Opinion: Brand Ralia - Do off-screen celebrity love stories double the charm for brands on-screen?

In light of the recent Ranbir Alia wedding, Chandan Bagwe, Founder & Director, C COM Digital shares how celebrity power couples bring newer synergies, with opportunities for brands and celebrities alike. So, what's in store for brand #Ralia now?

Indians have an eternal passion for Bollywood and cricket. So, when an actor and a cricketer or two of the country’s leading actors unite in real life, it widens opportunities for both, the couple – in reel life, as well as brands, to have them endorse their products. But is this all about the hype or does roping in celebrity couples make business sense? And what does it mean for Ranbir Alia or brand #Ralia?

A star couple’s reach and influence can give an identity to any brand that consumers may start engaging with and recall. The emergence of social media has in fact made it easier for consumers to ardently follow their favourite celebrities and couples. On the part of brands, leveraging this interest and curiosity to direct attention towards their brand has proven a smart move of late. 

Take for instance the most talked about celebrity wedding of the last decade, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh (aka DeepVeer). Soon after the couple made their wedding announcement, the hashtag associated with their union #DeepVeer attained over 0.56 million mentions on social media. Another popular power couple, Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma took the internet world by storm after their wedding pictures began circulating all over the web. Their hashtag, #Virushka, too, had 0.72 million mentions across different social platforms. 

In fact, immediately after the duo tied the knot, apparel brands Manyavar and Mohey got the couple onboard as brand ambassadors.

Reports suggested that the brands invested around Rs. 10 crores for Virushka as a brand endorsement fee.

A year after the high-profile DeepVeer wedding, Lloyd jumped on the bandwagon of celebrity couple brand endorsements and roped in Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh for Khayal Rakhenge Khush Rahenge campaign. The intent behind having them promote the campaign was that both the actors are looked upon as role models by Indian millennials and demonstrate a sense of class, talent, and popularity that resonates with the brand ethos. 

The newest pair to join the growing list of celebrity couples are Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor. The actors who recently tied the knot on April 14, 2022, in an intimate wedding, have already begun dominating social media feeds for the past couple of days. Reports are doing rounds that several brands have been reaching out to the couple for brand endorsements together.

Experts from the ad industry believe that as more brands capitalize on #Ralia’s popularity, their brand value is likely to skyrocket.

As per Duff & Phelps’ annual celebrity brand valuation report, Bhatt’s brand value is nearly 68.1 million USD. While on the other hand, Kapoor’s brand value comes close to 26.7 million USD. 

Also Read: Brand campaigns leverage real-life celebrity couples to tell realistic stories

Brand Ranbir Alia On The Work Front: What’s in Store?

Bhatt and Kapoor have both emerged as the most successful and sought-after actors of this era. Other than bagging some of the most interesting movie offers, they feature an enviable brand portfolio and fan following. Interestingly, Bhatt happens to be the most valuable and only female celebrity in the top five including Ranveer Singh, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Akshay Kumar. Kapoor is at number 17 with a brand value of $26.7 million. 

In terms of brand collaborations on an individual level, Bhatt features MakeMyTrip, Manyavar & Mohey, Nokia, Sunfeast Dark Fantasy, PhonePe, JSW Paints, and Frooti among others in her portfolio. Kapoor, at his end, promotes OPPO, Tata AIG, Coca-Cola, and Asian Paints Royale to name a few. Together, #Ralia has featured in ads for Lay’s and Flipkart and endorsed two brands from the Hero family – Hero Maestro and Hero Pleasure.

Speaking of commercials, Bhatt charges approximately Rs. 5 to 7 crores per endorsement while Kapoor’s charges for the same are Rs. 6 to 8 crores.

The question that arises here is: would the pair charge the same for a brand endorsement deal as a couple? Reports suggest that they might charge 10 to 20 per cent extra, however, if they plan to enter a segment, they could charge less for the few initial deals. 

New Proposals For The Newlyweds? 

From an advertiser’s perspective, post the most-awaited #Ralia wedding, an array of brands would want to bring the couple on board for endorsing and promoting their products or services. The duo can be roped in for different categories that are likely to benefit from their togetherness. Let it be home appliances, hotels, food, airlines, cars, to real estate, among others, from the startup community or premium segment. 

Whether clearly evident or not, countless people have appreciated and remembered ads featuring celebrity couples. Manyavar is one brand that is largely thought of when it comes to shopping for traditional wear because of the Virat-Anushka association.

The same is the case with Deepika and Ranveer in the Jio commercials that were critically acclaimed during IPL 2020. Not to forget, the Flipkart ad campaign featuring Alia and Ranbir is another great example. 

Will the phrase two heads be better than one prove apt for brand #Ralia as compared to Ranbir and Alia? Perhaps, time will decide!

The article is penned by Chandan Bagwe, the Founder and Managing Director of C Com Digital who founded the company in 1998.