Dhoni surpasses Sachin
Indian skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820, has signed a Rs. 200-cr endorsement deal for two years with a sports marketing agency. The deal surpasses the three-year deal worth Rs 180-cr that Sachin Tendulkar signed back in 2006.
Dhoni signed the deal with a joint venture between Rhiti Sports Management and advertising agency Mindscapes. This joint venture will now manage Dhoni’s long list of endorsements, corporate profile, patents and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites, and merchandise.
Rhiti Sports Management owner Sanjay Pandey said the deal was signed a week back and from now on, Dhoni’s entire spectrum of advertisements will be managed by them.
Rhiti Sports Management and Mindscape were able to outrun several other agencies such as IMG, Percept, and PMG to sign the Indian captain for a multimillion dollar deal. Rhiti Sports will now manage the wide array of 22 brands which Dhoni endorses.
When Sachin Tendulkar signed his deal, way back in 2006, people attributed it to the tremendous cricketer he was. His records always stood by him and only made him a more emphatic endorser for any brand. Subsequently, he started promoting several brands like Adidas, Boost, Aviva Life Insurance, Pepsi, and MRF. He created "Brand Sachin" through his gentleman-like nature and sheer class on the field.
But Dhoni is a different brand all together. The boy from Ranchi has had a fairy tale life so far. Dhoni truly became a youth icon in India, driving people not just to the stadiums to watch his matches, but also to several stores to buy brands he endorsed. Dhoni has truly become what Sachin was in the latter half of the '90s and the start of the 21st century. Dhoni has become an idol with the help of his calmness and composure in pressure situations and his ability to deliver.
The numbers involved in the deal will surely shock the common man. But these numbers are quite minuscule when compared with other sportsmen.
Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Finland-c2898 earned $3 million more than Dhoni in 2009 only. This was the same as basketball legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Right behind then is soccer idol David Beckham who earned $42 million playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan, while promoting brands like Adidas, Giorgio Armani, and Motorola. The highest paid sports-person still continues to be Tiger http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Woods-c98113, who makes close to $100 million a year.
In the middle of all these talks surrounding the money involved in the deal, it is possible to overlook the rationale behind such a deal.
Dhoni is considered to be a national hero. In 2006, he was awarded the MTV Youth Icon of the Year, through public votes. He is a very calculated man in his ways and his composure is exhibited in his comments to the media. Dhoni's relationship with the media has been cool, and despite the one or two skirmishes that he had during the World T20 of 2009, the media continues to love him.
Dhoni’s brand value is set to soar high as the World Cup looms over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at the start of next year. Several companies will want to take advantage of the publicity the event is bound to attract. A World Cup is bound to generate international interest and will prove to be a perfect time for brands to endorse with the likes of Dhoni.
Dhoni's prior deal was with Kolkata-based sports management firm, GamePlan Sports, and he then went on to sign with Rhiti Sports. They are also the managers for a couple of other Indian cricketers: R http://www.senore.com/Cricket/P-Singh-c80572 and Harbhajan Singh.
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