Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Dainik Bhaskar: The newspaper with a brand ambassador
The Hindi daily has signed cricketer MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador. It hopes to draw a parallel between the success stories of the two small townies – Dhoni and the newspaper – both excelling in their respective fields
Dainik Bhaskar has signed star cricketer MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador. While there have been one-off cases of celebrities associating themselves with media brands, this is perhaps a rare instance of a media brand signing on a brand ambassador.
Rajiv Jaitly, president, ad sales and marketing, Dainik Bhaskar, says, “With the daily’s geographical spread covering the newly emerged markets of India in Tier II and Tier III towns, Dainik Bhaskar was seeking a personality or icon who could best project the ethos and core of the brand to its various stakeholders.”
The publication claims to be the first brand signing a celebrity brand ambassador in the print media space.
Satbir Singh, national creative director, Euro RSCG (Dainik Bhaskar’s agency), says, “Dhoni is a talented and ambitious player, who has shown the world what a boy from Ranchi is capable of doing. Dainik Bhaskar has a similar story, from its inception in Bhopal not so long ago, to achieving high readership in the country, launching Divya Bhaskar and then DNA in a joint venture with the Zee Group.”
Sanjeev Kotnala, associate vice-president and national head, Dainik Bhaskar, says, “Dhoni epitomises the realisation of a dream and his appeal is pan-India.”
Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi daily, was launched in Bhopal 50 years ago. Dainik Bhaskar has just launched DB STAR, a compact daily newspaper in Bhopal, and will soon launch Business Bhaskar’s first edition in Bhopal. Both these new titles are slated for launch across major urban centres covered by the brand.