It’s been almost two years since DHONI retired from international cricket but he is still a brand favorite.
Retired athletes need to redefine their brand position themselves. Because when their playing days come to an end, their popularity will plummet. But in the case of Dhoni, the brand has not declined. Even after announcing his retirement from all formats of international cricket in 2020, Dhoni continues to shine in the silver lining of advertisements. In 2020, Dhoni’s brand value was $ 36.3 million. But in 2021, Dhoni’s star value rose to $ 61 million. The victory of Chennai Super Kings in the 2021 Indian Premier League has revived Dhoni’s brand value.
Dhoni is one of the best brand ambassadors in India with a long list of brands such as Cars24, Colgate, Indigo Paints, GoDaddy, Mastercard, Orient Fans, Sonata, Cello, TVS and Videocon D2H. Companies are looking at how great his personality is with the brand itself. His revenue from advertising is many times greater than the revenue from the famous Lofted Sixers, which originated from helicopter shots. Captain Cool, the face of more than 30 brands, continues his aggressive cricketing career there as well. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who came from a middle class family and ruled Indian cricket and created fans all over the world, also has a pan-Indian background. The success of Dhoni’s biopic is proof of that. Fans everywhere see him as one of their closest, one of them. Brand strategists estimate that Dhoni may have a charisma similar to that of Amitabh Bachchan.
Dhoni’s hands are as strong in business as they are behind wickets. Now Dhoni is succeeding as an entrepreneur and an investor. While many of Cricket’s predecessors have lost their hands in business, it’s easy for Dhoni to have his own style of keeping and batting. Dhoni, a fitness freak, has invested in Sports Fit, one of India’s leading fitness chains. Dhoni, along with Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, is the co-owner of Indian Super League champions Chennai FC. Dhoni is the co-owner of Ranchi Race, the Jharkhand-based franchise of the Hockey India League. Lifestyle brand SEVEN is another investment of Dhoni. Dhoni owns the brand’s footwear division. The brand name is associated with Dhoni’s jersey number in ODIs and T20 Internationals. He is the co-owner of Rhiti Sports, a sports marketing & management company. Racing bikes are one of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s favorites. His team Mahi Racing is part of the Supersport World Championship. The team is owned in partnership with renowned actor Nagarjuna. One of Dhoni’s business ventures includes a hotel called Hotel Mahi Residency. There are no other franchises and this is the only Mahi brand hotel in Jharkhand.
Even when India’s Captain Cool was the head of Chennai, the brand value of Mahendra Singh Dhoni stood out. Still, there is no substitute for the position Dhoni has left in Indian cricket. That is what makes the Dhoni brand so valuable. Like the Exide Life Insurance campaign ‘Lamba saath, bharose ki baat’, it was not enough for the fans to see Dhoni on the field and on the screen.
