At $87 million, brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance anointed Mumbai Indians (MI) as the most-valuable IPL brand in 2023. At the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in March this year, the team was brimming with confidence and riding on hope as star all-rounder Hardik Pandya returned to its fold after captaining Gujarat Titans for two years.
Cut to May: MI became the first team to be knocked out of the IPL 2024 playoffs race after Sunrisers Hyderabad demolished Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday.
According to Ajimon Francis, MD India, Brand Finance, there’s a good chance that it will also be dethroned as the most valuable IPL team. “Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were fairly close to MI in terms of brand value, as per the 2023 report. We might see some shuffling of ranks this year and going by the current momentum,” he says.
Indeed, going by digital media indicators, the team’s brand metrics are on a downward path already. Brand Finance estimates that it could take a 10-12% hit this year.
MI has fared poorly off the field in terms of managing the optics and limiting the PR damage, says Sandeep Goyal, CMD at Rediffusion. “They could have handled the transfer of captaincy from Rohit Sharma to Pandya with more finesse. Pandya has performed poorly this year, and MI should be doing better PR, instead of allowing him to be taken apart by the media and fans,” says Goyal, adding the skipper’s poor showing has badly dented the image of both the team and Pandya.
Francis recommends that MI take a leaf out of the Royal Challengers Bangalore playbook, whose fan engagement is a great example of how to drive loyalty despite the team’s poor winning record.
Enduring brand value
Experts agree that while this season has been a setback for MI, the brand will continue to prevail. Vejay Anand, branding expert and CEO of Ironhill India, reminds that this team has won the title five times, the most by any team, and can therefore bounce back. “MI’s underwhelming performance this season will have a marginal impact on its brand value. If there is any impact at all, it will be determined by factors such as length of the team’s poor form and other external factors that could influence public opinion,” he says.
Santosh N, managing partner at D&P Advisory, says this year’s poor show may impact MI’s brand in the short to medium term but is not likely to have a material impact on its brand value because that is dependent on its ability to generate cashflows in the future. He cautions that if the team continues to struggle with issues like a change in leadership, it can potentially affect MI’s brand value in the long run.
That said, several factors work in favour of the brand. “MI’s #OneFamily brand extends beyond India with franchises in various T20 leagues, including MI Cape Town, MI Emirates, and MI New York. It still boasts of star power with names like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah,” points out Santosh. Further, the club boasts of a massive social media following, with over 50 million followers across platforms.
On the brand partnership front, Santosh notes that MI has had its best year yet with 26 brand partnerships including 12 new ones. The franchise recorded a 20% jump in sponsorship revenues, surpassing Rs 100 crore.
Will MI’s dismal show affect these partnerships in the next season? Experts say fans will be quick to forgive and forget. KV Sridhar, global chief creative officer, Hypercollective and Nihilent, says with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled for next month, fans will happily forgive players like Pandya if he pulls up his socks and does his job.