Though India is country of religions, but there are two other things which enjoy religion like status. One Bollywood, other Cricket.
These actors and cricketers have always been amongst India’s most valuable celebrity when it comes to the brand value rankings.
This chart, until 2021, was topped by Ace cricketer Virat Kohli, for five consecutive years. However, this year, he has lost his crown to none other than Bollywood heart throb Ranveer Singh.
The Kroll Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2022
As per the Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2022, Singh jumped one rank with brand value moving up to $181.7 million in 2022 from $158.3 million in the previous year while Kohli’s brand value stood at $176.9 million last year from $185.7 million in 2021.
Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll said that the “Virat Kohli has seen a 5 percent decline in brand value from 2021. His performance on the field has been erratic and he has been in and out of India team which is a risk associated with his brand. Also, the fees which he used to command has softened a bit in 2022. While he has been able to continue to grow his brand portfolio, there is drop in brand value”.
He also said that there has been a 10 percent drop in his endorsement fees last year versus 2021. He added that his brand portfolio has increased from 31 in 2021 to 36 brands last year.
He said that “While his brand is reaching a maturity phase in terms of a cricketer, in some of his endorsements he is positioning himself as a non-cricketer and some of his brands are with (wife) Anushka (Sharma). Plus, together they are doing many investments like in BlueTribe basically highlighting more non-cricket aspects. In the coming years, he (Kohli) will come back stronger as his non-cricketing positioning would have strengthened quite a bit which has been the case for MS Dhoni.”
The Rise of Ranveer Singh
The reason behind the Ranveer Singh growth story are mainly two-fold, said Jain. “While Bollywood did not do well in 2021 but he (Ranveer Singh) did well and has 40 brands which is the largest portfolio. Also, he went beyond Bollywood with associations like Fifa, Yas Island, among others which continued that pull from fans. His personality is bold, connects with youth, inspires youth to do what they want to do. So, he is connecting a lot more with brands than any other celebrity.”
When it comes to the ladies, then the year 2022 saw two female celebrities made it in the top five ranking with Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone seeing significant jumps in their brand values.
Bhatt maintained her position at rank four with a brand value of $102.9 million and Padukone moved up to the fifth rank with a brand value of $82.9 million. The RRR star’s brand value was at $68.1 million in 2021 and Pathaan’s leading lady was at $51.6 million.
“Alia Bhatt was the only Bollywood celebrity to have successes on the big screen. She continues to grow her portfolio and crossed $100 million in brand value for the first time. Deepika Padukone has made a comeback and during 2022 brand Deepika Padukone saw success with movie 83 and was seen as more of a global brand ambassador with her presence at Fifa, Cannes. She also signed new global brands like Louis Vuitton and Cartier and this trend has continued in 2023 with her becoming an ambassador of Pottery Barn and Qatar Airways. She launched her skincare brand and this should further strengthen her brand value,” said Jain.
