Marketing activities gather frenetic pace as the ICC World Cup draws near
Dear Egypt, hope you’re done before Feb 19th. Because after that, nobody here is going to care,” read someone’s Facebook status update. Like it or not, come February 19, India will be talking about cricket, cricket and only cricket for the next few months. What more could advertisers and marketers have asked for!
To cash in on the frenzy around the World Cup, followed by the fourth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which kicks off a week after the World Cup ends, companies have padded up to launch a blistering attack on the consumers. New product launches, advertising campaigns, offers… you name it. According to industry estimates, the advertising spend on cricket in 2011 would be close to Rs 2,000 crore.
The fever begins
It was watch brand Timex, which set the ball rolling in September 2010 by launching a special World Cup collection designed by Italian designer Giorgio Galli. The collection comprises 12 watches, and also has watches that have stitching patterns that represent the contours of a cricket ball. The price range of these watches: Rs 1,400-Rs 6,000. “It’s a great opportunity to connect with our customers,” says VD Wadhwa, managing director, Timex India.
To cash in on the World Cup fever, PepsiCo has launched six flavours under Lays Flavour World Cup 2011. “These World Cup special flavours will not only boost sales but will be able to engage our consumers in a better way,” says Vidur Vyas, marketing director, PepsiCo Foods India. The company is promoting the new flavours through a multimedia campaign as well as through social and digital media. A new portal www.laysflavourcup.com has been created especially around the World Cup flavours.
Pepsi has changed the graphics on its pet bottle as well and launched a limited edition. The blue bottle carries Indian team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s new ‘fire-in-the-belly’ body painted image.
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PepsiCo’s sports drink brand Gatorade has joined the race with Gatorade’s limited edition World Cup packs. Consumers can participate in the “Refuel the Champions” contest, where some of the winners will get a chance to ride the Gatorade drinks trolley, and spend the drinks break with the cricketers at the pitch.
Sony India is pushing its HD range of television sets around the World Cup and has set a target to sell about 2.5 lakh units. The Japanese electronics major has also roped in MS Dhoni as brand ambassador. Masaru Tamagawa, managing director, Sony India, says, “Cricket is the most popular sport in India and makes for a perfect platform to bring HD closer to our consumers.” The company has earmarked Rs 100 crore on marketing and promotional activities.
Retail chain Big Bazaar has launched specially designed cricket merchandise for men, women and children. The range includes t-shirts, track pants, shorts, sweatshirts, caps, head bands and other accessories. The company has also launched a range of personal care products under its Sach brand, named after Sachin Tendulkar.
Korean electronics major LG, which is also the global technology partner to the ICC World Cup, has unveiled a campaign titled Lead 11. As part of the initiative, it has launched a contest, slated to run till mid-March, in which 885 kids in the 8-14 age group would be selected through a lucky draw to lead the cricketers to the ground. They will also sing the national anthem with the cricketers in every match.
The company has also launched an activation programme, LG Mobile Army. Under this the company will recruit 2,500 cadets to cheer players inside the stadium. Taking this initiative forward, LG has rolled out a television campaign in which its brand ambassadors, John Abraham, Genelia D’Souza and cricketer Dinesh Karthik, urge people to join the mobile army.
In all, the company has earmarked Rs 40 crore for its World Cup campaign. The company is looking at “a substantial increase” in sales across verticals like LCD TVs and mobile handsets, especially smart phones.
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), the official car partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup, has launched a campaign, “We’re Game”. Arvind Saxena, director (marketing & sales), HMIL says, “Three ‘flag’ cars will tour Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. These cars painted with the flags of the participating countries are meant to create excitement among our customers."
As the official restaurant partner of the ICC World Cup 2011, KFC has launched a special edition KFC Fan Bucket, which will be available at 108 KFC stores across India during the World Cup.
Reebok India plans to spend 60 per cent of this year’s marketing budget during the month of February and March, when the ICC World Cup 2011 takes place followed by the IPL-4. The company has unveiled a new product range — comprising futuristic Reebok Zigtech bats, customised cricket footwear and Zigtech trainers — and a supporting campaign, “Zig will get us the cup”.
Brands not associated with the World Cup or the game of cricket are also trying to cash in on the cricket fever. Take online travel company, Yatra.com, which has launched Yatra.com cricket manager, a virtual game based on the Cricket World Cup, in which participants will have to manage various aspects of the virtual team to earn points. On its part, Fever 104 FM has unveiled its ‘One Day Mataram’ campaign and has roped in Sourav Ganguly as its in-house expert.
World Cup vs IPL?
The tricky part for companies would be balancing the IPL and the World Cup. “The World Cup is big but the IPL has taken top priority among advertisers,” says Devraj Sanyal, CEO, Percept Sports and Talent Management. The hoopla around the IPL and the television ratings make it a bigger draw even though the World Cup is being held in India after a gap of 15 years. According to a Mumbai-based media planner, “Be it spot rates on TV or promotional activities, the IPL will be a bigger deal.”
But companies like Sony, LG and PepsiCo are not worried. “The World Cup is an event which everyone is looking forward to and the viewership would be huge,” says LG’s Gupta. According to ESPN STAR Sports, the viewership of the World Cup would be close to 1 billion over 200 territories. “That’s a huge market for everyone involved,” says Sanyal of Percept Sports and Talent Management.
As they say there’s no such thing as too much cricket when it comes to India. The advertisers and marketers would be hoping that is the case this time as well.
In associate with Arunima Mishra & Preeti Khicha