ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
Owners: United Spirits Ltd
Team captain: Kevin Pietersen (first six matches), Anil Kumble (for the remaining)
Franchisee fee: $111.6 mn
Brand value: $14 mn
Brand score: 50%
Sponsorships/brand associations: Wrigley’s and mostly in-house brands such as Kingfisher
Income from central pool: 2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from team sponsorships: 2008: Not applicable, as all were in-house brands
2009: Rs10 crore
Total: 2008: Rs35 crore
2009: Rs86.5 crore
Restructuring shows results
From being a laggard in the first season to runner-up this year, Royal Challengers Bangalore was a spectacular success story in IPL 2. And if there was one star the team owed its success to, it was its flamboyant owner, liquor baron Vijay Mallya. After the team’s poor show in the first season, Mallya restructured his team and redefined its key result areas. His personal charisma added to the team’s brand appeal, says the MTI study.
“RCB had a lot of glamour associated with it as it had cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins as its own cheerleaders, and the glamour quotient was furthered by the presence of (actor) Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador,” it says. The study pegged the brand value of Mallya’s team at $14 million (around Rs66.08 crore), but this is sure to pick up after this year’s comeback.
The team has not had too many sponsors but the owners say that was a conscious strategy.
**********************
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Owners: Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd
Team captain: Shane Warne
Franchisee fee: $67 mn
Brand value: $10 mn
Brand score: 47%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least nine; UltraTech Cement, Kingfisher, Royal Challenge, HDFC Standard Life, Puma, 7Up, TCS, Boost, Wrigley’s, fashion designer Kunal Rawal
Income from central pool:
2008:Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from sponsorships:
2008: Rs15 crore
2009: Rs100-110 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs50 crore
2009: Rs176.5-186.5 crore
Defending champions lose steam, gain ground in getting sponsorships
Rajasthan Royals surprised everyone when it stole the show in 2008. It was the least expensive team and its owners Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd did little to change the frugal image, with no marketing buzz and no celebrity endorser.
Winning the tournament in 2008 helped Rajasthan Royals attract bigger sponsors this year. The absence of star players, lesser-known owners and no brand ambassador last year combined to prevent it from creating a differentiated brand identity, but all that changed after the win. This year, the team’s glamour quotient went up when Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, with partner Raj Kundra, bought a 12% stake for $16.8 million, pushing the team’s total valuation to $140 million, against the $67 million the team owners had spent to buy it.