Effect of Celebrity Trustworthiness on Brand Performance of the Dairy Industry in Kenya

Celebrity endorsements leverage the fame, credibility and influence of celebrities to create favourable associations between endorsers and brands, potentially enhancing consumer perceptions and brand performance. This study examined the effect of Celebrity Trustworthiness on Brand Performance in the Kenyan dairy industry and further investigated whether Marketing Strategy Alignment moderates this relationship. Specifically, the study sought to determine the effect of Celebrity Trustworthiness on Brand Performance and establish the moderating effect of Marketing Strategy Alignment on the relationship between Celebrity Trustworthiness and Brand Performance. The study was guided by Source Credibility Theory and Contingency Theory, and adopted a positivist research philosophy and survey research design. The target population comprised 218 dairy firms in Kenya, from which a sample of 141 managers was selected using stratified sampling. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis with interaction terms to test the moderating effect. The findings established that Celebrity Trustworthiness had a positive and statistically significant effect on Brand Performance (B = 0.328, β = 0.325, t = 5.066, p