Chess players make ideal brand ambassadors, say champions

Chess champions are really ideal and cost effective brand ambassadors for insurance companies, banks, information technology (IT) and products connected with children and the brain, says a marketing expert and chess champions.

"Actually having chess champions as brand ambassadors makes sense for financial services companies. All celebrity endorsements are based on two aspects, cost versus benefit. There are companies that hire a celebrity who has peaked and on the way down and those on the fringe with the hope they would make it big one day," Ramanujam Sridhar, CEO, Brand Comm, a brand consulting company, told IANS.

He also expressed surprised at the corporates not taking advantage of the chess players or chess as a theme during the run up to the World Chess Championship or even after it started here.

"Normally insurance, computer and banks use chess players as their brand ambassadors. I have endorsed products of a bank and insurance company in Hungary," said Susan Polgar, winner of four women's world championship and five Olympic gold medals in chess.

Generally, investments are linked to strategies and computers to their computing power, both of which chess players signify, Polgar added.

"Companies are aware of this aspect. They use a chess piece or the board as part of their advertisement even if they do not use a chess champion as their brand ambassador," she said.

Interestingly, Viswanathan Anand's title challenger Norwegian Magnus Carlsen has signed up with Nordic Semiconductor, Artic Securities, Simonsen Vogtwiig and VG, a Norwegian newspaper.

According to Polgar, the world's top chess players may be charging not less than $100,000 for endorsing a product.

"In rupee terms that is less than what cricketers charge in India. Corporates must be paying a couple of crore of rupees to top cricketers," Ramanujam Sridhar said.

According to him, the downside for too many brands chasing a few cricketers is that the initial brand recall value may fizzle out in the long run.

Only a few Indian corporates have signed up with the reigning world chess champion from India, Viswanathan Anand.

Several years ago, Anand endorsed 'Memory Plus', a capsule that is supposed to improve a person's memory.

Currently he is endorsing NIIT, Crocin, Union Bank of India, AMD and has now signed up for Complan.

Except for Anand, no other Indian chess player has been signed up as a brand ambassador, a senior chess player told IANS.

"Indian corporates are not in favour of chess champions. Once I wrote to a biscuit company with a proposal that my daughter Grandmaster Humpy Koneru could be their brand ambassador. But that company did not respond," Ashok Koneru told IANS.

"Perhaps brand owners could look at chess players as regional brand ambassadors," Sridhar said.

"There are many young players who are very good but hail from a poor family. While they play in the domestic circuit, the international tournaments are out of their reach," Grandmaster R.B. Ramesh told IANS.

According to him, good chess players from middle class or rich families get corporate sponsorship but not players from a poor background.

Chess not being a spectator sport, not many would recognise the players and hence the brand owners stay away from them.

"The game could be made into a spectator sport by slightly changing the format. Further, chess players should be more media savvy to improve their marketability," Polgar said.