Indiantelevision.com Team

(1 April 2009 10:45 pm)

MUMBAI: Amitabh Bachchan rules the popularity and brand recall chart amongst the Bollywood actors list, while his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan reins the female actors' league.

Sachin Tendulkar stays top-of-the-mind brand when it comes to cricketers, according to the first round of the CelebTrack findings, a joint endeavour between Percept Talent Management (PTM) and Hansa Research. Sania Mirza tops the charts when all the other sports besides cricket is considered.

Brand Smriti Irani, meanwhile, rules the 'all India celeb power list' when it comes to television stars in the Hindi speaking market while Farhan Akhtar leads the director's score board.

"Our study also reveals the top 10 celebrities in the Hindi speaking market. While Akshay Kumar tops the list, Amitabh Bachchan ranks second. Aamir comes third, followd by Tendulkar and Dhoni while Shah Rukh takes the number seven spot preceded by Katrina Kaif. Aishwarya, Kareena and Priyanka are also part of the top 10 power list," says PTM CEO Manish Porwal.

With the endorsement market pegged at approximately Rs 10 billion, CelebTrack aims to trail celebrity perceptions amongst masses that would help advertisers choose the right brand fit for their products and services.

According to PTM and Hansa, the research was conducted not just on the basis of popularity but was also judged on other parameters such as 'recognition', 'likeability', 'persuasive power', 'image attributes (personality)', 'media presence' and 'over exposure'.

Says Hansa Research MD Ashok Das, "CelebTrack is a handy tool which will give celebrities and brands a competitive edge allowing each to demand a value they have rightfully earned. We intend to transform Celeb Track into a currency for evaluating star power. Our endeavour is to provide a professional and yet affordable model which will allow one to make informed profitable choices."

According to Das, the first round of the bi-annual study was conducted over a period of six months starting July-end 2008, across 39 towns with 6,000 plus respondents. Approximately 400 celebrities from the national, regional and local favourite list was shortlisted from the arena of cine entertainment, cricket, other sports, music and television.

"We also have performed a study for the southern region to find that Sachin Tendulkar tops the favourite chart in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Chiranjeevi is the most liked character in Andhra Pradesh and Mamooty in Kerala," Das elaborates.

The study will be available to consumers on a subscription basis, the price of which stays at Rs 1.08 million.

"We have already bagged six clients including Tata Indicom, Pepsico, ING Vysya and Cadbury. Currently, three more are in the pipeline," adds Das.