John, Abraham is not just eye candy, he's advise to Yamaha

As a popular Bollywood actor, John Abraham has more than his share of endorsements, among them Castrol engine oil and Garnier Men's cosmetics. But for motorcycle maker Yamaha, Abraham is more than mere eye candy on a bike, he's also become a prized adviser, an unusual relationship to have developed between company and celebrity brand ambassador.

Then again, Abraham's background isn't exactly typical of Bollywood. The former model has an MBA in marketing and worked for three years in advertising as a planner with Enterprise Nexus Communications Pvt. Ltd. He's also a certified motorcycle aficionado, an aspect that was woven into the story line of Dhoom (2004), one of Abraham's biggest hits.

"The thing about John, and we've known this for a long time, is that he has been a Yamaha customer since his college days and is really passionate and knowledgeable about bikes," said Pankaj Dubey, national business head, India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd.

"So, one day, we were basically talking about the FZ-S and the Fazer and how we were focusing on premium markets which were tough to penetrate due to the competition. That's when he chipped in and gave us some very valuable inputs on what customers expect of a brand like Yamaha."

Abraham has contributed significantly to aspects that range from ad campaigns and media planning to product design.

"We worked on those insights and things started clicking," Dubey said. "That's when we decided to get him on board as an adviser, sharing with him everything, from strategy, markets, the advertising, media planning."

Abraham was inducted early this year and regularly attends meetings of the advisory board, including one in June in Delhi, where the company is based. While he gets his standard fee for being a brand ambassador, he doesn't take a fee for the advisory role.

Typically, a celebrity ambassador will set aside a certain number of days each year for the brand. The time is mainly used for public appearances, media briefings, promotions and shooting ad campaigns, among other things.

According to industry estimates, Abraham charges approximately Rs3 crore for six days every year. The star is managed by Madison-MATES, a unit of Sam Balsara's Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd.