Durga Puja in Kolkata is becoming increasingly popular among corporate sponsors, with market data indicating a 30 per cent rise in puja sponsorships this year.
Till recently, the puja committees responsible for organising Durga Puja at localities (called 'para' in Bengali) in the city, would see cumulative sponsorships in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 2 crore, depending on the size of the puja.
This year, however, even mid-sized para-level pujas have bagged sponsorship up to Rs 50 lakhs, while the biggies grabbed sponsorships of up to Rs 3 crore cumulatively.
The hike in sponsorships is because companies are looking at engaging with consumers during the festive season and therefore, in addition to sponsoring pandals, they also line up various activities like quiz contests, prize distribution to children's events, etc.
While a branded Durga Puja is a distinct possibility this year, several television channels and print media firms have adopted a few of the 10,000-odd pandals that are set up across the city.
Even big sponsors for the event like Airtel, and Aircel for the first time this year, have adopted more than three absolutely para-level Durga Puja. The rational is to reach out to as many locations and pujas as possible and grab eyeballs.
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The biggest Durga Puja sponsors this year in Kolkata include the English daily The Telegraph from the Ananda Bazaar Patrika (ABP) group, Aircel, CESC, and Times of India, who have cumulatively reached out to over 200 pujas in Kolkata alone.
For one, organised marketing of the annual worship of Durga begun this year with a Bengali-owned American company buying the rights to a Kolkata puja that will have actor Mithun Chakraborty as its brand ambassador.
Every rupee spent on 'Badamtala Ashar Sangha Puja' at Chetla in Kolkata this year will come from the coffers of Media Morphosis, owned by New York-based Adris Chakrabarty. The company will market the event to recover its investment.
The firm reportedly has paid around Rs 8 lakh to acquire the organising rights. The company will not only handle the outdoor advertising rights but also all the nitty-gritty such as selling stall space along the land leading to the pandal, displaying hoardings, banners, selling ad space to different agencies and coordinating with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation,
According to Suvajit Sarkar of the Badamtala committee, “Our budget is approximately Rs 12-13 lakh. Only one per cent of this comes from subscription and the rest from sponsors.”
Media channel, Zee Bangla, is sponsoring Maddox Square puja this year, reportedly for Rs 12 lakh. Christened the Zee Bangla Mahapuja, the puja will be continuously aired by Zee Bangla, from anjali at the mandap to bhog distribution and arati, with the saturation coverage of reality television.
According to Neelanjan Deb, the secretary of the Deshapriya Park puja committee, “Our budget is Rs 16 lakh and our title sponsor this year is Fever FM. So Fever FM will have to be contacted whoever wants to advertise or put up banners at our puja this year." Fever has reportedly paid Rs 12 lakh for the branding rights.
The radio channel has bought sole sponsorship rights also of the FD Block puja in Salt Lake, Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsav Samity, Telengabagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav and Sealdah Railway Athletic Club.
STAR Ananda, the joint venture Bengali infotainment channel with Star Group, is not into single sponsorship this year.
Instead the channel is part sponsor at many pujas across the city, including Mudiali, Suruchi Sangha, Bagbazar Sarbojanin and others. Friends FM has tied up with 18 pujas.
As for the balance sheet, idols for 'barir pujo' costs Rs 8,000 and more, while the one for community puja begins at Rs 20,000. The price varies with the height of the idols. However, the traditional 'ekchala' concept costs approximately 12 per cent more because of its ornamentation.
The profit margin from a local order is approximately 15 per cent, but for overseas' order it is 35 per cent which are exported in bulk from Bengal especially to America, indicate market data. As orders from abroad are most sought after, artisans take special care to make these idols, which are 3-4 feet in height and they are specially packed for export. Though artisans wait for such orders, they don't get the entire sum. Middlemen who help them to bag these orders get 4-5 per cent commission.