Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2022: Beyond the Mainstream

“Brands will always want to associate with stars who are popular and successful and those that have the potential to have long-term appeal. This explains why so many top brands are opting for younger stars. But there’s a Teflon-like quality to established stars that brands want to associate with them, and hence it’s hard to say whether younger stars will replace more established stars when it comes to brand endorsements. I think brands want to associate with stars that echo some of the same attributes that they represent.”

“The landscape of brand endorsement for athletes has changed rapidly in recent years with the rise of digital channels, social media etc. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the endorsement landscape, with many brands looking to reduce costs and find more efficient ways to reach their target audience. Post the pandemic, most of the one-off digital deals have converted into longer endorsements and partnerships for both brands and the athlete. With the Olympics coming up in 2024, brands will continue to look for innovative ways to partner with a diverse range of athletes from different sports and backgrounds to increase their reach and appeal to a broader audience.”

“The Indian Cinema industry will continue to be more content driven, providing opportunities for everyone to be more successful in the endorsements space. The trend of South Indian celebrities emerging as pan-India brand endorsers will continue to grow given the recent success of South Indian movies. Moreover, we expect this trend to not just be limited to the South but expand into other regional markets as well. There are already examples of celebrities from the East (Bengali film industry) making steady appearances in HSM targeted projects with prominent screen time and Punjabi artists breaking the glass wall not just nationally but internationally as well. It’s only a matter of time that brands start embracing these regional faces as their endorsers as well.”

“Serious, new consumer brands in the health and wellness food category will probably need to engage with A-list celebrities if they want to create an impact in a short time span. If the brand is extremely bullish about the market and its product, it will look to celebrities as brand ambassadors. However, most of these deals will be Long-term sweat equity deals where brands will not need to invest a high cash component towards engaging a celebrity. The upside for the celebrity being the potential growth in their investment and a possible exit at a high value in a three–four-year horizon.”

“India is gradually becoming a multi-sport nation whether it’s consuming content across platforms or playing it. This is helping the overall development of the sports ecosystem, with increased engagement across demographics, and regions. Sports has moved beyond the live game. The biggest trend is the emergence of women’s sports, especially, the emergence of medal winners at global events like the Olympics and the growth seen by the ICC (“International Cricket Council”) tournaments from an engagement perspective.”

“The cricket and Bollywood spaces are quite cluttered with top cricketers and Bollywood celebrities endorsing over 25 brands each. With that in mind, new age marketeers are looking at world class athletes from other sports, stand-up comedians or even music icons to break the clutter. With the Asian Games in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024, we expect to see a lot more traction for athletes who will be medal prospects - Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Nikhat Zareen, Avinash Sable, Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Dahiya and Lakshya Sen are some of our sportspersons to watch out for.”