Drug Taint: Cineworld’s loss to be major gain for cricket world!

The investigation into the drug procurement and consumption has taken the Hindi film industry by storm. Top actresses grilled by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai face the threat of endorsement deals worth hundreds of crore rupees to be blown away.

Incidentally, the three actresses summoned for investigation by the drug watchdog sleuths collectively endorse nearly 50 brands. Undoubtedly more than the collective numbers for any other trio of ladies in the Hindi cinema world.

The marketing industry is apprehensive that the developments over the past few weeks, which came into the light and then blew up, during the course of the investigation into the suspicious death of Sushant Singh Rajput, will drive away brands from the glamour world called Bollywood.

Even as consumers might not read too much into this, the brands will always be wary of any adverse or negative publicity.

“Consumers are really not worried whether brand endorsers are clean or tainted by a drug charge. Brands and their conscience keepers are however worried. Brands love to stay clear of controversy and illegality. And this is the reason tainted stars will suffer. Even the whiff of an allegation is enough for brands to decide on not renewing contracts,” says market and brand guru Harish Bijoor, founder of Harish Bijoor Consults.

According to reports 50% of Indian brands rope in celebrities for their marketing campaigns – as brand ambassadors and icons. Hindi cinema enjoys a majority 75% share in this market, while cricket’s share in the past two years has gone up from 11% to 20%. While Virat Kohli leads the pack not just for cricket by the entire celebrity endorsement market in India, Deepika Padukone commands the highest number of brand associations in the cine world.

The sports world is seeing a bigger opportunity after the latest drug taint has thrown the entertainment industry into big turmoil.

“We surely feel that brands should look at Sportspeople more favourably. They are the real heroes of our country,” says Tuhin Mishra, managing director and co-founder of sports and talent management firm Baseline Ventures.

Bijoor also believes that sports stars will gain from the present scenario, which has tarnished the image of the Indian cinema industry, at least temporarily. “There is always a close interconnect between Bollywood stars and sports stars. Brand endorsements move seamlessly between the two categories of endorsers. In the current case, sports stars will gain exponentially, as sports is a realm where there is an eminent degree of emphasis on fitness and holistic living. The sports star is therefore out to gain,” adds Bijoor.

Cricketers stand to gain the most. “Sports stars who can replace the Bollywood stars in terms of pull and aura will be in demand. Sadly, even in an Olympic year, it’s going to be a 95: 5 gain game. Majority of 95 to the cricketer and 5 to all else.”

This scale is tilted in favour of sports in more ways than one. Cine world has lost the visibility on account of the COVID-19 enforced closure of theatres and multi-screen mediaplexes, while cricket is setting new benchmarks for audience data with the start of the Indian Premier League season. Despite the adverse economic impact of the novel coronavirus, cricket in India has started with a bang – both in terms of audience response and business.

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