influenced if a celebrity’s expertise and its product category are incompatible.