Branded for life!
Ekta Aggarwal, Creative Director of marketing consultancy Landor, got
into an autorickshaw in Mumbai that was festooned with Salman Khan's
photographs soon after Dabangg 2 was released. The driver said he decked
up his autorickshaw with new cutouts of Khan each time he released a
film because the actor had paid for his son's operation.
For millions of fans such as the autorickshaw driver, Khan isn't just a
larger-than-life superstar. He is the Bollywood bad guy with a heart of
gold who helps them out when they are down and out. And the 48-year-old
superstar has successfully leveraged such adulation and extended his
man-of-the-masses image to create a charity and lifestyle brand, Being
Human, which has almost become as big as him. "Being Human has become a
cult. In fact, it has become larger than Brand Salman," says Aggarwal.
"Salman doesn't just entertain, but also empowers. Right from the kind
of movies he picks to the projects he invests in, he is clear that he
will only talk to the masses."
The star's social clout comes from the Being Human Foundation which
provides affordable health-care and primary education to underprivileged
people across the country. Set up in 2007, the foundation has teamed up
with organisations such as the Marrow Donors Registry India to help
patients who suffer from diseases such as leukemia and thalassemia.
It recently tied up with Coca-Cola and infotech company NIIT to help a
career development centre which provides computer and electrical
training to people from rural areas.
Being Human is a charity with an unusual revenue model.
It does not ask for donations but raises most of its funds from royalty
from the sale of Being Human merchandise. Khan has extended Being Human
into a successful fashion brand that sells both in India and several
stores in Europe and West Asia. Ten per cent of every sale of a Being
Human product goes to the foundation. Khan recently picked up a minority
stake in travel portal Yatra.com and one rupee from every transaction
goes to the foundation.
Manish Mandhana, Managing Director of
Mandhana Industries, which manufactures and retails the Being Human
apparel line, says it is already a Rs 100-crore brand. "At the front
end, it is a lifestyle brand and at the back end, it is a philanthropic
organisation. All royalties from the lifestyle brand support the
philanthropy we do," he says.
Marketing experts say the Being
Human brand helps boost the Salman Khan brand and has slowly succeeded
in overshadowing his bad boy image. Despite his successful movie career,
Khan was never one of the biggest names in the endorsement business.
But lately he has cashed in on his man-of-the-masses image to sell a
host of products with mass appeal such as Britannia Tiger biscuits,
Thums Up, Relaxo slippers and Rotomac pens. "Salman in most of his films
has a Robin Hood image, which he has seamlessly carried into his real
life. He actually tries to live the role he plays in films. This makes
him a great brand," says Ashish Mishra, Managing Director of brand
consultancy Interbrand India.
In the marketing world, the real
test of a successful celebrity brand is how he leverages his status
outside of his business. Football star David Beckham, for example, is
not just known for playing world-class football, but has leveraged his
brand to run a successful fashion apparel line, dVb. Experts say Khan is
one of the few Indian celebrities who have leveraged their stardom for the future.
They see Shah Rukh Khan as an astute businessman, with interests in
film production and cricket, and as one of the highest paid actors in
the endorsement market .
But,
according to them, most of his forays outside acting are shrewd
business moves and do not really contribute to building the star's
brand.
Similarly, they see Aamir Khan as a social crusader but
not a brand with long-term appeal. "There is a shelf life for the values
Aamir represents, but he has done it in a serious way (through his
films and shows such as Satyameva Jayate). There is more appeal in
Salman's way as he doesn't make it boring and preachy," says Interbrand
India's Mishra.
With Salman Khan's career on a roll, his brand
equity is unlikely to fade soon. All his films in the past two years -
Dabangg, Ready and Bodyguard, among them - have been monster Rs
100-crore hits. One of his recent releases, Ek Tha Tiger, beat all
earlier films with box-office collections close to Rs 200 crore. But the
movie star does not plan to stop at that: he has big plans for the
Being Human charity and lifestyle brand.
Rs 7 cr Salman Khan's endorsement fee per deal. Two years ago, it was just Rs 1.5 crore
He
is working on an education video for schoolchildren which will be sold
at video stores across the country and distributed free to
underprivileged children.
He also plans to extend the Being Human
brand to the food business by setting up cafes with a leading food and
beverages company. A percentage of the revenue from the cafes will go to
the charitable foundation. "The dream is that Being Human should
outlive Salman Khan. I want to get into a space where people get up in
the morning and brush their teeth with a Being Human toothbrush, have
toast made with a Being Human toaster, wear Being Human apparel, hang
out at our cafes and finally sleep on a Being Human pillow," he says.
Is
the dream a bit far-fetched? Not really, says Mishra. "If the branding
strategy is well laid out, Being Human and brand Salman definitely have
the potential of outliving Salman Khan, the actor."
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