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Is Kangana Ranaut The New ‘Queen’ Of Brand Endorsement In India?

Is Kangana Ranaut The New ‘Queen’ Of Brand Endorsement In India?
Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut is in vogue these days; all thanks to her brilliant performance in the latest Tanu Weds Manu Returns. As viewers are making a beeline at the ticket counters to get the coveted ticket to watch the movie, its Box Office Collections have already surpassed Rs 100 crore (till the time of filing this report).

The film has turned Ranaut into a superstar, but mind you, this stardom has not come overnight; she has a decade long career behind her with nearly 30 films and several awards including the National Film Award.

Ranaut seems to have somewhat altered her strategy. She is choosing scripts where female protagonists lead such as Queen, Revolver Rani and Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Her brand equity has gone up as audiences see her capable of delivering a good solo performance and are ready to bet their weekend theatre budget on her.

This is what exactly a brand needs from a celebrity endorser; capable of creating conversations and be a talk of the town. And Ranaut seems to have all this and more.

Known for her psychotic roles (Fashion, Gangster, Raaz, Who Lamhe, Metro), Ranaut has had her share of success and failures. While Queen, Krrish 3, Tanu weds Manu, Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Shootout At Wadala got a good response, others like Revolver Rani, I Love NY, Rascals and Double Dhamaal did not do well at the Box Office.

Brands have mostly kept away from her barring a few such as Tanishq (in past), Levi's (in past), Emami (Boroplus), Lawman PG3, Himachal Pradesh Tourism, Myntra, Liva, Askme and others because of her inconsistent career graph.

Well, it's a hard fact that she is no Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif, who are known and proven Brand Champions. However, after the recent success of Tanu weds Manu Returns, she has got into that league where brands will make a beeline for her? Will they bet large on this Himachal Pradesh girl? Let's see what experts have to say.

Emerging or Non-Emerging
Geetanjali Bhattacharji, CEO, Marketing Services Audit, Spatial Access, finds Ranaut as a winner but has apprehensions about her brand associations as her personality depicted via films has been that of a non-conformist.

"She has clearly emerged as a winner to shoulder ROI of a film both with Tanu weds Manu returns and her past release being Queen. But it will take an intelligent marketer with spine and a highly creative agency partner to generate propositions with a celebrity like Kangana. Huge opportunities aree there but vey few organizations will put the brand proposition in an interesting context with this celebrity."

However, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO, Ormax Media believes that Tanu Weds Manu Returns is bound to make advertisers and filmmakers look at Ranaut very differently. "Till before Queen, she did not have much notice-ability. Because of Queen, she got noticed for the first time as a serious contender to be a top heroine. But Tanu Weds Manu Returns is going to be a pan-India hit, including the mass centers. This will give Kangana the reach that she did not have earlier," he adds.

Even Darshan M, Director, Spoment Ventures thinks that her value will keep on increasing because she is taking up lead roles, delivering in them and people are liking her. "People are getting opinionated about her and that too in a good sense."

Sanjay Shukla, CEO, Percept One begs to differ; he says that she is a great actress, but not a brand endorser. "Previously she was doing very serious roles in movies like Gangster, Woh Lamhe, Raaz 2 and now she is taking up roles where she is like a free soul. She has played a twin personality, even though this is good adds to versatility but I am not how brands will look at it. People are definitely liking her, but she is yet to become a commercial star."

Mass Appeal?
Undoubtedly, Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif are brand champions in India. Both these actors are at the peak of their career, and they both command brands in their kitty and audiences at the theatre. Ranaut, on the other hand, is not yet there, but not that far off either.

Bhattacharji points that brand endorsement is not her space and she clearly doesn't aspire to be there. "She addresses a niche. And intelligent investors (whether brand or producers) will optimize that niche instead of going mass." While Kapoor adds that this will depend on her releases in 2015-17. "Mass popularity takes time to build. Just one or two films cannot do that."

However, Darshan M has a different point of view on this. He believes that Ranaut is natural and convincing, while with the other two there is a plastic and unreal attached to which the audience cannot relate. "Be it from a small or big town, a woman can relate to Ranuat but not Katrina because the latter is the perfect example of the Bollywood actresses who look good on screen but most of it is unreal. She has not become that eye candy or the arm candy, but is looking to lead from the front, which is liked by the people," adds Darshan.

Cross Category Fit?
It is true that Kangana Ranaut has had a very small list of brand endorsements, but experts believe that brands will be closely monitoring the success of Tanu weds Manu Returns and will be definitely considering her.

While Kapoor believes that brands that want to communicate innovation, talent, women power and inner beauty will go for her, Bhattacharji points at radical fashion brands, unconventional jewellery designers, contraceptives, online players (challenger brands) will find her to be a better fit.

Darshan M believes that Ranaut should not choose regular hair creams, but the ones which are quirky, unexpected, serious and reliable.

Going Forward
Now Ranaut is no Khan or Bachchan. And hence she will have to keep up to it. Audiences forgive a flop here and there, but they do not like consistency in this domain. Revolver Rani tanked massively at Box Office but Tanu weds Manu did not suffer from it.

"In today's film scenario besides the Khans no actor can risk to be in that situation. She has proven herself time and again as a "Female Hero". The audience expectation will only soar high if not same for her upcoming movies. I think after Vidya Balan she is the only actress who has successfully delivered a film purely on her solo performance," Bhattacharji says.

Today Ranaut is all over the social media, brand promotions and Page 3 and we hope to see her more on the screen, be it through her films or the brand ads that she would endorse.

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