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Tag: CEAT

  • Ceat UTT gets Kellogg’s as powered by sponsor

    Ceat UTT gets Kellogg’s as powered by sponsor

    MUMBAI: Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) season 2 is just around the corner as the dates are clashing with the FIFA World Cup 2018, on 14 June 2018. The 18 day-long tournament will be held in Pune, Delhi and Kolkata. This season, breakfast and cereal brand Kellogg’s has come on board as a sponsor in the ‘powered by’ category. With this new association, the league will be called CEAT UTT Powered by Kellogg’s.

    The six-franchise tournament has lined up India’s top stars, including Manika Batra and Sharath Kamal, to play alongside and against some of the finest players in the world. Opening matches will be played in Pune and New Delhi, with the grand finale in Kolkata.

    Kellogg’s India chief marketing officer Sumit Mathur said, “It is an honour to be associated with UTT, and we wish that all the athletes reach their full potential and achieve their dreams in the upcoming season.”

    “We are delighted to welcome Kellogg’s onboard. Their involvement is a testament to the widening reach and growing popularity of UTT. It will give a huge fillip to the league as well as to the sport of table tennis in the country. We look forward to a fruitful association with Kellogg’s,” said UTT co-owner Vita Dani.

    Six franchises will battle it out for the coveted trophy, with Falcons TTC coming in as the defending champions. With the continued support of various stakeholders, the Table Tennis Federation of India & the official league broadcaster, the Star Network, CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis Powered By Kellogg’s Season 2 promises to take the sport to greater heights and newer audiences.

  • CEAT signs cricketer Shubman Gill for bat endorsement deal

    CEAT signs cricketer Shubman Gill for bat endorsement deal

    MUMBAI: CEAT Ltd has got into a bat endorsement deal with Shubman Gill, one of the rising stars of the Indian men’s U- 19 cricket team. 

    This deal makes Shubman a valuable addition to team CEAT which also has the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishan Kishan and women cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur. He will now be seen playing with a bat prominently displaying CEAT insignia in all formats of the game. Shubman Gill, India U-19 teams was the most consistent batsman during the recent U-19 world cup and received the ICC World Cup player of the tournament award.

    CEAT vice president of marketing Nitish Bajaj says, “We are glad to sign the endorsement deal with the U-19 world cup star performer Shubman Gill.  At CEAT we strive to recognise fresh talent and encourage them in their cricketing journey. We believe that Shubman has all the required qualities to become a future cricketing superstar of India. We wish him all the very best and welcome him to the CEAT family.” 

    Gill adds, “I feel privileged to be part of the CEAT cricketing family, which is home to some of the finest names of Indian Cricket like Rohit Sir and Ajinkya Sir. I look forward to playing a long innings with CEAT!”

    CEAT has its roots gripped with cricket, including its partnership with IPL for the strategic time out segment and the CEAT cricket ratings that recognises and rewards the exceptional performances of players on the international stage.

  • UTT season 2: Sharath Kamal sold for Rs 3 crore to Yodhas

    UTT season 2: Sharath Kamal sold for Rs 3 crore to Yodhas

    MUMBAI: Three-time Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medallist Sharath Kamal Achanta is set for a new challenge in the second season of the Rs 3 crore CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis League (UTT), with the Yodhas swooping on him in the player draft.

    The Yodhas clinched the eight-time national champion, a strong contender for gold in the upcoming CWG in Gold Coast, in round three, after first picking their foreign male and female players. They opted for Chuang Chih-Yuan (Chinese Taipei; World No 18) and Sofia Polcanova (Austria; World No 21) to return with a solid team.

    Interestingly, the foreign women players were very much in demand, with the first seven choices out of 10, coming from that category.

    Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) senior VP Rajeev Bodas credited the CEAT UTT for the rise in the rankings of Indian players over the past year. “We have seen players’ rankings rise by 15-16 spots. For the first time in the history of Indian table tennis, we even had a player who went on to become World No 1 (Manav Thakkar in under-18 category; picked by the Challengers). Now, the TTFI and our players are viewed with a lot more respect on the world stage,” he said.

    “The CEAT UTT is the only league of this kind in the world and the TTFI is fully behind them, providing all assistance for the conduct of the league in a professional manner,” he added.

    The six franchises had to pick four foreign and four Indians each from six different categories (Indian male seniors, Indian male youth, Indian female seniors, Indian female youth, foreign male and foreign female) to ensure an exciting set of matches in each tie. The CEAT UTT commences in Pune from 14 June.

    The teams had the option of retaining one Indian player before the draft pick, and Falcons TTC and Dabang Smashers chose to hold on to Sanil Shetty and Gnanasekaran Sathiyan respectively. In all, 50 were in the pool for the franchises to pick their eight-member squads.

    The highest ranked foreign players Frenchman Simon Gauzy (World No 8) and Hong Kong’s Doo Hoi Kem (World No 11) were picked by Challengers and RP-SG Mavericks respectively. The youngest Olympian in the fray, Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico, went to Dabang Smashers.

    11Sports chairperson Vita Dani expressed her delight at the turnout of players for the second season. “Almost 50 per cent who took part in the inaugural season are back for the second season,” she pointed out. “This season will feature 25 Olympians, players of 19 different nationalities, 19 national champions and 17 No 1 ranked players. We are really proud that exciting talent from around the world is taking part this season,” she added.

    India’s top players Manika Batra (World No 66), Mouma Das (No 71) and Harmeet Desai (No 66) went to Dabang Smashers, RP-SG Mavericks, RP-SG Mavericks and Maharashtra United respectively.

    The league takes place at Pune’s Balewadi Indoor Stadium from 14-19 June 2018 before heading to Delhi’s Thyagaraj stadium from 20-25 June 2018. The final leg of the tournament will be played at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium from 26 June to 1 July 2018.

    CEAT-UTT SEASON 2 SQUADS

    Challengers: Men: Simon Gauzy (France), Manav Thakkar, Tiago Apolonia (Portugal), Arjun Ghosh. Women: Lee Ho Ching (Hong Kong), Georgina Pota (Hungary), Divya Deshpande, Prapti Sen.

    Dabang Smashers T.T.C: Men: Gnanasekaran Sathiyan, Yoshida Masaki (Japan), Sanish Ambekar, Cedric Nuytinck (Belgium). Women: Sakura Mori (Japan), Manika Batra, Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico), Archana Kamath.

    Falcons TTC: Men: Sanil Shetty, Liam Pitchford (Eng), Alvaro Robles (ESP), Ronit Bhanja. Women: Bernadette Szocs (Romania), Matilda Ekholm (Sweden), Sutirtha Mukherjee, Priyadarshini Das.

    Maharashtra United: Men: Kristian Karlsson (Sweden), Amalraj Anthony, Joao Monteiro (Portugal), Utkarsh Gupta. Women: Elizabeta Samara (Romania), Madhurika Patkar, Lily Zhang (USA), Selena Selvakumar.

    RP-SG Mavericks: Men: Mattias Karlsson (Sweden), Harmeet Desai, Kou Lei (Ukraine), Siddhesh Pande. Women: Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong), Ayhika Mukherjee, Mouma Das, Sabine Winter (Germany).

    Yodhas: Men: Chuang Chih-Yuan(Chinese Taipei), Achanta Sharath Kamal, Aruna Quadri (Nigeria), Ravindra Kotiyan. Women: Sofia Polcanova (Austria), Hana Matelova (Czech Republic), Pooja Sahasrabuddhe, Sreeja Akula

    Also Read:

    Regulatory hurdles prompt Star to telecast IPL’s Kannada feed on Star Suvarna Plus

    Hotstar launches AdServe to empower advertisers

    Star India bags production rights for IPL 2018

  • CEAT gets children to ensure parents follow road safety

    CEAT gets children to ensure parents follow road safety

    MUMBAI: Indian tyre manufacturer CEAT is airing a special social media campaign to build awareness to reduce road accidents as part of the road safety week 2018, i.e., 11-17 January 2018. The campaign, ‘drive safe dad’ originates from an innovative idea that blends emotions and technology in one package.

    The campaign film showcases a dad receiving a personalised bobblehead which is connected to the odometer of the vehicle. On over speeding, the device plays the recorded personalised message from their sons or daughters asking them to slow down. To take this initiative to the masses CEAT has launched the bobblehead on Amazon.

    CEAT vice president of marketing Nitish Bajaj says, “The campaign taps into the love and bond shared between a father and his child, encouraging parents to be more responsible on the road and follow the rules, more diligently. The crux of this concept comes from the fact that parents tend to take road safety more seriously when they hear it directly from their kids.”

    CEAT’s core idea of making mobility safer and smarter every day is reflected by this campaign which restrains dads from over-speeding their vehicles which had taken more than 73,896 lives in the year 2016 in India.

  • Ceat’s satirical take on how commuters & drivers act during monsoons

    MUMBAI: To ensure safe travel for bike riders against uncertainties during the monsoon season, Ceat Limited, a leading tyre manufacturer, has launched its latest TVC ‘Nehlau’.  Conceptualised by ‘Ogilvy and Mather’, the TVC addresses the core issue faced by bike riders of water splashes and getting drenched owing to the onslaught of larger vehicles moving past at high speeds. Such scenario can lead to slippage of vehicle or an accident. In order to prevent slippage of vehicles and ensure stronger tyre grip on wet roads, Ceat TVC announces the launch of its monsoon smart range of tyres.

    With its tongue-in-cheek humour, the TVC sets the narrative keeping its character “Mr. Nehlau” in the limelight. The story depicts the common incident observed on the roads during rainy season, wherein a super-fast vehicle driven by Mr. Nehlau takes an immense pleasure in splashing water on the passing by vehicles and pedestrians. At the end of the TVC, Ceat tyres save the biker from the huge water splash while conveying the strong message of ensuring safety of bike rider in difficult rainy situations.

    Ceat VP marketing Nitish Bajaj said, “Our attempt is to ensure safety of bike riders from all the hazards that come along during the monsoon season, which can challenge the riding experience. Tyre plays a crucial role in holding the ground, which is direly needed for bike riders in such season.”

    According to Ogilvy and Mather senior creative director Rohit Dubey, “Modern consumer has an attention span of a mayfly and commercials are watched on mute in gyms, lounges and lobbies. Just an insight is not enough. And that’s the raison d’être of our time-slice treatment.”

    “At a sub-cutaneous level, this campaign is not just about sensitizing the consumer to Ceat’s ‘all season tyres’, it’s also an attempt in bolstering our brand voice. We intend to strike a chord with bikers not just as a tyre manufacturer, but as a riding mate who knows what they go through”, he added. The film has been shot in Film city Mumbai and directed by Arun Gopalan.

    Ceat’s brand positioning has always been geared towards focusing on the tyres’ superior grip which provides a safer travelling experience. This is one of the many initiatives Ceat has undertaken to reiterate its audience connect. 

  • Ultimate Table Tennis: Ceat is title sponsor

    MUMBAI: In what can be termed as a major boost to the inaugural edition of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), India’s leading tyre manufacturing brand Ceat has come on board as title sponsor.

    Ceat has been associated with other sports in the past and their latest association with India’s first-ever Professional Table Tennis League comes as a shot in the arm for the sport. Ceat is the flagship company of Rs 22,000-crore RPG Enterprises.

    With this new association, the league will be called Ceat UTT. “Table Tennis is a very dynamic sport and we are very happy to come on board as the title sponsor for Ultimate Table Tennis which has the potential to revolutionise the sport in India. We at Ceat believe that the young crop of players have it in them to create greater success stories in the following years. We already have several Olympians in India from Table Tennis and I am sure that with the right kind of backing and exposure which Ceat UTT will provide, their performances in other major international events will be impacted positively. Ceat is committed to the development of the sport in India and are keen to help the sport in its endeavour to achieve glory,” stated Ceat Limited MD Anant Goenka.

    The corporate giant further stated that apart from the title sponsorship, they would continue to help the players in different ways like they do with other Indian sports. “CEAT has been actively involved with various other sports in India for a while now and we are very grateful to them for coming on board as title sponsor. This is another boost in our endeavour to bring about a revolution in table tennis and help the sport grow to greater echelons in India,” said Ceat UTT league owner Vita Dani.

    Ceat Ultimate Table Tennis will start from 13 July, 2017 in Chennai then will move to Delhi from 21 July and the ultimate culmination, two semifinals and final will be held in Mumbai from July 26, 2017. The league will have 24 of the best Indians as well as 24 world-class international players competing against one another through six clubs. Each club will have eight players—four men and four women with an equal mix of overseas and Indian players, apart from a foreign and an Indian coach. The league will be broadcast live on Star Sports Select 2 HD, Star Sports Select 2, Hotstar and JioTV.

  • Play ‘Game of Roads’ on CEAT

    Play ‘Game of Roads’ on CEAT

    MUMBAI: CEAT was always a brand that reflected road insights in its communication. That coupled with the core brand promise of safety got us thinking on the current brief. While the ‘idiots’ campaign reflected common road behaviour, this rendition aims to focus more on the person who makes every rider / driver’s worst nightmare come true – be it the guy who runs and stops ahead of your bike without any warning, or the one who thinks his hand can stop any vehicle with just a gesture. The space is potent enough for multiple personality renditions as India is full of such people. In portraying them, we aim to also educate on road sense.

    In the new TVC, “In the Game of Roads, CEAT Helps”, the concept of “Be Idiot Safe” campaign was evolved to the next level. TVC shows a jaywalker sprint through traffic, forcing the vehicle to brake instantaneously. This creates a ripple effect as everyone stops what they are doing busy staring at the jaywalker anticipating a collision—all in freeze frame. Amidst the chaos, a motorcyclist screeches to a halt gaining attention of the crowd causing a series of mishaps in the background; however, the motorist and the jaywalker remain to be safe with the help of CEAT Superior Grip Tyre.

    CEAT Limited ED-Operations Arnab Banerjee said, “CEAT’s purpose is to make mobility safer and smarter every day, and the chaos caused by jaywalkers creates the context for delivering the message that CEAT is the safest bet on Indian roads. As a brand we have been evolving our association and brand communication related to safety which was prevalent in the past Idiot safe and Tubeless campaigns. We wish to fortify and strengthen our market share in both the two wheeler and four wheeler segments and the TVC campaign is aligned to these objectives.

    CEAT Tyres VP marketing Nitish Bajaj, “The TVC campaign revolves around communicating CEAT as a safe brand in the two wheeler segment. The brand communication for CEAT is geared towards safety on Indian roads and you will see the same across our other product categories as well. The campaign is well aligned with our objective to have a long-lasting association with safety. Going forward, we wish to achieve a strong brand equity linked to safety along with realising our business goals.”

    Ogilvy Advertising ECD Kiran Anthony said, “The most heart wrenching moment for any rider or driver on the road is a pedestrian in front of his vehicle. While the pedestrian is cool, calm and composed with the knowledge that his antics will save him from accidents. Fact is, antics didn’t. The tyres did. And that’s what we tried to highlight in the commercials. When the world around reacts to the pedestrians foolishness, all he does is sheepishly grin and walk away, thanks to CEAT tyres.”

  • Play ‘Game of Roads’ on CEAT

    Play ‘Game of Roads’ on CEAT

    MUMBAI: CEAT was always a brand that reflected road insights in its communication. That coupled with the core brand promise of safety got us thinking on the current brief. While the ‘idiots’ campaign reflected common road behaviour, this rendition aims to focus more on the person who makes every rider / driver’s worst nightmare come true – be it the guy who runs and stops ahead of your bike without any warning, or the one who thinks his hand can stop any vehicle with just a gesture. The space is potent enough for multiple personality renditions as India is full of such people. In portraying them, we aim to also educate on road sense.

    In the new TVC, “In the Game of Roads, CEAT Helps”, the concept of “Be Idiot Safe” campaign was evolved to the next level. TVC shows a jaywalker sprint through traffic, forcing the vehicle to brake instantaneously. This creates a ripple effect as everyone stops what they are doing busy staring at the jaywalker anticipating a collision—all in freeze frame. Amidst the chaos, a motorcyclist screeches to a halt gaining attention of the crowd causing a series of mishaps in the background; however, the motorist and the jaywalker remain to be safe with the help of CEAT Superior Grip Tyre.

    CEAT Limited ED-Operations Arnab Banerjee said, “CEAT’s purpose is to make mobility safer and smarter every day, and the chaos caused by jaywalkers creates the context for delivering the message that CEAT is the safest bet on Indian roads. As a brand we have been evolving our association and brand communication related to safety which was prevalent in the past Idiot safe and Tubeless campaigns. We wish to fortify and strengthen our market share in both the two wheeler and four wheeler segments and the TVC campaign is aligned to these objectives.

    CEAT Tyres VP marketing Nitish Bajaj, “The TVC campaign revolves around communicating CEAT as a safe brand in the two wheeler segment. The brand communication for CEAT is geared towards safety on Indian roads and you will see the same across our other product categories as well. The campaign is well aligned with our objective to have a long-lasting association with safety. Going forward, we wish to achieve a strong brand equity linked to safety along with realising our business goals.”

    Ogilvy Advertising ECD Kiran Anthony said, “The most heart wrenching moment for any rider or driver on the road is a pedestrian in front of his vehicle. While the pedestrian is cool, calm and composed with the knowledge that his antics will save him from accidents. Fact is, antics didn’t. The tyres did. And that’s what we tried to highlight in the commercials. When the world around reacts to the pedestrians foolishness, all he does is sheepishly grin and walk away, thanks to CEAT tyres.”

  • India’s sports sponsorship grew to Rs 51,854 million in 2015; PayTM, Hero, CEAT and MRF emerge as big spenders

    India’s sports sponsorship grew to Rs 51,854 million in 2015; PayTM, Hero, CEAT and MRF emerge as big spenders

    MUMBAI: For those you are into sports, be it for the love of the game or love of the business that revolves around it, the welcome news is that  India has set itself to become a sporting nation that thrives not only on cricket but number of other sports as well. India with a thriving culture around sports is not a distant mirage but a near reality. The figures in the  3rd edition of Sporting Nation In The Making – III is a testament to this growth.

    This comprehensive report compiled by GroupM’s entertainment and sports arm ESP Properties and SportzPower shows that sports sponsorship in India has grown from Rs 46,165 million (Rs 4,616.50 crore) in 2014 to Rs 51,854 million (Rs 5,185.40 crore) in 2015 accounting for 10.4 per cent of the total Indian advertising expenditure. That is a  whooping 12.3 per cent growth.

    ESP Properties business head Vinit Karnik emphasised how sports can be harnessed as a successful communication medium by brands. He said, “There is definitely a cultivated sense of understanding between corporate sponsors, sports teams and federations. A symbiotic marketing relationship has emerged within the sporting ecosystem in India. 2016 will be fantastic for not only players and federations, but also for brands and spectators, with a deeper engagement with sporting properties.”

    Despite the challenges, ICC World Cup managed to garner Rs 5000 million (Rs 500 crore) in advertising revenues in 2015. On air sponsorships over all increased by 6.8 per cent YoY from Rs 25,180 million (Rs 2,518 crore) to Rs 26,900 million (Rs 2,690 crore). Out of which, 30 to 35 per cent was contributed by the emerging sports in India, while cricket took the bulk of the share.

    Interestingly, only  30 percent of the growth came from On Air deals, while the rest of the 70 percent came from  on ground sponsorships, team sponsorships, franchise fee and athlete’s brand endorsement deals, with on ground seeing  most of the action. It grew by 30 per cent from Rs 7948 million (Rs 794.80 crore) to Rs 10,305 million (Rs 1,030.50 crore).

    Though cricket bit the biggest chunk off this sponsorship pie, emerging sports leagues were the real growth drivers. Going by the figures roughly 51.38 per cent of the on ground sponsorship share was cricket’s contribution while the rest was all emerging sports.

    “Sports other than cricket have successfully established themselves in terms of revenue and fandom within the Indian sporting firmament,” SportzPower co founder Thomas Abraham shared. “Sports like kabaddi andfFootball have massively increased sponsorship revenues in 2015 and we saw return editions of sports like tennis and hockey as well. The successful launch of the Pro Wrestling League bodes well for 2016, which will see the advent of more franchise based leagues. We expect 2016 to be a good year for cricket as well as other sports, generating ad spends and clocking in corporate investments at an exponential pace,” he added.

    Infact, football saw an amazing 91.6 per cent sponsorship growth from the previous year valuing it at Rs 1140 million (Rs 114 crore) in 2015.  The biggest success story is perhaps Pro Kabaddi League, which grew by 300 per cent YoY and clocked at Rs 480 million (Rs 48 crore) in on ground sponsorship deals without a title sponsor. As per Karnik, it was a clever strategy by the broadcaster to not lock down their title sponsor and raise the bar for the next season.

    eCommerce brands took the lead as top spenders in the total ad spends on sports in 2015, followed closely by automobile brands. PayTM, CEAT Tyres and MRF Tyres together contributed Rs 1078 million (Rs 107.8 crore) per year, increasing cricket’s on ground ad spends by 14 per cent.

    Endorsements played a huge role in upping the sponsorship ante in 2015 with the sector seeing 27 per cent growth. The biggest endorsement deal was undoubtedly Tata Motors’ bringing Lionel Messi onboard on a two year deal of worth Rs 600 million (Rs 60 crore) per year. 2015 also saw Virat Kohli entering the Rs 1,000 million (Rs 100 crore) endorsement club that God Of Cricket Tendulkar and MS Dhoni earlier ruled.

    “Women are ruling the endorsement game when it comes to non-cricketing sports,” said Karnik. “Between Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza and MC Mary Kom, the ladies share almost 40 per cent of the endorsement spends in the market with over 10 brands in each player’s kitty.” Abraham credited their sophisticated and enthusiastic engagement of fans over social media to be the driving factor apart from their continued  good performance throughout the year.

    The stress on digital, and social engagement is reiterated by both Abraham and Karnik as critical to players and teams as stats show that 70 percent of fans bring mobile phones to the stadium to share their experience, while 46 percent of mobile internet users search for sports related news and content online.

    Karnik calls 2016 to be the year of the fans and points out two key trends that will drive growth in the sector. “Now that we have sowed the seeds of a sporting nation in India, 2016 will see a great synergy between broadcasters, association’s, franchise owners, players and all other stakeholders to come together to build a culture around sports and build the fanbase. Secondly longer seasons or play for they sport will give more opportunities for brands to engage with the fans,” shared Karnik, adding that Pro Kabaddi League will see two seasons this year. Abraham on the other hand names volleyball to be the next big entrant in emerging sports league scene, which will launch with three separate sub-leagues to its name — beach volleyball, men’s volleyball and women’s volleyball league.

  • India’s sports sponsorship grew to Rs 51,854 million in 2015; PayTM, Hero, CEAT and MRF emerge as big spenders

    India’s sports sponsorship grew to Rs 51,854 million in 2015; PayTM, Hero, CEAT and MRF emerge as big spenders

    MUMBAI: For those you are into sports, be it for the love of the game or love of the business that revolves around it, the welcome news is that  India has set itself to become a sporting nation that thrives not only on cricket but number of other sports as well. India with a thriving culture around sports is not a distant mirage but a near reality. The figures in the  3rd edition of Sporting Nation In The Making – III is a testament to this growth.

    This comprehensive report compiled by GroupM’s entertainment and sports arm ESP Properties and SportzPower shows that sports sponsorship in India has grown from Rs 46,165 million (Rs 4,616.50 crore) in 2014 to Rs 51,854 million (Rs 5,185.40 crore) in 2015 accounting for 10.4 per cent of the total Indian advertising expenditure. That is a  whooping 12.3 per cent growth.

    ESP Properties business head Vinit Karnik emphasised how sports can be harnessed as a successful communication medium by brands. He said, “There is definitely a cultivated sense of understanding between corporate sponsors, sports teams and federations. A symbiotic marketing relationship has emerged within the sporting ecosystem in India. 2016 will be fantastic for not only players and federations, but also for brands and spectators, with a deeper engagement with sporting properties.”

    Despite the challenges, ICC World Cup managed to garner Rs 5000 million (Rs 500 crore) in advertising revenues in 2015. On air sponsorships over all increased by 6.8 per cent YoY from Rs 25,180 million (Rs 2,518 crore) to Rs 26,900 million (Rs 2,690 crore). Out of which, 30 to 35 per cent was contributed by the emerging sports in India, while cricket took the bulk of the share.

    Interestingly, only  30 percent of the growth came from On Air deals, while the rest of the 70 percent came from  on ground sponsorships, team sponsorships, franchise fee and athlete’s brand endorsement deals, with on ground seeing  most of the action. It grew by 30 per cent from Rs 7948 million (Rs 794.80 crore) to Rs 10,305 million (Rs 1,030.50 crore).

    Though cricket bit the biggest chunk off this sponsorship pie, emerging sports leagues were the real growth drivers. Going by the figures roughly 51.38 per cent of the on ground sponsorship share was cricket’s contribution while the rest was all emerging sports.

    “Sports other than cricket have successfully established themselves in terms of revenue and fandom within the Indian sporting firmament,” SportzPower co founder Thomas Abraham shared. “Sports like kabaddi andfFootball have massively increased sponsorship revenues in 2015 and we saw return editions of sports like tennis and hockey as well. The successful launch of the Pro Wrestling League bodes well for 2016, which will see the advent of more franchise based leagues. We expect 2016 to be a good year for cricket as well as other sports, generating ad spends and clocking in corporate investments at an exponential pace,” he added.

    Infact, football saw an amazing 91.6 per cent sponsorship growth from the previous year valuing it at Rs 1140 million (Rs 114 crore) in 2015.  The biggest success story is perhaps Pro Kabaddi League, which grew by 300 per cent YoY and clocked at Rs 480 million (Rs 48 crore) in on ground sponsorship deals without a title sponsor. As per Karnik, it was a clever strategy by the broadcaster to not lock down their title sponsor and raise the bar for the next season.

    eCommerce brands took the lead as top spenders in the total ad spends on sports in 2015, followed closely by automobile brands. PayTM, CEAT Tyres and MRF Tyres together contributed Rs 1078 million (Rs 107.8 crore) per year, increasing cricket’s on ground ad spends by 14 per cent.

    Endorsements played a huge role in upping the sponsorship ante in 2015 with the sector seeing 27 per cent growth. The biggest endorsement deal was undoubtedly Tata Motors’ bringing Lionel Messi onboard on a two year deal of worth Rs 600 million (Rs 60 crore) per year. 2015 also saw Virat Kohli entering the Rs 1,000 million (Rs 100 crore) endorsement club that God Of Cricket Tendulkar and MS Dhoni earlier ruled.

    “Women are ruling the endorsement game when it comes to non-cricketing sports,” said Karnik. “Between Saina Nehwal, Sania Mirza and MC Mary Kom, the ladies share almost 40 per cent of the endorsement spends in the market with over 10 brands in each player’s kitty.” Abraham credited their sophisticated and enthusiastic engagement of fans over social media to be the driving factor apart from their continued  good performance throughout the year.

    The stress on digital, and social engagement is reiterated by both Abraham and Karnik as critical to players and teams as stats show that 70 percent of fans bring mobile phones to the stadium to share their experience, while 46 percent of mobile internet users search for sports related news and content online.

    Karnik calls 2016 to be the year of the fans and points out two key trends that will drive growth in the sector. “Now that we have sowed the seeds of a sporting nation in India, 2016 will see a great synergy between broadcasters, association’s, franchise owners, players and all other stakeholders to come together to build a culture around sports and build the fanbase. Secondly longer seasons or play for they sport will give more opportunities for brands to engage with the fans,” shared Karnik, adding that Pro Kabaddi League will see two seasons this year. Abraham on the other hand names volleyball to be the next big entrant in emerging sports league scene, which will launch with three separate sub-leagues to its name — beach volleyball, men’s volleyball and women’s volleyball league.