India’s win in the Twenty20 World Cup has boosted the brand value of the cricketing heroes, raising expectations of media planners and broadcasters that the upcoming series with Australia will spell good business.
Not only are the media planners bullish on the increased brand value of cricketers, including star performers M S Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, but official broadcaster Nimbus for the India-Australia series is also expecting it to be a sell-out in terms of advertisment spots. The seven-match series starts on September 29.
Dhoni, who endorses around a dozen brands such as Pepsi, Videocon, Exide and Reebok, has become a hot cake already with an estimated Rs one crore per brand. Post-T20 success, some new companies are also trying to rope him.
“There are a few companies which have contacted us and shown keen interest,” Jeet Banerjee, CEO of Gameplan Sports which manages Dhoni’s account, told PTI. However, he said nothing changes overnight but the cricketers’ endorsement value should go up if the team continues to play well.
Similarly, Collage Sports Management director Latika Khaneja, who manages endorsement accounts of Virendra Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, said, “I expect more endorsements for Sehwag who is currently engaged with Adidas if he is able to maintain his form but it will be decided ones he gets back to one day internationals.”
Vice-Captain Yuvraj Singh has nine brands in his kitty with slightly over a crore a brand riding on him. He is the highest earner per brand in India’s Twenty20 team.
According to some market observers, there is going to be a big change in Indian cricket in terms of brand endorsements with new and young players making their mark.