Young cricket blood hots up Brand India

Sheetal Patel - Televisionpoint.com | New Delhi
It's a double bonanza for Dhoni & Co. As the Jharkhand dasher lifted the T20 trophy in South Africa, India Inc. was bowled over by the Men In Blue.

And as the young blood played a pivotal role in removing the stains of World Cup debacle, advertisers are bullish about lapping them up. So, more than big daddies of Indian cricket, newbies like Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir are enjoying a strong run in the brand arena.

"Companies are showing keen interest in young players. If they continue to perform well in the future, there'll be no dearth of offers for them," says Jeet Banerjee, managing director, Gameplan Sports, which manages Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Robin Uthappa and Munaf Patel.

To be more precise, India's nail-biting victory against Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20 championship is expected to double up the market value of young players like S. Sreesanth, Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, R.P. Singh, Robin Uthappa, and Dinesh Karthik. Gambhir, for one, sparkled with his bat throughout the tournament. The Delhi dasher also played a key innings in the final. Before taking the South African soil by storm, the left hander pocketed a mere Rs 10 lakhs per endorsement. But now, Gambhir is expected to charge more than Rs 20 lakhs. In the past, he has endorsed Reebok, Dabur and Pepsi.

"More than anything else, the T20 performance has made these players marketable. Since they have greater credibility now, I can put them in the market. Now, Gambhir will be a serious contender for India Inc.

But if a cricketer is not playing, I can't help him get an endorsement. For instance, I can't sell Dinesh Mongia or Ashish Nehra," says Latika Khaneja, director, Collage Sports Management, which manages Virender Sehwag, Gambhir, Nehra and R.P. Singh. The UP pacer has already been picked up by Pavitra Water Purifier.

Even greenhorns such as Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik have gained a strong foothold in the ad circuit. Before their T20 exploits, they charged almost Rs 10 to 15 lakhs. But thanks to the champions tag, the duo can command Rs 30 lakhs for new endorsement deals.

"Earlier, no company was interested in the young brigade. Even now, companies are using a wait-and-watch policy to ascertain the per manency of a player. They don't want to invest in anyone not sure of his place in the team. Earlier, it has happened with players like Suresh Raina and Dinesh Mongia. So, the exposure has made them cautious," says Anirban Das Blah, Vice-president, Globosport India.

That's not all. talkative Sreesanth's on-field antics have only helped him get better deals in the brand circuit. The Kerala pacer's endorsement value has zoomed up from Rs 25 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs after his fiery display in Twenty20 tournament.

Adds Blah, "Brands are really impressed with their competency and aggression." Blah's confidence is not misplaced as Puma is planning to sign a young player soon.

And here are the big guns. The two stars of Indian cricket, Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, are shining brightest on the brand globe. According to industry estimates, Yuvi is planning to charge double the amount of his Rs one crore price tag. The Punjab left-hander endorses eight brands for Rs one crore per brand. Apart from signing up with Donear Suitings, Yuvraj is allegedly in talks with the Indian Oil Corporation.

"Yuvi, along with Dhoni, is the future superstar. Both of them have the charisma and style to make it big in the ad world. Yuvi has made the same kind of impact in T20 tourney as Tendulkar did in Sharjah," says Blah.

Dhoni is known for his huge hits on the field, but the Jharkhand dasher is himself flying high in terms of endorsement deals. Thanks to his successful captaincy and performances, Mahi (as he is fondly called), who charges Rs 1 crore for an endorsement, is now commanding a price of Rs 1.75 crores with almost 14 brands.

"The T20 victory has brought back the spirit of cricket. It has removed all the negativity around the sport with a lot of pride and style. And companies are looking for several dark horses now," says Vinita Bangard, COO, Percept Talent Management, which handles Yuvi, Ganguly and Sreesanth.

Call it a role reversal of sorts, but the environment is competitive for big three of desi cricket - Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. "These three are surely legends, but not many brands are ready to align with them. After giving up captaincy, Dravid's value has gone down and with his bad form, it will take more beating. The same goes for Sourav, who hasn't signed many deals recently," says Khaneja.

For the record, the trio sells almost 10 brands each. "The big guns can't take their place for granted. Now, companies have a number of options to choose from," says Bangard.

Whatever the case, as brand cricket gets a new twist in the tale, young guns put drama for a solid partnership. T20 is very saleable as it is the soccerisation of cricket with a chic repackaging. The latest version of the gentleman's game has become a "super" saleable product coupled with glitz and glamour. "T20 is much more hot than one-day internationals because of viewers' involvement," says Sricharan Iyengar, former VP (sales and marketing), ESPN Software India.

TV viewership made history with 25 TVR's as India-Pakistan played the T20 World Cup final match. Similarly, the semifinal game between India and Australia recorded 23.2 TVR's."If given a choice, I would surely choose T20 matches to advertise my product. It's very fast and exciting which attracts more viewers," says Ashim Khetarpal of Pavitra Purifier, which has recently signed R.P. Singh as ambassador.

That's not all. Even advertisers were more than game to loosen their purse strings for the fresh version. Companies were allegedly ready to pay almost Rs 2.5 lakhs for a 10-second ad spot during a T20 match. And the figures are almost double the World Cup rate (except finals) of Rs 1-1.5 lakhs earlier this year. "Since a T20 game gets over quickly, it's not surprising that ad rates go up significantly," says ad guru Prahlad Kakkar.