 "Yuvraj Singh")
One of the brash boys of cricket, Yuvraj Singh was among the most sought after endorsement stars in the cricket-crazy world of Indian consumers. But as he makes a comeback today, his second one in six years, at the age of 34, the question many are asking is: Can his brand command the same position that it once did?
In his prime, Yuvraj was known to charge between Rs 4-6 crore as endorsement fees. But age, illness and inconsistent form have taken the sheen off the brand. Experts say that brands may be willing to shell out half the original amount, around Rs 1-2 crore a year, to get the southpaw on board today. And given the nature of the game, it is unlikely that Singh will ever climb the same heights. But he is fighting back; by floating a seed fund that invests in Internet-based projects and in people like Rahul Yadav who command an image similar to the one he did on the field (in your face and aggressive), Yuvraj and his team may be repositioning the brand for the long haul.
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"Like selectors, brands also look for consistency. It may be too early for a brand or brands to sign on Yuvraj as a brand ambassador or endorser," says Indranil Das Blah, partner, CAA KWAN, a sports and celebrity management agency. And perhaps Yuvraj too has seen the writing on the wall, prompting the launch of his fund YouWeCan, which gives him the opportunity to stay relevant.
Nishant Singhal, director, YouWeCan says that the cricketer is closely associated with the company and keeps in touch with the founders once the investment is made. "The entrepreneur has to meet him and discuss his idea before the cheque is written. After the investment, Yuvraj makes it a point to visit these companies regularly," says Singhal.
Cricketers, in fact all sportsmen, are aware that their brands have a short shelf life. It is even tougher for players like Yuvraj who are fighting form and age to stay on the top of the game. Singh also faces a dilemma of being somewhere between an up and coming cricketer and a legend. Unlike Sachin Tendulkar or Rahul Dravid, Singh is not yet seen as an evergreen player and at the same time, he does not have the novelty of a newcomer. So brands may take a while to get him on board in his present avatar.
"In the past too, he has had issues with consistency in form and brands will want to be sure he is performing and in the team for a longer while. What his innings in the last T-20 against Australia has done, however, is almost cement his place in the T-20 World Cup squad, which is a big plus," says Das Blah.
The road to his brand endorsement comeback may not be as smooth though. Experts believe that while Singh has a certain charisma on and off the field, brands may not be leaping at the opportunity to have him on board just yet. And this is where his investments may play a crucial role in redefining his position and keeping him firmly in the spotlight.
Singhal explains, "The primary focus of the fund is to invest in customer centric Internet enabled companies. We have made one B2B investment and that was Rahul Yadav's data analytics firm." The company currently invests Rs 30-50 lakh as seed capital per venture, but plans to increase the ticket size once the time is right.
This is not the first time that brand Yuvraj has seen a re-emergence. In 2011, after a stellar performance during the ICC Cricket World (Singh was named Man of the Tournament) he had to leave the field due to a cancerous tumour in his left lung. However, he was back in 2012 after making a full recovery. At the time, brands like Birla Sun Life had retained him as their endorser.
This time around, he will have to start from scratch almost. For one, the 'edgy youth with an attitude' positioning that Singh enjoyed earlier can no longer be used. Not only has his persona changed over the years, the position has been comprehensively usurped by Team India vice-captain Virat Kohli.
"Yuvraj will have to re-position himself," says Jagdip Kapoor, chairman and managing director, Samsika Marketing Consultants. In him, brands must be able to find "resilience, character and resolve" he says. He will also have to find new ways to engage with his fans. His investments will play a critical role here. "Yuvraj considers himself a part of the organisation (he invests in) and will do endorsements if needed. There will be no charge for the companies," says Singhal. Besides Yuvraj's brand means networking and finding other investors isn't difficult either. "He has over 50 million fans on social media. We call them our digital assets. If Yuvraj tweets or posts something about a company on Facebook, the traffic on that website rises exponentially and we see higher conversions too during the time," he said. Is this Yuvraj's way to keeping his star status intact?
