The Tendulkar brand and why it still works

What more do you expect Sachin Tendulkar to achieve in the coming days? Regardless of what the answer to that question maybe, every time Sachin walks in to bat, you’ll still tune in – to television, to the web, to Twitter, to Facebook and every other possible outlet. When Sachin Tendulkar is batting, whatever else we have to do can wait. But how did it get this way? What is the main hook behind Tendulkar’s brand appeal and can he ever get it to Michael Jordan or David Beckham levels? During his five-year stint with the LA Galaxy, Beckham helped increase attendance and viewership by 25 percent. Merchandise sales for the league increased 231 percent. Expansion fees rose from $10 million to $40 million (four times higher than on Beckham’s arrival in 2007), and the 2012 MLS Cup Final was televised in 157 different countries, a league record. His presence even managed to get the likes of Thierry Henry and Robbie Keane to join MLS sides. And he got the English papers to cover the MLS. [caption id=“attachment_721045” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Can Sachin brand it like Beckham? Getty Images[/caption] In his day, the former England captain has won six English Premier League titles, one Spanish La Liga crown, two MLS Cups, and a European Champions League title. But now as a player Beckham is way past his peak. He isn’t quick – he never was but he is aging. He can still swing in a wicked cross but as a player, his usefulness is limited. But that’s only on the field. Despite this, when Beckham announced that he’d be leaving the Galaxy in December last year, offers flooded in from a host of clubs in France, Australia, England, the Far East and others in the United States. Paris St. Germain, a team backed by rich Qatari owners, didn’t mind paying top dollar for ‘Golden Balls.’ Off the field, Brand Beckham is a phenomenon that few in the sport have ever seen. In 2012, the 37-year-old Beckham placed eighth on the Forbes list of highest-earning athletes, taking in some $46 million, mostly from endorsements. In Japan, Beckham is the second most recognizable English word after Coca-Cola. And which other sportsman would have been invited to be part of the London Olympics opening ceremony, piloting a speedboat up the Thames looking like 007? Back in the US, in the first season without Beckham in five years, the LA Galaxy – MLS Cup-winners two seasons running – failed to draw a houseful crowd. All down to the Beckham effect. Is that how it will be for Sachin too? Is that why BCCI president N Srinivasan turns around and says that Indian cricket still needs Sachin? Sachin’s hook is that he is clean; that he is authentic. Untouched by controversy (yes, there has been the Ferrari controversy) but when you talk cricket – he never gives anything less than 100 percent. The match-fixing scandal didn’t touch him and neither have all the allegations of conflicts of interest. There are no brawls or affairs. He stands above all those petty things. You can’t fake or force what he does, the way he does it or the length of time that he’s done it. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a great player in his own right. He earns more than Tendulkar through advertising now. But he’s achieved nothing like the cross-channel recognition that Tendulkar has. Just the other day, amid enthusiastic singing and chanting by his fans, Tendulkar’s wax statue was unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The crowd at Lord’s gives him standing ovations. The West Indians talk of him as one of their own. It’s unreal and it’s an opportunity. In February this year, another sporting colossus, Michael Jordan turned 50. He played his last NBA game almost 10 years back – but he still earned an estimated $80 million last year from corporate partners. The Chicago Bulls legend out-earned almost every member of the world’s highest-paid athletes (Floyd Mayweather topped Forbes June 2012 list with earnings of $85 million). If anything, Jordan’s brand has only got stronger after he retired. And the same is expected of Tendulkar when he retires – the brand will continue to grow stronger but can he leverage it like Beckham or Jordan? At the Mumbai Indians, Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t been a great success as a batsman. He plays a certain role. But off the field, he is their face. He features in all the ads and for fans who have been watching him for the past two decades, the emotional connect is instant, it is Sachin’s gift and that is invaluable. For the team, for the sport and for the Sachin brand itself. For now, he has our admiration but in the coming years, will he have our attention too? Will he, like Jordan and Beckham have, endure? Will he be worth more to a club off the field, than on it?