Will brands stick to a retired Sachin?

If Sachin Tendulkar's endorsements do come down after retirement, he might increase his fees

At 40, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is easily the oldest and most experienced hand in the Indian national squad. Yet, this magical number is also putting pressure on  the Master Blaster to consider saying goodbye to a career just short of the silver jubilee mark.

With reports of the batsman's impending retirement gathering steam, the important question is whether he will continue being the darling of advertisers, as he has been through the years. His agency managing the endorsements, World Sport Group (WSG), says it had factored in the retirement plans in their deals. “The transactions we do for Sachin are normally those that are at least three years and above. Quite a few of them have been with Sachin for a while,” says Harish Krishnamachar, senior vice-president and country head, WSG, implying the brands were not likely to desert him in a hurry when he does utter the R-word.

Tendulkar has 16 brands on his list. These include Toshiba, Boost, Aviva, BMW, Audemars Piguet (a Swiss watch brand), Sunfeast (from ITC), Adidas, Coca-Cola, Future Group, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Luminous (inverters and other power equipment), Kaspersky Lab (anti-virus and internet security solutions) and Amit Enterprises (Pune-based real estate developer).

The 5’5” Mumbai-based cricketer takes home easily Rs 4-5 crore per brand, according to persons in the know. Sports managers say with Tendulkar’s visibility coming down after retirement, the chances of him charging a premium for his ads and appearances will increase. “The number of brand associations might come down,” says Indranil Das Blah, chief operating officer of sports & celebrity management firm Kwan Entertainment. “But he is most likely to increase his endorsement fees.”

This is likely to be in the region of Rs 6-7 crore a brand, sports marketing experts say.

Also, Tendulkar’s off-field exploits will increase. Krishnamachar hints as much about the batsman’s possible ventures outside cricket once he retires. “Brand Sachin trascends cricket. It is a name that has enough credibility to invoke trust and confidence. As an active cricketer, Sachin has barely had the time. Post-retirement, he will have time on his hands," he says.

 

In the past, the cricketer, who began his professional career at the age of 16, lent his name to a chain of restaurants promoted by the Mumbai-based Sanjay Narang Group. He has also lent his name to Future Group's brand of toothpastes called Sach. Last week, Toshiba, which signed him on in 2010 as its brand ambassador, launched a new range of LED TVs co-created by the cricketer. "It is a TV that has a dedicated cricket mode," explains Abhishek Mehta, head, marketing communications, digital & services division, Toshiba India. "When you switch to this mode, your viewing experience of cricket is much better. We actually took Sachin's inputs when developing this product," Mehta says.

 

In the last three years, since associating with Tendulkar, Mehta claims awareness of Toshiba TVs has increased from 6 per cent to 25 per cent. "He stands for reliability, trust, quality and innovation, attributes one can also associate with Toshiba," Mehta adds.

 

Adidas, whose association with Tendulkar dates back to 1997, says that it has no plans to discontinue its endorsement deal with the cricketer. "Sachin is one of the greatest athletes the game has seen and he will continue to be an inspiration to many," says Tushar Goculdas, brand director, Adidas India. "We have shared a great partnership with him over the last 16 years. Today we have a successful Adidas-ST cricket range, co-created by Sachin, for cricketers," he says.

Rohan Pate, director, Amit Enterprises, also reiterates that he has no plans to discontinue Tendulkar's endorsement of his company once he retires. "The visibility that we have achieved in the last two to three years since we got him on board has been enormous. I intend to continue with him at least for another few years," Pate adds.