With the Paris Olympics 2024 set to kick-off on July 26, a contingent of 117 athletes will represent India at the Games, carrying the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on their shoulders. As India aims to surpass its previous medal tally and set new records, brands too are gearing up to piggyback on the athletes’ successes.
Sports marketing and talent management firms say there has been a shift in brand strategies over the past eight years with more of them backing non-cricket stars. This comes amidst a growing sporting culture in the country.
Beyond the field
Divyanshu Singh, Chief Operating Officer, JSW Sports, says, “There has been a growing realisation about the hardships that these athletes go through to qualify for the Olympics and how only ‘the best of the best’ will be winning the medals. This has led to a change in the perception among brands and is bringing a shift in sports marketing trends in India. The unique advantage that Olympic stars provide is that they help brands break through the clutter.”
On that front, Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has been leading the charge. He is the only non-cricket sports star to feature among the top 25 most valued celebrities in 2023, according to a Kroll report released recently. He’s ranked at the 21st spot, with a brand valuation of $29.6 million. He endorses about 21 brands including national and global brands such as Samsung, Under Armour, Omega and Visa.
Chopra’s endorsement roster has also grown by leaps and bounds since the Tokyo Olympics “His endorsement fee has seen a 10x jump during this time span. He has arguably achieved the greatest sporting achievement for an Indian athlete. He’s humble, consistent and has inspired a change in the mindset of the Indian sporting ecosystem. Earlier, we were happy just making it to the Olympics, now there is a belief that we can compete and win,” Singh adds.
Ace shuttler and Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is also among the top non-cricketing sports icon. She endorses a variety of brands across categories such as Bank of Baroda, Optimum Nutrition, Visa, Centuary Mattresses, American Pistachio Growers, Flyboo and invested recently in Hoop.
A slew of leading brands have come onboard as official partners of the Indian Olympic Association. This includes Reliance, Amul, Adani Sportsline, JSW Group, Bharat Petroleum, Aditya Birla Capital, Puma, YES Bank, Herbalife, INOX Group, Borosil and Ebco, among others.
IOS Sports and Entertainment, the official commercial agency of the Indian Olympic Association, said that these sponsorship deals have been worth ₹50 crore and these brands are expected to put in marketing spends worth ₹150 crore. Some of these brands have already released their Olympics-themed campaigns featuring Indian athletes.
Talking about individual endorsement deals, Rahul Trehan, COO, IOS Sports & Entertainment says, “Since the Tokyo Olympics, the growth in sponsorships and brand deals has been significant, especially for Olympic medallists like Mirabai, Lovlina, Manpreet, Harmanpreet, and exceptional performers such as Manika Batra and Manu Bhaker.” These athletes have secured endorsement deals with sponsors across categories including Domino’s, Adidas, Nike, Puma, ASICS, RBL, OnePlus, Red Bull, Britannia, Royal Enfield, Evocus, Herbalife, Amrutanjan, Kajaria Tiles and Nutrabay among others.
From track to screen
“These deals vary from a six-digit cost for a short post or reel, to a seven-digit cost for an ad and sometimes more. Of course, there are various forms of involvement, ranging from product endorsements to short and long-term digital activations and kit sponsorship,” Trehan explains.
As per Group M ESP Report released in March, the total sports sponsorship spends in 2023 were pegged at ₹7,345 crore. Out of this, cricket takes a lion’s share of 75 per cent, while 25 per cent share was held by non-cricket or emerging sports. “While the share of emerging sports may have short-term fluctuations, it is expected to move up significantly with time. 2024 is the year of the Olympics, we can expect new winners, new stars and more success stories from the sporting nation,” the report noted.
Tuhin Mishra, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Baseline Ventures, says, “If we look at the past eight years post the Rio Olympics, brands are increasingly roping in non-cricket stars. This is a welcome change. Ahead of the Paris Olympics, we have seen brands coming forward with various kinds of deals including digital, social media deals and brand ambassador deals with the athletes that we represent.” Baseline Ventures represents sports stars PR Sreejesh, Prannoy HS, Deepika Kumari, Vinesh Phogat, Nikhat Zareen, Amit Panghal, Lakshya Sen and Sift Kaur Samra among others.
JSW Sports, which represents sporting talent across disciplines, including Chopra, has also closed a couple of endorsement deals for other sports stars including Avinash Sable and Antim Panghal.
However, Singh pointed out that athletes bag the key endorsement deals only after winning medals. “Otherwise the endorsement opportunities remain restricted to sports-related fields such as sports nutrition and sports apparel. But what is definitely bringing a change is digital-content marketing and purpose-driven marketing trends. Brands want to latch onto inspiring stories of athletes to grow salience among consumers,” Singh explains.
Mishra believes a lot more needs to be done and the strategy to back only medal winners need to change. “We need to recognise that at the Olympics athletes are competing against the world’s best. So even if someone is coming fourth or fifth, it is a huge achievement,” he added.
With all eyes on the Paris Olympics, the nation is hoping for a bigger medal haul and athletes for big sporting victories indeed. And, brands hope to get bang for their buck.