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RSSWhen it comes to helping sell, 37% of U.S. adults find business leaders to be most persuasive when they endorse a product in an ad. On the other side of the situation, 39% of Americans say they find former political figures to be least persuasive when they endorse a product in an advertisement.
The poll also found that the age of respondents played a factor in how persuasive they found different types of product hawkers. Almost half of those ages 55+ (46%) say business leaders are most persuasive, compared with only 28% of those who are 18-34 years old.
Certain celebrities are seen as more persuasive from the eyes of different age groups. Almost half of those who are aged 55 and older say business leaders are most persuasive compared to only 28% of those who are 18-34 years old. One quarter of those aged 18-34 say television or movie stars are most persuasive while only of those aged 55 and older feel the same way.
| Celebrity Endorsements That Are Most Persuasive (% of U.S. Adults by Age Segment) | |||||
|
| Age | ||||
| Celebrity | Total | 18-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ |
| Business leaders | 37% | 28% | 33% | 38% | 46% |
| Athletes | 21 | 24 | 21 | 20 | 19 |
| Television or movie stars | 18 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 15 |
| Singers or musicians | 14 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 12 |
| Former political figures | 10 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Source: HarrisInteractive, November 2009 | |||||
There is also a difference among those who are seen as least persuasive. Almost half of those ages 35-44 think former political figures are least persuasive when they endorse a product, compared with one-third of those ages 18-34.
| Celebrity Endorsements That Are Least Persuasive (% of U.S. Adults by Age Segment) | |||||
|
| Age | ||||
| Celebrity | Total | 18-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55+ |
| Former political figures | 39% | 33% | 45% | 39% | 42% |
| Television or movie stars | 23 | 20 | 19 | 24 | 26 |
| Business leaders | 14 | 21 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| Athletes | 13 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 14 |
| Singers or musicians | 11 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 9 |
| Source: HarrisInteractive, November 2009 | |||||
Despite the findings from this poll about the relative persuasiveness of various types of celebrities, an earlier study of LinkedIn users by AdWeekMedia said that nearly 8 in 10 respondents said the presence of a celebrity in an ad doesn't sway them one way or the other. Only 8% said the presence of a celebrity spokesperson made them more likely to buy a product, compared with a significant 12% who actually said it made them less likely to buy a product.
Go figure!
For more information, please visit HarrisInteractive here.
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The issue is not what people "think" is persuasive. The issue is whether or not these endorsements actually move the needle in product sales.
This is great fodder for business leaders with agents.
And "most persuasive" is not a gauge of the extent of persuasiveness, even though the answers are turned into a ranking. For all you know the people who answer "business leaders" would add "but still not very persuasive" if they were given a follow up question to elicit such a reaponse.
If the goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of endorsements then simply asking this particular question does not strike me as an appropriate approach.