MUMBAI: Fantasy cricket app Gamezy has launched a new IPL campaign featuring brand ambassador KL Rahul, which revolves around the thought, “Play Fantasy Cricket Hatke.”
The new series of Gamezy advertisements, conceptualised by Aagey Se Right, will run across live broadcasts of cricket matches on Star Sports. Apart from live cricket, the brand also plans to showcase these commercials on various digital platforms to amplify the reach amongst the vast cricket fan base.
Aagey se Right founder & creative director Abhay Mehta said that the new ad campaign is aimed to make people identify Gamezy in its true essence.
"The idea of playing fantasy cricket with more innovative features; hence making the gameplay Hatke was essentially the brand's message for its users. With the overall category focusing on creating teams and joining contests, Gamezy’s core offering is all about making the fantasy experience more exciting with its unique features like live and & 2nd Innings," he added.
Mehta also lauded KL Rahul for his performance in the advertisement and revealed that the cricketer has raised his acting bar to a whole new level.
"The current set of ads plays upon situations a fan has to face while playing fantasy sports in a humorous manner. Gamezy with its Hatke offering of new variants is trying to not only offer a solution to enhance gaming experience but also disrupt the category which otherwise is heading towards being a commodity," said Gameskraft SVP – marketing Harish Rawat.
KL Rahul said, "Continuing the innovation and hatke features that Gamezy has to offer, this time around, I loved challenging myself again in a completely different genre. And I'm thrilled with the love that Samaybhaiya and Jollybhai are receiving.”
NEW DELHI: BharatPe, has launched its TV campaign starring ‘Team BharatPe’ with 11 Cricket stars. The TVC series has been directed by ace Bollywood director, Puneet Malhotra, and communicates the message ‘Hum Hai Team BharatPe – Jo Desh Ke Har Dukandaar Ke Saath Hai Khade’. This is the first time that a new age FinTech company has rolled out a TV campaign with 11 top cricket stars as its brand ambassadors. Team BharatPe includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.
The company is set to redefine the financial services landscape with its four TV advertisements designed to drive awareness around BharatPe’s range of financial products for small shop owners across India, including QR based payment acceptance, no collateral loans, card payment machine with 0% transaction fee, and the exciting loyalty program. The new campaign will feature across channels – TV, Print, Radio, digital and will run throughout the cricket and festive season.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer said, “BharatPe has been the flagbearer of disruptive marketing. Last year, we created immense brand recall and the merchant connect with Salman Khan as our brand ambassador. Cricket is a great unifier and hence, for this year’s campaign, we decided to build our own team of cricket stars to reach out to merchants and showcase how our range of financial products can help scale their business.”
BharatPe head – brands and commerce Subhasis Beura said, “We will be rolling out a series of 4 TV ads across channels in the coming days. We are hopeful that this campaign will not only help us engage better with our existing merchants but also enable us to reach out to a wide range of prospective merchants across the country. Our TV campaign is well-timed as the merchants are gearing up to shed the impact of COVID and make the most of the festive season. This is timed to catch the cricket fever and the restart of cricket for Team India.”
BharatPe AVP marketing Abhishek Shah said, “Cricket is an ‘unrivalled’ communication platform in reach, engagement, and therefore, impact. We have always connected with small merchants through authentic, credible communication by keeping it light and fun like in case of the last year’s campaign with Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan. The objective of the new campaign is to build demand for our products and services and to humanize the brand. The campaign will serve as a quirky reminder to team up with BharatPe to grow your business.”
Delhi based creative & digital agency ArtE MediaTech facilitated the campaign shoot across two countries and five states.
NEW DELHI: IPL’s electrifying debut aired on 18 April, 2008, and India has been hooked ever since. Every year, more and more people are tuning into the sporting tournament, cheering for their favourite teams and players, and sharing their excitement on social media. The viewership for this ‘grand festival’ of cricket has massively risen and for brands, it’s more like an advertising bonanza. Every year, the latter put their best foot forward to connect with the audience.
In a similar fashion, both the IPL committee and teams have consistently released interesting anthems to fire up fans and increase the recall of both team and tournament to the next level. It involves roping in advertising agencies and production houses to create films that reflect the audiences' craziness and love for the tournament and the team.
This year is no different. Even though Covid2019 appeared as a deterrent in the early days, the relentless will of players, committee and broadcaster got it all together in the end. The franchise released the anthem Aayenge Hum Wapas, which resonated strongly with people for its ‘we shall overcome’ message. It showcased how people eagerly waited for the tournament and featured stalwarts of the game including the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumra, KL Rahul, and many other players.
Soon after, Mumbai Indians also dropped the latest avatar of its theme song 'Aala Re'.
Interestingly, all these anthems were carefully conceptualised keeping in mind the current Covid2019 situation. Each of them focused on adhering to safety norms, wearing masks, maintaining distance and other precautions.
Right from advertisers to marketers to the audience, the IPL anthem is something that everyone looks forward to, for the a spellbinding video supporting it, and over the years it has managed to leave an imprint on the audience. From ‘Ek Happy India Wala’ to ‘Come on Bulaava Aaya Hain’ to the most famous one ‘Jumping- Japang’ by Farhan Khan has struck chords with the viewers.
With the nation currently in the throes of IPl fever, indiantelevision.com has curated a list of all the anthems and popular campaigns presented by the franchise over the decade.
IPL Season 1 (2008): “Cricket Ka Dharmayudh”
Probably the best of IPL promos, the official song of IPL 2008 remains to be one of the most awesome theme songs of IPL.
IPL Season 2 (2009): “Divided by Nations, United by IPL…
As the tagline says, the IPL brought nations and rival players together. To this day, it comes across as one of the most meaningful IPL ads, the beautifully-shot video depicts how different cultures from around the world are tied by a sporting event. Back in 2009, the IPL was played in South Africa owing to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India.
IPL Season 3 (2010): “Saare Jahan Se Acha” & “Lautaaya”
This IPL theme will remind you of Lagaan and Chak De India – two of the most popular sports films in Indian cinema. Also, you’ll be delighted to see how Ayushmann Khurana was shaking a leg to the musical tunes of IPL 2010.
IPL Season 4 (2011): “Dum lagake mara ray”
Dum Laga Ke Mara Re was all about peoples’ craze for IPL and its popularity which cuts across demographics and national boundaries. The video showed IPL fans dancing on the streets, even breaking into some of umpire Billy Bowden’s signature moves, to welcome the new season of the sporting extravaganza.
IPL Season 5 (2012): “Aisa Mauka Aur Kaha Milega”
The official track of IPL 2012 focused on the theme of ‘opportunity’. Composed by Salim Sulaiman, the song’s lyrics underscored how the IPL promotes young domestic players and allows them to make their mark on one of the biggest cricketing platforms in the world.
IPL Season 6 (2013): “Jumping Zapak”
Remember Farah Khan dancing to the tune of Jumping Zapak with people everywhere, be it the station, the office, or any other place? The song had a simple message which was a big hit nonetheless: have fun and enjoy the IPL anywhere.
IPL Season 7 (2014): “Come on Bulava Aaya Hai”
Every year from April to June, the nation descends into IPL madness, with many people sitting glued to their TVs for every single match. The concept behind the seventh season’s theme song was: drop whatever you are doing, because you’re invited! Don’t miss out on watching the IPL!
IPL Season 8 (2015): “India ka Tyohaar”
The IPL is no longer a mere sporting event, but a full-on festival in India. During its eight edition, IPL launched India Ka Tyohar, which is arguably the most appealing anthem ever and still resonates with people.
IPL Season 9 (2016): “Ek India Happywala”
Ek India Happy Wala showed how good elements in the society are what defines a country, and everyone should look for happiness, unity, and harmony instead of negativity.
IPL Season 10 (2017): “Das Saal Aapke Naam”
On This upbeat symphony was dedicated to the tournament’s die-hard fans and viewers, who ensured IPL’s longevity in spite of a host of scandals marring its decade-long run.
IPL Season 11 (2018): “Yeh khel hai sher jawano ka”
Inspired from the iconic song Yeh desh hai veer jawano ka in the Dilip Kumar-starrer sports drama Naya Daur, this video of this anthem plays back thrilling moments from preceding seasons of the IPL.
IPL Season 12 (2019): “Game Banayega Name”
Game Banayega Name shone the light on newcomers taking on star players in the twelfth edition of the IPL. The lyrics humko bhi ek mauka do encapsulates the rookies’ hunger to prove themselves and determination to make it big.
Extra innings! Here’s a round-up of a few popular ad campaigns by IPL over the years.
Bharat Bandh
One of the satirical promos launched by the franchise was the ‘Bharat Bandh’ ad, which humorously portrayed politicians throwing a fit when they heard about the 51-day nationwide shutdown. The reason? IPL, of course!
Tashreef Tokra
Do you still remember Tashreef Tokra? The ad showed a large number of people carrying chairs and making an outdoor stadium in a busy market to watch their favourite game together. The dialogue Aisa mauka aur kaha milega captured the fanaticism of a cricket fan which overshadows everything else.
Sare Jahan se Acha
The second edition of the IPL was held in another country. In order to make their homecoming a moment of reckoning, the third season went big with the Sare Jahan se Acha campaign, which evoked a sense of patriotism among people.
NEW DELHI: Fantasy cricket app Gamezy has come up with Naya Zamana V/S Purana Zamana ad campaign starring brand ambassador KL Rahul to usher the game into the new digital age.
Even though fantasy cricket has been around for quite some time now, it has failed to evolve and cater to new age aspirations. Conceptualised by video content agency Aagey se Right, the new IPL campaign Naya Zamana V/S Purana Zamana tries to communicate the message of ‘out with the old, in with the new’.
Gamezy's campaign #NayeZamaneKaFantasyCricket allows you to create your fantasy team even in the second innings or once the match starts unlike #PuraneZamaneKeFantasyApp.
Talking about the idea behind the new video campaign, Aagey se Right founder and creative director Abhay Mehta said: “Gamezy closely listens to the needs of its end users. It helps them stay updated which is what is expected of any new age app. The Naya Zamana is a representation of this newness and innovation that Gamezy stands for. The analogy is apt since it reflects the state of fantasy cricket in general vis-à-vis the freshness that Gamezy brings to the table.”
While he’s in his element on the cricket field, filming the Naya Zamana campaign pushed KL Rahul out of his comfort zone. He shared: "I love to challenge myself, whether it is on the field or off it. This time I challenged myself in a domain which was completely new for me – acting. It was a fun experience on the set as I got to explore a skill I never knew I had."
With KL Rahul as its brand ambassador, Gamezy has no doubt managed to grab eyeballs in the industry.
“KL Rahul is a modern day cricketer, an all-rounder who is quick to adapt. This virtue coupled with his popularity amongst fans makes him the obvious choice for a new age brand like Gamezy. With this campaign, we get to see not one but two KLs, one who is rigid and stuck in purana zamana and the other carefree and happy in nayazamana. We get to see him in an avatar like never before,” said Gamezy SVP marketing Harish Rawat.
The new series of Gamezy commercials will air during live broadcasts of cricket matches on Star Sports Television. Apart from live cricket, the brand also plans to showcase this campaign on various digital platforms to amplify reach amongst the vast cricket fan base.
Launched in 2019, Gamezy is a fantasy gaming platform dedicated to cricket that also allows users to win cash prizes.Users can play their favourite fantasy cricket game in eight languages, from the classic 11-a-side format, to second innings and 5-a-side teams. The app has over 5 lakh active users and more than Rs 10 crores in winnings.
NEW DELHI: From Bollywood to cricket. That’s the path fintech brand BharatPe is taking. Bharat Pe, which is positioned as the one stop shop for the payment as well as capital needs of India’s large retailer network, has signed up 11 top cricketers as its brand ambassadors. Among them figure: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Suresh Raina.
The 11 cricketers will be featuring in an ad campaign which is being directed by a top Hindi film director. The purpose: build BharatPe’s brand identity, apart from explaining its unique features, positioning and thought process to merchants. The sportsmen have been banded under a group which has been called BharatPe XI. The ad campaign is set to be unfurled closer to the festival period and will encompass TV, radio, OOH, digital, as well as print media.
The company, which is heavily funded by top investors like Sequoia, Beenext, Insight Partners, Steadview Capital management, Ribbit Capital, Coatue and Amplo, had earlier roped in Bollywood A-lister Salman Khan for its launch campaign #AbDukandarJitega.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer, who got on board the fintech firm as recently as August 2020, points out that the Salman association helped the brand get noticed, and connect with the merchant community who were loathe to use digital payment options.
“We decided to go ahead with cricket this year as it is one sport that brings Indians together, irrespective of their region, religion, or financial status,” he explains.
Co-founded by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani, BharatPe’s mission is to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants, especially across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities. BharatPe, since its launch, has been empowering shop owners with a single zero MDR UPI based QR code which allows them to accept payments from any app – like PayTm, PhonePe, Google Pay, BHIM and 150+ other UPI apps – at no cost to them. The cash goes directly into the retailer’s bank account and he or she can earn interest on it and even take loans if the need arises.
Sameer shares that the initial task for BharatPe was to create awareness amongst the merchant community and educate them about how digital payments work. Says he: “We have invested time and effort to educate the merchants and built trust with them. We offered them the convenience of accepting digital payments, irrespective of the consumer’s preferred choice of digital payment.”
The Salman campaign helped the company on board merchants in tier-1 and tier-2 towns and cities. As of early 2020, it had managed to rope in close to three million retailers. Average transaction values which were Rs 500 earlier rose by 60-65 per cent in early 2020.
SAMEER THINKS BOLLYWOOD
AND CRICKET ACT AS UNIFIERS
Covid2019 and the lockdown hit BharatPe hard, with transactions dipping in the first few weeks. But with the country unlocking, these have been picking up pace. Even merchant signups have ballooned to five million, and the target is to take that number to six million by end this fiscal. BharatPe is present in 35 cities and processes five crore plus monthly UPI transactions.
“In September, we are already at 50 per cent above the pre-Covid2019 levels in the value of the transactions we process (at $4 billion annually). We aim to close the year at a run rate of $5 billion in annual total payment value,” reveals Sameer.
Currently 15-20 per cent of the total transactions come from tier-2 areas and the next wave of growth will come from tier-2 and 3 markets, Sameer reveals Covid2019, which accelerated digitisation in the country has benefited BharatPe, like many other digital first brands, as consumers are choosing to go in for contactless transaction with the pandemic still raging.
The company is on an expansion spree even on the lending side – an activity which was kickstarted a year ago. So far, it has disbursed loans in excess of Rs 250 crore, despite the Covid2019 related slowdown. It has set a target to disburse around Rs 700 crore in the next six months. “We did consciously slow down on our lending during the lockdown months, but have scaled well since July 2020,” highlights Sameer. “We are confident we will surpass Rs. 700 crore for the rest of the year, and are internally gearing for higher numbers.”
He is also sanguine that the cricketer-led advertising campaign will redefine how fintech marketing can be done. In the process, it will help BharatPe get closer to its goals.
NEW DELHI: As the country gets ready to kickstart the festive season through cricket, BharatPe, India’s leading merchant payment network, is all set to invigorate the market with its own team of 11 cricket superstars as it's brand ambassadors. The BharatPe XI team includes India’s top international cricketers. Throughout September to October, the BharatPe XI team players will be seen on the ground, across seven of the league teams playing cricket. It includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal and Shubhman Gill.
BharatPe also rolled out a new contest, BharatPe Premier League (BPL), wherein BharatPe’s merchant partners can predict winners and man of the match, score runs, and win exclusive cricket merchandise, personally autographed by BharatPe XI team. The top scorers of the BharatPe Premier League stand a chance to meet their favourite cricket stars.
Also as the season builds up leading to festivals, BharatPe will launch a high impact brand campaign featuring cricketers and that has been directed by an ace Bollywood director. The campaign is set to redefine the fintech marketing landscape as the company will showcase its portfolio of financial products targeted specifically at the merchant community in India.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer said, “Bollywood and cricket find maximum resonance with Indians and our relevant audience. Last year, we established our credentials with Salman Khan as our brand ambassador. For our second year, we’ve done a marketing coup of sorts by building our own team of 11 cricket players as brand ambassadors. With cricket kicking off the festive season, our strategy through the marketing campaign is to make a wider set of merchants aware of our suite of financial products, which can help them shrug off Covid impact and get back to business. It is designed to be a fun campaign and will go on air in early October. This is also at an opportune time, as we expand our presence to more cities.”
NEW DELHI: boAt – a consumer tech brand that is an amalgamation of action sports, music, and fashion becomes the official audio sponsor for six IPL teams -Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
boAt has been partnering with IPL teams since 2018, and this year the brand has leaped by becoming the audio sponsor for six teams. boAt has launched limited-edition earphones, headphones, and speakers inspired by the insignia and colors of the teams, to cater to the fans of the respective teams. The starting price of these licensed products is Rs 499 and will be available online on sites like Amazon.in, Flipkart, and more.
The brand’s very own boAtheads (brand ambassadors) Hardik Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw, and KL Rahul will also be playing with the respective teams. With the brand motto of bringing stadium experience to the home, the association this time is bigger than ever
boAt lifestyle co-founder Aman Gupta said, “The announcement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought back the excitement amongst viewers and advertisers who were starved of original sports content. Due to the pandemic, work from home (WFH), workout from home, learning from home, cinema at home has become the new normal and with IPL the consumers will also witness another first – Stadium at home. Cricket is no less than a religion in India, will be viewed with no less than a stadium like an ambiance. IPL season will give the right push to not only speakers, sound-bars, and earphones but the overall audio industry. We are optimistic with our limited edition of headphones and speakers, the experience for our consumers will be bass-heavy”.
IMG Reliance has been working closely with boAt on all their sports partnerships. On boAt and associations, IMG Reliance head of sales Nikhil Bardia commented, “Excited to have boAt as our official audio partners, they truly know how to increase the decibel of excitement for the millennial of the country.”
Work from home (WFH), workout from home, cinema at home, and study from home has acted as catalyst and boAt has witnessed a 20 per cent surge in demand for its products in Covid2019 times. The brand has also crossed Rs 500 crore (FY 2019-20) in gross revenues in just over 4 years. The ‘Made for India’ brand has ramped up quickly and is now ranked as the No.1 brand in the earwear (headphones & earphones) segment, with around 20 per cent market share as per the data released by leading IT market research and advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC).
NEW DELHI: IPL 2020, like many believe, will change the mood of the nation and give people a reprieve from all the thoughts haunting the minds in these extraordinary times due to the coronavirus pandemic.
With only a few days left for IPL to kickstart the thirteenth edition, BCCI has also announced the schedule. The audience can’t keep calm to watch the first opening game, which will be played between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.
BCCI has released its IPL 2020 anthem and each of its lyrics reflect the same emotion. Titled 'Aayenge Hum Wapas', the anthem gives goosebumps as it sends a strong message that the nation and the world will bounce back from the disastrous pandemic which has taken lakhs of lives worldwide.
Sharing the video on twitter, BCCI wrote, “The greater the setback. The stronger the comeback. We can sum it up in 3 words: AayengeHumWapas, Watch #Dream11IPL starting Sept 19 on @DisneyPlusHS, @StarSportsIndia @Hotstarusa #Dream11IPL #AayengeHumWapas #StrongerTogether #Anthem”
The video features all the legends of the game including the likes of Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumra, KL Rahul and many other players. It showcases that IPL 2020 is ready to cheer the whole country from the disastrous pandemic and it will lift the spirits again.
The anthem says that all the citizens of the nation are players and a strong partnership is needed amongst them. It goes on to add that there is only one answer to the existing problems and that is to not give up and accept defeat.
IPL is the first big live sporting event happening after a hiatus of four to five months. The tournament will be played in UAE between 19 Sep to 10 Nov with eight teams participating in it. The matches will be aired by Star India on television and the digital medium.
MUMBAI: The controversial remarks made by cricketer Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul have cost them a lot. While BCCI has suspended the duo from playing any form of cricket until final adjudication of the matter, the brands associated with them have also started reviewing their associations.
Gillette India has already suspended its association with Hardik Pandya, who was appointed as the brand ambassador for men’s shaving razor Gillette Mach3 just a few months back. In an official statement, a Gillette spokesperson stated, “Hardik Pandya’s recent comments do not reflect the values of Gillette. We have suspended our association with Hardik until we decide on further course of action.”
As per certain other media reports, other brands associated with the cricketers are also in the process of reviewing their terms. While Hardik Pandya endorses brands such as Gillette and D:FY, Puma’s sportswear brand, KL Rahul is associated with names like Puma and Curefit.
MUMBAI: Koffee with Karan season 6’s latest episode, which featured Indian cricketers Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul was the most talked about episode on social media. The duo has not just been criticised on social media but has also displeased the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) by making sexist remarks on the show.
The episode was aired last Sunday on Star World and was available on Star’s OTT platform Hotstar. However, currently all the other episodes of Koffee with Karan are available except for the one that featured Pandya and Rahul.
The cricketers have now been served with a notice, where they have to give an explanation and based on the explanation, they might be banned from playing cricket. CoA member Diana Edulji has already sought legal opinion and will be talking to BCCI top brass over the possible ban.
After receiving the notice, Pandya apologised tweeting, "After reflecting on my comments on Koffee with Karan, I would like to apologise to everyone concerned who I may have hurt in any way. Honestly, I got a bit carried away with the nature of the show. In no way did I mean to disrespect or hurt anyone's sentiments. Respect." Rahul hasn’t given any public statement with regard to his involvement in the show
boAt lifestyle co-founder Aman Gupta said, “The announcement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought back the excitement amongst viewers and advertisers who were starved of original sports content. Due to the pandemic, work from home (WFH), workout from home, learning from home, cinema at home has become the new normal and with IPL the consumers will also witness another first – Stadium at home. Cricket is no less than a religion in India, will be viewed with no less than a stadium like an ambiance. IPL season will give the right push to not only speakers, sound-bars, and earphones but the overall audio industry. We are optimistic with our limited edition of headphones and speakers, the experience for our consumers will be bass-heavy”. 
