One day the evil spirit answered them , “ Jesus I know , and Paul I know about , but who are you ?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all . He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding .”
That is why when Marketers want a corporate to endorse a brand , they first decide if it will be a main or token endorser . The main endorser stands out , is bold , and on top of the product label . Token endorser , on the other hand , is shy and minimal .
With strong endorsement a product is able to bulldoze its way into the market and defeat the enemies . That is the confidence Tusker Cider entered the market with . The consumers said , we know Tusker , Pilsner and Guinness and who are you ? It answered ; “ I am Tusker Cider , the small brother of Tusker Larger and son of East African Breweries .”
In a world where we are being taught self-centeredness , being introduced and endorsed still has its place . To be trusted quickly , you need to be introduced .
But this is not new . Would Jesus have made his entry easy if endorsed ? Imagine a boy , son of a local carpenter , a boy you have seen grow , suddenly start self-proclaiming He is the promised messiah . He starts with walking along the shores of a neighborhood lake recruiting fishermen , not even the boat owners .
He does not go to no one ’ s church
‘‘ If you took a soda called Softa with your eyes closed , you will love it . When you open your eyes and read the name of the soda , you will still have no issues . Trouble starts when you read the manufactures name - Kuguru Foods . First the name of the company itself isn ’ t that much refreshing . Second we all know what else Kuguru was known for - manufacturing the low end brews . Yuk ! ”.
and to make matters worse , He criticizes the known Christian traditions . The church and the high priests don ’ t know Him ; so they don ’ t endorse him . Instead , they are all against Him .
Even the power of miracles that he performed was not enough to convince people he was the promised messiah . I know that was God ’ s design for Him , but imagine how easy it could have been if only He started with the High Priests and was endorsed by them .
Our High Priest is our corporate . We must therefore make the corporate itself look good and credible first before it can endorse . Keroche for example have had serious problems endorsing Summit Larger . While Summit itself can be viewed as premium , the endorser itself is seriously flawed .
I once went to a dowry ceremony and the man meant to introduce the groom was an infamously known village drunk and vagabond . The dude was not credible enough even to endorse a rat poison . The whole mission failed .
The strategy in marketing is to ensure that you have a credible endorser . If the endorser is not credible , build him for that role . Endorsers make product introduction easy and seamless . A part of the endorser ’ s affinity is passed on to the endorsee . Consumers will then believe in the brand from the onset and equity is quickly built .
Kibaki was endorsed and he instantly became “ The Guy .” Jesus lacked earthly endorsement , maybe He did not need it , and He was punished and crucified . The seven sons of Sceva were not able to identify their endorser very well and they were severely beaten .
There are consequences for not getting endorsement right , but everything to gain when endorsed by the Most High .
Herman Githinji is a seasoned marketing practitioner and law graduate from the University Of Nairobi . Currently the CEO Bidco Land O ’ Lakes Company that makes quality Animal Feeds using American Technology . You can commune with him on this and related issues via email on : Hermangithinji @ gmail . com .