Ranveer Singh
Bollywood star Ranveer Singh has become India’s most valuable celebrity, taking over Virat Kohli who topped celebrity brand value rankings for five consecutive years until 2021.
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, according to Kroll’s Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2022.
“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,” Aviral Jain, Managing Director, Valuation Advisory Services, Kroll, told Moneycontrol.
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There has been a 10 percent drop in his endorsement fees last year versus 2021, said Jain. He added that his brand portfolio has increased from 31 in 2021 to 36 brands last year.
“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.”
For growth in Ranveer Singh’s brand value, the reason is 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.”
In the 2022 list, 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.
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“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.
Alia Bhatt’s brand portfolio with more than 30 brands has increased from about 24 brands in 2021, a jump of 25 percent in brand portfolio. “Deepika Padukone has 16-17 brands but some of these are global contracts so the fees are much higher,” the MD added.
Another Bollywood star who has been consistently seen in the top five list of most valuable celebrities is Akshay Kumar who stands at rank three with a brand value of $153.6 million, up from $139.6 million in 2021.
The overall brand value of the top 25 celebrities in 2022 is estimated at USD 1.6 billion, an increase of 29.1 percent from 2021 which stood at $ 1.2 billion.
The number of product brand endorsements by the top 20 celebrities increased to 424 in 2022, reflecting a significant increase from 376 product brands in 2021, the report said. This growth can be attributed to the increase in the number of digital endorsements which grew to about 40 percent. Further, this represents a CAGR of 7.8 percent over the last five years growing from 314 product brands in 2018.
Digital advertisements space is expected to grow from USD 2.8 billion in 2021 to USD 4.7 billion in 2023, at a CAGR of 29.5 percent, while the share of television spending is expected to decrease to 38.0 percent by 2023 from the current 41.0 percent.
The top three most advertised brands on digital platforms are upGrad endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan; Spinny endorsed by PV Sindhu and Sachin Tendulkar; and Netflix endorsed by Alia Bhatt, Ayushmann Khurrana and Ranveer Singh.
When it comes to television, the top 25 celebrities endorsed 302 product brands on TV across 20 different industry segments during the 12 months ending November 2022. The top three most advertised brands on television are Harpic endorsed by Akshay Kumar; Lux Soap endorsed by Anushka Sharma, Kareena Kapoor and Virat Kohli; and Maaza endorsed by Amitabh Bachchan, the report added.