Known fondly as "Gabbar", Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan is turning 37 today. The left-hand opener has been named as ODI captain for Newzealand and he is also the captain of the IPL team Punjab Kings.
Known for his flamboyant personality, Dhawan has evolved as an influencer on social media platforms which has won him fame in the endorsement world.
Brand Image
Optimism has always been Dhawan's most defining quality among fans. His response to success and failure with a smile signifies his positive outlook and has inspired many a meme.
As an athlete, he comes across as real on and off the pitch. His proven stature as a cricketer over the years and his relatable personality establish an automatic connect between him and the people at large.
Whenever he is on the field, batting or fielding, he keeps the fans and audience involved and engaged. His high-five celebration is iconic. He has multiple standout traits which allow him to be always connected with the audience.
Dhawan has evolved and matured which goes hand in hand with his consistent performance, bringing him a big appeal across geographies, gender and age groups, which are strong elements in his brand image.
He has had a long career where he has been integral in the Indian team setup with numerous match-winning performances. He has had a very interesting brand journey, given his flamboyant batting and brands in that space looked at him from that attribute. But, with his growth, also came a growth, sustenance, impact and reach in his brand value.
His appeal and performance ensured that he was never irrelevant to brands. So, while Shikhar signed new deals, he renewed many too.
Social Media relevance
Nikhil Bardia, Head of Sponsorship Sales and Talent, RISE Worldwide that manages brand endorsements for Shikhar Dhawan shares his insights: “Currently, Dhawan is one of the most sought-after professional athletes currently. His social media followership of over 35 million, is one of the highest in the current set of active Indian cricketers. The evolution of social media has opened up many avenues for brands. At RISE Worldwide, we always look at unlocking the maximum value in brand-athlete partnerships. With Shikhar, we have an athlete, who is a widely loved personality and his followership on digital media is immense and relevant. This makes him a credible influencer in the endorsement space encouraging brands to partner with him to reach out to a large audience in a much more impactful manner.”
“Dhawan currently has a very fine balance between full-time endorsements and digital deals. He has had a very interesting, sustained brand journey. While he continues to garner significant interest and now also with recent captaincy stints, there is an increasing demand from brands, to leverage his creative input and impactful social media content, to sign digital deals,” Bardia adds.
Dhawan has evolved his social presence, especially on Instagram to bring out a lighter more engaging persona and highlight some never-seen-before sides of Dhawan that fans adore. This has led to him collaborating with other influencers and creating engaging content, making him one of the standout cricketers in terms of engagement via Reels.
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Simple and engaging, Dhawan's creative content also seems to resonate with fans. The engagement numbers are high, creating a real connection with fans and making the cricketer a highly demanded celeb for brands to leverage for reach and ROIs.
During IPL 2022, Dhawan's reels created cumulative views of 111M ( the most during the season) and total engagement of 12.7M, one of the biggest in the season.
He has collaborated with influencers as well as using his wider network such as the Reel with Team India that had Rahul Dravid at the end, and the other during the recent IPL with Preity Zinta.
Brand Endorsements
Dhawan currently has a portfolio of over 15 brands spread across sectors like sportswear, footwear, audio & wearables, ed-tech, 2-wheeler EV, perfumes and real estate amongst others. In addition to this, he is a few ongoing and yet-to-announce deals in his "brand" wagon.
He is working with Jio, Nerolac Paints, Mutual Funds Sahi Hai, GS Caltex, fantasy cricket application Dream 11, Zero Risque, Fever FM, DB Dixon, StanceBeam, Boat, IMG Reliance, Ariel India, Kurkure, Lays, Oppo, Nerolac, Alcis Sports, Vedantu Learn and V Star.