Driving the brand: Dhoni cements popularity further with CSK cement

CSK or Dhoni, if masons ask for cement by either 'brand', India Cements has clearly won the game

Strength, resistance, all-weather proof. These represent the attributes of a cement brand — oddly called CSK — and CSK Skipper M S Dhoni (pictured).

Since its launch on March 16, India Cements’ Conkrete Super King (CSK) has sold close to 150,000 tonnes, contributing to around 8 per cent of the company’s monthly sales in the trade segment.

Dubbed “Dhoni cement” on social media — aflutter with tweets on Chennai Super Kings Cap­tain and Stephen Fleming knowing a thing about team building — the company is leveraging CSK and Dhoni for its brand of cement.

Although Brand Dhoni has been associated with the group since 2008 and appointed vice-president-marketing for India Cements in 2013, this is the first time the company is trying to pitch CSK and Dhoni for its core business.

“People ask for ‘Dhoni cem­ent’. We are capitalising on the name itself in the trade segment. Within a span of three months, we have sold 100,000 tonnes of CSK cement and are on track to achieve 150,000 tonnes,” says R Parthasarathy, chief marketing officer, India Cements.

The trade segment includes cement sold by manufacturers to dealers, who, in turn, sell it to consumers. Non-trade sales are those targeting bulk consumers and not intended for retail sale.

Of the total monthly sales volume of around 900,000 ton­nes by India Cements, around 470,000 tonnes is through the trade segment. Prior to the introduction of CSK cement, this was around 430,000 tonnes.

“CSK cement is contributing around 35,000-37,000 tonnes to the trade segment on a monthly basis, within the first three mon­ths. Our target is to increase this to around 25 per cent in the years to come,” adds Parthasarathy.

The brand comes under the premium category and is priced Rs 25 more than other brands. As a marketing technique, the cem­ent bags are also numbered se­ven, highlighting Dhoni’s jersey number at CSK and the brand’s “power of seven” qualities like quick setting time, easy work­ability, corrosion resistance, everlasting smooth finish, no seepage, and all weather-proof nature.

Even after his retirement, Dhoni is still considered one of the major celebrity faces in India.

According to a report by Duff & Phelps in March, Dhoni’s brand value was to the tune of around $61 million, making him the fifth-biggest celebrity in terms of brand value in India, after Virat Kohli, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, and Alia Bhatt.

DRIVING THE BRAND

• $61.2 mn M S Dhoni’s brand value in 2021
• 69% Rise in Dhoni’s brand value compared to $36.3 million in 2020
• 9.07 mn tonnes Sales volume of India Cements in 2021-22
• 900,000 tonnes Average sales per month in 2022-23
• 8% Share of CSK cement in trade segment out of a total of 470,000 tonnes
• Other major India Cements brands Sankar, Coromandel, Raasi

Source: Duff & Phelps report & India Cements