Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a famous cricketer who recently retired from international cricket, managed to get more brands from the current captain of the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli, between January and November last year due to his great popularity. According to a report by Adex India and TAM Media Research released in January, Kohli was associated with 43 brands while Dhoni was the face of 44 brands during the same period. This may sound normal to anyone, but it is not. Having reached a milestone in his career and almost on the verge of retiring from the cricket world, it should be no ordinary thing for Dhoni to be able to challenge Kohli, who won the posters of Indian cricket in the brand deal.
However, like all of Dhoni's things, a strategy was working behind it too. Sandeep Goyal, chief patron of the Indian Institute of Human Brands and founder of Moge Media, says the former Indian captain deliberately reduced the fees of the brand deal to make his presence felt everywhere. According to industry estimates, Dhoni has been charging Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore a day for the last few years as a brand agreement fee, when earlier he used to take four times the amount. Goyal believes that Dhoni's stupendous success in the field of brand agreement is because he is seen as a dependable face and this feature is the key point of any successful brand campaign. "He always looks polite and honest," says Goyal. Apart from this, the audience also feels a connection to his image of being grounded.
Now when Dhoni has decided to quit international cricket, how much change can it be seen? He was already almost on the verge of retiring and his last game for India was against New Zealand in July last year but despite this, there is no change in Dhoni's prospects in the brand deal space. Despite his lack of ground, the 39-year-old player did not have a shortage of brands. Dhoni is currently associated with 25 brands and was ranked fifth in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list last year and earned around Rs 136 crore. Duff & Phelps ranked him ninth in his 2019 Celebrity Brand Evaluation Study and Dhoni's brand status was pegged at Rs 310 crore, up from Rs 202 crore last year.
It also helps that Dhoni is still the captain of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and he has big bets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) which will be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) right next month Is going to start Brand expert Harish Bijoor says, "He is still an important part of cricket's most active formats. In such a situation, his brand identity will also remain intact. But a lot will depend on how Dhoni, his batting role, and CSK's performance in the IPL in the coming days. Bijoor says, "For Dhoni, now the aspect of cricket is more important than before."
When Dhoni first emerged as the fiery and long-haired star of Indian cricket, all eyes were on him. He was able to establish the image of a player with a prominent personality only in the presence of the famous cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Says Goyal, 'Tendulkar was seen as a middle-class boy who achieved a big place. Dhoni was like that but he established this image in the best way.
Initially, the brands associated with him were brands like Mysore Chandan Soap, TVs, Pepsi, and who can forget a memorable advertisement of him with Shah Rukh Khan for Videocon. Apart from this, he was also associated with the Boost brand. He later associated with the same brands that suited his personality. The sneakers picked him up because his personality was also linked to the laughter and humor that the marketers were looking for. Likewise, the fantasy cricket platform Dream 11 was also completely matched by his characteristics that he is aggressive in the field of play and takes risks with the right strategy.
A brand guru says on the condition of anonymity, "Tendulkar had a monopoly when it came to the advertising deal. Dhoni was surrounded by stiff competition so he tried to change himself. In some ways, Dhoni was the bridge between Tendulkar's traditionalism and Kohli's bold assertiveness. Bijoor says, "Dhoni did what Tendulkar did and now Kohli is improving him." One reason for this is that Dhoni's presence in the brand world has started to diminish and big brands have no attraction to him. His current portfolio except for a few household names includes Net made, Redbus, Cars24, and Indigo Paints.
Goyal says that once he leaves the game, Dhoni will have to give up his calm, callous behavior to remain relevant in the brand world. They have to be more accessible to the general public. Goyal says, 'Tendulkar has slowly moved away from the people. However, his effort is to see more and communicate with his fans. Dhoni will also have to mold himself in this way.
Certainly, the innumerable memories created by Dhoni will always be in his favor, in which he has been in the minds of six people from Mumbai, which led to the World Cup title in India's bag 9 years ago. Its memories are still fresh in the minds of his countless fans. Bijoor says, 'Now what he will do purely about cricket will be very important. But keeping the memories he has made in India will be equally important.
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