Mumbai Indians, the IPL team owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has signed a brand alliance with Walt Disney India, marking the first occasion that Mickey Mouse, one of the world's most recognisable brands, will be associated with cricket.
The runners-up in last year's IPL will be looking to exploit the connect which the world's most famous mouse - created in 1928 - has with children under 14 by putting its image on merchandise ranging from school bags to cricket bats.
"Last year there was a lot of cynicism as well as criticism around MI, including the name, and then we won the Champions League Twenty20. Today, we count over 2.8 million Facebook fans on our website, the largest amongst the franchisees. This brand alliance with a global, iconic family brand like Disney says it all with the trust and faith they have imposed in MI," said Nita Ambani, Mukesh's wife, who runs the company that owns the cricket team.
Mukesh bought MI for $111.9 million in 2008, making it the most expensive franchise. Breaking even is still far away. "We are trying even this year, but as I said, I have always believed we need to be a sustainable brand in ourselves, not funded by RIL," said Nita Ambani.
Big Deal for Disney India Head
Nita Ambani met with this reporter at her office on the 12th floor of Maker Chambers, the Nariman Point building that has for decades been the headquarters of Reliance Industries, India's largest private sector company by revenues and market capitalisation. For Ronnie Screwvala, managing director, Walt Disney India, the alliance is the first big transaction since he switched roles from being the entrepreneur-CEO of media and entertainment company UTV to heading the Indian unit of Disney.
"Disney has always been brand conscious and the business of licensing is only possible if you have a brand that can be a viable commercial venture which MI is because of Nita's vision of making it a 360-degree brand that explores multiple avenues on and off the field. Given Disney's licensing background, we can actually take this joint brand to another level. Right now the market size in licensing in the 4-14 age bracket is Rs 1,400 crore but with a huge potential for growth," Screwvala said.
The reason Disney, which owns sports channel ESPN, had not got into cricket, India's favourite sport so far, is there was no "brand play" till now, explains Screwvala. A team such as MI, which has icons like Sachin Tendulkar, is much more than a local team so the brand characters of Disney are also a good fit, said the Disney India head.
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