Brand Tendulkar will continue to rule the ad world after his retirement

Sachin Tendulkar at an event of a brand which he endorses. Photo Courtesy – Sudatta Mukherjee.

When Sachin Tendulkar — the father of all brands — retires, the opportunity of cashing on his brand value is not going to diminish. “His iconic status will remain,” as ad guru Pralhad Kakkar told CricketCountry recently.” Sudatta Mukherjee looks at Brand Tendulkar.

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On October 10, 2013, when Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from Test cricket, not only fans and admirers of his game, but even fellow cricketers were engulfed by a huge sense of sadness. For almost a quarter of a century Tendulkar has occupied the collective consciousness like few celebrities have — not merely as a player but also an exceptional role model that every brand would love to cash on.

There is lot of money riding on Sachin Tendulkar across the spectrum and many wondered: “What about will happen to Brand Sachin post his retirement as an India player?”

The brands endorsed by Tendulkar came out collectively and announced that the association with the legend won’t come to end but will, in fact, grow stronger — something Prahlad Kakkar hinted at while talking recently to CricketCountry. Adidas, Coca-Cola, Future Group, Toshiba, Aviva India and SAR Group, which are endorsed by Tendulkar, said they were looking for longer association with him after retirement.

“Sachin is with Adidas for life. Whether he plays cricket or not will not affect our relationship. We have had very strong ties with him and he is very special,” Adidas India Brand Director Tushar Goculdas — a sentiment that was echoed by honchos of other brands endorsed by Tendulkar.
 
He is one of the richest Indian cricketers according to data released by Wealth X — a definitive source of intelligence on the ultra-wealthy with the world’s largest collection of curated research on Ultra High Net Worth individuals. He is valued at $160,000,000. Following him is the Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, valued at $50,000,000. The gap between the two is more than triple — such is the megapower of Brand Tendulkar. So when the 40-year-old announced retirement and after playing 200 Test matches, a feat which in all likelihood will never be broken, it was much expected by different companies to come out with different campaigns and milk out monetary value.
 
As soon as the venues of the last two Tests of Tendulkar’s career was declared, frenetic preparations went into attracting as many sponsors and advertisers  by the Cricket Association of Bengal and the Mumbai Cricket Association.  

Away from the stadium, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched a social media campaign on Twitter to further hype the Tendulkar farewell. Even though the BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said that they are giving a chance for fans worldwide to connect and pay gratitude to the maestro, it was clear that the board aimed to bring their fans closer after recent controversies had turned them against the board.
 
A leading television broadcaster attracted audience by launching a ‘Cheer for Sachin’ campaign wherein fans across the world were asked to call and record their cheers for Tendulkar.
 
Coca-Cola, which came out with 100 cans when Tendulkar scored his much-coveted 100 international centuries, is expected to launch a special series of products or new campaigns based on Tendulkar.
 
Navin Khemka, a media buyer, was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times, “The day will be marked in the history of ad-world as well and cash rich brands will not miss the event.”
 
Toshiba is likely to roll out a surround campaign across TV, online and print. Adidas is supposed to celebrate his final Test with the campaign ‘SRTforever’.
 
Formula One team Force India honoured Tendulkar by displaying the Twitter hashtag #masterblaster on their cars at the Indian Grand Prix.
 
Even e-commerce sites have made their presence felt by coming out with products like silver coins with Tendulkar’s image on them, to mobile phone covers to laptop skins to wallets, etc. Deepa Thomas, eBay India head, said, “Apart from this, we plan to put up billboards and have a special digital marketing campaign to promote the merchandise.”
 
“The traffic has increased and the merchandise sales has also been picking up. We are getting into high gear now as the last match draws closer and with that, the sales will definitely spike,” said Amit Maheshwari, VP-Fashion Merchandising, Snapdeal was quoted by DNA.
 
Earlier this week, in one of the biggest-ever conclave, the India Today Group came out with their with their Salaam Sachin event. It saw Sachin’s brother and mentor, Ajit Tendulkar, make a rare public appearance to speak about his brother. It was an event where giants like Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Brian Lara, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sunil Gavaskar, Rameez Raja, Kiran More, Bishan Singh Bedi, Dilip Vengsarkar and some non-cricketing sportstars Sania Mirza and Sushil Kumar come out and celebrate the man who is surely the one of greatest sportsman India has created in the modern era. The sponsors and co-sponsors of the event were Jaypee Cements, Lava Mobile phones, Hero Moto Corps, Amul Macho, etc.
 
The Salaam Sachin conclave saw some of the giants of marketing world come together to discuss Brand Sachin and his ventures after retirement. Vinod Naidu — General Manager, World Sport Group, Jatin Ahluwalia — Founder & CEO, Seven3Rockers Technologies, Sunil Bhalla — Co-Founder & Director, LAVA Mobiles and Hamilton Bland — Managing Director, Autographs of the World were present to discuss about him.
 
It doesn’t stop here, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), have planned its own gala ceremonies for the 200th Test. On Monday, MCA named its new club as Sachin Tendulkar Gymkhana at Kandivali, Mumbai. A special gold coin with Tendulkar’s face was used at toss in the ongoing Mumbai Test — the maestro’s  200th and final Test.
 
MCA also brought out a special postal stamp to mark the occasion. It will also come out with a 64-page brochure consisting of articles, quotes on Tendulkar from personalities belonging to the fields of business, profession, sports, journalism. Limited edition brochure and coins will be distributed to the MCA and BCCI members.
 
An online travel website is offering free cab rides to fans to Wankhede Stadium during the 200th Test.
 
Even Cricket South Africa (CSA) had grand plans for Tendulkar’s 200th Test. Chris Nenzani, the CSA president, had said, “We will definitely be honouring this icon of world cricket and we will announce plans after discussions with the BCCI and their national team management.” However, the West Indies tour was hastily arranged and it was announced that the series against the men from the Caribbean would be Tendulkar’s last.
 
The maestro is playing his farewell Test, but  Brand Sachin Tendulkar won’t end on November 18, 2013. Make no mistake about that.

(Sudatta Mukherjee is a reporter with CricketCountry. Other than writing on cricket, she spends penning random thoughts on her blog and produces weekly posts on new food joints at Whopping Weekends. She played Table Tennis for University of Calcutta. When she is not writing, you will catch her at a movie theatre or watching some English serial on her laptop. Her Twitter id is @blackrosegal)