Indian Olympians on the brand circuit

7/31/2019 Indian Olympians on the brand circuit

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editorial

Volume 1, Issue 2This fortnight...

According to a recent report rom Nielsen, Olympians dominate the top fve most eective male athlete

endorsers, while tennis players dominate the top fve most eective emale athlete endorsers and retiredNFL ootball players constitute three o the top fve most eective commentator endorsers in the US.

That, unortunately, is not the case in India i one just goes by the money spent

India still does not have a reliable eectiveness index - on brand endorsers who are

sportsmen. Its unimaginable to think o endorsement deals in India with sports other

than cricket and to a certain extent, tennis. To repeat an ot-repeated lament, cricketers

are the only sportspersons who enjoy a high patronage amongst brand marketers in our

country.

But it is also a act that marketers are always scanning other sports or that elusive

celebrity. There are many reasons or this. First, the non-cricket sports celebrities will

come cheaper and will also be a clutter-ree option or their brands given the act that a

ew cricketers endorse brands in each and every category.

The Olympics is one sporting event which is expected to throw up a ew new

names to the advertising circuit and all marketers are keeping a close watch on the

biggest sporting event in the world. In this issue, we have tried to predict a ew sports

personalities who are expected to make it big both at the Olympics and the brand

endorsement circuit.

We frst spoke to the leading sports editors o the country to fnd out their avourites among the Indian

contingent or this years London Olympics. Next, we spoke to marketers, agency heads and celebrity

managers asking them to rate the shortlisted sports personalities and their brand endorsement prospects.

These players were then judged on parameters like appearance, lie story and background. What is

interesting is that the quality o metal gold, silver, bronze did not matter. All marketers want is that they

should make it to the medals chart. The buzz will ollow.

BatesnewCEO hashis workcut out.

8

MEC South AsiasCOO andherwinning ways.

26

Atraffic-stoppingcommercialfor Kerala.

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Beginners Luck? 29

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NoLaughing Matter 32

ipsos survey

Sexand theCellphone 33

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ListeningPosts 35

times of india

JamSessions

12

Look inside for the sportspersons who could become starendorsers after the London Olympics.

June 1-15, 2012 `100Volume 1, Issue 2

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SanjayThapardefiningmoments

ShubhaGeorge

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notforresale

EDITORSreekant Khandekar

PUBLISHERPrasanna Singh

ExEcUTIVE EDITORPrajjal Saha

SENIOR LAYOUT ARTISTVinay Dominic

LOGISTIcSRajesh Kanwal

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIESNeha Arora, (0120) 4077866, 4077837

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Khushboo Varadkar, (022) 40429702-5Mumbai

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interview

Kent WertimeGo aster on digital, urgesOgilvy Asia-Pacifcs COO.

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Notoriety and FameAs brands take on controversialstars, is the line between ameand notoriety blurring?

30havells

Lost Between FansThe brands usage o RajeshKhanna raises questions.

Going in or a pan-Indiaapproach.

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frOOti

All Over the Place

P L U S

POrtfOliO nights

Building Characters 10

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Girl Power 15

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0 aaqs! Rprr, Ju 1-15, 2 01 2

I the countrys top sports editors have got their predictions right, theLondon Olympics could be the best ever or India. It could turn out tobe special or the number o medals the athletes are expected to rope in- ater all, India is sending its largest contingent ever.

When India broke its drought o an individual medal in the Olympicsour years ago, a couple o names - apart rom the star o the show, AbhinavBindra - stood out. Names like Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar becamehousehold ones. But it was still cricket and tennis stars who got the bulk othe endorsement deals going around. This time, there seem to be quite a ewmedal hopes in various disciplines that many hope will come out o thatshadow.

The list includes Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestling), Heena Sachdev (shooting),Krishna Punia (discus throw), Vikas Krishan (boxing), Gurmeet Singh(athletics) and Bombayala Devi (archery). However, the big ve names (theygot the maximum votes rom the sports editors) are ve-time world boxingchampion, Mary Kom; the 17-year old nemesis o Korean archers, DeepikaKumari; CWG shooting hero Gagan Narang; blue-blooded shooter RonjanSodhi and the young, aggressive boxer, Shiva Thapa.

Skill SetS: Abiiy ansend aeies; an akebie ppnens wih ease.

AchievementS: Fis wman bxe fm India win 5wd ies nseuivey. Has me han

3 Asian ies and 11 naina ies he mei.

cAtegoRy fit: Mik based nuiin pdus,wmens heah pdus, feminis bands,

adia ff bea bands, hid nuiin, mik-based

beveaes, use bisuis, eney dinks.

fr: life sy; ene f sps

AgAinSt: limied eah (Nh Eas); n pished, veexpsue in Media

Mary KoM29-year-old Boxer, Manipur

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BrandCirCuitIt is time for the Olympics. As the Indian athleteshead for London 2012, we try and identify the futurestars of the endorsement game.By Ashwini Gangal

with inputs from Anushree Bhattacharyya and Shibani Gharat

FotocorP


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Brand-owners and celebrity managers would probably do well to keep aclose watch on these players. I they get on to the medals board, the ormerwill be waiting at the nishing line to sign them on. aaqs! Rrranalyses each o the contenders and what makes them avourites as uturebrand endorsers.

StoRy of youR life

Advertising is all about story-telling and brand marketers look orinteresting stories that they can create around these brand endorsers. Sothe lie o these players will make their stories more saleable and convincing.

Consider the potential rags-to-riches story that athletes like DeepikaKumari and Narsingh Pancham Yadav bring to the table. The daughter oan auto-rickshaw driver, Deepika comes rom a poor amily in Ranchi thathad to compromise on the amily budget in order to support her training.Deepika, who made her bows and arrows with bamboos and had mangoes ortargets, stands or resilience, courage and a never-say-die attitude.

Similarly, Narsingh Pancham Yadav, a wrestler rom UP, is the sono a milk distributor and his mother manages their arm in Varanasi. Anyvisualiser or brand strategist worth his salt would be able to see the marketingpotential in such stories that a brand can successully leverage.

The human-interest angle is something brands can play up in theircommunication because this can help strike an emotional connect withthe consumers. Jitender Dabas, executive vicepresident (planning), McCann Erickson, explainswhy consumers buy into the real hero story.Brands want to celebrate that heroism, heexplains.

They do this by leveraging the plot, whichcould be one o several things: Being the rstto win a particular medal could be one plot, asensational comeback story could be another (theway Lance Armstrong did ater battling cancer

or the way Yuvraj Singh is likely to do soon). Being a hero in the ace oadversity is another plot that a brand can use by spelling out how the personmade it big against all odds, the small town guy making it big is one moreand a very young person winning big at the Olympics could be yet another.

Every myth o the hero brings out a certain character and brands associatethemselves with these characters, adds Dabas. It is not just the and-they-lived-happily-aterward-ending that works in the advertising circuit. Forinstance, Ronjan Sodhis royal lineage can also make or an interesting story.

AppeARAnce fee

The looks, the glamour quotient and the gender o the sportspersonplay a very important role in the brand endorsement circuit. Which isprobably why Vijender Singh perormed better in the advertising circuit thanhis ellow Olympians or why tennis star Sania Mirza stayed high on the topcharts in spite o her inconsistent perormance. Apparently, at one point intime Mirza endorsed ve brands at a ee o `1 crore even when her worldranking was lower than No 40.

In todays marketing era, presentation and packaging hold an importantplace and so the physical appearance o the athlete plays a signicant rolein attracting brands. Says M Darshan, chie executive ocer, MachdarMotorsports, Every sportsperson comes with a certain individual image. Asagainst Saina Nehwal who is a more o an urban phenomenon, Mary Kom

can synergise with and inspire rural people whovegone through tough times because shes got asimilar story.

He eels she is an ideal match or mass brandswith the kind o wide reach that transcends classcategories. These include both eminist brandsas well as so-called patriotic brands. FromIndian banks, womens health groups, sanitarynapkins to home grown insurance brands, she canendorse them all because she stands or resilience,

Skill SetS: cmpsue, dempeamen.

AchievementS: tw gdmedas (individua & eam) a

cmmnweah games, 2010.

gd meda a he Wd cup Sae-II in Anaya,

tukey

cAtegoRy fit: Yuh bands, fainess pdus,eduain pdus, sia auses espeiay i

hid-eaed bands/ampains

foR: life sy, appeaane

AgAinSt: lak f amu quien, ene fsps

Skill SetS: Peisin, is a pefeinis, abiiy fus in advese iumsanes

AchievementS: Wn fu d medas in he2010 cWg.

cAtegoRy fit: Fma wea,insuane bands, eem bands,

SUVs, apps and mpues,

pemium bands, paii

bands lIc, hme-wn banks,

finane mpanies

foR: Manneism

AgAinSt: N eina appea; ene f sps

deepiKa KuMari17-year-old archer, JharKhand

GaGan naranG29-year-old Shooter, hyderaBad

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Skill SetS: tehniay e, eaempeamen unde pessue

AchievementS: tw sive medas in 2010cWg and a d meda a he 2010 Asian games.

rank hde in Inenaina Shin Sp

Fedeain (ISSF) wd ankins.

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pdus, sn dedans), wahes

foR: Manneism, eduain, amu quien,ifesye/ff-fied behaviu

AgAinSt: gene f sps, ae

ronJan Sodhi33-year-old Shooter, punJaB

5/10

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The human-interest angle issomething brands can play up in theircommunication because this can help

strike an emotional connect withthe consumers.

FotocorP

gEttYIMAgES

gEttYIMAgES


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determination and woman-power. She also hasthe rst mover advantage because this is the rsttime womens boxing has been included in theOlympics.

The glamour quotient is also a unction o theo-eld behaviour o the athlete - such as theirpresence and behaviour at social dos, events andshows. For instance, Ronjan Sodhi is known tolive lie king-size. Though he is not much o alooker, this ought to count in the world o brands- or high end ones at least.

Besides appearance and persona, rom a brandmarketing perspective, a large part o an athletesaura is his or her ability to communicate wellin English. Premium brands tend to be skewedtowards the polished lot.

the SpoRt itSelf

The glamour quotient o the sportsperson isnot solely dependent on individual attributes.Its got a lot to do with the genre o sports aswell. Boxing, or instance, is perceived as moreglamorous than shooting, says Indranil Das Blahchie operating ocer, KWAN Entertainment andMarketing Solutions.

Depending on the category that the brandoperates in, the genre o the sport becomesimportant. For instance some brands may gravitatemore towards soter sports like swimming orprecision sports like shooting over violentgames like wrestling or boxing. Ex-OlympianHakimuddin Habibullah (the ormer swimmerwho is a sports consultant now) says, Sports likerife shooting, wrestling and boxing may be viewedas having a streak o violence.

The genre o the sport also creates a backgroundor the sportsperson. Theres an evident dividebetween the shooters and the boxers or wrestlers.Shooters invariably hail rom afuent amilies asopposed to boxers or wrestlers who are more oten

than not rom less privileged rural homes.Neerav Tomar, managing director and chie

executive ocer, IOS (Innity Optimal Solutions)Sports and Entertainment, says, Shooting is likegol - the equipment is expensive and is almostalways imported. Boxers, very oten, come rompoorer backgrounds. Wealthy urban amiliesnormally dont want their children to get into suchhard-core, physically demanding games. And it isnot true just in India. Globally, too, boxers comerom humbler backgrounds compared to the resto the athletes.

Another related actor is the popularity levelo the discipline. Athletes belonging to media-riendly sports like badminton have an obviousedge over other less entertaining games likechess or rife shooting when it comes to baggingendorsement deals. I the sport is visible inthe media only during the Asian Games, theCommonwealth Games and the Olympics, thenthe longevity o the athletes brand value tends todrop and they nd it hard to sustain their brandpotential over time.

The sport should have activation potentialor windows o opportunity by being visible in themedia or on screen. Brands can then monetisethese, says an independent brand consultant. Oneother important aspect that makes an athlete morebrand-riendly is the impact-level or inspirationpower o his or her sport. This means that thelikelihood o audiences taking up that sport aterwatching it is more. Experts call this the abilityo a sport or athlete to inspire mass participation.I the sport itsel has a very small consumer orparticipation base, so will the ambassador romthat sport.

Niche, low impact sports, may or may notgenerate consumer participation depending uponthe sport itsel even though the athlete may strike

a chord. So while the consumers may like MaryKom the person, they may not relate to the sportshe represents. People may be able to reciprocateby relating to her at a psychological level butnot with her sport. So rom the point o view oimpact, her infuence wont go to the next level,cautions Habibullah.

locAl vS nAtionAl

Endearing as it is, the human interest touch isnot all a brand ought to look at. One otherimportant actor is the kind o reach or infuencethe athlete can have. One way o looking atit would be slot them according to the socio-economic class they represent.

Going by that logic, Deepika Kumari and ShivaThapa look like ideal ambassadors or tier 2 and 3towns or rural zones, given their roots. But theresmore to it than just social strata. Geography playsan equally important role. Athletes like Deepikaand Shiva have a strong regional pull, especially inJharkhand and the North East, respectively. Theseare the main buckets where their sport (boxing)has developed in India.

Says Cajetan Vaz, an independent brandconsultant, Sportspersons like these would

not be attractive propositions or large nationalbrands. Regional brands, however, might ndthem aordable and relevant to their home stateand consumers. So though he comes rom a wellto do amily, Ronjan Sodhis brand potential or anational brand may be limited but he may be a veryviable ambassador or a brand targeted at hardcorePunjabi households.

While rural audiences may nd it easy to relateto athletes with similar roots, it is the relevance othe ambassador that counts more than rich versuspoor, premium versus popular or mass versusclass, says Jagdeep Kapoor, managing director,Samsika Marketing Consultants.

It nally boils down to the perormance on theday. August could turn out be a busy month orboth athletes and brand managers as the dust o theOlympics settles and the winners are announced.Save this issue to see i any o the above predictionscome true. n

asw.aa@aaqs.

Basd adda rws w:Akash Goswami, Times Now; Bobilli Vijaykumar,The Times of India; Digvijay Singh Deo, CNN-IBN; Harish Bijoor, Harish Bijoor Consults;Manisha Malhotra, Mittal Champions Trust;Mikhail Vaswani, Neo Cricket; Sandeep Dwivedi,Indian Express; Sanjeev Karan Samyal, HindustanTimes Mumbai; Sonali Chander, sports consultant;Suman Srivastava, Marketing Unplugged;Suraja Kishore, Publicis Ambience; ThomasAbraham, sportzpower.com and Vijay Tagore,DNA.

Skill SetS:lih n fee, d fwk; snaakin insin

AchievementS: Yunes Indian bxe quaify f he oympis, sive

meda in he Yuh oympis.

cAtegoRy fit:Sf dinks,bikes, fashin aessies, eney

dinks.

foR: Yuh, ene f sps,aessive imae

AgAinSt: Amy bakund ud ead pemissin issues; eah imied Nh Eas; n

pished

Shiva thapa18-year-old Boxer, aSSaM

5/10

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The human interest angle is notall that a brand ought to look at. Oneother important actor is the kind o

reach or infuence theathlete can have.

the darK horSeS

ARcheRy

Bmbayaa Devi, chekvu

Swu, Jayana taukda

Boxing

Devend Sinh, Manpee Sinh,

Vikas Kishan

AthleticS

gumee Sinh (Wak), Kishna

Punia, Seema Ani and Vikas

gwda (Disus hw)

Shooting

Heena Sahdev

WReStling

Nasinh Yadav, Yeshwa Du

gEttYIMAgES

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Indian Olympians on the brand circuit