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By Christina Moniz
Looks like blockbuster south movies are changing the script not only for Bollywood stars but also for brand endorsers. Allu Arjun, who played the lead in 2021 Telugu-language blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise, has made it to the all India top 10 celebrity ranking put together by Hansa Research. Samantha Ruth Prabhu of Oo Antava fame (from the same movie) has also scored big in the latest Brand Endorser (BE) report. These two actors have emerged as the top-ranked south Indian male and female celebrities. Arjun had a recognition score of 85% and Samantha 74%. Allu Arjun endorses brands such as Zomato, redBus, Rapido, among others, and Samantha Ruth Prabhu endorses KurKure, Myntra, Mamaearth, Munch, PhonePe, and so on.
The ranking is a commentary on how stars from the south have truly begun to shine on the national stage. Apart from Arjun and Prabhu, actors such as Rashmika Mandanna, Suriya, Vijay Deverakonda, Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, Mohanlal, Junior NTR, Shruti Hasan and Chaitanya Akkineni are not only making their way into viewers’ hearts but also winning the attention of brand marketers and strategists.
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Take McDonald’s India which named Rashmika Mandanna its brand ambassador over 15 months ago in its effort to win across the Southern geographies. “When we looked at our south market strategy, we felt a celebrity endorsement would be appropriate given the huge fandom celebrities have, especially in the south and Rashmika, being young and bubbly, was the perfect fit for our brand,” observes Arvind RP, McDonald’s India’s director of marketing and communications. “The move has paid off well for us, since our surveys indicate that the brand affinity for McDonald’s has grown by a good 25-30% over the past 15 months in the south regions,” he adds.
The Hansa report, otherwise, has few surprises. Hindi movie star Amitabh Bachchan tops the overall list as the most recognised celebrity in the country. He is way ahead of younger actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan and cricketing icons Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. For his part, Sachin Tendulkar appears ahead of Dhoni and Virat Kohli in the sports category; stand-up comedian and producer Kapil Sharma emerged the most popular male TV star; Naagin fame Mouni Roy is the most popular female TV star; and Bhuvan Bam, known for his YouTube channel BB Ki Vines, tops the social media list of key influencers.
The report covered more than 550 celebrities across film, sport, music, television and even social media influencers, thereby reflecting the wide choice that marketers have today when it comes to finding endorsers for their brands; there were 5,100 respondents across 36 cities. The celebrities are tracked on various metrics such as likability, social media influence, perception, marketing potential, recognition, etc., which make up their final BE score. Praveen Nijhara, chief executive officer, Hansa Research, says the BE study is a comprehensive assessment of the value that an endorser brings to the table and “will help marketers improve the overall return of investment in celebrity engagement”.
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