Brand war: sponsor or franchise?
Mumbai, Feb. 25: The cola war has reached the IPL doorstep, and cricketers are hoping to gain from it. Coca-Cola is planning to launch an aggressive ad campaign featuring new brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar while Pepsico is sponsoring his IPL team Mumbai Indians ' a conflict as high-profile as it gets. The IPL governing council will meet in Bangalore to decide if players can refuse to endorse brands promoted by their respective franchisees in favour of the brands they promote in their personal capacity.
'We have seen how the board and IPL favoured franchises and rode roughshod over us during the recent conflict between the teams and uncapped players. But this time we are speaking of brand endorsements ' the mainstay of a cricketer's income ' and with Sachin joining our ranks in this fight, we know our voice won't be stifled,' a Mumbai Indians player said.
Some cricketers, including a few who are playing in the World Cup, met BCCI chief Shashank Manohar recently to discuss endorsement issues. 'They suggested they would promote only the franchisees and not the brands sponsoring them. They said they were obliged to promote the brands they had signed contracts with,' an IPL source said. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, in tandem with the International Cricket Council, has successfully prevented ambush marketing in this World Cup.
But with the IPL and franchisees coming down hard on uncapped players ' domestic players not part of the India-A team ' who wanted their prices raised or were negotiating with more than one team, the players have decided to play hardball on endorsements. Saturday's meeting will also decide on the transfer of uncapped player Manish Pandey from his original team Royal Challengers Bangalore to the Sahara Pune Warriors.
Pandey was slapped with a four-match ban after he refused to sign a contract with Bangalore for Rs 20 lakh. 'He had fared extremely well in IPL 3, still he had not been considered as a capped player and put up for auction as many of his peers were. Plus he was put on the 20 lakh per annum slab by IPL and RCB expected him to sign a contract with them at that price. This is sheer exploitation,' a Mumbai Indians player said.
When the 21-year old Karnataka batsman started negotiating with other teams and signed a contract with Pune, Bangalore complained against him. Pune has now appealed against the ban. Pandey was luckier than Ravindra Jadeja, though, who was banned for the entire length of IPL 3 for trying to ditch Rajasthan Royals.
News Posted: 26 February, 2011
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