Transfer of Meaning Between Consumers and Celebrities: Proposal of a New Model

Abstract

The choice to associate brands with celebrities is understood, but not the meanings that the celebrities transfer to the brand. Searching for an understanding of this meaning transfer, McCracken (2005) developed a model composed of three parts: the culture, where celebrities are included; the endorsement that creates the celebrity/product relationship; and consumption, established by the product/consumer relationship. This study aims to develop and propose a model of the meaning transfer process, based on the model proposed by McCracken (2005). In order to achieve this, this research is exploratory, using a qualitative approach, in which fifteen professionals working in advertising agencies participated in the study involving the analysis of four celebrities. The expanded model incorporated the positive and negative associations with the celebrities as a resource to be used by professionals and the possibility of reciprocity in the transfer of these meanings. The results show that the proposed model is possible to validate.