When home-grown handset manufacturer Micromax announced last week it had roped in Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman as its brand ambassador, many found that jaw-dropping. After making good use of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and, to an extent, his wife Twinkle Khanna (Micromax Bling), the company now seems to have a new branding agenda.
The trigger for the tack change, it is learnt, is its research, which showed mobile handset users were confused about Micromax’s image and often perceived it as placed between a high-end smartphone brand and a feature phone one. Also, the company, already present in Saarc countries, plans to soon expand its footprint in select European markets. It believes a Hollywood star with global appeal endorsing it will make all the difference.
According to sources, other celebrities on Micromax’s radar were Brad Pitt, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher and Jude Law. (EYEBALL GRABBERS)
Micromax Chief Marketing Officer Shubhodip Pal says: “Since Jackman enjoys high recall in the SEC A+ target group, he will be seen promoting our range of Canvas smartphones at this point. (Akshay) Kumar will continue to endorse the Bolt smartphone and the feature phones.” Pal refused to share how much the Jackman deal was worth or details of the brand’s strategy going ahead, but the brand, evidently, hopes to accelerate the growth tempo with an international celebrity on board.
International Data Corporation’s (IDC’s) report on the Indian mobile phone market for the September quarter shows Samsung’s market share fell to 26 per cent, while Micromax, with a 22 per cent share, continued to strengthen its number-two position.
Micromax’s Jackman affiliation might be one of the biggest celebrity endorsement tie-ups in the history of Indian advertising. But the deals are becoming juicier for Indian celebrities, too, as they chart unexplored territories and reach new heights in show business and sports. Take for instance the case of left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan. The man who made his international debut against Australia in October 2010 at Visakhapatnam took home a fee of Rs 20 lakh per endorsement until 2012. At present, he commands Rs 1 crore for every endorsement. Similarly, middle-order batsman Virat Kohli, who received Rs 40 lakh for an ad three years ago, today gets around Rs 3.5 crore for every deal.
Kohli’s list of endorsements include Toyota, Pepsi, Vicks and Fair & Lovely. Both these promising cricketers are under 30 years of age and have many years of international cricket ahead of them.
As things stand, the endorsement A-list includes actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Aishwaya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif, and sporting stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A new crop of promising artistes, including Parineeti Chopra, Sushant Singh Rajput, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Yami Gautam are also much in demand. Then there is the also-ran list that features stars like Farhan Akhtar, Sonali Bendre and Malaika Arora Khan.
Among the new-comers, actor Ranbir Kapoor seems to be the most sought-after today. He pockets Rs 6-8 crore per endorsement. Kapoor’s lists of endorsements include Pepsi, Axe and HeroMoto Corp. Celebrity couples are not doing badly, either. While Gauri and Shah Rukh Khan take home Rs 10-15 crore for home fabrics brand D’Décor, Kajol-Ajay pair makes a cool Rs 8 crore for its Whirlpool endorsement.
As part of an endorsement deal, a star commits a few days a year to a particular brand. This could range between three and 10, depending on the size of the deal, and entails shooting for commercials and event appearances. In case a celebrity’s endorsements are handled by a talent management company, the star pays a commission ranging between five and 20 per cent. The bigger a star, the smaller the commission he pays to the talent management company.
A decade ago, when celebrity management boom was just about taking off, stars came on board for a certain number of years on a minimum guarantee fee. Their fee was revised every year, depending on how well or badly they fared professionally. “Over the years, celebrities have become more choosy about the kind of brands they would like to endorse,” says Sanjay Shukla, head, Percept Talent, which handles endorsement deals for Virat Kohli, boxer Vijender Singh, wrestler Sushil Kumar and actor Katrina Kaif, among others.
Some celebrities are even willing to take marginal pay cuts if brands ensure high-voltage publicity for them. So, their agents sit with the brand managers and go through the media plans to understand the scope of exposure via hoardings, print publications, television air time, etc, during the stipulated term of contract. As an unwritten rule, a celebrity refrains from endorsing rival brands. Interestingly, Parineeti Chopra, managed by Yash Raj Films, is the only star who endorses Pepsi (Kurkure) and Coca-Cola (Maaza) brands at the same time.
Now leading production houses are also asserting their claims on newcomers they are nurturing. For instance, Yash Raj Films (YRF), which has grown into a full-service-film studio lends both, the celebrities as well as the brands ample leverage outside of the base endorsement deals. The company is famous for giving three-film deals to new talent. “So brands have the comfort of knowing that we will not take the foot of the gas until they decide to exit. And so when brands sign on one of the YRF artists, they know that the stamp of YRF credibility and an assurance for future growth are a part of these long term associations,” adds Ashish Patil, business and creative head, vice president - youth Films, brand partnerships and talent management at YRF.
