Ranveer Singh, MS Dhoni most recalled brand ambassadors in IPL 2021: Study

Actor Ranveer Singh and cricketer MS Dhoni were the most recalled brand ambassadors in advertising targeted at IPL 2021 audience, said a survey by the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) on Tuesday.

Ranveer and Dhoni appeared to have done equally well in the annual IPL ad recall research conducted ten days after the start of the cricketing league this year. The survey polled 879 respondents aged 18 to 35 in telephonic interviews.

Dream 11 was the "most spontaneously recalled brand" in this year’s survey, enhancing both the brand-equity and recall of Dhoni, its ambassador. Jio Fiber, which advertises with multiple IPL teams, featured Ranveer dancing to a sing-song brand message. He came in second on recall in the research, also helping him strengthen his image for endorsements. Byju’s was the most spontaneously recalled brand on the IPL last year, but its celebrity endorser Shah Rukh Khan trailed behind other celebrities.

Actor Salman Khan also did well in terms of brand recall, leading Rishabh Pant, Rahul Dravid, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Saurav Ganguly who followed in that sequence. Ajay Devgn, Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ayushmann Khurrana and Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, had very few mentions and scored very poorly on respondent recall. In the last survey conducted in October 2020, MS Dhonihad the highest spontaneous recall as a celebrity endorser.

“MS Dhoni and Ranveer Singh had a disproportionate share of visibility and recall in the IPL research we just conducted. This was in synch with the ultra-high recall of the brands they respectively endorse”, said Dr. Sandeep Goyal, Chief Mentor of IIHB. “It is interesting nevertheless to note that brands without celebrities like Phone Pe, Byju’s and others too have done well wherever media investments are heavy,” he said.