Hockey India League: For what purpose the Brand Ambassadors are

Hockey India on Tuesday unveiled not only the logo of its brand new league but also named Sardar Singh and Australian Jamie Dwyer as the brand ambassadors of the league. But is this decision good or bad, needs to be assessed.

The concept of having a brand ambassador was started by companies to promote their products. The thinking was that if a well-known person or a celebrity endorsed a company’s products or used them regularly, it would help increase the recall value, credibility and therefore sales of the product. Just like a political ambassador is expected to promote his country, so is a brand ambassador supposed to promote the brand he endorses.

However, having brand ambassadors for sports and sporting events in India is a relatively recent concept, and was started by hockey only. At one point, Sunil Shetty was made the brand ambassador for the PHL. Then, Mahima Chaudhry came to promote the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. Recently, the All India Football Federation announced Salman Khan as their ambassador, though it wasn’t official. Now, we have two ambassadors for the HIL. To be fair, this is the first time players from the same sport have been named brand ambassadors.

But the basic premise of a brand ambassador is to sell a product on the back of his or her popularity. However, a sporting event, by its very nature, is not a tangible product. It has more to do with the popularity of the sport itself, the passion of its supporters and the individuality of its players. Having a brand ambassador for a sporting event, therefore, serves no purpose. In this case, Sardar and Dwyer may both be world class players but by no measure popular enough to sell the HIL on their own. In this case, at least, learning from the IPL would have been better.

Interestingly, IPL – the most commercial of all sporting events in India –doesn’t have a brand ambassador. Though it’s true that in cricket, there is no need for one, but the IPL did have the concept if ‘iconic players’ in the initial three years. Which meant, the most important, popular and best player from each region was named the ‘icon player’ for the team from that region. He got more money than anyone else in the team, could not be traded or sold like others and was given a special place in the team.

Something similar in the HIL could have perhaps been a better option. There is no doubt that Sardar and Dwyer are brilliant players, world-class talent, and deserve more respect and recognition than an ordinary player. But the concept of an icon player would perhaps have served them better than being brand ambassadors.