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Asian Brand Strategy successful in developing and managing the Singapore Girl as the iconic symbol of the brand. Using celebrity endorsement as a communication strategy has on many occasions been an effective way to influence consumer attitudes and generate positive purchase behavior for products with high social and emotional values, involving elements such as good taste, self-image, and the opinions of others. Celebrity endorsements have been gaining higher levels of acceptance as an important tool to build brands by creating positive associations and building unique personalities.15 Effective celebrity branding efforts focus on utilizing celebrity figures who can help to communicate a brand’s unique value proposition, strengthen its identity and provide it with a desirable personality.16
Celebrity endorsers in Asia When the Asian branding and endorsement landscape is analyzed, it usually excludes Japan and increasingly South Korea. They are ahead of all other Asian countries with regards to branding and have developed primarily by aligning their corporate strategies with their branding strategies. The same holds true for Japan’s branding and marketing practices. Japanese companies have been known for using Western models and celebrities for their endorsements, unlike many other Asian countries, where companies predominantly use Asian celebrities. Further, these foreign brands all try to snap up popular Asian celebrities as ambassadors for their brands when trying to enter Asian markets. India’s Bajaj Auto recently appointed Jackie Chan, the Hong Kong movie star, as the promoter of its latest offering, the 125-cc motorcycle, Discover. According to the company, Jackie Chan is a preferred endorser over foreign stars Tom Cruise and Pierce Brosnan in India.17 OSIM is another relatively new Asian brand. At the beginning of 2002, OSIM, a Singapore-based brand for healthy lifestyle products, announced the appointment of Chinese actress Gong Li as its brand ambassador in promoting the OSIM brand globally. It has always been the aim of OSIM to become a global leader in healthy lifestyle products. Incorporated in 1980 by Ron Sim, who is also the CEO and chairman of the company, OSIM offers various categories of home products with a focus on health, hygiene, nutrition, and fitness. The firm owns the largest healthcare equipment retail chain in Malaysia and, according to AC Nielsen and Gallup, is also the number one brand in the healthy lifestyle category in Singapore, Hong