ADVANTAGE ALL THE WAY
Sunil Narula

The fact that M. S. Dhoni has been rated among the world’s 10 most marketable sports
stars is a reflection of the growing clout the Men in Blue command in the
brand space that has a huge presence of B-town biggies

THERE was a time when looks did not matter much in sports. You had to be a talented player and everything else was considered secondary and unimportant. Not any longer. These days, apart from being a gifted player, you also got to have the looks. If you want to rake in all the money on offer, that is. So, working solely on your game isn’t enough. You have to work on your looks as well.

Keeping that in mind, it really isn’t all that surprising that a British magazine (SportsPro) recently rated M. S. Dhoni among the 10 most marketable sportspersons in the world. Dhoni, of course, is the captain of the team that has just won the World Cup after 28 years. He is a terrific captain, an explosive batsman, a safe wicket-keeper and all the other things that you can think of in cricketing jargon. But he also has a rugged, macho image. Dhoni has the kind of visage and personality that goes well in the advertising world.

Making the (UPAR) cut: Post-WC, Virender Sehwag is expected to charge about Rs 2 cr per brand GAME FOR Gatak: Virat Kohli may now demand Rs 1.5 cr for a yearly endorsement Photo: PTI

Hardly surprising, therefore, that Dhoni is currently the face of around 25 brands and charges over Rs 6 crore per endorsement, according to industry estimates. "M. S. Dhoni's marketability has reached a new high in India in the aftermath of the Cricket World Cup. Although he will never attain quite the messianic status that Sachin Tendulkar has among the Indian population, Dhoni has undeniably become the number one choice for those looking to boost their brand in the south-eastern Asian country," SportsPro editor David Cushnan said while announcing the list of the Top 100 most marketable sportspersons of the world.

Post-WC, Dhoni charges Rs 2 crore a day to endorse a brand, which uses him for three days a year for Rs 6 crore. One factor that boosts Dhoni’s brand value is the strategy to restrict his exposure.

"We have been receiving endless queries from different brands in new spaces who are interested in hiring Dhoni. But representing too many brands will dilute his brand image. His price tag will be the differentiator here," says Pratik Sen, director of Mindscape Maestros, the agency that handles Dhoni’s endorsements.

"A few deals signed previously, which are just getting over, will not be renewed as a policy. In their place, we will be looking at new categories and brands," says Sen.

Dhoni is likely to endorse an automobile and a financial services brand in the coming days. "So far, he was not representing any four-wheeler brand, which he will be doing from now on and the financial services brand that he was representing is going this year, and we may get a new brand in the same space for him," adds Sen. From now on, along with charging astronomical amounts, Dhoni will look at revenue sharing or be a partner in the brands he promotes.

There are several sports personalities in Europe and America who are partners of the brands they endorse, but the trend has not caught on in India yet. However, Dhoni may be setting a precedent when he signs on the dotted line in the coming months.

While Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar have always taken the top slots when it comes to endorsements, after the World Cup win the likes of Gautam Ghambhir and Virat Kohli are quite sought after, too.

"Winning the World Cup after 28 years and that, too, being the first host nation to do so, was an exceptional effort by the team and it is but natural that their popularity and demand with fans and brands alike will increase," says Mustafa Ghouse, sports head at celebrity and sports marketing company GloboSport.

"Dhoni and Sachin will continue to be the main attractions but the performance and success of Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan will also increase their demand. They appeal to a different audience and I think that will be an important factor for brands," Ghouse explains.

While brands that had secured players for their commercials before the World Cup are in a good position and are reaping the benefits, the ones that want the Men in Blue in their ads now are in a bit of a spot.

"After the World Cup, I have been trying to work with a couple of cricketers for some ads but none of them is available. All their dates are chock a block. It’s almost like a dog fight is happening among clients, trying to get even a couple of hours from each one of them," says Joshua Upputuru, producer with Nomad Films, a production house that makes ad films.

According to another advertising expert, cricketers will be raking in anywhere between Rs 7-10 crore per annum for one brand, which is an increase from what they were being paid before the World Cup.

"The reported figures are in the range of Rs 7-10 crore. But it's impossible to put a figure, or quantify in general for each player," he specifies. And what are the factors on which the fee is determined?

"The fee depends upon many factors — category, brand which is seeking association, level of association, number of days of association, number of years of association, how does the brand help the celebrity in terms of personality association, market dynamics and demand-supply," he explains.

"Contract fee escalation is notional. A cricketer’s contract fee will not escalate overnight. Brands simply re-negotiate the contract with a cricketer and, depending upon the demand and supply needs or other requirements, go for a new contract binding. Cricket is topical and if a brand wishes to retain a cricketer, it ends up paying more. Even then, there will be no major change in endorsement fees post the World Cup win," says Latika Khaneja, owner and founder of Collage Sports Management, which handles Sehwag’s endorsements.

However, even now the safer bet seems to be Bollywood stars. "Practically, Bollywood stars are a safer bet for the brands when compared to cricketers. The Indian team has managed to build its brand equity in the market but the cricketers still lag behind when it comes to the reliability factor," says Shailendra Singh, MD of Percept. "The advertising industry prefers filmstars over cricketers because their stardom surpasses one hit or a flop, unlike players, whose brand value changes with each tournament."

It is believed that Aamir Khan tops the endorsement chart with a Rs 14-crore annual fee, followed by Shah Rukh Khan, who commands Rs 8-10 crore yearly. The general perception is that advertisers go for Bollywood stars when it comes to family brands." Barring the odd exception, the cricketers come into the picture in case of masculine, macho or individual products.

According to TAM Media Research, calendar 2010 saw Bollywood celebrities dominating a whopping 85.3 per cent share of the endorsements’ pie. Sports persons endorsing brands had a far more humble 12.3 per cent share (dominated by cricketers). The rest was made up by TV actors.

"The World Cup has kind of greased the wheels for many cricketers and opened up the market for endorsements. So, while earlier Bollywood ruled 80 per cent of the market, after the World Cup win, cricket’s overall contribution to the endorsement circuit has gone up by around 30 per cent," says Bunty Sajdeh, CEO, Cornerstone Sports and Entertainment, the agency handling Kohli’s celebrity endorsements.

There is, of course, this view that cricket is seasonal, while Bollywood celebrities are able to represent much more on an ongoing basis in endorsements and, therefore, the win may not really expand the cricketers’ share of the pie significantly.

"While Bollywood provides continuity, cricket is tournament-dependent. Though India is playing almost continuous cricket this year, Test series do not bring as much excitement as One-Dayers or T20 matches. The next exciting thing will now be the Championship Trophy towards the year-end. So I don’t see a major endorsement shift from Bollywood to cricket," says another advertising expert.

For cricketers, to feature in too many ads can be detrimental to their playing graph. Whenever these players flop on the field (and that’s bound to happen at times) the notion that ads are taking up most of their time gains strength. So, they have to balance it out. Nothing of that sort for the actors though. They cannot be accused of acting too much.

Be that as it may, this trend of Bollywood and cricket hogging the endorsement limelight is going to continue. New deals and renewals will be signed and we will get a better idea of how much more clout India’s cricketers will command in the advertising endorsement space. As the pie itself expands, there is bound to be a lot more for India’s cricketers to sign on.

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