In the current competitive market, businesses explore every possible option to differentiate their brand. They aim to establish a connection between their customers and their brand to build enduring consumer-based brand equity (CBBE). Instead of conventional celebrity endorsements, businesses are often turning to social media influencers for their marketing initiatives. Currently, it is unknown how successful influencer endorsements are compared to more conventional celebrity endorsements.  The purpose of this paper was to investigate the impact of celebrity marketing, influencer marketing, and the control marketing on overall brand equity and on the four dimensions of CBBE, namely brand loyalty, brand awareness, brand associations and perceived quality. A randomized 3 (type of endorsement: celebrity vs. influencer vs. control) x 3 (gender: female vs. male vs. control) between-subjects design (n = 253) was conducted. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between all three groups regarding any of the variables of interest. Despite failing to produce the anticipated results, this study still provides a strong foundation for subsequent studies in the field.

Keywords: Social Media, Influencers, Brand Equity, Spokesperson, Brand Loyalty, Brand Awareness, Brand Associations, Perceived Quality