On Sunday, the 23rd of December, when most of us were in a laid back mood, the iconic Sachin Tendulkar created ripples by deciding to call it quits from the (ODI) one day international format. It was surely heartbreak,
not only for the aficionados’ but also for the brands, the corporate houses who had Tendulkar for so long as their brand ambassador. The Little Master currently endorses as many as 17 brands and the brand value stands at a staggering Rs.200 crores. The list of his endorsements includes some of
the heavyweights namely- Adidas , BMW, Audemars Piguet, Aviva, MRF, Boost, Sunfeast,
Reynolds, VISA and the list goes on but, if industry sources are to be believed ,then all the
aforesaid brands have become pensive after having learnt about Tendulkar’s retirement and
are set to do some revisions( not now necessarily) which would ,eventually, affect the brand
equity of the cricketing Legend. As much as 50% or more of the brand value of Tendulkar is
expected to descend in two or three years time because there would not be such
prominence of him which was used to be there earlier.
In his 23 year, glittering long carrier, he did not only hammered the bowlers but also struck
astonishing deals by raking in jaw dropping amounts, be it the 200 million deal with Coca
Cola, the 10 crore/annum deal with Adidas or the 13 crore deal with S Kumar’s Nationwide
(SKNL). Even companies like Luminous and Eureka forbes have cashed in big time by
roping in Tendulkar as their brand ambassador. There was a time when the Master was
referred as the “most marketable sportsman” because of his stature and the aura & more
importantly,the sublime form which he was in during the period which was duly exploited by
the machiavellistic corporate .
Tendulkar has always remained the darling of marketers and for some he’ll continue to be.
According to ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar “Sachin is a highly desired role model for brandsa
non-controversial achiever and that image will go beyond his playing years” while
Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & MD at Mudra Group believes that “ there is a new brand
that Sachin sees for himself after 40, but doesn't see Sachin, the cricketer in his new brand”.
Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands has his own and different version towards the brand
equity of Tendulkar post his retirement. He states that” the nature of Tendulkar’s appeal will
change in a manner that as he moves from being a hero to more like a mentor, he will
certainly attract more corporate brands rather than trendy and hip ones”.
Meanwhile, Camera maker Canon, which had inked an endorsement deal with Tendulkar in
2007, has decided not to renew the contract when it is about to end, citing a "change of
strategy and youth focus". Consumer goods maker Jyothy Laboratories, too, did not renew
its contract with Tendulkar a couple of months ago keeping in mind the fag end of his ODI
carrier. Is this the beginning of an end? Well, at least by looking at the portends, one can say
that Sachin’s brand equity has taken a beating and his poor run in recent months is only
exacerbating the situation.
Being a hardcore fan of the batting god, there is only a wish that his brand equity doesn’t
end on the lines of his ODI carrier which was abrupt in nature because who knows that the
Master has already inked his last endorsement, (probably with Coca Cola) & all of us are
anxiously waiting for his next commercial just the way we were waiting for his next ODI
innings after the match he played against Pakistan.
not only for the aficionados’ but also for the brands, the corporate houses who had Tendulkar for so long as their brand ambassador. The Little Master currently endorses as many as 17 brands and the brand value stands at a staggering Rs.200 crores. The list of his endorsements includes some of
the heavyweights namely- Adidas , BMW, Audemars Piguet, Aviva, MRF, Boost, Sunfeast,
Reynolds, VISA and the list goes on but, if industry sources are to be believed ,then all the
aforesaid brands have become pensive after having learnt about Tendulkar’s retirement and
are set to do some revisions( not now necessarily) which would ,eventually, affect the brand
equity of the cricketing Legend. As much as 50% or more of the brand value of Tendulkar is
expected to descend in two or three years time because there would not be such
prominence of him which was used to be there earlier.
In his 23 year, glittering long carrier, he did not only hammered the bowlers but also struck
astonishing deals by raking in jaw dropping amounts, be it the 200 million deal with Coca
Cola, the 10 crore/annum deal with Adidas or the 13 crore deal with S Kumar’s Nationwide
(SKNL). Even companies like Luminous and Eureka forbes have cashed in big time by
roping in Tendulkar as their brand ambassador. There was a time when the Master was
referred as the “most marketable sportsman” because of his stature and the aura & more
importantly,the sublime form which he was in during the period which was duly exploited by
the machiavellistic corporate .
Tendulkar has always remained the darling of marketers and for some he’ll continue to be.
According to ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar “Sachin is a highly desired role model for brandsa
non-controversial achiever and that image will go beyond his playing years” while
Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & MD at Mudra Group believes that “ there is a new brand
that Sachin sees for himself after 40, but doesn't see Sachin, the cricketer in his new brand”.
Santosh Desai, CEO, Future Brands has his own and different version towards the brand
equity of Tendulkar post his retirement. He states that” the nature of Tendulkar’s appeal will
change in a manner that as he moves from being a hero to more like a mentor, he will
certainly attract more corporate brands rather than trendy and hip ones”.
Meanwhile, Camera maker Canon, which had inked an endorsement deal with Tendulkar in
2007, has decided not to renew the contract when it is about to end, citing a "change of
strategy and youth focus". Consumer goods maker Jyothy Laboratories, too, did not renew
its contract with Tendulkar a couple of months ago keeping in mind the fag end of his ODI
carrier. Is this the beginning of an end? Well, at least by looking at the portends, one can say
that Sachin’s brand equity has taken a beating and his poor run in recent months is only
exacerbating the situation.
Being a hardcore fan of the batting god, there is only a wish that his brand equity doesn’t
end on the lines of his ODI carrier which was abrupt in nature because who knows that the
Master has already inked his last endorsement, (probably with Coca Cola) & all of us are
anxiously waiting for his next commercial just the way we were waiting for his next ODI
innings after the match he played against Pakistan.