Sports India

Sania Mirza is on a winning spree, and every time she lobs the ball across the net, endorsement companies add another zero to her cheque.

In just one week, the golden girl of Indian sport has found her endorsement fee increasing sharply from Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) to Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), perhaps the highest ever in the history of Indian sport in such a short spell.

From Rs 5.5 lakh (Rs 550,000) at the start of the year to Rs 1 crore at the start of this month, Mirza is serving up money. Corporate breaths hang on her forward and backward swings.

Sania Mirza TOTAL ENDORSEMENTS
Rate per endorsement: 5
Jan ‘05, before her match with Serena Williams Rs 5.5 lakh
Feb 11, after winning the WTA title Rs 40-50 lakh
March 1, after�defeating world number 7 in Dubai Rs 80 lakh-1 crore

Virender Sehwag TOTAL ENDORSEMENTS
Rate per endorsement: 11
2001 Rs 10-15 lakh
Prior to World Cup 2003 Rs 35-40 lakh
When he hit 309 in Pakistan in 2004 Rs 70 lakh
Current rate Rs 1 crore

Irfan Pathan TOTAL ENDORSEMENTS
Rate per endorsement: 8
Feb-04 Rs 25-30 lakh
Current rate Rs 50-60 lakh

HOW MUCH THE OTHERS GET*
Sachin Tendulkar Rs 3 - 6/7 crore
Shah Rukh Khan Rs 2.5 - 3.5 crore
Amitabh Bachchan Rs 2 - 3 crore
Aishwarya Rai Rs 1.5 - 2 crore
Saif Ali Khan Rs 75 lakh - 1 crore
Sourav Ganguly Rs 75 lakh - 1.25 cr
Rahul Dravid Rs 60 -70 lakh
*Industry estimates of endorsement for one company per year

In a nation devoted to cricket, her iconic status is very recent and just as vulnerable. Already punters are wondering what will happen when she loses.

Will her fees fall, her celebrity status suffer? Or will she take it in her stride, just as she’s managed the better deals from companies over established stars like Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan?

Certainly, it wasn’t always this easy, even for this smart-talking tennis player who manages to floor everyone with her sophisticated presence. For over two years, Bangalore-based Globosport tried to hawk Sania Mirza for advertising endorsements, but there were few takers.

Executives of the company owned by tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi made a pitch to over 30 top corporates across the country. Only three, including Tata Tea, obliged – and then at a throwaway price of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) a year.

But last week Mirza was the country’s hottest sports star after a sensational victory against the world number seven, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in Dubai. The win followed her hyped match with top seeded Serena Williams and her victory in the WTA tournament in Hyderabad.

Says an elated Anirban Das Blah, vice president-marketing and sales, Globosport: “After Sania played with number one seed Serena Williams, we had 22 offers for endorsements. But with her win at the WTA world tennis tournament in Hyderabad, another eight offers were added. Corporates are lining up for her, and her price is shooting up.”

Neither Sania nor Globosport are complaining. After her price went up nearly 20 times in the last month, she’s begun to give sleepless nights to even the country’s most sought-after cricket stars.

Blah says that Mirza has already signed three as-yet-undisclosed deals, and negotiations are on to fill one more slot. “That will be filled if the company we’re negotiating with is willing to pay more.”

Already, Globosport has decided to limit the number of new endorsements she will undertake in a year to a maximum of four, so prices can be kept high.

Says Blah, “Unlike cricket, where nearly 70 per cent of your earnings come from endorsements, in tennis the rules are different as the prize money is huge. So, we would rather concentrate on getting her into the top 25 of the game.”

But in Sania’s case, the sales pitch is as innovative as her game: she is the only face in tennis and has no competition, unlike in cricket where there are more than 11 celebrities jostling for TV space.

Says Blah, “Her achievement connect is stronger than any film actress’s, and her image cuts across all societies and towns, so she can reach out effectively to both the youth and to women.”

Advertisers who have signed up with her agree with Blah’s brand positioning. Tata Tea, for instance, wanted to change customer perception of tea as an old-fashioned, fuddy-duddy beverage.

Says Vivek Mathur, vice president-marketing in Tata Tea, “We wanted Tata Tea to be a youthful, outdoor and action-oriented brand that gives you the energy to succeed.” Mirza fitted the bill as someone stepping out and striving to succeed, not someone who had already reached the top.

The tea company also wanted to understand whether an upmarket game like tennis was recognised and understood by women in smaller towns.

A dip-stick study in Gorakhpur came back with some interesting revelations – not only were women familiar with tennis, thanks to television surfing, they also wanted their children to play the game. Tea sales in January, when the ad campaign was running, went up by over 40 per cent over the previous year at Tata Tea.

But Sania is not the only youth sports icon hitting the big time. Corporates are looking for youthful, fresh faces with a long-term future, and are willing to the pay the price for it, even as endorsement rates are spiralling. Among those who have caught their – and the country’s – fancy is the rock-jawed cricket pace bowler Irfan Pathan, the more so because of his rags-to-riches story.

Says Lokesh Sharma, managing director of Twenty First Century Media, “Irfan’s value has doubled since February last year. As a brand, he is worth Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) a year. He excites advertisers and his value should increase enormously over the next two or three years.”

Keeping him company is the earthy charm of Delhi’s master-blaster, Virender Sehwag, who has tied the knot with 11 advertisers and is looking for more. His rates have already surpassed, according to industry sources, those of the ‘Wall’, Rahul Dravid, and are within kissing distance of the team captain, Sourav Ganguly.

Points out Latika Khaneja, CEO of Collage Marketing that manages the batting sensation: “We are concentrating our attention on the next World Cup. I will not sell him for less than Rs 1 crore. Remember, he is very young and has a long future in the Indian team.”

Also spinning his future to the top is Harbhajan Singh whose endorsement fee has spiralled nearly two-and-a-half times to around Rs 30-40 lakh (Rs 3-4 million) a year. Points out Abhay Mehta, CEO of Sporting Frontiers who manages him, “He plays for both test matches and one-dayers unlike Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh.”

To be fair, the big boys Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly still command the fattest endorsement cheques – but their rates have been stable for a while.

And corporates are doing some distance-gazing in their search for newer superstars whom they hope to sign on while still young. Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid, on the other hand, are nearing the end of their innings on the pitch.

Points out Hemant Sachdev, director in Bharti Televentures, which uses celebrity sportsmen: “Corporates are looking at those who will be stars after the 2007 World Cup. The idea is to invest in them now and build a relationship.”

This is where, despite their inconsistent performances, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and Kaif are still in the running, though nowhere close to the astronomical prices of their peers.

Why are corporates sinking in so much money on sports celebrities? The answer lies partly in the deft handling of the celebrity management companies who have cashed in on the corporate craze to cut the clutter in advertising. Or, plainly, to be one up on the competition.

Sharma too has followed a strategy similar to Blah’s to ensure that Irfan Pathan’s brand does not get diluted. He points out, “We are looking only at niche products and market leaders, not the number two products, that will exploit his image properly. Advertising works both ways. A brand benefits from association with the athlete, but some of the brand’s value must rub off on the athlete as well.”

But if Pathan endorses lesser-known products, the strategy is planned differently. So, for instance, when he endorses Cavin Kare, the advertising focus is south India so as not to impact his major fan following areas (the west and the north).

Corporates are also leveraging his youthful image along with his good looks. Reebok, for example, used Irfan to connect to the company’s image of staying fit.

Says Himanshu Bharadwaj, head of marketing, Reebok, “There was a clear brand fit. We have over 700 fitness centres across the country. And Irfan represents fitness – he is among Indian bowlers who has had the least injuries.”

Tata Teleservices has used Pathan as well as Sourav Ganguly for its mobile phone services.

Says Abdul Khan, vice president, sales and marketing, “The youth is a big market for mobile services, and it is a product which empowers you to do well. We wanted to connect with the youth and quickly establish our brand. The need was someone who gives 100 per cent to what he is doing.”

But the road to celebrity endorsement is beset with problems too. What will happen if Sania loses a few matches, or does not make it to the top 50?

Agrees S Raghunandan, vice president sales, Dabur India, which has hired Sehwag, “There is always the risk that a sportsman will not perform. It’s a risk you have to take in the business.” Agrees Khan, “They do go through their ups and downs – that is the attendant risk in using a celebrity.”

But an executive in a leading FMCG that uses celebrities regularly is of the opinion that some of the asking prices for endorsements are ridiculous. “The art is to identify the potential winners and pick them early, so that you get the best price,” he says. “I think it ridiculous to spend even Rs 50 lakh for Sania just because she has performed well twice.”

LG, for instance, has reduced the risk by pairing film star Zayed Khan with Yuvraj Singh for its mobile ad campaign. Salil Kapoor, head of marketing, LG Electronics India, says this will help the company hedge its bets – if one does not perform, the other might.

Companies are also insisting on more comprehensive performance guarantees, like the number of tests or one-dayers a cricketer must play in a year, or the number of centuries, or wickets, he has to take. That can now constitute about 15-20 per cent of the fee.

Worse, many companies do not have a clear strategy in place. Says Sachdev, “Companies use celebrities as beautiful posterboys. There is no thinking or fit with the product. It is becoming a business of opportunism and celebrity companies are using it cleverly to up prices.”

Worse, with the uncertainty in key cricket series like the Indo-Pakistan matches, corporates are unsure of signing new deals. Says Khaneja, “It takes six to eight months to close a deal and nearly a month to prepare for a shoot. How do you expect corporates to sign a new deal when they don’t even know whether the matches will be televised at all?”

That is why Khaneja is not rushing through contracts for Sehwag. Instead, she hopes to rake in the moolah from companies who want to hire her long term beyond just the next World Cup.

The logic is simple: Sehwag is 25 years old and after the World Cup the top three will not be in the reckoning any more. So the best bet after Sachin Tendulkar is Sehwag.

Companies have their reasons, of course, to use Sehwag as a brand ambassador. Dabur says that as its tooth powder is a male category product, it wanted a macho, energetic person who would be easily identified in rural markets where the product sells. Sehwag was an obvious choice.

The company says that its ad recall has gone up by 40 per cent and sales of its tooth powder (declining for the last six months) have become stable.

Dabur, like many other corporates, thinks it worthwhile to pay for celebrity endorsers. After all, we live in a sports- (okay, cricket, and now Sania Mirza) and movie-crazy country. But with only a handful of icons, and some help from their celebrity managers, they can always demand their price as long as the going is good.

The Indian cricketers�were hungrier for a win at the Eden Gardens after failing to give the final push for victory in the Mohali Test despite having Pakistan on the mat, coach John Wright said on Monday.

Wright said it was “disappointing” how the Indians let go the golden opportunity and remarked that his players needed a killer instinct.

“It was very disappointing to get to the situation we were in and then lose the opportunity. We have to start again, but it will make us more hungry,'’ Wright said in Kolkata.

Asked about the bowlers’ failure to polish off the Pakistan tail on the concluding day of the series opener at Mohali, the coach said, “Great sides would have done it. We also have to get it done. It is an area we are looking into".

“We need a killer instinct. We are getting better. We hope to show that in the remaining matches of the series,” the former New Zealand skipper said.

On whether off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was dropped at Mohali to make way for a three-pace attack, would be recalled into the playing eleven, Wright said “I think he has a good chance. He has done well at the Eden. But we have to wait for the selectors and (skipper) Sourav (Ganguly)".

To a query whether India would go to the Eden Gardens Test with five bowlers, Wright said “that chance is always there. But I don’t know whether we will do that because we have Ganguly, (Virender) Sehwag and (Sachin) Tendulkar, who are capable of taking the responsibility of the fifth bowler.”

Wright also parried a question on the player who could face the axe if Harbhajan made his way back. “I won’t speculate on that. We need to have the right combination in place.”

Wright said all members of the side, including pacer Irfan Pathan, were fully fit.

“We just have to ensure that we play to our potential,” he said.

Asked about the pitch, the former New Zealand opener replied “It’s a normal Kolkata wicket. There are no surprises.

“Its a good ground. The conditions suit us. We have a good chance,” he said.

He did not agree that the Indians frittered away the chance to win the first Test because their batsmen batted too slow. “I’ll say after Ganguly got out, we were not in a position to go for quick runs.”

The coach said that he was happy with Dinesh Karthik’s performance behind the wicket. “Though he conceded a few byes, he kept well to (Anil) Kumble and took all the catches.”

Asked whether the Indian team was finding Pak leggie Danish Kaneria a dangerous proposition, Wright said “He bowled well. But then our boys usually do play leg spinners well.”

He said that the Indian team would have a light workout�on Tuesday�after going through a heavy drill on Monday.

On whether the current engagement was his last as coach of the Indian team, Wright said “This series is much important to me. So, I’m not thinking about anything else.”

The popularity of tennis, golf and Formula One is good news for sport apparel manufacturers.

There are nearly 5 lakh children above the age of five who are playing tennis in the country. That probably explains why tennis champ Leander Paes recently launched his own range of tennis apparel in association with Dellta Sports. Christened Dellta Leeg, the range inclues tennis shirts, shorts and teeshirts for men and tennis skirts, tops and shorts for women.The sports apparel is currently pegged at Rs 500 crore and is growing at about 20% per annum.

The last one year has been good for Indian sport with many sportsmen making a mark in the field of shooting, Formula One and tennis. “Sania Mirza has been an inspiration to many youngsters. Tennis has become really popular in India,” sums up BD Nathani, vice president- marketing, Sierra Industrial Enterprises, the official licensee for Lotto Sport Italia in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

In fact, Lotto has just re-entered the Indian market and hopes to do business worth Rs 65 crore by year 2007. Similarly, Mr Paes teamed up S Ganesh to start Leeg, a sports apparel brand last year. Leeg has provided apparel to Ranji trophy and golf teams. Future plans include products for soccer and swimwear. The company has also bagged few export orders.

Similarly, adidas plans to launch a range of technical running, swimwear and tennis range in April. “The much awaited Stella McCartney collection will hit the stores in August,” reveals Andreas Gellner, managing director, adidas India.

With India moving beyond cricket, sport apparel companies are bullish about the market. “India is seeing a growth in sport apart from cricket. With more kids joining sport clubs and organisations, India is today waking up to the fact that sport can be a serious career option. Adidas has always believed in providing the very best to all athletes and all our products come with a host of technologies like ClimaLite, ClimaCool and Formotion,” asserts Mr Gellner.

Lotto is betting big on tennis in India. The company recently signed Sania Mirza as its brand ambassador. “This will definitely give filip to tennis at the junior level. A lot of tournaments are now being played in the under 12, under 14 and under 16 category in India. Tennis is popular at the school level and moreover, we plan to sponsor tennis tournaments in the future,” says Mr Nathani. Lotto has launched a range of tennis shoes priced between Rs 1,395 and Rs 1,895. The company is known for its products in soccer and tennis.

The target audience for the sport majors doesn’t stop at sportsmen and budding ones. In line with its mission of enrolling youth through sports, music and technology, Reebok India recently launched its GXT footwear inspired by Rap icon 50 Cent. The trainer is targeted at today’s youth who don’t believe in the conventional way of doing things. Accordingly, the Reebok GXT has a rugged look which is inspired by 50 Cent’s lifestyle.

“Sport apparel and shoes have a fashion element. Many people wear such stuff more for the fashion, design and logo than for sports,” explains Mr Nathani. But doesn’t that dilute the attributes of a sport product? “Not necessarily. The fashion statement is just incidental,” clarifies S Ganesh, chief operating officer, Leeg.

The emergence of fitness freaks and health conscious consumers is also helping the cause. “Gyms are opening up by the dime and dozen and people are on the lookout for suitable apparel and shoes,” says Mr Nathani.

Keeping this factor in mind, companies are now positioning themselves as having active leisure and lifestyle products. If worldwide estimates are taken into account, then shoes constitute 50% to a sport major’s turnover and with apparel and accessories contributing 40% and 10% respectively.

QUOTES

Samir Suhag, captain, Indian Polo team: Samir Suhag is fond of wearing adidas shoes as they are comfortable, long lasting and tough. “I wear them while jogging,” he says.

When it comes to casual wear, Mr Suhag likes to wear Reebok teeshirts and track pants from adidas. “I like the design of Reebok shirts especially the round neck ones. adidas track pants are very comfortable,” he adds.

Leander Paes, tennis player: ““Earlier, I used to wear adidas stuff with whom I had a contract. But from now on, I will be sporting my own brand, Dellta Leeg.”

Dellta Leeg shorts and tracksuits are made of imported micro fibre while the tennis caps are made of light weight material and mesh for greater ventilation.”

Lt Col Rajyavardhan Rathore shooter: Lt Col Rajyavardhan Rathore’s choice is comfort driven rather than brand specific.” While I am not a brand hog, I find adidas apparel very comfortable and Nike shoes high on style. I also find some high performance Reebok shoes quite stable,” he clarifies.

He adds, “Choosing the right gear for training is critical for me. Comfort and weight of clothing, right eyewear and stability of shoes are crucial as they can affect performance. I usually pick high performance gear when travelling abroad.”

The Pakistani cricket team had their first practice session at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata ahead of the second Test against India, which begins on Wednesday.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer took some extra time with his vice-captain Younis Khan, who had a poor game in Mohali.

He brushed off reports that the Kolkata pitch looked grassier than before.

‘Fantastic wicket’

“Every time that I have been here it has been a fantastic cricket wicket. It does not look much different from the last time I came here,” said Woolmer.

“I remember Klusener got eight wickets, so I am going to be ringing him up to see if he can take up Pakistani nationality,” he added.

“We are playing the third international match over here and this wicket is always firm bouncy wicket, we are expecting a good match during these five days,” said Probir Mukerjee, curator.

Packed stadium

Eden Gardens has a capacity of almost a 100,000 and there is no doubt that the stadium will be packed for all five days. Woolmer, though, is not worried about the intimidating turn out.

“I think the players got a taste of it in Mohali especially on the last day when Harbhajan Singh came onto the pitch and started to whip the crowd up,” Woolmer said.

“It was during that period that the Indian’s got Razzaq and Kamran out and those are tactics that the home side can use and we just have to get used to them,” the coach added.

Eden Gardens is to cricket what Wembley is to football and on Wednesday, two teams will go head to head in what many hope will be an epic battle in front of 100,000 people.

All that is left now if for the first ball to be bowled to set the dice rolling.

His record at the Eden Gardens seems quite dim in comparison to the other venues. Except for a 100 against West Indies in 2003, a big score has always eluded Sachin Tendulkar at Kolkata.

On many an occasion, Tendulkar has flattered to deceive. But then Tendulkar is determined to set records straight at the Eden Gardens. Come Wednesday, the little master is on line for a double feat - the 35th Test hundred and the 10,000 runs in this version of the game.

“Let the match and the series get over and then only I will talk,” is Tendulkar’s response to the media at present. A little persuasion, however, helps as Tendulkar states, “If I am on the verge of creating history, let’s all wait for it. It will come in the natural course of time,” he adds.

In fact, sources close to the great batsman pointed out here on Monday that Tendulkar is not considering the 10,000-run feat as a record. “He is more interested in century number 35,” pointed out another player in the team. His innumerable fans as well as the officials of the Cricket Association of Bengal are also waiting for the same to happen.

As he came to the Eden Gardens on Monday, the chorus from the fans was “Get the century here. That is all we want.” Braving the mounted police on horsebacks the fans just egged him on. The master blaster sported a smile as he waved back. Officials of CAB informed that they would felicitate Tendulkar only if he gets a hundred. “10,000 runs is not an Indian record. We have already ordered a golden plaque for him should he get century number 35,” stated Samir Dasgupta, the assistant secretary of CAB.

It was in 1989 that Tendulkar had scored his first run in international cricket against Pakistan. Tendulkar feels that when one is in international cricket for more than 16 years, it is just a coincidence. “It doesn�t matter against whom the run comes. What matters is achieving the target,” he said on Monday.

Tendulkar has always been practical. And it will be only coincidence if he does it here as Sunil Gavaskar had achieved the same feat against the same country. Ijaz Fakih had conceded the 10,000th run to Gavaskar. Who will be the bowler to do so against Tendulkar? Will it be Mohammed Sami, Naved Rana or Danish Kaneria?

Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza and Indian-born US player Neha Uberoi have been given wild cards in the $3,115,000 tier-1 NASDAQ-100 Open tennis championship to be held at Miami, Florida from March 23 to April 3.

Jessica Kirkland (USA), Sesil Karatantcheva (Bul), Angela Haynes (USA), Viktoriya Kutuzova (Ukr), Anna Tatishvili (Gwo), Jamea Jackson (USA), are the other wild cards.

Top players including Serina Williams (USA), Maria Sharapova (Rus), Amelie Mauresmo (Fra), Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus), Anastasia Myskina (Rus) and Elena Dementieva have confirmed their entry in this tournament.

After winning a tier-3 WTA title Hyderabad Open in front of the home crowd and reaching the quarterfinal of tier-2 WTA event Dubai Open, this was definitely going to be a big challenge for the ‘’Hyderabad Pearl,'’ who recently bagged good commercial endorsements.

The 77th ranked Sania said, ‘’this is the big event after the Australia Open in which I took part. All most all top players are in the fray. I wouldn’t say that I will win the title, but winning couple of matches is my motto. I am making some space in between other engagements for training, hoping to put up better performance and ultimately I should reach my target of top 50 as soon as possible.”

Indian tennis fans are also hoping Sania to win couple of good matches, especially in the back drop of she resisting Serina Williams in the third round of Australia Open, beating 66th ranked Russian Maria Kirilenko in the semifinals of Hydrabad Open and beating another Russian and seventh ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round of Dubai tennis championships.

She has started this year with breaking in to top 200 reaching 77th rank playing just three tournaments. This was a tremendous improvement for the tennis teen, who was well on her target of reaching top 50.

India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan will be visiting Bahrain on March 21 as part of a programme to promote the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix to be held at the Bahrain International Circuit on April 1, 2, 3.

The one-day visit is expected to be action-packed as the BIC will be inviting over 2,000 children from the Indian School, the New Indian School, Sacred Heart School, New Millennium School, Asian School and Ibn Al Haitham Islamic School to meet ‘the fastest Indian driver in the world’.

Karthikeyan will also be signing autographs at the Seef Mall before flying out the same night.

“We aim to bring Narain closer to the Indian community,” said BIC general manager Martin Whitaker while Karthikeyan himself said he was excited to be coming to Bahrain a fortnight ahead of the race in the Kingdom.

“I am thrilled to be coming to Bahrain and meeting a large number of people from India who have made Bahrain their home,” said Karthikeyan who made his debut for Jordan in Melbourne earlier this month and finished 15th.

Karthikeyan had the best result among the four debutant drivers at the Australian GP and is looking forward to improve further at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday and the following race in Bahrain on April 3.

Karthikeyan hails from a motor racing family in the southern Indian city of Coimbatore. His father, G R Karthikeyan, was a former national rally champion and young Narain followed in his footsteps.

Karthikeyan is the latest sporting hero in India following tremendous success achieved by compatriot Sania Mirza who became the first Indian to enter the third round of a Grand Slam event, also in Melbourne, during the Australian Open Tennis Championship in January.