Brief

Tendulkar-Canon partnership begins

Canon has tied up with Sachin Tendulkar to build brand equity as part of its global strategy and preparations for celebrating its 10th anniversary in India. By Faiz Askari

While gearing up to celebrate its 10th anniversary in India in 2007, Canon is aiming at the bull’s eye with big plans for the Indian market. Alok Bharadwaj, Vice-president, Canon said, “We are working closely towards becoming a top brand that Indians can trust and rely on.”

Towards this end, Canon recently took some strategic steps. The company has tied up with Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar to build Canon’s brand in the country. Tendulkar will be the corporate brand ambassador for Canon for three years.

Bharadwaj pointed out, “Overall Canon has grown 30 percent year-on-year in line with the company’s plans; most categories have registered growth higher than the industry. We believe our partnership with Sachin will help create greater brand awareness for Canon in India, propelling our growth in the country at a faster pace.”

He added, “We are looking at increasing the brand recall and appeal for our products under this association. Sachin is undoubtedly a cricketing icon, recognised in India and internationally for his cricketing performance. His consistency and appeal reflects the dependability and excellence that Canon stands for, we hope to reach out to a larger audience as we leverage the Sachin and Canon brands together.”

Canon brand ambassadors are known globally and Tendulkar has been signed as a global brand ambassador for Canon. Tendulkar will be a part of the Canon advertising, corporate, 10th anniversary celebrations, retail, press and outdoor campaigns.

Bharadwaj stated, “This alliance aims at creating an emotional appeal for Canon in the hearts of consumers. Sachin is the pulse of India who appeals to all segments of the Indian society—young and old, urban and rural, fashion-conscious and the intelligentsia. This brand has no regional or language barriers. It was felt that he can connect and carry on our image well to the ‘middle of the pyramid’.”

“Broadly speaking, Sachin will be used for promoting our corporate brand and then we will follow this up with sub-category promotions,” informed Bharadwaj.

Elaborating about Tendulkar’s impact on the market, Bharadwaj added, “Across the world, celebrities have been used for a variety of brands. Celebrities carry high aspiration value and people have respect and adulation for them. People tend to emulate the celebrities that they idolise and hence using them as brand ambassadors helps in popularising a brand. The main purpose of appointing Sachin as a brand ambassador is to increase the involvement of consumers.”

In terms of Canon’s expectation from this new partnership, Bharadwaj added, “We understand the significance of this association with Sachin, which is a well-thought and strategic business decision. As we are working to increase Canon’s marketshare in India, we chose Sachin to be representative of the brand which stands for a perfect mix of performance, care and reliability and this alliance will definitely help us in reaching our goals faster.”

Canon believed that Tendulkar as a person embodied Canon’s image as an innovative and trustworthy brand with a wide appeal. He, himself, as an icon of millions of Indian hearts can spread their message in an impactful manner.