Olympic laurels get medal winners big brand deals
A record medal haul at the London Olympics this year by India has started working wonders for the winners in the endorsement world back home, with brands queuing up to sign up these players, most of whom have not been in the spotlight until now.
While endorsement fee for medal winners like Gagan Narang is understood to be in the range of Rs 10-20 lakh, industry veterans said this could easily shoot up to nearly Rs 25-50 lakh. For ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and wrestler Sushil Kumar, who charge at least Rs 50 lakh per campaign, the endorsement fee could double after the medal win, celebrity management agencies TOI spoke to said. Advertisers, who have consistently been biased towards Bollywood celebrities and cricketers for endorsements, will especially seek out these winners from diverse sports backgrounds to come up with clutter-breaking initiatives, experts said.
After Nehwal's bronze medal win at London, offers for assignments have been pouring in from various sectors such as real estate, insurance and finance, said H Manjula, media coordinator of Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures - the company that handles Nehwal's brand engagements.
"We are still sorting out which offers Saina will take up," Manjula said. Nehwal currently has several brand endorsements in her kitty, like Procter & Gamble, Indian Overseas Bank, Emami and Fortune Plus Oil.
For other players too, the medal win will guarantee a slew of contracts from advertisers, industry experts said. Sports management group IOS Sports and Entertainment, which handles the exclusive rights for brand engagements of Mary Kom and Yogeshwar Dutt, said the company will close in on at least four brand endorsements for Kom in the next 10-14 days. Kom, who charged Rs 15 lakh per campaign before Olympics 2012, will now rake in Rs 35-40 lakh per endorsement, said Neerav Tomar, MD & CEO of the company.
For Kom, the agency is currently finalizing deals in categories like mother care, health drink and women products. Currently, Kom has two product endorsements with Herbalife and Emami, besides being associated for Olympic campaigns with Samsung and Procter & Gamble.
For wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt too, the company is confident on closing in on at least two-three deals by the end of this year. The endorsement fee for Dutt would rise to at least Rs 25 lakh, Tomar said. Consumer durables major Samsung, which is a global sponsor for the Olympics 2012, has signed up Gagan Narang and Mary Kom among its Samsung Olympic Ratnas. IT company Milagrow HumanTech is already in consultation with Narang for a special edition of PCs and robots.
"This haul at the games will definitely open up other options for some advertisers who don't want to get cluttered in the movies and cricket space," said Navin Khemka, managing partner, Zenith Optimedia. Since most of these sports are less in public view as compared to cricket, industry experts like brand strategist Harish Bijoor say interests might remain limited to niche segments.
Olympic laurels get medal winners big brand deals - The Times of India
who said in India there is no money in sports other than cricket
