By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net,
Bhopal: Dainik Bhaskar, a leading Hindi daily, announced on Monday that it has signed on Indian ODI and T20 cricket captain M. S. Dhoni as its Brand Ambassador.
Rajiv Jaitly, president, Ad Sales & Marketing, said: “These are exciting times for ‘Bhaskar’ as the brand continues its growth across markets. With its 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 would best project the ethos and core of the brand to its various stakeholders. In Dhoni, we have managed to find a near perfect fit. He is a shining real life example of what an ambitious individual can do; he oozes a high degree of confidence, adapts to new situations very fast, has demonstrated innovative thinking and more importantly, has shown how the relentless pursuit of excellence can make a person from a small town emerge a champion.”
Adds Jaitly, “Dhoni has an attitude towards the game similar to what we have toward publishing. Breaking barriers and myths – taking nothing as granted. To my knowledge, Dainik Bhaskar is the first brand signing a celebrity Brand Ambassador in the print media space and yes that is an added first mover advantage.”
Satbir Singh, National Creative Director, Euro RSCG, said, “Dhoni fits perfectly with our brand ideology and the planned communications strategy. We see so many similarities between Dhoni and Dainik Bhaskar; we just had to have him. He is a talented and ambitious player, who has shown the world what the boy from Ranchi is capable of doing. His winning strategy stems from his unbridled ambition. Dainik Bhaskar has a similar story, from its inception in Bhopal, not so long ago, to achieving the highest readership in the country, launching Divya Bhaskar and then DNA in a joint venture with the ZEE Group.”
Sanjeev Kotnala, AVP and National Head; Communication, said: “Dhoni epitomizes the realization of a dream. He is extremely popular with fans ranging from youth to decision makers, his appeal is pan India.”
It may be mentioned here that Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi daily has seen fast growth since its Bhopal edition launched 50 years ago. Its footprint covers 43 Tier 2 cities where India’s growth story is being written. It represents the heartland of India – seeing hectic development, consumers jostling for new gizmos as they are launched and leading their city brethren as the new consuming class.
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 centers covered by the brand.
Meanwhile, M. S. Dhoni reportedly said, “I am proud to work with Dainik Bhaskar as I see many similarities in our success stories. I know about their success stories and hope that my association will bring the brand the results they are gunning for.” ([email protected])