Virat Kohli’s smile at the end of the 2016 IPL final said it all, an acceptance of the result and a reminder of the changed person he was.
Virat Kohli is today the fastest growing brand in India. The upshift has taken place between Diwali (October 2015) and Holi (March 2016). Kohli’s rankings were on the rise in the last 3-4 years, but they were always behind the great Dhoni. Athletes typically lag behind the Khan brigade in Bollywood when it comes to celebrity rankings. But Kohli has managed to change all that.
Virat Kohli: Building Blocks of Brand Value
Differentiation
Virat Kohli was always a different brand. With a frank and cheeky attitude up his sleeve, he embodied the new Indian mindset of loving challenges and love of pursuing goals. His flying kiss to the beloved Anushka; bow to icon Sachin Tendulkar in the pavilion for hitting a hitting milestone; his call on social media not to cheat on his ‘ex’: these actions seem to have made him love many. She became an instant hit with the Indian youth (15-24) as role models.
Performance
Your performance has risen considerably in the last 6 months. Average of 72 in ODI’s. 125 in T20 internationals, an average of 81 and a total of 973 races in IPL meant that his performance was the best.
Relevance
Slowly improving the game and changing his temper, he increased his relevance from a narrow target group of young followers to a larger segment of 25-34 and beyond, leading to huge fan growth on Facebook – 3 million. fans, Twitter: 11. million, Instagram: 4.9 million.
Esteem
His esteem had skyrocketed above all celebrities. Today he is seen as the best Indian batsman and the future of Indian cricket.
Knowledge
He still wears black wristbands as a cricket superstition; Before, he used to wear the same pair of gloves that he believed helped him. He also wears a religious black thread and kara on his right arm since 2012, fans read this as vulnerability in a star. And that makes a brand as human as possible.
Virality content
In the age of social media, brands must engage and reinvent themselves to communicate with TG. Virat always liked selfies and posted her selfies and selfies with fans on her social media. His photos with his girlfriend on social media became relevant news for young people to consume, as it was a dose of cricket and Bollywood that raised barriers to increase its relevance among young people. On top of all this, his commitment to sports in general in India like soccer and futsal gave him an X factor.
Virat runs a foundation called “Virat Kohli Foundation” which he founded in 2013 and which works for the development of underprivileged children. On June 4, the “Celebrity Clasico” charity soccer match was held in Mumbai to raise funds for the match.
According to a study by media and advertising veteran Sandeep goyal, who conducts studies on the parameters of celebrity brands. Virat’s valuation increase is unprecedented.
Scores have doubled across nearly every parameter, across every demographic. He is no longer considered arrogant as in his early years. It has become simple and accessible.
In 2014, the UK’s Sportspro magazine rated Kohli as the second most marketable athlete in the world, only after Lewis Hamilton, and ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Usain Bolt. It may be on its way to top the list this year. Brand Virat Kohli is therefore an excellent case study for brand managers on how to build a formidable brand.