If you are a follower of Poker or a fan, you must be acquainted with The Spartan Poker. With multiple tournaments and over 1600 people playing poker online daily, it is one of the leading online poker gaming website in India.
The flagship event India Online Poker championship which has been held each year is a mega event where players from all across India logged in to fight for Poker glory and of course. big money.
Those who are active on social media or have visited Goa in the past two months must've seen a funny hipster Babaji addressing you with Poker motifs.
Now, what does a Babaji have to do with Poker?
Well, it was a risky marketing venture by The Spartan Poker to connect to Poker players across India in a way never done in India with their #BabajiRaiseTheBarCampaign.
By placing a funny Babaji as the face of the India Online Poker Championship at a time when various self-styled Godmen and Babajis were going under the scanner, The Spartan Poker managed to intrigue unsuspecting audiences in what turned out to be a new take of Poker marketing especially in India, where the fast-growing Poker industry is still considered a niche market.
"The #BabajiRaiseTheBar campaign was about disrupting the imagery of Poker most Indians hold true and present them with the truth, that Poker is a game of skills and strategy by making the whole communication quite unlikely of any Poker company in the market. It fitted right in with our previous successful marketing campaigns in recent times, where we have only promoted Poker as a skill-enhancing sport," said co-founder and MD, The Spartan Poker, Amin Rozani.
The drift from the cliched 'James Bondesque' communication into such a uniquely Indian perspective was indeed highly risky. But how did the promotions fare in real time?
Well for starters, this edition of the India Online Poker Championship on The Spartan Poker saw over 16, 176 registrants participating in over 54 tournaments in the 10-day tournament series.
That's a huge leap from the last edition held in July 2017, which saw just over 10,500 registrants participating online. This means that poker has a sport has grown and more people are engaging with the sport now.
On top of that, the prize pools crossed over Rs seven crores, while the initial promised prize pool was Rs six crores.
The prize pool in the 2017 edition was just over Rs 3.5 crores. With double the amount in payouts this time around in comparison to the last edition, the IOPC has become a flagship online poker event for The Spartan Poker and fans alike.
The tournament also saw eight players walking away as millionaires and the Leaderboard Challenge winner, Sajal Gupta walking away with a brand new Jeep Compass car apart from his winnings in pay-outs.
Overall, the #BabajiRaiseTheBar campaign was a success and the fact that such a risky marketing campaign clicked in a niche market is something to cherish about.
"Poker is a sport that involves taking risk. But risks have to be supplemented with informed intuition. The campaign came at the right time and we were ready to bet on it since The Spartan Poker believes in breaking stereotypes in order to take this game forward. In the end, it is Poker that has triumphed and we are very happy with the way Poker is shaping up in India. After all, good things are happening in poker," Rozani added.
Youtube: https://youtu.be/b5KYaU799Cw
The Spartan Poker will be back with the India Online Poker Championship soon and the plans for the next edition are bigger than ever.
Meanwhile, with various daily tournaments, weekly events and more, Poker fans and players can continue to quench their thirst for Poker glory on www.TheSpartanPoker.com, There's a lot to play for and a lot to win.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
