BRAND MANAGEMENT

CELEBRITY AS A BRAND AND ITS PORTFOLIO ANALYSIS

Submitted to: Prof Pretesh Balakrishnan Date- 16th Feb 2011

Submitted By: Sneha Narang Roll no- 59 A

ASSIGNMENT Premise: Take a celebrity as a brand. Take the brands he endorses as his portfolio. Now presuming you were the celebrities image manager, analyse his portfolio and make recommendations to powerbrand his portfolio in a manner that defines the celebrity, builds on his imagery and benefits the brand he endorses Analysis: analyse the current brands in his portfolio in terms as described in the brand portfolio theory i.e: what does the celebrity bring to the brands and what imagery rub off does the celebrity get. Clarify which brands should be continued and why. And which brands killed. And why Also analyse and recommend which new brand the celebrity can take on Answer: Celebrity chosen: SAINA NEHWAL

1) Study of the Brand: Saina Nehwal Brand Attributes: Born on born on the 17th of March 1990 at Hisar, Haryana to Dr. Harvir Singh and mother Usha Rani Ace Badminton player currently ranked number 3 in the world by Badminton World Federation Both her parents were former State Badminton Champions in Haryana Brand Differentiation based on Achievements: National Recognition: Awarded with the highest national sporting award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on 29 August 2010 Awarded with Padma Shri award in January 2010 Indian Khel Ratna winner National Junior Champion in the consecutive years of 2004, 2005, 2006 first Indian woman to have entered the Quart Final round of Badminton event at the Olympic Games.

International Recognition: First Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships Silver in 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games Winner, Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament in 2005 and 2006 Gold in Philippines Open (badminton) in 2006 Gold in 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games Winner, 2009 Indonesia Super Series Won 5 international titles in year 2010 itselfy y y y y Indian Grand Prix Singapore Super Series Indonesian Super Series Commonwealth gold medal in New Delhi Hong Kong Open in November

Brand Positioning: Saina as the world positions her stands for: Valiance, Honour, Grit, Consistency, Perseverance, Toughness, Mental strength, A Source of Inspiration for young sportsmen

Current Portfolio: y y y y y y y y Airtel Herbalife Deccan Chronicle newspaper & its IPL team the Deccan Chargers Adani Wilmer Yonex Jaypee Cements Star Plus Brand Ambassador: Cancer Society of India

Portfolio Analysis: 1) Herbalife This is the first endorsement Saina signed when her career was in its early stages. About the brand: Herbalife's product range includes protein shakes, protein snacks, nutrition, energy and fitness supplements and personal care products. The range also includes targeted products for heart health, digestive health and skin care. Also Herbalife has always been associated with sponsoring sports athletes, sports team and sporting events. The list includes athletes such as Lionel Messi (Spain: Soccer) Hanno Mttl(Australia- Basket Ball), India- Mary Kom(Boxing), Saina Nehwal (India), spoerts teams such as Barcelona, AYSO, AIK and so on.

Brand status: Retained This brand must be retained by Saina as the it stands for the importance of nutrition for better life, energy and focus. Also it enhances the imagery of Saina by associating with a brand that nurture sports talent throughout the world. Also Herbalife positioning goes in line with the personality of Saina Nehwal, who can benefit the brand by adding more credibility to its promise of nutrition. 2) Jaypee Cements About the brand: This is an extension of Jaypee group, five decade old conglomerate based in Noida, India, involved in various industries that include Engineering, construction , Cement, Power, Hospitality, Highways, Education and Social Commitment. Jaypee cement had launched its first product, PP bags having cutting edge over normal cement in 2010 only. It had signed Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar before it actually signed Saina Nehwal as its brand ambassador. Brand Statas: Retained This brand must be retained by Saina as the brand s core values are that of stability and resilience as well as the promise of endurance and unyielding

performance. Thus the essence of the campaign lies in the analogy between Saina and Jaypee Cement deriving their iconic stature unblemished reputation from their inner strength, grit and indomitable spirit.

3) Brand Ambassador : Cancer society of India The Cancer society of India is one of the oldest Cancer Registry in Asia. It undertakes total care of the poor cancer patients of our country by proferring food, medicines, transport, prostheses, colostomy bags, counseling services, social welfare and job placement services. Brand Status: Retained Saina must retain this as dissociating with such a cause with cause negative imagery on part of Saina Nehwal. Also she is currently eyed by the society as a role model and inspiration of the Indian youth and thus has to act in line wi th that. 4) Adani Wilmar Ltd

About the brand: Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL), is a joint venture between two global corporations: The Adani Group of India - the leaders in international trading & private infrastructure, and The Wilmar International Limited of Singapore - agribusiness group and leading merchandiser and processor of edible oils. It has launched Fortune Plus, the new healthy & light edible oil under the flagship brand Fortune that features Saina Nehwal Brand Stauts: Retained This brand must be retained by Saina as it creates win-win situation for both the parties involved. Saina being a fresh face is able of break the clutter and goes with the brand profile based on importance of health and taste. And it also complements the core values of being an athlete where health is the prime factor for unyielding performance.

5) Yonex It is a Japanese manufacturer of sporting equipment for badminton, golf and tennis, producing racquets, clubs, shoes, shuttlecocks, and other equipment for those sports. Brand Status: Retained Yonex has managed to become the dominant corporate player in badminton. Yonex sponsors the All England Open Badminton Championships and is a partner of the Badminton World Federationwhich organizes the World Championships. Upwards of 80% of competitive players use their racquets, as it is the preferred choice amongst professionals. It has created many badminton racquets which are divided into series based on technology applied eg Voltric (VT), ArcSaber (ARC), Titanium (TI), Muscle Power (MP) and so on. Thus Saina should remain associated with this brand as it is directly to her arena of sports. Also this was the first company that sponsored Saina in 2002 badminton tournament. Saina supports imagery of the brand by being the ace badminton player having won the five titles in the year 2010. Thus the fact that she uses Yonex products establishes reliability and credibility for Yonex in the outside market.

6) Deccan Chronicle newspaper and IPL team the Deccan Chargers The Deccan Chronicle is a daily newspaper published through the Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu states of India. It is published in English, and is the largest circulation English-language newspaper in the south of India. The Indian Premier League cricket franchise of the Deccan Chargers is owned by the Deccan Chronicle. The Deccan Chargers represent the city ofHyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Brand Status: Dropped Saina should not continue endorsing the Deccan Chronicle newspaper and IPL team the Deccan Chargers because it is not in sync with her celebrity profile. Being the brand ambassador for IPL team the Deccan Chargers creates confusion in the minds of her badminton followers. Cricket is already is much appreciated game in Indian game scenario. I believe not associating with Deccan Chronicle will help Saian maintain her exclusivities and loyalties towards the game of badminton.

7) Star Plus STAR Plus is a Hindi language general entertainment television channel based in India. The channel is part of the STAR TV network's bouquet of channels. Star Plus' programming primarily consists of family dramas and telefilms. Brand Status: Dropped Sania should dissociate from this brand as it is doing nothing but diluting her image. Saina in fact may well be acting in a TV soap soon based on a badminton player's struggle and then subsequent rise. She is likely to be paid Rs 5 lakh per episode. But all this makes the whole endorsing thing more like a money making phenomenon, and thus will spoil the current reputation of Saina and the credibility associated with her name. Also acting in TV soap will call for time and thus might lead to distraction and loss of focus, affecting her capabilities to perform in badminton game. 8) Airtel Airtel is the largest cellular service provider in India. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation. Brand Status: Dropped Saina Nehwal should drop this brand from her kitty due to way the whole campaign has been executed. The feature showcases how Saina would use airtel 3G in her day to day life. And it seems that they have turned Saina into a Mallika Sherawat clone. It reflects a bad design and technically flawed campaign. Clearly it shows, the brand Airtel is expecting to throw a different picture to its consumers, which doesn t fit in well with the brand identity of Saina Nehwal. Recommendations: Product Categories and corresponding brands that she can choose to undertake consists of: Nutrition & Healthcare : Horlicks, Novex Biotech, GlaxoSmithKline, heath spas Sports equipments, apparels and channels : ESPN Star Sports, Adidas, Nike Power: Tata power, Reliance, Torrent power Social Cause: AIDS Awareness Campaign, Indian Cancer Society, Automobiles: Honda, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Ford, Bajaj

The whole endorsing and dropping of brand should happen as a gradual process. Because of Saina s excellent performance in the year 2010, she is expected to be deluged with endorsements offers. Thus she has to be very selective while choosing only those brands that goes with the positioning and her brand identity. The brands mentioned above lead to match of brands with the core values, attributes, target audiences associated with Saina Nehwal and will thus offer more returns in terms of brand enhancement, acceptability and increase in sales.