THE BRAND AWARNESS OF BODY SHOP AND

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT IMPACT ON BRAND

AWARNESS.

Your Student Number N1060658

The allocated topic area: The Body Shop
The research topic or question that you have generated from your proposal :The
Brand awareness of the body shop and celebrity endorsement impact on it.
The words: “The work included within this assignment is my own. It includes my
individual analysis and individual reflections on performing quantitative research
based on data collected by the team members whose numbers are N1052391,
N1055406, N0692113, N1056863”.
Abstract
This paper analyzes that how celebrity endorsed advertisements can help build the brand
awareness and how the overall brand awareness of the Body Shop can be enhanced.
The body shop is a well-established brand which is settled in 65 counties with over 3000
stores selling around 1000 different products. Although there is significant amount of
literature and materials present that tells how the brand awareness can be enhanced and
improved. But this paper on the basis of some primary data will state the strategies
needed to help building it. The quantitative methodology of online questionnaire is used
for the data collection from 83 respondents which highlights the importance of the brand
awareness effecting the brand’s equity. In addition with this ,the paper analyzes the
impact of celebrity endorsed adverts on the minds of consumers. It has been found out
through this research that celebrity endorsed adverts have an important role in marketing
domain and promotional activities of the brand. Consumers make much of their choices
based on which celebrity is behind the advertisement. In all, our results show the added
value of using celebrity endorsers and the importance of it on the brand image of the body
shop.

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Table of Contents
Introduction

Literature Review ............................................................................................................ 4

Methodology.................................................................................................................... 5

Sampling Technique........................................................................................................ 6

Method of Survey ............................................................................................................ 7

About the Sample ............................................................................................................ 7

Analysis and Presentation of Results .............................................................................. 7

Demographics ........................................................................................................................... 7

Brand awareness of “The Body Shop” .................................................................................. 8

Celebrity Endorsement ............................................................................................................ 9

Discussion and Insights from Findings .......................................................................... 11

Reflections on Data collection process.......................................................................... 12

Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 13

References .................................................................................................................... 13

Appendices ................................................................................................................... 16

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.

Introduction
The Body shop was founded by a woman called Anita Roddick in the United Kingdom in
1976. Anita along with her husband Gordon became a pioneer of beauty industry with
their brand promoting the Corporate Social Responsibility and manufacturing the products
with organic materials. With being a star performer it went public in 1980.The company
now owns 3000 stores in more than 65 countries worldwide. It is currently owned by Nutra
& Co which is a Brazilian cosmetics company. Loreal had also owned this company
between 2006 and 2017 (Team, 2017).

The body shop has a well-established brand image in cosmetics world. It has been
targeting women effectively who wants to look attractive at the workplace. It’s even for
those women who want to prevent their skin from getting dry in air-conditioned room. The
body shop comes with wide range of products for body, face, hair and home. It claims its
products as sustainable and comes with marketing tag “Inspired by nature” and features
ingredients like marula oil and seed oil which makes it unique among its competitors.

In terms of its marketing strategy and when talked particularly about digital marketing
strategy. The body shop has been quite active on social media platforms like Instagram
and Facebook. The marketing head for South Asia says, “Instagram and Facebook are
the two platforms that lend themselves best to the beauty category as well as the kind of
brand we are driving, diverse conversations across large audiences (Kundu, 2019).”

This research-based report will mention that how to increase awareness for men
grooming line products and the impact of celebrity endorsement on brand awareness of
“The Body Shop”.

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Literature Review
Digital marketing which is also known as internet marketing has become an important
mean for companies to disseminate their message to the consumer. Digital Marketing not
only essential for grabbing wide area for marketing but it also equally essential for
customers as it provide number of opportunity to talk directly with customer (Tandon,
2018).There exists a lot of empirical research and evidence that states that how digital
marketing has been affecting consumer buying behavior and increases company profit
charts. For example according to (Dolan), online marketing increased in content and
changed the way individuals and organizations interact. To realize and understand the
potential benefits of online marketing, small retail business leaders need to ensure their
processes align with technological advancements. Failing to recognize potential benefits
of online marketing might cause loss of productivity, revenue, and communication (Liue,
2015).

Celebrity endorsement is yet another tactic used by the marketers nowadays to increase
the brand image. Celebrity endorsement is considered an effective promotional tool by
marketers worldwide. One-in-four advertisements use celebrity endorsement
(Cunningham, 2021). The companies look for the compatible personalities/celebrities
who can be the best fit for their brand. In 2013,Body shop signed Leona Lewis as the
brand activist for the brand. Leona had been selected because the singer actively
expresses her views against animal testing and is a proud long-term vegetarian, so it only
makes sense that she gets involved with a campaign so close to her own heart (Yupee
Magzine, 2013).To further support this research, it can be proven with the evidence that
why body shop became successful through celebrity endorsement in its initial time
period. In the early years, The Body Shop signed Lily Cole as global brand ambassador
for its ‘beauty with heart’ campaign. This marketing campaign was supported by the tag
‘looking good, feeling good, doing good’. This helped the organization in winning hearts
of customers and promoted brand core values providing customers with sustainable
products with high quality sourced ingredients (Smith, 2014).

Based on the above review, there is research gap to address the brand online presence
which is promoting the brand through digital marketing strategies and how those

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strategies will have an effect on brand awareness. It will further tell that how celebrity
endorsement can have an impact on the brand overall performance. This paper will
address the following research objectives:

❖ To have an analysis that how “The Body Shop” will help gather customers and build
brand image.
❖ To identity the role of celebrity endorsement through in developing brand awareness
of “The Body Shop”.
❖ To suggest that how can “The Body Shop” become more sustainable and continue its
legacy.

Methodology
Qualitative research involves collecting and analyzing non-numerical data (e.g., text,
video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to
gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research (Bhandari,
2022).Qualitative research tends to focus more on people or groups and can have
different ways of looking at reality. It can take different perspectives of world on board. It
further focuses on data that is based on experience and doesn’t focus on numerical
values (Jackson, 2007). Since its detailed it provides very elaborative description about
participant opinion and research topic. On the other hand this research as some
limitations as well. The main drawback of this research is time consumption and the
interpretations are limited. Personal experience and knowledge influence observations
and conclusions. Since the qualitative research is open ended, participants have more
control over the date collected. So the marketer is not able to verify the results objectively
against the scenarios stated by the respondents. Quantitative method on the other hand
deals with data that are numerical or that can be converted into numbers. The basic
methods used to investigate numerical data are called ‘statistics (Sheard, 2018). It is done
through questionnaire, polls and likes and then the results can be turned into useful
information. It describes the ways and understands the reality by discovery of general
laws. It involves manipulation of some variables (independent variables) while other
variables (which would be considered to be extraneous and confounding variables) are
held constant. In this method it focuses on cause & effect - e.g. uses experiment to test

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(try to disprove) a hypothesis. When it comes to limitation/disadvantages of this research
it sets difficulty in setting up research model (Creswell, 2015). When you conduct
quantitative research, you need to carefully develop a hypothesis and set up a model for
collecting and analyzing data. It is assumed that because quantitative research is based
on statistics it is more credible or scientific than observational, qualitative research.
However, both kinds of research can be subjective and misleading (DANIEL, 2016).

In this research paper, Quantitative research method of questionnaire will be used to

analyze The Body Shop” current brand awareness and celebrity endorsement impact on
brand awareness.

Sampling Technique
Nonprobability sampling technique was used in the research because the samples are
selected based on the researcher’s judgement. Non-probability sampling is when a
sample is created through a non-random process (SCHREUDER, 2019). This could
include a researcher sending a survey link to their friends or stopping people on the street.
Nonprobability sampling technique is often used in the exploratory stage of the research.
Generally speaking ,this type of sampling could be more cost effective and faster
approach than probability sampling (Tongco, 2021). Probability sampling is a sampling
technique, in which the subjects of the population get an equal opportunity to be selected
as a representative sample. For a sample to qualify as a probability sample, each person
in a population must have an equal chance of being selected for a study, and the
researcher must know the probability that an individual will be selected. Probability
sampling is more complex, more time-consuming and usually more costly than non-
probability sampling (Pace, 2021).

In this research Convenience sampling has been used because the samples are collected
from the population which was convenient for the researcher to obtain and get responses.
This sampling is grounded on the benefit of ease of finding respondents and also when
there is no requirement for a sample that represents the whole population (Musa, 2016).

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Method of Survey
The method used to collect data was through online questionnaire as it is convenient for
the research to interpret and measure results easily (Kevin.B.Wright, 2005).In this method
the subjective nature allows the respondents to fully express themselves. However this
method has its own limitations as the responders can be biased and look on to one aspect
when giving their opinions (Nayak, 2019).The survey was created through Google Forms
and then distributed through various means including social media. The researchers were
well aware of ethical considerations like confidentiality and anonymity and data used was
asked by respondent approval and contact number was provided in case of any query
related to the matter.

About the Sample

The sample size of the research was 83 respondents. The respondents were of mixed
categories. They were the general public as well as the potential and existing customers
of “The body shop” who were well aware of the product line and the brand. They can be
a part of this survey to help brand improve its brand awareness and marketing efforts.

Analysis and Presentation of Results

Demographics
From out of 83 responces,43.2% of respondents were aged between 15-24,39.5% were
aged in between 25-34 and nearly 11% were ranged in 35-44 age brackets. In these age
groups 52 were males and 31 were females. A majority of respondents were students
followed by full time workers. The minority in occupation were part time workers and self-
employed people. This will result in how the working classes and age groups effect the
brand awareness of “The Body Shop”.

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 OCCUPATION

BUSINESS 1.20%

RETIRED 1.20%

UNEMPLOYED 2.50%

PART-TIME 9.90%

FULL TIME 29.60%

PART-TIME 9.90%

STUDENT 46.90%

Gender Age
43.20%
0 39.50%
Percentage

37%

63%
11.10%
6.20%

Male Female
Age Bracket 15-24 25-34 35-44 45+
Non-Binary Prefer Not to say

Brand awareness of “The Body Shop”

With the help of this survey, it was found out that many respondents have a quite good
awareness of the brand. Out of 83, seventy-four which is 91.4% of the total , knew about
the brand while seven were having little or no knowledge about it. When asked about the
men grooming line, majority of the respondents were having no information about the
gender product line.60.5% of the respondents stated with No as their answer when asked
about the particular question.Nearly66% of the respondents answered no when they were
asked about the sustainability efforts made by the ”The Body Shop”. Coming over to the
advertisement’s campaigns led by the brand, respondents were of mixed views that how
they have viewed or seen the advertisements. With most of them(52.6%) stating that they

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have never seen the brand advertisements. With other responding to the following as
social media(31.6%),in store advertising(10.5%) and billboards(3.9%). This research can
be attributed to the brand marketing strategies which needs improvement or alterations.
Moreso it will state what knowledge does the consumers have about the product lines
and sustainability measures that need to be taken by brand.

Have u heard of the brand? Have u heard of Men

grooming line?
No Yes

8.60%

39.50%
60.50%

91.40%

Yes No

Celebrity Endorsement
When the respondents were asked about their general opinion towards the celebrity
endorsed advertisements. About 50.6% says that it will build strong brand image of the
brand and around 27 and 23 respondents recorded that it would increase credibility and
brand recall respectively. Most of the respondents which is nearly 48.1% of the total says

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that they neither agree nor disagree when asked about the trust in celebrity endorsed
adverts. While 27.2% stated positivity and they went with strong agreement with trust in
the adverts. Around 12.3% disagreed and they had no trust in celebrity endorsed
advertisements. About the questions that asks that “Whether the celebrities use the
product they are making advert for?” Around 27 out of 83 respondents showed slight
disagreement related to the question while 19 respondents showed strong disagreement
and they believe that the celebrity doesn’t became a consumer for the brand they are
advertising for.

Nearly 30% of the respondents says that they are more interested in viewing the
advertisements in which their favorite celebrity is endorsed. While 18.5% says that it
doesn’t matter to them and they disagreed on the point. When sustainability related
questions were analyzed, most of them were highly agreed .Nearly thirty-one respondents
voted for outspoken celebrities to be endorsed in sustainability issues. While just three of
the respondents polled for disagreement. This shows how outspoken celebrities have an
impact on sustainability issues discussions.

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Discussion and Insights from Findings
Based on the above statistical analysis, it is evident that Body Shop needs to do much in
restructuring their marketing strategies to improve their brand awareness. According to
the research, most of the consumer class is students or full-time workers. It states that
the body shop is doing quite well for the millennials but some thinking to bring the Gen X
into their business circle. The brand has attracted millennials quite well but as they are
known to be indulged in technology (Gibson, 2014). The Body Shop should improve their
social media networks to get the demographic cohort updated. The men grooming line of
body shop needs significant changes in terms of marketing as majority of the respondents
are not aware of the men product line the brand offers.

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In terms of the Brand awareness,” The Body Shop” has been quite exceptional in it as
near to 100% new about the brand. A good brand awareness builds a strong brand image
as said by Keller. Brand awareness which holds brand recognition and brand recall
performance. In cooperation, both are important components in sustaining brand equity
whose main aim to achieve a strong brand image with long term relationship that indicate
brand resonance (Keller, 2008).A major concern that the research highlights are the
sustainability measures that the brand has undertaken. More than 50% of the responders
says that they are not aware of any sustainability practices that brand has done. The
world continues to advance and due to this companies have to stay with the latest
practices of sustainability (Flores-Hernández, 2020). In such a case The Body Shop
should actively take part to reduce the earth pollution and get itself registered with
ecofriendly companies.

In terms of celebrity endorsed advertisements, respondents have mixed answers to the

questions. Many of them says that these help to get strong brand image and increase the
credibility. While others thought that it doesn’t have much impact on the brand. The
celebrities don’t use the products themselves that they are promoting. The respondents
are of the view that they would use the products in which their favorite figure is endorsed
(ATAY, 2005). In such a case, Body shop should do some homework and find out the
prominent figures in the market that best suits the advertisement. Mostly agreed to the
fact that the industry in which the celebrity works matters a lot to the advertisement. The
body shop should endorse celebrities who are from beauty or film industry as per to the
nature of their business.

Reflections on Data collection process

The research team was comprised of individuals from different nationalities. They were
mainly from European and Asian region. The discussions related to the research was
carried both virtually and in person. For online meetings platforms like WhatsApp and MS
teams were used.

Like other research papers, this paper had also some limitations. As the questionnaire
were distributed online via google forms so the respondents were not selected from any
particular region or occupation. It was an open survey in which every age group and class

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participated. This cannot be considered as a disadvantage but if you want to take data
out of your own choice than it can’t be taken for example taking the data from continent
Asia. The sample size was also very small with just 83 respondents so it’s difficult to make
analysis on generalized group of customers.

The future research must be carried out of large population as it will help to get better
results and analysis (Ghauri). Moreso ,other means of data collection should also be
employed to increase the credibility of the research.

Conclusion
To conclude the report, this reports states that body shop is an established business and
has good brand awareness among the customers. Majority of the respondents shows no
awareness of men grooming line which the brand needs improvement. They must convey
this through online and social media platforms as its in trend. They can make use of
Instagram and Facebook to attract the young generation who is beauty and skin care
conscious.

Celebrity endorsed adverts are in trend these days and the brand should make good use
of it. They should place the celerity which best fits in the role to gather and convince the
customers to buy products. The brand should be aware that the outspoken celebrities
should be hired as the research shows that outspoken celebrities are good with
convincing. They can be voice for sustainable activities of the brand as well as the activist
for branding.

References

ATAY, E. G. (2005). CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS AND ADVERTISING

EFFECTIVENESS:. Graduate School of the University of Oregon.

Bhandari, P. (2022). What Is Qualitative Research? | Methods & Examples. Scribbr, 2-8.

Creswell, J. W. (2015). Research Design. Sage Publications.

Cunningham, L. A. (2021). Celebrities and social media influencers touting crypto and
SPACs are not automatic ‘likes’. Market Watch, 23-25. Retrieved from

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 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/celebrities-and-social-media-influencers-
touting-crypto-and-spacs-are-not-automatic-likes-11622594294

DANIEL, E. (2016). The Usefulness of Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and

Methods in Researching Problem-Solving Ability in Science. Journal of Education
and Practice, 17(15), 98-109.

Dolan, R. C. (n.d.). Social media: Communication. 29(1), 1-19. doi:10.1108/IJWBR-04-

2016-0013

Flores-Hernández, A. (2020). Sustainability and Branding in Retail: A Model of. MDPI,

5-6.

Ghauri, P. (n.d.). The Research Process. Research Methods in Business Studies, 33-
44.

Gibson, L. (2014). Millennials and Technology: Addressing the Communication Gap in

Education and Practice. pp. 45-56.

Jackson, R. (2007). What Is Qualitative Research? Dartmouth University Journal., 8(1),

21-28. doi:10.1080/17459430701617879

Keller, P. (2008). Building Brand Awareness in the Modern Marketing Environment: A

Conceptual Model. 4.

Kevin.B.Wright. (2005). Researching Internet-Based Populations: Advantages and

Disadvantages of Online Survey Research, Online Questionnaire Authoring
Software Packages, and Web Survey Services. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 10(3), 61-69.

Kundu, A. (2019). With markets reeling under the consequences of COVID-19, we take
a look at how The Body Shop continued digital storytelling to keep in touch and
reassure consumers. Social Samosa, 19-22.

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Liue, C. (2015). Predicting online product sales via online reviews, sentiments, and
promotion strategies. International Journal of Operations and Production
Management., 358-383. doi::10.1108/IJOPM-03-

Musa, E. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and Purposive sampling.

American journal of theoretical and Applied statistics, 1-4.

Nayak, M. S. (2019). Strengths and weaknesses of online surveys. Journal of

Humanities and Social Sciences, 24(5), 352-356.

Pace, D. D. (2021). PROBABILITY AND NON-PROBABILITY SAMPLING - AN ENTRY

POINT. 9, pp. 1-15.

SCHREUDER, H. T. (2019). FOR WHAT APPLICATIONS CAN PROBABILITY AND

FOR WHAT APPLICATIONS CAN Non PROBABILITY.

Sheard, J. (2018). Quantitative Research methods in Research. Science Direct, 1-20.

Smith, E. (2014). he Body Shop signs up Lily Cole as global brand ambassador.
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Tandon, N. (2018). Impact of Digital Market on Consumer Buying Behaviour. National

Conference on People, Planet and Profit in Sustainable Development &
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Team, T. (2017). Why Is L'Oreal Trying To Sell Off Natural Beauty Brand The Body
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International Publisher on Business and Research.

Yupee Magzine. (2013). Leona Lewis joins forces with The Body Shop. Yupee Magzine,
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Appendices

Appendix A:The Body Shop Survey

Brand Awareness and celebrity endorsement
We are investigating the effects of marketing strategies that use celebrity endorsement
and the link between this and overall brand awareness.

The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and all data will be
anonymously collected and analyzed in order to gain an understanding of how
consumers view celebrity endorsement through marketing strategies and how this
affects brand awareness and image. All information will remain confidential in
accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Brand Awareness and celebrity endorsement

We are investigating the effects of marketing strategies that use celebrity endorsement
and the link between this and overall brand awareness.

The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete and all data will be
anonymously collected and analyzed in order to gain an understanding of how
consumers view celebrity endorsement through marketing strategies and how this
affects brand awareness and image. All information will remain confidential in
accordance with the Data Protection Act.

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Appendix B:Responses

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