How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 361

I remember having a corporate credit card when I was working for a
certain unnamed corporation. The company had a nasty habit of not
paying their bills. One day I got a phone call from a collection agency
claiming that because my name was on the credit card, I was responsible
for making the payments due. I informed the representative of the
situation, but he was quite persistent. Of course, I was not responsible, but
the interesting association was that the representative's name was Thor,
the god of thunder (or so he said). The point is that if you want to create
the feeling of a tough, persistent, strong person, then Thor is the perfect
name to go by. Suppose his name had been Stanley or Herbert or Shannon
instead? Not quite as threatening, are they?
The Amazing Power of Endorsements
We all know what endorsements are: Companies use famous people to
pitch their products so we'll associate that individual and their success
with the product. For example, Bill Cosby endorses Jell-O and Kodak,
Michael Jordan pitches for Nike and Hanes underwear, and Tiger Woods
does ads for Nike golf balls and Buick automobiles. We tend to like
products, services, and ideas that are endorsed by people we like,
regardless of the quality of the product. Sometimes, we will even buy a
product for the first time simply based on a celebrity endorsement.
We naturally want to be associated with fame, fortune, and success. That
is why we follow the lead of celebrities we admire, respect, and like. It's
also why we use the products they endorse. It is amazing to see teenagers
ignore their parents' warnings about drugs, but when their favorite star or
professional athlete says it's not cool, they stop. This is the power of
association.
All in all, the use of celebrities to endorse products is one of the most
popular and effective associations marketers and advertisers use. Why do
corporations spend tremendous resources to find the right spokesperson to
bring the right association to their products? We hold our beliefs and
attitudes to define and make sense of who we are. By shaving with the
right razor or eating the right cereal, we are saying, "I am just like tha