Current Brand Positioning Strategy

Sachin, a brand in itself: When it comes to Cricket, the first thing that comes to the mind of the
game’s lover, is undoubtedly the most celebrated star of Indian Cricket, its iconic demi-god, Sachin
Tendulkar. So its not a surprise that any team which has Sachin on its side, will be brought into
limelight by his mere presence. Mumbai Indians is no exception in this regard.

The core value proposition through which the team tries to gain a position in the minds of its fans is
the brand image of Sachin along with the credibility he carries with it. The person entity itself in the
form of Sachin, and in turn as its celebrity marketeer promotes the team as a whole. The fact that a
team’s performance depends on the all-round show of its players, Sachin has emerged as someone
on whom a team can bank upon irrespective of how he's performing. This brings with it a distinct
and sustainable competitive advantage, which differentiates Mumbai Indians with respect to the
other teams in IPL.

So at the end of the day, he represents Mumbai Indians as its most valuable player and lends value
to the team in terms of profitability as well as sheer entertainment and popularity, the brand brings
forth.

The Name: The name Mumbai Indians, arguably one of the simplest of names one can adopt,
justifies itself by emphasising on the concept of nationality as well as regionalism at the same time.
The main target viewers and followers of the team being the residents of Mumbai and the notion of
the city as the cricket capital of India, obviously makes perfect sense to put across its name on the
forefront. But the requirement that an IPL team needs to have majority(7) of its playing eleven as
Indians, and the involvement of an average indian viewer at its center, evokes a certain attachment
of the team with India. The presence of the Sudarshan chakra in its logo, furthers reinforces its
belief in Indian value system.

The weight of its owner: Mumbai Indians is owned by India’s biggest conglomerate, Reliance
Industries, through its 100 percent subsidiary India Win Sports. which in turn makes it the richest IPL
team. The strong backing of the Business giant, with the inevitable presence of Mukesh Ambani at
the helm is an attractive proposition in itself which leaves little doubt in the minds of the sponsors
about the viability of the franchisee.