 July 14, 2008
Brand Youngistaan to get stronger
The recent success of IPL and the excitement of being the Twenty20 World Champions has definitely given a new lease of hype to our young cricketers with leading brands preferring them over seniors of the Indian cricket team and Bollywood celebrities for brand endorsements. We spoke to some advertising professionals to find out who among the younger brigade fit the bill for big brands.
Rohit Mukherjee of McCann Erickson says, "This trend of big brands signing young cricketers is here to stay and whether the team starts losing or even if an individual's performance drops, it is not going to be a loss for these guys at all. Because as of now the young Indians are from whom the income is coming and so the companies want to grab on to this opportunity".
Prahlad Kakkar, the renowned ad-filmmaker and CEO of Genesis, differs in his opinion about it, "Since the team has performed well in the past few months, is why so much hype is going around the younger lot. The brand companies signing in cricketers does not mean that the Bollywood celebrities have lost their charm that can never happen. Ad scripts are always written for actors only, but due to demand of high price or non-availability of dates is why we see very few top celebrities doing ads."
"The charges that the cricketers demand are comparatively less than what the actors demand. So the companies prefer to rope in cricketers rather than Bollywood actors," he added. Despite differences in opinion, both Prahlad and Rohit agree that the one cricketer set to benefit the most in coming days is M S Dhoni.
M S Dhoni
From a wicket-keeper batsman to T20 and ODI captain, he has done it all and the corporate world too off late wants to cash in on his popularity and sign him as their brand ambassador. Currently, he charges around Rs. 3 to 3.5 crore per endorsement and already has 25 brands in his kitty. And in the coming days his price is expected to increase exponentially.
Ranadeb Paul, one of the directors of Mindscapes Maestros, a sports management company says, "Cricket has always been big in our country and with the recent success of the IPL, it is going to still get bigger in future. Be it in terms of playing the game or the money involved with it. Individual or teams performance does not hamper anybody's image. However, it is the personality that a cricketer has is what matters."
"In the coming days which cricketer would gain the maximum is something that I would not like to comment on, but one thing is for sure that the game itself is going to see huge change in approach from the players", is what Ranadeb informs.
The other cricketers who will benefit in future are:
Rohit Sharma
He has been called the second Sachin Tendulkar and the brand companies too have taken the comparisons seriously. His selection in the test squad for the Sri Lanka series has further strengthened his position in the brand market.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant is one of the fastest Indian bowlers ever and ever since the Australia series, there has been no looking back for him. He is already on board Pepsi and a good showing in the upcoming series might seal more than just a spot in the team for him.
Yusuf Pathan
Following his dynamic display in the IPL, his days have just started and slowly but steadily he too will join the league of endorsing brands.
Yuvraj Singh
He may have been dropped from the test side, but his character and passion which he wears on his sleeve on field definitely work in his favour and the major corporate brands still want to sign him on.
Shane Warne
Shane Warne wrote the ultimate script over the summer as he led the rookie underdogs to big stage glory in the inaugural IPL. He has become a popular face in the country as he led his team Rajasthan Royals from the front when they were written off as early as when the player auctions were held.
Right now Indian cricket has the potent mix of entertaining performers, characters who are colourful both on and off the field and this combination works out favourably or advertisers and brand managers. Harbhajan, Sreesanth, Dhoni and Yuvraj are some cricketers who are already gracing billboards telling us which bike to buy and which oil to apply.
The thing to remember is that it is only good till the player is in the team. So the money might be coming in on the side, but it's their performance in the middle that will have the final say.
Ketki Koli, Hill Road Media
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