- Not so long ago, just a few decades back, the sporting scenario around the world was a work in progress, offering not much remuneration to those pursuing the same as a profession. Of course, the government used to chip in by offering monetary incentives for those having brought glory to the nation by winning on renowned international platforms. As is the case with any progress witnessed in society, sports too have evolved over the last couple of decades, as the hitherto missing revenue generation in the medium has undergone tremendous alterations courtesy of sponsors lining up, realizing the existence of huge potentialities. In India, a major credit should accrue to cricket for showing the way that sport could be a real money spinner.
PC: IPL
- Team India’s win in the 1983 Prudential Cup 50-over World Cup completely altered the way professional sport would be played in the country. Of course, the introduction of the T20 franchise-based Indian Premier League (IPL) was a game-changer, bringing in not only huge moolah into the sport but also showing the way for other sports federations/associations/boards on how to generate revenue with smart marketing/branding strategies. Consequently, some of the big names in the field of sport have become huge ambassadors, raking in unheard-of money on the back of consistently spectacular performances over a period. The popularity enjoyed by a few of the biggest names in the sporting firmament is no less than any celebrity/renowned personality.
PC: India Today
- Not only that, but the modern sport also offers great lessons in branding and how to cash in on a name long after the talent’s gone for good. Mind you, it’s said you aren’t a brand until the world knows you by one name. Take, for instance, Messi, who starts his four-city tour of India next weekend. In that sense, Messi has had it easier than, say, Virat Kohli or Neeraj Chopra. In Recanati the little Italian town that his forebears left in the 1890s, only about a dozen Messisremain. So Messi can’t know how hard it is to be a brand when you are born Rohit Sharma. But once you get there, the rewards are well worth the slog. Stadium tickets for Messi’s celebrity matches are already sold out. The story doesn’t end there. Let’s dwelve further to comprehend the subject.
PC: sport.de
- What he makes over his three days in India would be nothing compared with his $1.2bn-plus career earnings. And money is only part of the deal. Fame passes, though. What stays, if we’re careful, unlike Mike Tyson and Boris Becker, is the stash of career earnings. And if we nurture our brand carefully, it keeps paying even when our hung boots have turned mouldy. Look at Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, and Sachin Tendulkar, just to name a few, who remain brands with occasional endorsements. Perhaps the greatest endorsement of all is the one formed by association. Like ‘Sandow’, which remains shorthand for a man’s vest in many parts of India, 120 years after the proto-bodybuilder’s India tour. That’s the power of sports branding. Money will flow.
