The Hindu Business Line : Brand Sachin rides high again

"Not only Sachin, cricket too has made a comeback. Hence advertisers are planning to release cricket-related ads. This will definitely have a positive impact on his future contracts."

New Delhi , Oct. 30

FOLLOWING two good knocks against Sri Lanka, cola major Pepsi has unleashed a new ad `Sachin Aala Re' (Sachin has arrived).

TVS too is looking at the prospects of releasing a Sachin ad. Just on the eve of his Rs 100-crore contract with WorldTel coming to an end, the Master Blaster's scintillating 93 and 70 runs seem to have added sheen to his brand image.

Mr Sandip Tarkas, CEO, Media Direction, part of RK Swamy/BBDO, said, "The brand called Sachin was never gone, it was always there. He is a force to reckon with and now that he is back with a bang."

"Not only Sachin, cricket too has made a comeback. Hence advertisers are planning to release cricket-related ads. This will definitely have a positive impact on his future contracts," said Mr Ajit Varghese, COO, Madison Media Infinity.

Percept D'Mark and IMG are some of celebrity management companies trying to rope in Tendulkar. Percept has maintained that the cricketer continues to attract high sponsorship value more than any of the other in-form cricketers. A decision on appointing a new management company is expected after the Sri Lanka series.

Some industry observers, however, feel it is still early days. "Sachin's real value is bigger than his personal performance. At the peak of his career, he represented India's hopes of winning against anybody. But in the last few years, he had become just another player. Though he continues to have good brand value, it has come down. But only time will tell whether or not he will be able to reclaim his old fame," said Mr Arvind Sharma, Chairman and CEO, Leo Burnett.

Despite his lay-off, Sachin Tendulkar was on the top of Hansa Research's Celebrity Track list of cricketers in India. However, brands have not been making a beeline for the cricketer in the recent times. Last year, he was associated with German mobile phone firm G-Hanz and phone content provider Nazara Tech. Others such as AirTel, Pepsi, TVS and Boost had signed him on a few years ago.

Tendulkar even today manages to get Rs 6.5-7 crore per sponsorship compared to Rs 1-1.5 crore charged by Rahul Dravid, Virendra Sehwag or Sourav Ganguly.

According to an industry official, the performance of a celebrity is crucial to his visibility. "When Sourav or Sehwag were on a song, they were visible everywhere. Now, the ads featuring them are fewer," he said.

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Brand Sachin rides high again