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Tag: Lionel Messi

  • Huawei global ropes in Lionel Messi as brand ambassador

    Huawei global ropes in Lionel Messi as brand ambassador

    MUMBAI Huawei ICT and telecommunication solutions company Huawei, today announced Lionel Messi as its latest global brand ambassador. The Chinese multinational says that the partnership with Lionel Messi showcases the brand’s alignment with people and brands that demonstrate, and strive towards its shared value of connecting greatness.

    “Lionel Messi will help our brand to encourage people to focus, persevere and breakthrough; to connect with greatness, especially in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, where Huawei puts great devotions. We both honour the path we walked to what we have achieved, and with each new challenge we renew our commitment to find the path to success.” said Huawei Consumer BG handset business president Kevin Ho.

    “We are happy to announce our collaboration with an extraordinary individual who inspires people all over the world to pursue their dreams, to face challenges to become better with each day. Just like our brand which strives for excellence and innovates to better itself to reach newer heights of greatness, Messi is the epitome of perseverance, excellence and commitment.” said Huawei India consumer business group president Allen Wang.

    Messi said, “You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and go all in, always looking forward to achieving greatness. The day you think there are no improvements to be made, you have to keep working for reaching other achievements.”

    Huawei believes that sports are a great way in which people enrich their lives and that is why our commitment towards sports in general, is so strong. In the India market Huawei completed 16 successful years and has associated with cricket, a sport which resonates the Huawei brand value, by sponsoring RCB in the Indian Premier League. “Besides cricket, football is another game which has a lot of followers in India and we are  excited to be associated with the World’s top football athlete,” added Wang.

  • Lionel Messi joins Wizcraft’s campaign for Tata Motors

    Lionel Messi joins Wizcraft’s campaign for Tata Motors

    MUMBAI: Wizcraft International Entertainment has joined hands with Tata Motors to create an inspirational experiential marketing campaign called #madeofgreat. The campaign debuted on TV screens on 3 November and was followed by digital and outdoor campaigns, featuring Tata Motors’ first global brand ambassador Lionel Messi in a multi city activation.

     

    Wizcraft International Entertainment VP Sandeep Mehta said, “Tata Motors is the largest Indian automobile manufacturer and Lionel Messi is arguably the best footballer in the world, and their partnership promises to forge a connection between the company and a new generation of consumers. Since this is a grand moment for all of us involved, it was imperative to build a strong campaign to propel this association to newer heights. As part of the #madeofgreat campaign, we have planned an entire array of events and activations that are going to go a long way in building awareness about this campaign. The aim is to reach out to the millions of Tata loyalists and other consumers and spread the key messaging of this association.”

     

    Backed by radio, including RJs on-ground, the objective is to reach out to the millions of Messi fans across India and give them a never before opportunity to connect with the maverick footballer. An augmented reality app has been specially created to allow young and old alike to get a snap clicked with Lionel Messi, along with an opportunity to record a video message on the spot welcoming him to the country. All of this would be a part of the larger digital engagement showcasing the scale and width of the #madeofgreat campaign.

     

    Tata Motors marketing communications and services – head, passenger vehicle business unit Delna Avari added, “We are very excited to have Lionel Messi on board. He is a winner who is trustworthy, reliable, pioneering, simple and is driven by self-belief, which is the core idea of this campaign – ‘What drives us from within is what makes us great.’ Wizcraft as always is committed to push the envelope and we are sure they will perfectly execute this powerful campaign, which will successfully expand our footprint and reach-out to our customers innovatively. Having worked with them in the past, I am sure they will yet again hit new records and support us in our endeavour to excite our customers.”

  • Sony Kix acquires LaLiga rights; strengthens position in football broadcasting

    Sony Kix acquires LaLiga rights; strengthens position in football broadcasting

    MUMBAI: Scoring a hat-trick in the sports broadcasting industry, Sony Kix has acquired the telecast rights to LaLiga, the premier division of the Spanish football league system, for a period of three years.

     

    It may be recalled that the channel recently acquired and added the telecast rights of the FA Cup and the Serie A to its line-up of prime football properties.

     

    The broadcaster will exclusively telecast the league across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives through the three-year deal.

     

    With this addition to its line-up of flagship sports properties, Sony Kix will look at consolidating its position as the home of international and club football across the Indian sub-continent. The league hosts some of the biggest names international and club level football like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta, Antoine Griezmann, Neymar, Gareth Bale and Luis Suárez amongst many more.

     

     Speaking on the development Sony Six and Sony Kix business head Prasana Krishnan said, “We are extremely thrilled to be associated with this pre-eminent league and this move opens up a bold new chapter in our operations as we go on to spearhead the football-led genre in our industry. The extended offering of matches coupled with holistic recaps of the league, will position our network as the premier destination for unparalleled football viewing experience.”

     

     LaLiga president Javier Tebas added, “We are extremely happy to start this association with MSM and proud to announce the Sony sports channels as our new home for the upcoming seasons in this region. MSM has been known for its aggressive and innovative marketing and the differentiated treatment of sports coverage on its network and we are looking forward to joining hands with them to bring the LaLiga matches to fans in the region.”

     

     LaLiga, the elite division in professional Spanish league football, kicks-off the 2015 season on the weekend of 23 August, 2015. This will be the 85th season of the top-tier Spanish football league, featuring some of the best teams and players in international football.

  • Sony Six acquires telecast rights for 2015 Copa América

    Sony Six acquires telecast rights for 2015 Copa América

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s sports channel Sony Six has acquired the live telecast rights to the 2015 edition of Copa América in South Asia.

     

    The tournament serves as the international football championship for South America and is organized every four years by the CONMEBOL, the governing body for the sport in the continent. 

     

    This year’s tournament will be held in Chile from 11 June – 4 July 2015 and will be telecast on Sony Six and Sony Kix.

     

    The Copa América is one of the most prestigious and widely followed sporting events in the world, due, in large part, to the participation from football superpowers such as Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay among others. This year’s event will be the tourney’s 44th year in competition and will feature twelve teams, including the ten members of CONMEBOL and two guest sides from North America – Mexico and Jamaica.

     

    Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan, said, “The Copa América is an iconic competition with almost a centenary-long heritage behind it and we are elated to broadcast the property on our channel. With Copa America, we stand to strengthen our South American offering along with Copa Libertadores, the region’s premier club competition. The telecast of the tournament also reaffirms our position as the ‘home for international football.”

     

    The 2015 Copa América will feature some of the biggest names in football including Lionel Messi (Argentina), Luis Suarez (Uruguay), Neymar Jr. (Brazil), James Rodríguez (Colombia) and Alexis Sanchez (Chile) apart from many others. Moreover, the current titleholders, Uruguay will look to defend their crown and extend their lead in terms of the number of Copa América titles won i.e. 15, the most for any team in the competition.

  • Will test retirement impact ‘Brand Dhoni’?

    Will test retirement impact ‘Brand Dhoni’?

    MUMBAI: Mahindra Singh Dhoni’s achievements suddenly seem to be a thing of the past. What immediately comes to mind is Dhoni’s stupendous victory as hugely popular ‘Captain Cool’ of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. 

     

    Dhoni recently announced his impending retirement from the test cricket format,  to supposedly concentrate better on ODI and T20 formats.  Close on the heels of this news, came the announcement that Dhoni had been declared the team’s captain of the Indian squad, at the forthcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

     

    His on-field, cool ‘dude’ charms and his exciting and varied hairstyles, have hitherto made him quite the favourite with various Indian brands. Not surprisingly, late last year, he was the only Indian sports person to figure on Forbes list of the world’s most valuable athlete brands. Ranked at the fifth position, with a mammoth brand value of $20 million, he was darting ahead of sprinter Usain Bolt and even edged football giants like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who were placed at the sixth, seventh and ninth position, respectively. But will the recent announcement grossly affect his brand value or his new signings? Only time will tell…

     

    Celebrity and sports management firm, CAA KWAN’s COO, Indranil Das Blah, feels his retirement from test cricket will definitely impact his erstwhile huge brand value. “Being the captain of the Indian test cricket team, he is pretty much the statesman of Indian cricket, but now brands will see him retiring slowly as he winds down his career.” When questioned if his performance at the ICC World Cup 2015 could impact his brand value, he goes on to say, “If the team manages to do well and even win, Dhoni’s brand value could be bigger than ever before. Therefore, if the team is not successful, the captain’s brand value will simultaneously diminish rapidly. So, all rests on the World Cup.”

     

    The cricketer currently endorses close to 20 different brands in categories ranging from FMCG, telecom to real estate. He also co-owns the Chennaiyin FC team of the Hero Indian Super League, a fitness chain called SportsFit and the Ranchi team for the Hockey India League, along with Sahara India Pariwar. He is the face and his wife Sakshi Singh Rawat, holds a 25 per cent stake in Amrapali Mahi Developers, which is a joint venture between the sports personality and the firm.

     

    According to Eureka Mobile Advertising’s senior vice president Ganapathy Viswanathan, the move won’t see any impact on his brand fees. “I do not see his brand value being affected. For the simple reason that at the end of the day, cricket has become an entertainment-based game. He is still in the exciting part of the game like ODIs and Twenty20s.  Therefore, I do not see his brand value being diluted. Maybe, it will not go up phenomenally, but it will remain stable.”

     

    GroupM ESP India entertainment sports and live events national director Vinit Karnik, on the other hand, opines that Dhoni’s brand value will not be impacted in the short term this year, as he will still be playing the game’s marquee events like the World Cup and the Indian Premiere League (IPL). “But subsequently, in 2016, there could be an impact. Post 2015, there will definitely be some correction, even if he does well at the World Cup.”

  • SRK’s new role: Ambassador for Interpol’s ‘Turn Back Crime’ campaign

    SRK’s new role: Ambassador for Interpol’s ‘Turn Back Crime’ campaign

    MUMBAI: Working for a social cause once again, the Bollywood superstar and heart-throb Shah Rukh Khan has now joined hands with Interpol to promote greater awareness in preventing crime.

     

    The multi-award winning actor has been chosen by Interpol as the ambassador of its Turn Back Crime campaign. The global initiative highlights the dangers of organised crime and its effect on day-to-day lives of people. The campaign is aimed at helping the public better understand these issues and empowering them not to be duped by criminals when buying products or using the internet.

     

    The don of Bollywood is the first Indian to be made an Ambassador for the global campaign. He will be lending his voice to help spread the message that all of society benefits when citizens respect the law and fight crime.

     

    SRK joins actor Jackie Chan as an Ambassador for the campaign, which has already garnered support from public figures including footballer Lionel Messi, Formula 1 racing drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen.

     

    Talking about this new opportunity, Shah Rukh Khan said, “It’s a very special honour to be a part of Interpol’s Turn Back Crime Campaign as an Ambassador. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘I shall not fear anyone on Earth. I shall fear only God. I shall not bear ill will toward anyone. I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering, if I have to.’”

     

    “We all should believe in this maxim and in whatever way possible resolve not to let unjust people who might threaten us with criminal activity make us fear them. Because I believe we can, we should, and we must stand together against the few who commit crimes against any human being, in whatever form or guise these crimes might take,” the actor added.

     

    The campaign is also reaching out to companies and policy-makers in a bid to form a united front against contemporary crime challenges, and to support the ongoing activities of the global law enforcement community.

     

    Happy with this new engagement, Interpol Secretary General Ronald K Noble said, “Shah Rukh Khan has dedicated his life to making films which reflect the highest level of professionalism and commitment to bringing joy into the lives of hundreds of millions of filmgoers in India and around the world.”

     

     “We are honoured to have him as an Ambassador for Interpol’s global Turn Back Crime campaign and we look forward to seeing how he puts his artistic talents behind this campaign,” concluded the Interpol chief.

  • Social Media-the stadium for 2014 World Cup

    Social Media-the stadium for 2014 World Cup

    MUMBAI: Brazil had a reason to cheer this FIFA World Cup season. While it lost the big title, it was still the hub of all the excitement related to the football extravaganza. What is interesting to note is that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter became another venue where the action unfolded with an audience comprising global fans.

     

    The entire span of the World Cup saw a total of 672 million tweets being sent out: the highest number, Twitter has announced so far related to any event.

     

    Of the 672 million tweets, a bulk of the conversation was during the live matches. The semi-final between Brazil and Germany saw fans sending out more than 35.6 million tweets —setting a new Twitter record for a single event.

     

    The other top four matches were Germany versus Argentina with 32.1 million tweets. Next was Brazil versus Chile which garnered 16.4 million tweets followed by the match between Netherlands and Argentina receiving 14.2 million tweets. Finally it was the Brazil versus Colombia game which got 12.4 million tweets.

     

    Three of the top five most-tweeted moments occurred during Brazil’s 7-1 semi-final loss to Germany on 8 July, while the other two moments came in during the final match. The top five moments that generated the biggest peaks of Twitter conversation, measured in tweets per minute (TPM), during the entire tournament was Germany defeating Argentina to win the World Cup final with 6,18,725 TPM. Next was Germany’s Sami Khedira scoring a goal assisted by Mesut Ozil during the semi-final versus Brazil which got 5,80,166 TPM. Germany’s Mario Gotze scoring the winning goal of the World Cup on 13 July generated 5,56,499 TPM. Germany’s Toni Kroos scoring his second goal in the semi final against Brazil was fourth in line with 5,08,601 TPM. Finally, Toni Kroos scoring his third goal during the same semi-final match against Brazil garnered 4,97,425 TPM.

     

    The top 10 mentioned players in India during the WC were Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, David Luiz, Robin Van Persie, Neymar Junior, Mesut Ozil, Pepe and Wayne Rooney.

     

    While Twitter was buzzing, Facebook wasn’t far behind. 350 million people joined the conversation during the entire span of the World Cup generating 3 billion interactions (posts, comments and likes).

     

    Brazil’s demolition by Germany spurred around 66 million people to create more than 200 million Facebook interactions in the semi final match. People thronged to the platform: 10.5 million people from the US in the final and host country Brazil with 10 million. Men in the age group of 18-24 posted on Facebook the most as compared to any other demographic. This was followed by men aged 24-34, women aged 18-24, women aged 24-34 and men aged 13-17.

     

    NeymarJr saw the most fan growth on his page since approximately 15 million fans ‘liked’ his page since the beginning of the World Cup.

     

    Meanwhile, to give  a perspective of the  fervor and excitement surrounding FIFA World Cup – Vdopia a leader in online and mobile video advertising recently released an info-graphic calling it ‘The ultimate multi-screen event’ after  examining the impact of online and mobile devices on fan interaction with the World Cup.

     

    The report found that fans across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and India were following the FIFA on multiscreens like TV followed by mobiles and then laptops. The most significant trend the report noted was a paradigm shift in consumer’s video consumption behaviour termed as “multi-screen intake” or “platform agnostic” intake. Simplified, it means a typical consumer who was watching the match, checked FIFA updates and shared highlights of his favourite match on his mobile, updating them on Facebook, looking up for some information on their tablet or just sending an email – all during the same time.

     

    Some of the finds mentioned that the mobile has become the second most preferred medium in APAC after television with 80 per cent of the respondents looking at television+smartphones. It also said that 2,50,000 Indian unique viewers visited football sites everyday via their mobile. It says that the social buzz volumes in India were the highest between 8:00 pm to 4:00 am.

     

    The report further mentions that India saw one of the highest ever online sports audiences in May with 6.5 million viewers who watched 59.7 million sports related videos in May 2014.  The report appropriately sums up that the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been regarded as the ‘most social event ever.’

  • Adidas the ‘sole’ winner of 2014 FIFA World Cup?

    Adidas the ‘sole’ winner of 2014 FIFA World Cup?

    If you thought FIFA was all about the game then you are highly mistaken. While Brazil was spending millions to prepare for the world’s biggest extravaganza, the two brands which rule the football merchandise market, had been busy playing their own matches.

    Even before the tournament began, the two giants with their marketing strategies were all set for FIFA 2014.

    It was in the month of May that Adidas, which has sponsored FIFA, the world football’s governing body, since 1970, launched its ?50million plus global World Cup campaign featuring Lionel Messi. Titled ‘Leo Messi’s World Cup Dream,’ the campaign also included Luis Suarez and Dani Alves and associated with Kanye West.

    The $1.9 billion Nike’s ‘The Last Game’ animated short film was launched a month later. To keep the buzz alive, the brand also opened its first pop-up store in Brazil. The five-minute World Cup film featured animated versions of the sport’s best players, from Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo to Brazil’s Neymar Jr., under the Nike Football campaign tagline, ‘Risk Everything’.

    Overall, Nike with $25 billion revenue has 17 per cent market share worldwide while Adidas with $20 billion revenue owns 12 per cent of the market share.

    Nonetheless, Adidas which has signed an agreement with FIFA until 2030 for $70 million for every four-year cycle, created the colourful WC ball – known as the Brazuca – which surpassed sales of the 2010 World Cup ball.

    Although eight different companies provide jerseys to the 32 participating teams, as the tournament entered the nail-biting semi-finals, the fight was no longer between Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Netherlands, but was all about Nike versus Adidas.

    The two companies with a combined market share of 70 per cent of the world football merchandise market sponsored two teams each: Argentina and Germany wore Adidas while Brazil and Netherlands wore Nike.

    But one can note that though Adidas provided the German kit, about nine of the country’s top players wore Nike boots. This WC Nike made a shoe statement with its new Magista and Mercurial boots.

    The marketing war at its highest saw the two in a tightly-cornered match. Social and digital media was conquered by both as fan base increased manifold. So much so that in the last five months or so Nike grew its Facebook fan base by approximately 14 million users, largely due to growth in markets like Indonesia, Turkey and India and thanks to ‘Risk Everything.’

    The last year has been volatile for the companies on the Wall Street index as well. Over the past year, Nike shares have trounced those of Adidas.

     

    If one goes by the numbers and strategic marketing, the competition between Nike’s and Adidas’ battle for the hearts and minds of soccer fanatics would have made the Goddess of Victory (Nike) take the trophy home.

    However, as Brazil and Netherland crashed out of the tournament, it was Adidas vs Adidas at the finals.

    Even though Adidas and Germans took the Golden trophy home, Nike the unofficial partner created enough buzz and revenue throughout the tournament.

    The companies are sure that even though the tournament is over, the momentum will remain the entire year. And keeping in mind that today the competition has moved beyond the pitch; with brand ambassadors and innovative marketing strategies, there is no longer but one winner.

    It was a win-win situation for both sport giants.

  • Brazil’s opener most tweeted match of World Cup to-date

    Brazil’s opener most tweeted match of World Cup to-date

    MUMBAI: It has been an exciting week for football fans with the ongoing FIFA world cup matches. Fans and viewers alike have taken to twitter to express themselves with various hashtags either supporting or condemning a team.

     

    The opening match between Brazil and Croatia generated 12.2 million tweets, which has been the most tweeted match of the tournament until now. This was followed by Spain vs. Netherland on 14 June with 8.3 million tweets and England vs. Italy encounter generating 7.2 million tweets.

     

    The top three moments of the World Cup on Twitter came from the Brazil vs. Croatia match. However, after the opening match, the most tweeted moment was Argentina’s Lionel Messi’s first World Cup goal in eight years against Bosnia and Herzegovina which received 236,174 tweets.

     

    This was followed by Daniel Sturridge’s goal with 219,637 tweets and Claudio Marchisio goal with 192,633 tweets in the England vs. Italy football game.

     

    UK’s boyband One Direction band members (@NiallOfficial,, @Real_Liam_Payne)  and Australian brand 5 Seconds of Summer (@Calum5SOS) had some of the most shared tweets over the past few days, the official game ball (@brazuca) got honourable mention for its tweet confirming an own goal during the France vs. Honduras match.