Percept, Hansa releases second CelebTrack - Dhoni tops list

MS Dhoni tops the power list (all India), followed by Shah Rukh Khan in the second place and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the third. Some other names in the list are Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar (who has moved down four places compared to the last wave). 

This popularity list was released by Percept Talent Management (PTM), and Hansa Research, the leaders in the field of Talent Management and Media Research. The duo unveiled the second wave results of CelebTrack, a tool to gauge the popularity and influence of celebrities on consumers. According to PTM, in 2000, about 25 per cent of the ad rupee was spent on ads featuring celebrities, while in 2008, this percentage increased to 62.

Among the male actors, Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan feature in that order in the power list. Among the female actors, it is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, Hema Malii and Kareena Kapoor. Among cricketers, the list includes MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

The study is based on data from 12,000 respondents (urban, adults, SEC ABCD, aged 15-50 years) across India. The research reveals the position of celebrities on five parameters - media presence, popularity, image attributes, power of persuasion and over exposure - on which the celebrity power scores. This time, more celebrities from different genres (anchors, musicians) and better probing techniques have been employed.  
 
The study determines image attributes and persuasion power of celebrities, which will help advertisers find the right fit for their brands. Manish Porwal, chief executive officer, Percept Talent Management, says, "Our clients can now make informed and learned decisions, rather than relying on gut and anecdotal learning. Also, celebrities can benchmark themselves vis-à-vis their audience and accordingly price their involvement with brands."

According to the wave 2 of the study, Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sania Mirza top their respective genres as the most recognised stars. In terms of likeability, Amitabh Bachchan replaces Salman Khan. The latter scores low on persuasion, exposure and image parameters. In terms of popularity, cricketers score among the classes while actors score higher among the masses.

The top five most persuasive stars are Amitabh Bachchan among male actors, Yuvraj Singh among cricketers, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan among female actors and Sania Mirza among other sports personalities. Higher classes and men get more influenced by the top ten stars, while the masses get more influenced by women, the study suggests.

While Sachin Tendulkar falls below Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh in terms of power of persuasion, he still holds on for products needing maturity and stature, such as financial products.

The respondents did not wish to read more about Rakhi Sawant, Mallika Sherawat and Sreesanth, while they wished to read more about celebrities such as Aishwarya Rai, Akshay Kumar and Sachin Tendulkar.