Sports
Kohli, Sharma brand values to stay intact in short run despite Australia test issues: Ad experts
Summary
- Brand and advertising experts have differing views on Kohli and Sharma taking into account their status in the team and their current form in the game.
Despite recent challenges in the Test series against Australia during the Border-Gavaskar trophy, batsman Virat Kohli’s brand value should largely stay unaffected, but captain Rohit Sharma could see a dip in his advertising career in the long run after retirement. During the matches, Sharma, the senior batter and captain, "opted out" due to his struggling form which surprised fans but was welcomed by advertisers who learned that he was not retiring.
Brand and advertising experts told Mint brand Kohli will continue to prosper, provided his performance improves in the upcoming one-day series in June and the Indian Premier League but in contrast, Sharma’s longer-term brand, built largely on his leadership qualities, could face some risks due to his recent struggles with form. His marketability will still be strong over the next few years. Kohli's endorsement portfolio includes major brands like MRF and HSBC India while Sharma endorses brands like Swiggy Instamart, Ixigo, and others.
Kohli in trouble
As the focus shifted on Kohli, he too had earlier been fined 20% of his match fee and a demerit point for breaching level 1 of ICC's Code of Conduct for aggressively bumping into Australian batsman Sam Konstas.
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"Has Kohli's brand been badly impaired? Bruised yes, but not burnt. He still has a large legion of followers who have loved him for 15 years—that takes time to fade. But generally, brand valuations have no scientific basis as it is not often explained how valuations are arrived at. Most existing brands will re-evaluate while new brands will continue to sign him on. If brand Kohli 'ages' well and makes his asking price more attractive, he could remain relevant for many brands for many more years," said Sandeep Goyal, chairman of advertising agency Rediffusion.
Kohli's brand is expected to remain more resilient at ₹7-10 crore per endorsement per day.
World Cup win
In June 2024, when Team India won the T20 World Cup, both Sharma and Kohli played pivotal roles, significantly boosting their brand values. However, subsequent setbacks, including the Test series loss in Australia, where one faced criticism as the captain and the other for negative press—have slightly impacted their marketability. Both players, now in the twilight of their careers, may see only minor effects on their brand value for the time being, said Harsh Talikoti, senior vice president of corporate valuation advisory services at Houlihan Lokey.
In a report from 2024, Virat Kohli, rebounded strongly after a dip in previous years. Kohli's brand value soared to $227.9 million in 2023 from $176.9 million in 2022, a notable 28.9% increase, according to consulting firm Kroll's 'Celebrity Brand Valuation' report.
Rohit Sharma's brand value was $41 million or ₹344 crore. A celebrity's brand value is their industry worth, influenced by various factors, and reflects the fee they earn for endorsing products or services to boost their popularity and sales.
Personal brands
Goyal added, "Kohli could well resuscitate his personal brand, but every dip is that much more difficult to come out of. His form has been abysmal. So, chances of him getting dropped are very high. To that extent he can only perform if he plays."
"Generally, towards the end of their careers, there is a significant drop in celebrity endorsements and their commercials. But after achieving a certain level of celebrity stature, some players never go away from the public eye. For instance, Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni. Kohli will likely follow the same trajectory. He is amongst the top three or four stars in India, so he won't fade away that easily," Indranil Das Blah, a sports and entertainment industry professional and founder of AMP Sports, told Mint.
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As per recent news reports, Kohli is also likely to spend less time in India and may move to the UK after retirement. That, Blah said, could impact some of his endorsements as advertisers will have to jostle for his dates.
Sharma could see some dip
Captain Sharma earns about ₹3-5 crore per endorsement per day. While there will be an impact once both players retire, they each could see a natural drop of about 50-60% in their ad endorsement fee, said Blah. "After the T20 World Cup win in 2024, Sharma really established himself and while he had a spectacular 2024, he also had a tumultuous time recently. He is one of Team India's most successful captains and he is very relatable, and though there will be a few months-long blip and a readjustment of market sentiment, once the IPL happens things may just be forgotten as far as Sharma is concerned," he added.
But RISE Worldwide Ltd, which manages Sharma, has not seen any reason to worry. "We've not seen any reactions from his brands advertisers. In fact, we are signing two new brands for him in the next two months and repeat long-term renewals as well. He has 25 brands on board already and many of the companies he works with, recognize that he is very relatable and his 'leadership story' will continue," said Nikhil Bardia, head of Mumbai-based RISE Worldwide.
Brand Sharma
"We continue to look at long-term deals for him and work with brands that understand an athlete's journey. Brand 'Rohit Sharma' continues to be strong. An athlete's relevance doesn't disappear overnight," he added.
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“Both the IPL and ODIs remain strong platforms for their brand visibility. Currently, there is unlikely to be any long-term impact on their brand value. In retirement, Sharma may follow a trajectory similar to MS Dhoni, continuing to appear in endorsements, though not as prominently as Kohli. Kohli’s brand value is expected to remain stronger like Sachin Tendulkar's, as he has historically been the more marketable name, even with Royal Challengers Bangalore’s underperformance. Over the next 5-7 years, Kohli is likely to stay highly relevant, with advertisers increasingly leveraging his association with Anushka Sharma as a power couple," Talikoti added.
Key Takeaways
- Virat Kohli's endorsement portfolio includes major brands like MRF and HSBC India while Rohit Sharma endorses brands like Swiggy Instamart, Ixigo, and others.
- In June 2024, when team India won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, both Sharma and Kohli had a very big role to play. This helped them both enhance their brand values.
- In a report from 2024, Kohli’s brand value was $227.9 million in 2023 from $176.9 million in 2022, and Sharma's brand value was $41 million or ₹344 crore.
- Kohli's brand is expected to remain more resilient at ₹7-10 crore per endorsement per day, Captain Sharma earns about ₹3-5 crore per endorsement per day.
- Sharma in retirement will be more like MS Dhoni who will still be seen in endorsements but maybe not as much as Kohli as his brand value will remain stronger, an expert said.
