Visualising ‘Brand Sachin’ Beyond His Retirement: An Application of CBBE Model

Cricket, as a game, has become a rage in India. On many occasions, when Indian team plays cricket, the number of people watching those matches surpasses some country's population. There are a few cricketers in Indian team who have created excellent image for themselves amidst the fans. One such cricketer who is blessed to have fans across the globe is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. He has the maximum number of centuries and records to his credit and is a humble and modest human being. He recently retired on 16th November 2013 from all formats of cricket. Cricket as a game is naturally blessed with a break after every over and hence this format suits the marketers/advertisers to associate with cricket. Also the viewership is high for cricket matches. During his retirement Sachin was endorsing about 16 brands across various sectors. As a brand ambassador Sachin brings a lot of attributes to the brand that he endorses. Post his retirement, what would be the impact of Sachin? Whether he would be endorsing more number of brands? These were the questions lingering in the minds of the researchers. A survey was conducted to capture the opinion of the cricket enthusiasts falling under a certain age group (generally youngsters). The survey had questions that would capture the major elements of Customer Based Brand Equity Model by Kevin Lane Keller. Field survey and online survey techniques were used to collect the required information and validate the work.