The buzz in the Advertising and marketing field is that the endorsements for South Indian movie actors is the “next big thing” in business. Ever wondered why most of our celebrities don’t endorse as many brands as their Bollywood counterparts? And why we’re subject to dubbed ads, which are more humorous than convincing? This articles hopes to throw some light on the business of celebrity endorsements. Luckily for me, all the four actors in my family have been the brand ambassadors for leading brands. Also, as a producer at Geetha Arts and CEO at Southscope, I have interacted with the big boys of Marketing & Advertising on this topic and had a ring-side view if the celebrity endorsement business. This article being a lengthy one, has been broken into two parts.
PART – I:
Why celebrities use brands?
Since this is no marketing lecture, let me jump straight to the point. Brands see great value in roping in a celebrity to endorse their brand. If they dint see RoI (return on investment) on celebrities, they would’nt be doing it. Afterall, the celebrity endorsement market in India is pegged at Rs 850 crore. A celebrity endorsement gives the brand many advantanges. It gives a high-recall value to the brand. An average consumer is exposed to hundreds of marketing messages a day, through TV ads, newspapers, hoardings etc., The one that has a celebrity,cuts though the clutter. It gives instant recognition to the ad.
Also, celebrities endorsing a brand, gives it certain amount of credibility - no what what naysayers say. Most of the times there is a good marriage between the brand's characteristics and that of the celebrity. Like Pepsi always positions itself as the "youth drink" hence it has Ranbir Kapoor and Ram charan Tej, two youth icons as its brand ambassador. Genelia's bubbly image goes well with the brand she endorses like Fanta, Virgin Mobile and Perk. These associations make the consumer identify and relate himself to the product better. Marketers call this 'brand connect'.A 850 crore market, dominated by Bollywood
With its wide reach, Bollywood still has the lion's share amongst the endorsement market. There was a point when crickets and other sports stars started notching deals on par with actors, but again the tides shifted in favour of actors. The celebrity endorsement market in India is Rs 850 crores annually. And movie stars command 70% of this, while the remaining is mostly sports stars. The surprising part is, of this South Indian movie stars only account for a measly Rs 20 crore!Having a cult like following amongst its movie goers, and having about quarter of the country's population and GDP, shouldn't southern movie actors get a bigger cut of this pie? Ideally, yes - but let’s have a look on why this hasn’t been the case and what the future holds.The "unified Indian consumer" myth
Through the post-liberalization era marketers believed that, India will turn into one large unified mass (like China), where people can be easily divided into demographics according to age, income levels and location (urban, rural). They believed if they crack the 'great Indian middle class' they have a huge mass of 500-600 million consumers in one go. But, that’s not the case. Though, politically, in spirit we Indians are one, culturally - we're vastly different from one another. Brands are realizing that to appeal to today's new-age, well-informed consumers they should make campaigns that talk in their language, reflect their beliefs and be relevant to their culture. The "one size fits all" attitude doesn't work anymore and brands are quickly adapting this new found insight.
Marketers call India "the most pluralistic" market and rightfully so. There is even a book titled "We are like that only" by Rama Bijapurkar that explains how marketers should respect India's diversity and not treat them like a single mass. Slowly marketers have realized that to increase 'brand connect' they have to localize ads and talk to consumers in a way it appeals to them.
Andhra Pradesh, the 70th biggest country of this world
Each state or region is becoming a huge market by itself. Marketers cannot afford to oversee them. With a Rs 2.67 lakh crore economy, AP is India's third largest economy after Maharashtra and UP. If Andhra Pradesh is a country, it would be the 70th biggest economy in the world ahead of Oman, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Kenya & Jordan amongst others! With nearly 100 million population and a per-capita income of Rs 30,000, Yes, we're that big! Tamil Nadu has a Rs 2.41 lakh crore economy. Karnataka is a Rs 2.11 lakh crore economy while Kerala's economy is 1.32 lakh crore in size. Why do you think ThumsUp has a separate brand ambassador for AP? It’s because the state contributes nearly 20% of their national sales. Why does Airtel tie up with a movie for cross promotion every month? Andhra Pradesh is their single largest market for the brand where they hold the No.1 spot. The two biggest liquor consuming states in the country are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka followed by Punjab. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are home to 4.2 crore and 5.1 crore mobile connections respectively. Likewise, for every product or service - be it electronics, housing, food & beverages, financial products - the southern markets are huge.
Brand National brand ambassador (or for northern belt) Regional or South India brand ambassador Fair and Handsome Shahrukh Khan Surya Pepsi Ranbir Kapoor Ram Charan Kurkure Juhi Chawla Simran Navratna Oil Amitabh Bachchan Surya, Mahesh Babu Tata Indicom Kajol Trisha Fanta (previous campaign) Rani Mukherjee Trisha Perk (previous campaign) Preity Zinta Trisha Idea Cellular Abhishek Bachchan Siddarth ThumsUp Akshay Kumar Mahesh Babu, previously Chiranjeevi Vivel Shampoo Hrithik Roshan Trisha 7Up Mallika Sherawat (previously) Allu Arjun
The big bosses of most brands are based out of Delhi or Mumbai and have a limited understanding of South India. A lot of them still see the South as a single mass - with similar attitudes, culture and preferences. They make decision and execute campaigns based on their 'perceptions' rather than understanding of the market. How brands and marketers get the whole South Indian market wrong is another topic worthy of an article by itself, which probably I will write later. But this is one of the reason why we see many of dubbed ads more hilarious than engaging, as the people who created it have no idea of their target audience. As brands realize this mistake, they're looking more towards 'regionalization' of their campaigns. Their best bet to help them in this mission - a regional brand ambassador. The endorsement oppurtunities don't limit to superstars alone, but to the B-list and character artists. Also, 'national brands' are not the only ones who need a brand ambassador. To know more, read the remaining part tomorrow.
PART-2
People in the marketing industry estimate that the South Indian celebrity endorsement market is under-tapped. In today's levels itself the market could be worth around Rs 50 crore. Yet it’s only Rs 20 crore in size. One of the prime reasons, I have found out is that - brands don't know which celebrity suits their brand and how to sign them. With South India being such a pluralistic market, it’s hard for an outsider to know the big names and their image in each of the four states. Brands have the intention and budget to have a single brand ambassador for the whole of South India, or separate ambassadors for each market. But, most of them don’t know who the big names are – or if the celebrity's image suits their brand.
Also the endorsement opportunities are not limited to the Suryas and Trishas of the world, but also to other artistes. Big C is a mobile store chain which is mainly concentrated in AP, with monthly marketing spend in crores. It needs a popular local brand ambassador. They had Charmme, Kajal as brand ambassadors in the past and Ileana at present. Brands like Chandana Bros, RS Brothers, CMR have a strong presence in AP and need a face popular in the state. Pothy’s, Chennai Silks, Kumaran, Nalli, RmKV, GRT Thangamaligai, Prince Jewelers, Vasanth & Co are some of the brands that have a strong presence in Tamil Nadu and marketing spends in crores matching that of national advertisers. They only need faces familiar in Tamil Nadu. Likewise, Malabar Gold is a brand that’s popular only in Kerala and has Mohan Lal as a brand ambassador. Below are some of the ‘regional powerhouses’ which have huge budgets and market though they have limited geographical reach - most times, just to one state.
Some of the brands don’t just use leading heroes and heroines, but also popular character artistes. Comedian Vivek, former hero and artist Prabhu (Sivaji Ganesan’s son), Telugu comedian Dharmavarapu, Prakash Raj, yesteryear heroine Vijayashanti have been featured in many ads as the brand felt they don’t need the ‘glamour’ element in their ad to get their message across. As this business gets more streamlined, there will be more opportunities for artists like Brahmanandam (Telugu), Vadivel (Tamil), Vivek (Tamil), Sunil, Venu Madhav who are ‘stars’ in their own right and can bring great mileage to brands with their endorsement. Brand Celebrity Bharathi Cement Suriya Univercell Mahesh Babu (AP), Madhavan (TN) Big C Mobile Ileana D’Cruz Adarsh Mobiles Hansika Motwani Chandrika Soap Mamta Mohandas South Indian Bank Mammooty Oceanus (Real Estate) Mohan Lal Malabar Gold Mohan Lal Manappuram Finance Mohan Lal Saravana Stores Tamanna, Vedika, Lakshmi Rai TTK Prestige Mixie Sneha Joy Alukkas Jewelers Ileana D’Cruz, Meera Jasmine Pothy’s Sarees Meera Jasmine, Hema Malini Mediker Anti-Lice Oil Shobana Sun Direct DTH Tamanna Bhatia Santoor Soap Madhavan VVD Gold Coconut Oil Shriya Saran RS Brothers Kajal Agarwal Chennai Shopping Mall Tamanna Bhatia Mangai Night Wear Tamanna Bhatia
Celebrities and Marketers don’t speak each other’s language
Lot of brands have the appetite and budget for a celebrity ambassador, but do not know how to go about it. Many a times, a brand manager calls me or my editorial team at Southscope and asks, "We need a brand ambassador for South/AP. Who is the Shahrukh Khan/Hrithik Roshan of South/AP?" We try to advise them that there are no exact parallels. Instead of asking “Who is the Shahrukh Khan of Andhra Pradesh?” let’s turn the question the other way round. “Who is the Ram Charan Tej of Bollywood?” Abhishek? Both are sons of superstars, but no similarity at all. Hrithik? Close in personality, but Charan belongs to a much younger age bracket. Ranbir? Both are youth icons, but Charan has more mass appeal. Realizing it’s hard to draw parallels, we ask them what is it they seek to achieve through their brand ambassador.Then, they describe their requirements. For example - "We want our brand to be seen as a leader, have aspirational look, appeal to both urban and rural youth." Considering their requirement, we suggest names on who might fit their needs. It doesn't end with that - again they come back to me if I can pass on the numbers of their business managers, which we oblige.
A month later, on re-connecting with the brand we realize that the deal didn’t go through. Most of the stars or their managers do not know how the advertising and branding field works and not equipped to handle the legal & creative requirements of brands. The brands do not know the language of the ‘film industry’ and how deal-making is done here. This is one of the reasons why most deals don’t go through. As strange as it might appear, it is true. Only an ‘insider’ in both these industries can close a deal, which is why there is a need for an “entertainment marketing agency”. The star needs an agency that can advise him or her and ‘manage’ all the brands he or she endorses. The brand needs an agency which can manage all the brand ambassadors in its portfolio. Most big brands today have multiple brand ambassadors.
The near future of celebrity endorsements in South India
Unlike earlier, brands don’t prefer to close endorsement deals through ‘mediators’ or middle men but seek marketing agencies with which have sound knowledge of the local industry and the muscle to rope in stars for their endorsements. Some of the leading ‘entertainment marketing’ agencies in India are KWAN, a new floated outfit which is the market leader, followed by others such as Globosport, Cornerstone, Bling and a few other smaller ones. Incidentally, Mahesh Babu is the first and only South Indian star so far to be exclusively represented by an an agency, KWAN. Though others have done endorsements, they've done it in their individual capacity.
Like how the corporatization of the film industry has brought in more revenues, the entry of marketing & branding agencies would do the same to the local industry. All the big players have their eyes set on the Southern industry as they feel this is the next “growth market” as Bollywood and sport stars are nearing saturation. Also the opportunities are not limited to endorsements alone, ‘Appearance fees’ for showroom openings, press conferences, TV shows and events is another avenue. So is ‘Performance fee’ paid for performing at a certain corporate event or award function. ‘Branded entertainment’ is another segment for opportunity, where a celebrity who need not be the brand ambassador lends himself for a TV show or live event.
For ex: A leading electronics brand being the lead sponsor for a concert by a leading music director. There are many other opportunities to be explored. The dialogues between the brands and celebrities have already started. In the near future you would be seeing more of your favorite film stars outside movies. The billboards, TV ads, newspaper ads you consume will be far more interesting, familiar and convincing. Also, I feel Rs 50 crore is still a modest number considering how movie-obsessed South Indians are.
Article Involves:: Ram Charan, Genelia, Allu Arjun, Trisha, Mahesh Babu, Chiranjeevi, Surya, Simran
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