L'Oréal cashing in on Bollywood brand reps

Most recently, the multinational cosmetics brand has signed Katrina Kaif, a rising Bollywood star, to represent its products, and she joins three other well-known actresses already acting as L’Oreal celeb endorsers.

Fellow actresses Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor and Frieda Pinto already act as the brand’s public faces in India, with the signing of Kaif indicating the company is keen to reach an even wider consumer demographic.

The signing confirms that while elsewhere, celebrity endorsement is losing relevance, in Asia, the branding technique is still a savvy investment for beauty brands.

Celebrity endorsement still hot​

In Western countries, the rising trend when it comes to product endorsement in the beauty industry is peer-to-peer recommendation​, rather than famous personalities as brand reps; in Asia, however, celebrity endorsement still holds strong sway.

Recently, market researcher Canadean found that people still want to feel connected to celebrities, and personal care product sales on the region continue to be heavily influenced by those kind of endorsements.

"Manufacturers know that celebrities play an important role in people’s lives and offer consumers the chance to create a perceived link between them and the celebrity​,” the firm's analysts, Safwan Kotwal, confirmed.

Authenticity is key​ 

But although less interested in the ‘trusted friend recommendation’ trend that is increasingly taking hold in Europe and North America, Asian consumers do also expect an element of authenticity to product endorsement.

This authenticity is increasingly sought via the social media sites, where consumers can access the ‘real lives’ of their celebrity beauty icons.

“This greater connection leaves people aspiring to be like the celebrities, usually through similar consumption trends in terms of fashion and style, or by purchasing products endorsed by the celebrity​,” confirmed Kotwal.