Mirabai Chanu's endorsement fee to rise by 25-30%

Chanu's victory at the ongoing Commonwealth Games has got brands across sectors, like healthcare, steel, cement, insurance, cosmetics and nutrition, interested in her.

Last year, after grabbing a silver medal in weightlifting at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Mirabai Chanu’s association with brands started with a moment marketing post by Domino's Pizza. Taking to its social media handle, the global QSR giant promised the athlete free pizzas for life.

When asked what she would like to do after winning India’s first silver medal at the Olympics, Chanu had said that she wanted to eat a pizza. The post by Domino's was in response to her answer.

Soon after, brands across categories roped in Chanu as their ambassador.

The weightlifter has made India proud yet again by winning a gold medal at the ongoing 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) that are currently being held in Birmingham, England. Her victory is likely to attract more brands that may be looking to ride on her CWG success.

IOS Sports & Entertainment is a sports management organisation that handles the portfolio of Chanu and other athletes like the Phogat sisters, Mary Kom, Manpreet Singh and Hima Das.

Speaking about Chanu’s brand endorsements, Rahul Trehan, COO of IOS Sports & Entertainment, says, “Mira has been associated with a few top-end brands, like Adidas, Amway, Domino's, Amrutanjan and a few more. All the associations are ongoing and have remained intact, as the events have gone by. We are sure that they will continue to support her in the future as well.”

Associating with an agency helps an athlete's performance to get recognised by brands. As per Trehan, this, in turn, helps to increase their popularity amongst people as well. “We try to do a lot of activities with athletes on a regular basis, which helps us to maintain the same brand value.”

Chanu’s endorsement fee reportedly went up 10 times to a whopping Rs 1 crore, post her win at the Tokyo Olympics. Trehan reveals that post the CWG win, her endorsement fee is likely to see a 25-30% jump.

“The morning, post her win, we received interest from multiple brands across sectors, like healthcare, steel, cement, insurance, cosmetics and nutrition. Interest has definitely increased, as she was the first athlete to grab a medal for India at 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year, and is also the first one at the Commonwealth Games to bring the country its first gold medal,” mentions Trehan.

Winning at any global sports competition has a positive impact on an athlete’s endorsement portfolio and fees. Trehan shares that the higher the level of the tournament, the more is the increase in an athlete's brand value, post his/her win.

“An athlete's win also helps the agency to maintain its brand value. In order to maintain that brand value, the athlete has to be consistent in his/her performance,” he says.