Corporates Queue Up To Sign Cricketers For Ad Campaigns

India's latest cricket sensation, Virender Sehwag, may have had to sit out during the first Test against Zimbabwe which ended today. But he was equally busy off the field, thanks to corporates who want him to endorse their company's products -- from colas to mobikes and biscuits.

Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Sanjay Bangar also have lots to cheer about apart from their recent successes on the field. While Singh and Mongia has already signed contracts to endorse brands or products in the corporate world, Bangar can expect corporates make a beeline for him after his ton in the Nagpur test. The fact remains that, apart from Singh who along with VVS Laxman has signed up for eye-wear maker Ray-Ban, the rest have barely been exposed to international cricket.

 

"Cricketers are the only heroes in India," says Navroze Dhondy, director Percept IMC. The Indian cricket team is worth around Rs 100 crore, of which Sachin Tendulkar enjoys the lion's share. As one may find, the trend is no longer limited to Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly. Sehwag has already decided to work with Coca-Cola, Singh and Laxman for Ray Ban Sun Optics, Mohammed Kaif for Britannia and Pepsi, Hemang Badani for Britannia and Mongia for Reebok. Sources add that Sehwag has also been approached by Hero Honda and Britannia. The list by far is unending.

Says a spokesperson for cola major Pepsi, which has almost the entire Indian cricket team endorsing its brands: "Cricket in India is like soccer in Europe. It is all about excitement." Adds Jamie Stewart, commercial director (sub-continent), Sporting Frontiers, which is the agent for Singh and Laxman: "Cricket is a big value game for corporates as it gets maximum return on investments."

Added to that is "the proliferation of celebrity management companies which has resulted in more aggressive marketing of the players," says TBWA Anthem's Gopinath Menon.

Globally, sports sponsorship expenditure has increased by over 250 per cent since 1990. A $25 billion market today, it is the largest brand communications vehicle which provides unrivaled opportunities for targeting niche markets with great precision on a local, regional, or global scale. There is no proper estimate available for the Indian market. Cricket, however, is the most attractive option.

According to Lokesh Sharma, managing director, 21st century Media, "Endorsement is targeted at the masses. Golf, for example, is only a class game. The popularity of cricket in India is unparallelled and hence the demand for the Sachins and Sehwags." The decade-old company has three cricketers on its client roster including Rahul Dravid, Mohd Kaif and Hemang Badani.

Says Latika Khaneja, director, Collage Sports Management: "It is in cricket that the money lies and the cricketers have acquired iconic status in the country," she said.

On its part cricket has become a winner. The game is the most attractive to youngsters, willing to make sports a "profession". Both Indian cricketers and the game's management body, the BCCI, have nothing to complain.