An interesting study was announced this week. According to the Davie Brown Index, 8 of the top 10 “marketable” celebrities are African-American. Surprisingly, only numbers 2 and 6 are Caucasian. President Obama usurped Tom Hanks this year. In descending order:
- Barack Obama
- Tom Hanks
- Will Smith
- Michael Jordan
- Morgan Freeman (I LOVE him! 🙂 )
- George Clooney
- Denzel Washington
- Michelle Obama
- Oprah Winfrey
- Tiger Woods
In this case, marketable doesn’t mean the best product-hawking endorsement but “a celebrity’s ability to influence brand affinity and consumer intent.” Basically, the study is about celebrities people trust. Who do you want to listen to? Whose shampoo would you use? Whose blood pressure medication would you talk to your doctor about?
The DBI is a tool for agencies and companies to know which celebrities would best fit their product communication goals. “The DBI includes more than 1,500 celebrities that are each evaluated by 1,000 consumers. These evaluations are the results of a panel made up of 4.5 million consumers.” Respondents who are aware of a certain celebrity are then asked a standard set of questions about that celebrity. Using a six-point scale, eight key attributes are evaluated, including appeal, notice, trendsetter, influence, trust, endorsement, breakthough and aspiration.
President Obama ranked 1st in four categories (trust, influence, trendsetter, breakthrough) and 2nd to Bill Gates in one category (aspirational). He finsihed 5th in [product] endorsement.
I think it’s interesting that African-Americans rank so highly in this “celebrity respect” study. While I completely understand the selection of these individuals, the percentage just seems odd. White, black, brown or the other, who do you think is missing from this list?
Strangely proud,
Jo’van
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The Truth: According to Jo'van 
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