In Olympic year, hockey’s brand value soars

Harpreet Kaur Lamba

Sachin Tendulkar selling a fizzy drink or Virat Kohli advocating a fairness cream, is a common sight for Indian fans. But very soon, few members of the Indian hockey team could be seen doing the same.

India’s strong show at the Olympic hockey qualifiers in February this year, coupled with 2012 being an Olympic year, has forced the companies to tilt towards the national sport and its stars.

Three of them – drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, dynamic midfielder Sardar Singh and striker Shivendra Singh – have inked four deals each so far, with a total collective worth of `4-4.5 crores.

And even though the amount may not be even remotely close to what the cricketers take home from their endorsements, it is a first for hockey. Till date, Dhanraj Pillay had been the only player to evoke interest from the advertisement world, when he signed a couple of deals in 2000.

Besides the trio, forward S.V. Sunil, skipper Bharat Chetri and goalkeeper P.R. Sreeejesh have also signed a contract each, while many others are in the pipeline.

Said an official representing IOS, a management company that has roped in these six players, “It was a emotional-cum-commercial decision (to invest in hockey).

Immediately after the Olympic qualification, we approached close to 50-60 clients and 10 of them were very, very keen on hockey players.

“In comparison to cricket, a company has to invest only one-tenth amount in other sports, and with a lot of athletes preparing for the London Games, it was the best time to cash on it.

“And not only hockey, athletes from other sport are also in demand. So far, we have finalized deals or are in discussion for Mary Kom (boxer), Krishna Poonia (discus thrower), Heena Sidhu (shooter), Yogeshwar Dutt (wrestler), Jyoti Randhawa (golfer), Sandeep Sejwal (swimmer), Deepika Kumari (archer), and a few others,” he added.

In hockey, top liquor, cola, sport apparel, cement and fitness goods companies have shown interest. And even though Sandeep refuses to talk about his deals – some of them are still to be finalised, he says – the buzz has it that the 25-year old could soon make an appearance in a TV commercial, dates of which are set just ahead of the London Games.

“We are now standing at the cusp of a mini-revolution in Indian sports marketing and believe that, going forward, several brands will be seen stepping out of the safety zone of cricket and Bollywood to leverage exciting opportunities available through stars of other sports and to position themselves slightly differently,” said Tarun Mehrishi, COO of IOS Sports & Entertainment.

“Should the Indian hockey team continue to perform as well as they have recently, we have little doubt that hockey will be the sport leading this welcome change.”

Courtesy: The Asian Age