Saina serves up an ace

Badminton champ races to the top of the endorsement league of female athletes

• Endorsement fees
  Rs 1.5-2 crore
   
• Brands endorsed
  Herbalife, Star Sports, Bajaj No Marks, Kellogg’s, Emami, Indian Overseas Bank, Iodex
   
• Top since when
  Became world’s number one ranked badminton player last week

Last week, badminton champion Saina Nehwal reclaimed her position as the world number one. And even as the country celebrated her feat, the advertising world was abuzz with talk of her rise in another field; the endorsements league. Riding high on a recent two-year deal with Kellogg, pegged at around Rs 1.5 crore, the badminton champion has marched past leading female sports women endorsers: Sania Mirza (Rs 1-1.5 crore) and MC Mary Kom (Rs 50-75 lakh).

Nehwal's number one rank in badminton has been more or less synchronous with her new two year deal with sports management firm - IOS Sports & Entertainment. The deal will see Nehwal netting in Rs 25 crore over the next two years and is being seen as a significant development in the world of celebrity endorsement where popular faces from Bollywood and cricket reign supreme.

According to Indranil Das Blah, chief operating officer, Kwan Entertainment & Marketing Solutions, who once managed Nehwal's endorsements,  "The fact that Nehwal plays badminton - a sport which is not a popular spectator sport as cricket or tennis, puts her in a different league. Her consistent performance on the court and success in the advertising world will definitely help make less popular sports such as wrestling and archery more popular and help sportspersons from these games to become the face of relevant brands."

  Sports such as badminton and tennis, especially women's tournaments, are not marketed as strongly as other sports in India and many hope that the emergence of Nehwal and others such as Mirza and Mary Kom will bring about a change. More importantly, challenges notwithstanding, it looks like IOS Sports & Entertainment, has prepared its ground well to leverage the brand 'Saina'. Neerav Tomar, managing director and chief executive of IOS Sports & Entertainment, says, "Nehwal is currently endorsing seven to eight brands. However, she is nowhere close to what her contemporaries be it in badminton or tennis have achieved. And so far all this had to largely to do with the way sports other than cricket are perceived in the country."

But the landscape is changing. Brands are looking at stars beyond cricket and Bollywood as ambassadors and it helps if the player has an inspiring story to tell. Tomar says, "Nehwal's is an inspiring story as to how hard work and consistent performance can lead to greater visibility for the sport as well as the sportsperson."

Samit Sinha, founder and managing partner, Alchemist, seconds Tomar's views on widening appeal of non-cricket sports among Indians. "The very fact that Nehwal has struck a big deal indicates that advertisers and marketers are recognising the value of achievers outside film and cricket. Meanwhile, one needs to understand that being at the top in a domain which is not mainstream has its own challenges. For instance, badminton as a sport needs far more visibility and support than say tennis which continues to be more popular and glamorous in India."

Tomar on his part is focused on leveraging the growing popularity of Nehwal back home as well as abroad by tapping into her 'global' appeal. "Since Nehwal is a globally recognisable face, we are going to tap into the aspirational trait that she denotes. For brand associations, we will be looking at global Indian brands such as Hero, Reliance and Tata Consultancy Services," says Tomar.

At present, Nehwal endorses brands such as Herbalife, Star Sports, Bajaj No Marks and others. So, going forward, what is it that brand ‘Saina’ needs to do right to ensure that cash registers keep ringing for her? Pranesh Misra, chairman and managing director, Brandscapes Worldwide, says, "For brands, value of association goes up significantly when they associate with a sportsstar who is an achiever and is a recognisable face. Nehwal just needs to focus on her performance, and as her fame grows, more brands will fall in her kitty."