Shah Rukh Khan and the brands he is associated with are facing public ire after the actor's son Aryan Khan was arrested in the drugs-on-cruise case.
One of the major brands in Shah Rukh Khan's portfolio, edtech platform Byju's, has already taken down ads featuring the actor.
And this could spell bad news on his overall brand value, believe marketers and brand experts.
“While Shah Rukh is the face/ambassador of several brands, Byju's is one of his biggest deals in his portfolio with an estimate of Rs 3-4 crore annual fees,” Shuchi Sethi, India lead, AnyTag, an influencer marketing platform from AnyMind Group, told Moneycontrol.
N. Chandramouli, CEO of TRA Research, a consumer analytics and brand insights company, said that losing the Byju's deal may not be the biggest concern for Khan Sr. “Apart from securing his son’s future, the fact that he has inadvertently become embroiled in a controversy like this may be his bigger worry when it comes to endorsements,” he said.
Since Aryan Khan's arrest, amid a smattering of support, his father has been facing a backlash on social media with netizens even dragging in Byju's.
“Brands have endorsers to enhance their value. But they are extremely averse to associating with any sort of controversy. If the case (Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case) lingers on, it will stay on in people’s minds and may have a tendency to spill over to other brands as well,” said Chandramouli.
The actor endorses brands such as Hyundai and LG among others.
Value of brand SRK
Shah Rukh Khan also had climbed a spot in the celebrity brand value ranking last year.
The actor with brand value of $51.1 million jumped to rank four last year from fifth in 2019, according to a Duff & Phelps report on celebrity brand value rankings.
The report also noted that Shah Rukh Khan was the top endorser on TV in the e-commerce sector with Byju's taking the top spot amid brands on TV.
Effect on endorsements
While it is not clear whether Byju's has temporarily put ads featuring the actor on hold or it will end its association with the actor altogether, the move can have a knock-on effect on new deals, believes Chandramouli.
“New brands are more cautious than continuing brands. And no marketing head would like to risk their own brand and career by selecting SRK (Shah Rukh Khan) for the time being. However, things pass, and so will this, and brands will be back in his stable too.”
But the Aryan Khan controversy is very challenging for Shah Rukh Khan right now, said Sasha Dcunha, CEO, Tyche Media, a digital marketing consultancy. “In the short term, the consequence could be a bit impactful right now because Byju’s is dragged into this by netizens, questioning his upbringing as a father,” she said.
Dcunha added that Byju's is an exception to other brand endorsements as somewhere it has a link to children's upbringing, which the current controversy about in a lot of people’s minds. “Thus, they had to take immediate steps to pause the campaign with Shah Rukh Khan but for other brands, most of them have no direct or indirect relationship with the current controversy and it would not impact his brand deals with them.”
Big-screen absence
In the long term also, Dcunha said that things will depend on his upcoming films and how he pulls his career together going forward as his career beyond the current controversy is at a crucial juncture.
Shah Rukh Khan’s last venture was 2018 release Zero which had tanked at the box office. His 2017 venture, Jab Harry Met Sejal, also recorded a dismal box office performance.
While there are a few tentative projects involving SRK, the release dates of new films that feature him have not been announced.
This is why Dcunha said, “Brand endorsements are key for SRK as he has been on the side lines when it comes to movies. Brand endorsements help him in keeping some recall value with the audience. No doubt he has a strong legacy but to remain pertinent in the present it is important to have a strong presence.”
Although Shah Rukh Khan has been away from the big screen since 2019, he has kept his connect with the audience through social media. His social media following across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram rose from 81.1 million in 2018 to 106.4 million last year.
Hence, Sethi said, the current controversy involving his son is very unlikely to impact Shah Rukh Khan’s brand deals.
“It may take a pause but once things go back to normal, brands would like to associate with him as he has great face value,” she added.
