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Iconix expects Sachin Tendulkar to lead its attack.

If you start off your innings with Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the order, you would expect a high likelihood of a blistering start.

Well, thats what exactly Iconix, the recently launched celebrity management arm of Saatchi & Saatchi, has done. It has signed up Sachin Tendulkar as its first client for a whopper of a deal (Rs 180 crore?), and expects to put celebrity management in a new orbit.

Says Vinod Naidu, executive director, Iconix, "This was the next logical step for us, and by representing icons like Sachin, we aim to enhance our base and connect with the customer."

Celebrity management, he insists, needs to be done better. So what makes Iconix special? For starters, Iconix will focus on sports icons, and will later move on to celebs from other fields such as music, entertainment, Bollywood and even television.

Er... did he say "television"? Explains Naidu, "Television stars are immensely popular these days and there is a need to market them properly."

While Naidu refuses to divulge any details of who or what he has in mind, he says talks are on with several celebrities, and Iconix has several new ways of doing things.

The Tendulkar deal, meanwhile, shall be a test case. While the man is a legend already, some observers wonder if he's still worth the bucks "" in terms of ad endorsement deals "" he was some five years ago.

But Naidu rubbishes the notion of the "master blaster" being a "faded icon" or anything of the sort. "As far as icons are concerned, he is still the number one marketable property in this country," he claims, hopeful of taking him along the second phase of celebrityhood.

Iconix will leverage the current brand associations for newer propositions that may enhance his brand imagery. Says Naidu, "We are looking at pictorial books on him as well as gaming and animation. There are lots of unexplored avenues to market Brand Sachin."

Of course, observers would be watching just who else Iconix signs up. As in cricket, one man can win you a game or two, but eventually it's everybody who must perform.