F&A | Brand Dhoni keeps the sponsors wanting for more

He is one of the most sought-after faces in the advertising campaigns now. He endorses more than 22 brands and many more still in the pipeline. He not only has the Midas touch on the field, but off the field as well.

Still guessing? Well wherever the name Mahendra Singh Dhoni comes in, advitisers queue up to get him on their side. He attracts brands like moths to a flame.

Such is the brand power of the Indian skipper that has topped the all-India list of celebrity brand endorsements, even leaving behind Bollywood Badsha Shah Rukh Khan.

Not surprisingly Dhoni had led the Forbes' list of world's 10 top earning cricketers followed by Tendulkar, Yuvraj, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

On Tuesday, Dhoni signed a whopping Rs 210 crore endorsement deal with a talent management company, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar in the corporate contract sweepstakes.

Dhoni has entered into a two-year deal with Rhiti Sports Management and Mindscapes, which will manage the Indian skipper's long list of endorsements and brand associations, corporate profile, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites and merchandise through a joint venture.

So is Brand Dhoni has really become that powerful?

Agree: Shailee Sanghvi, Chief Operating Officer, Percept Talent Management

Ask Shailee Sanghvi, Chief Operating Officer, Percept Talent Management and she would tell you that it's definitely worth having Dhoni as your brand ambassador.

"In India people are extremely passionate about sports, especially cricket ' most of us follow it like religion. Therefore sports personalities have an advantage of reaching out and influencing audiences, thereby creating a positive rub off," she explains.

"Most brands today are looking at associating with such personalities who are aspirational at one end, however are equally attainable and relatable at the other end. Dhoni is the only captain after Kapil Dev to have led India to a World Cup victory.

"He is grounded, young however mature, global icon, leader ' a complete package," she adds.

So it is right to go after just one brand?

But celebrity management companies tapping talents outside cricket, Sanghvi feels that one needs to know talent's strengths and have enough vision to be able to explore innovative platforms of association.

"We at PTM manage the careers of sports personalities across various disciplines like boxing, wrestling, squash, mountaineering, hockey, etc. We are investing heavily in promoting these disciplines as we truly believe that they are the future of the celebrity business," she explains.

"But having said that, I'm can't deny that fact that cricket in India cuts across boundaries, races, sexes, classes. It's a tried and tested module that has worked for most who have associated with the sport, so why not spend on cricketers, who would earn more revenue for you," she says.

"Having pioneered in the business of celebrity management and having understood the dynamics of the industry, I personally believe that it is the onus of the marketer to determine the worth of their celebrity.

"It's no longer about getting a celebrity "x' number of endorsement deals at the end of the year. Avenues of associating with a talent have evolved, therefore it will be highly amateurish to put a value to a talent basis his/ her current endorsement deals only.

"One needs to know how best to exploit a talent's strengths and have enough vision to be able to explore innovative platforms of association," she adds.

Disagree: Rajeev Karwal, CEO & Founder Director, Milagrow

But Rajeev Karwal, CEO & Founder Director, Milagrow feels Dhoni needs to choosy while picking up on a brand as representing too many brands would kill his brand value.

"Dhoni is a great sports person. His unanimous brand persona stands for reliability, winning ambition & a certain macho-ness," he says.

"Today brands which want to use him for limited appeal must be really smart in communication. But I find Dhoni being used from real estate to bikes etc. Therefore the message at times gets lost. I feel Dhoni should be very choosy in representing brands because he can end up killing his own brand if he endorses each and every brand," he adds.

So spending money on one celebrity the right choice?

Karwal feels that spending money on celebrities is not worth the effort and the customers are sensible enough to buy it according to their needs. "I have always believed that spending huge money on celebrities is a criminal waste of money. The product or service per se should have the promise or abilities to stand out on its own," he says.

"Today the consumer is not so gullible to buy a product just because a celebrity is endorsing it. I am personally against it. In my own career I have never used any expensive celebrities to build the brand --be it Onida, Philips, LG, Electrolux.

Conclusion:

But when it comes to the pitching process, both Sanghvi and Karwal believe that the pitching process is not wrong.

"It is extremely fair to have a process wherein different people can pitch their thoughts on how best they are looking at enhancing a celebrity's personality.

"It is essential for a talent management company to consciously evaluate the road map of the talent that they wish to acquire and see where and how they can value add to the existing portfolio, as a very few today actually know what it is to take the talent beyond what they are currently doing.

"I am a strong believer of "May the best man win'," Sanghvi says.

Meanwhile for Karwal, the important thing is to be professional. "It is good that certain professionalism is happening. There is nothing wrong in this. Dhoni or any celebrity is a brand in their own right and they must maximize their returns," he says.