A Study on Three Personal Brands-Brand

Image, Development and Types

Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology MBA 2008-10

Consumer Behaviour-Project

By: Faculty:

Abhimanyu Kumar Singh Dr.Neena Sondhi

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Introduction: This report covers the building of three personal brands Roger Federer,
Kareena Kapoor & Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the big three in their own field. The initial phase
consists of introduction of their personality and major brands associated with them. It is
followed by marketing implications and opinion of the people about them. The project
concludes with analysis using personality theory. The initial assumption about the
personality of Federer, Kareena & Dhoni is ID, Ego & Ego respectively.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer. What words spring to mind? A marketing expert explains why "pleasant,
reliably excellent – very Swiss" is down to a lack of marketing not imagination.

Roger Federer was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1981. His professional tennis career began
in 1998. He has won a record 15 grand slam titles, 61 tournaments and an Olympic Gold
medal (doubles, Beijing, 2008). His success and distinctive personal style make him one of
the most popular tennis players of modern times. He is currently number 1 on the ATP
world-ranking list. He serves as the President of the ATP Player Council. In 2007, he was
named by Time Magazine's as one of the "100 Most Influential People in World". Inspired by
his mother who is from South Africa, he created the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 with
its main mission to assist projects for deprived children in the continent of Africa.

Federer in an special outfit designed by Adidas

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

In Wimbledon 2008, Roger Federer found himself down to Rafael Nadal 2 sets to none.
Roger was playing for his 6th Wimbledon title in a row; Rafael was playing for his first –
either way, history was going to be made.Roger was winded, discouraged, and it seemed
like a 2 sets to none lead was impossible to overcome. During a break, Roger’s trainer turns
to the champion and says, “Remember who you are.”Those simple words were enough to
motivate Roger to rally back to a five-set, five hour marathon of a match where he ended up
losing to Rafael.

Roger has a personal brand. He is known as the God of tennis, an unstoppable force of
nature, especially on the Wimbledon court. In his moment of desperation, all he had to do
was simply remember who he was (his personal brand) to reinvigorate himself and start
playing like a champion once again.

Roger built a personal brand as a cool, calm, and collected tennis player that never loses his
composure on the court. Because of this, he didn’t stress when he faced what looked like
the impossible.

Sponsors Of Federer

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Federer as seen by his sponsors:

"Lindt is the number one premium chocolate brand in the world and this new partnership
further cements Roger as one of the most marketable global icons," said Federer's IMG
agent Tony Godsick. "Both the Lindt brand and the Roger Federer brand are exports from
Switzerland and have really made it on the world stage."

Ernst Tanner, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Lindt & Sprüngli, comments: “We are
naturally delighted to be able to name Roger Federer, an exceptional and well-known Swiss
icon, as our brand ambassador. Together with Roger Federer, we will become the foremost
ambassadors for Swiss quality.”

And Roger Federer confirms this: “I am Swiss by birth, and since my childhood, I have always
been a great fan of LINDT chocolate. I am very excited to partner with the global leader in
premium chocolate and I enjoy their products and am very impressed with their plans for
future growth.”

But what does wealth mean for Federer? "The money for me is just a bonus because I love
the game so much," he said in an interview with Tennis-X.com.

Janice Lucina is the Nike Tennis Design Director and had this to say about the collection,
“This year we took inspiration from a jacket in the Nike Sportswear line, the M-65. Based on
this modern interpretation of a classic military silhouette from 1965, we used the body as a
starting point and created a tailored look for Roger to wear when walking on and off court.
This contemporary piece is intricately hand-crafted and includes engraved zipper pulls with
premium detailing throughout the garment that’ll give Roger a clean, understated look as he
walks on court.”

Marketing Implications: Federer or the brand FedEx is seen by his sponsors as a dependable
brand synonymous with consistency, patience and value delivered. It’s not about the aces
he produces it’s about the sustainability of his performance in the highly competitive tennis
circuit. Most of the companies associated with him are the companies which have been
there for centuries. The continuous performance of the companies is personified with the
image that Roger carries. A true gel combo pack.

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Marketers can take advantage of this personal trait of Federer and build upon it. Most of
the ad makers and his agent IMG has done it successfully. Federer has reached there where
he belongs to. Now the real challenge is to extend that personal image to any new category.
The chocolate company Lindt has tied up with him after waiting for so long. It knows that his
popularity is going to remain till tennis stays here. The challenge will be extend it to the next
generation as market has short memory. May be his image of a philanthropist can be
extended to meet this.

People’s opinion: Humble, Good natured, Focussed, Ethics driven, cool natured, handsome,
hard worker, down to earth, determined and urbane were few of the words people said
instantly about Roger Federer as a person. There is no wonder that these are the few
elements around which marketers have played with the FedEx brand. Around 70 % of them
think that he is the best tennis player till date. The connoisseur of tennis still remembers his
hand of magic which he played during his US Open match. Around 60% people think that
the brands associated with him goes with his image. Brand recall for Federer as a brand is
high.

Kareena Kapoor

About Kareena Kapoor

She comes from the legendary home of stars. First it was her sister who broke the tradition
soon to be followed by her. She is the granddaughter of thespian and legendary actor Raj
Kapoor. Father Randhir Kapoor and mother Babitha were reigning stars of their time. The
Kapoors have had their share of tradition of not allowing the women of their household
work in movies. This was broken first by Karisma Kapoor the older sister of Kareena. 'Bebo'
as she is fondly called, actually wanted to study law in Harvard and had no plans to do
anything in Bollywood but soon the movie bug got to her and she made head way into
Bollywood. She has come a long way since her debut film Refugee opposite Abhishek

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Bachchan. Though the film didn't do as expected, Kareena earned rave reviews. She was
initially chosen for Kaho Naa Pyar Hai opposite Hrithik Roshan, Yaadein , Kabhi Khushi Kabhi
Gham, Asoka, Mujhe Kuch Khena Hai, Chameli ,Fida and the latest being Kurbaan. She got
Stardust special award for her performance in Chameli.

Her personal relation has been a roller coaster she has been associated with Sahid Kapoor
and recently Saif Ali khan

Brands endorsed by kareen Kapoor

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

 1) Head & Shulder
2) Sony Vaio Size Zero laptop
3) Vivel ITC soap
4) Citizen watch
5) Airtel
6) Globus
7) Garnier
8) Anne French

“Says a source associated with the brand, "When Sony Vaio thought of launching the 'Size
Zero' range of laptops -the only person who embodied what the brand stood for was
Kareena Kapoor. She is the industry's No.1 actress and the new range of Sony Vaio's 'Size
Zero' laptops is compact, classy, chic and sophisticated just like Kareena."

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Kareena as Catwomen poses for international watch ad campaign

Kareena Kapoor donned two sexy looks for an international watch brand she exclusively
endorses in India

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The actress has two distinctive looks for the same campaign. In one of the looks, Bebo is
dressed like Catwoman - a character essayed on the big screen in Hollywood by Michelle
Pfeiffer and Halle Berry.
Marketing Implication: What Karishma could not do was not due to lack of talent but lack of
opportunities.Marketing is coming up in a big way and film starts are earning big bucks
through endorsements.With no clear contenders for the top actress in bollywood, Kareena
rules the roost. Bollywood is no more like the era of Sri Devi or Madhuri Dixit where they
used to make most of their earnings through films. Market has opened and so does the new
avenues for filmstars.

Kareena is seen as the new queen of Bollywood. She fits into all directors role from
“Chameli” to the action women in “Tashan”. She is serious about her figure and has
trimmed it as and when needed. She as a brand is in growth phase but not far away from
maturity stage. This is the right time to rope her in but her increasing high fees is a concern.
Her brand image is that of a new generation revolutionary youth who is confident, knows
her priority and is bold enough to acknowledge her personal relations in public. She is the
face of skinny women with her new avatar for size zero laptops. Marketers can use this to
extend to other cosmetic products

People’s opinion: Confident, Size zero, loud, sexy, coquettish were few of the adjectives
people used while explaining kareena.when asked about the confidence in brand around
60% agreed but they said it’s the brand which is good, not Karenna.20% of people think that
she should not be looked like a brand as film stars keeps on changing.30% of people were of
the opinion that Kareena ditched Sahid Kapoor and it was not a nice decision. They think
Sahid was a better match for her.

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

About Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni is considered one of the best Indian batsmen of fast bowling. He’s got all the
shots in the book. Also, many come to see him playing live as he is an icon player. No one
can forget his fifth innings against arch rivals Pakistan in India ’s second game against the
tourist side, in 2005. Those 148 runs showed the potential talent MS Dhoni has.He is
credited with the captain of the team which won the first 20-20 world cup in cricket.

Dhoni at TVS Motor plant Mysore with TVS’ Employees

Today, corporates prefer brand ambassador for their brands, the one who can represent the
product in a much better way. Such is the craze of MS Dhoni, even among the corporates,
who traditionally never participated in any brand promotion done by a sport star. This is the
reason that for many brands, we see MS Dhoni brand ambassador. MS Dhoni brand
ambassador has done ad campaigns for many products. In fact, some of them are called a
Dhoni brand.

Dhoni brand ambassador for many products and companies in last couple of years. Every
single year, he ends up with adding more products/services/companies to the list of MS

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Dhoni brand. As of now, MS Dhoni brand ambassador has been for many companies and
brands like:

Brands Endorsed by Dhoni

• Pepsi
• Aircel
• Big Bazaar
• Reebok
• Orient Fans
• TVS
• Birla Sun Life
• Cello Pens
• Titan
• GE Money
• Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL)
• Siyaram
• Royal Stag

With such a portfolio to his credit, Dhoni brand is becoming popular day by day.

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Marketing Implication: Cricket is going to stay in India, may be the version will see evolution
with time.Dhoni has a boy next door image.He is a marketing delight as can be seen from
the range of brands he is associated with.He is also one person who has been stamped with
a clean consistent image after Rahul Dravid.He is stylish and soft spoken and that angle has
been well demonstrated in the ads. Recently his image has been of a matured captain who
can change the game by his quick decisions and experiments. Dhoni symbolises fitness as he
is one of those cricketer who has been untouched by the injury syndrome.His fitness and
simplicity are the mantra for the marketers.

People’s opinion: Leader, Proud, Manipulator, Strategist, Powerful, lucky & brave were the
instant adjectives for Dhoni. Around 80% of people think that the ads represent his
personality. They admire his consistency and fitness.20% feels that Dhoni has been lucky
enough and his decisions are just a matter of luck.

Personality theory and the personal brands

Personal brands are associated with different dimensions of brand personality

The Brand Personality Dimensions of Jennifer Aaker is a framework to describe and measure
the 'personality" of a brand in five core dimensions, each divided into a set of facets.

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

• Sincerity (down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful)
• Excitement (daring, spirited, imaginative, up-to-date)
• Competence (reliable, intelligent, successful)
• Sophistication (upper class, charming)
• Ruggedness (outdoorsy, tough)

Each facet is in turn measured by a set of traits. The trait measures are taken using a five-
point scale (1= not at all descriptive, 5=extremely descriptive) rating the extent to which
each trait describes the specific brand of interest.

The traits belonging to each of the facets are:

• Down-to-earth (down-to-earth, family-oriented, small-town)

• Honest (honest, sincere, real)
• Wholesome (wholesome, original)
• Cheerful (cheerful, sentimental, friendly)
• Daring (daring, trendy, exciting)
• Spirited (spirited, cool, young)
• Imaginative (imaginative, unique)

As can be seen from the people’s opinion and traits exemplified by the personal brands in this report
FedEx falls in the category of Sincerity, Competence and Charming wheras Kareena symbolises
Excitement and competence.Dhoni can be seen in the category of Competence and
Ruggedness.Personal brand of this age are difficult to explain with respect to single trait theory as
people sees different value in the same brand.There is no unique value associated with a unique
personal brand as can be observed from the adjectives used by people.A personal brand is a multi
faceted brand today which can be extended to a number of brands and different shades of
personality can be reflected by them

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Psychoanalytic Analysis of Personality

Based on the secondary and primary data collected Roger’s personality can be defined with
the help of following characteristics

• Moralistic
• Perfectionist
• Planful
• Rational

The above mentioned characteristic positions himsomewhere in between super ego and
ego.He seems to be calm person with lot of plans going through his mind.His playing stylke
is that of a perfectionist and people has similar opinion about him

Based on the secondary and primary data collected Kareena’s personality can be defined
with the help of following characteristics

• Impulsive
• daring
• spirited
• Trendy

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 • Exciting

The above characteristic of Kareena signals towards Id personality type. The id is driven by
the pleasure principle, which strives for immediate gratification of all desires, wants, and
needs. If these needs are not satisfied immediately, the result is a state anxiety or tension.
Kareena in such a young age has seen several facets of life and has tasted success which
only few have been able to.This reflects in the kind of ad she has endorsed.

Based on the secondary and primary data collected Dhoni’s personality can be defined with
the help of following characteristics

• Honest
• Sincere
• Down to earth
• Spirited
• Young
• Rational

Dhoni has been blessed with an image of Indian captain who thinks. He is rational in his
decision which has been proved by the success rate of Indian team and Indian team
becoming the top team in Test Cricket. These traits signals towards an Ego type personality.

Conclusion: When it comes to film stars and cricketers most Indians have their own opinions
and suggestions for them. Masala news matters a lot people love gossips about them .So all
the interviewees had their personal opinion about Kareena and Dhoni which makes it
difficult to categorise them uniquely in a category of either ID or Ego, as was assumed in the
beginning of the project. However they are close to the above personality types as can be
derived from the adjectives used by them. Federer is a universal personality and they had
no personal opinion about him. They portray him by his appearance in field not by gossips in
newspapers or party pics after grand slams.This places him as a type mid way between Ego
and Supe Ego.

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10

Refrences:

Cool Tennis Gadgets even Roger Federer would Love | Walyou

http://www.walyou.com/blog/2009/06/07/roger-federer-tennis-gadgets/#ixzz0YvsMRdR
http://www.personalbrandingblog.com/roger-federer-and-personal-branding/
www.rogerfederer.com
http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net
www.mahendrasinghdhoni.net
www.cricinfo.com
www.bollywoodblitz.com
www.kareena.in
www.wikipedia.com

Appendix-1

Rajiv Gandhi Institute Of Petroleum Technology MBA -2008-10