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Tag: T20 league

  • Bajaj’s robust summer push durable appliances spotlighted in new campaign

    Bajaj’s robust summer push durable appliances spotlighted in new campaign

    MUMBAI: Bajaj, has launched a comprehensive multimedia summer campaign focusing on its fan and air cooler ranges. The initiative emphasises the brand’s commitment to durability, promising consistent performance that evokes a ‘day-one like feeling’ regardless of life’s changes.

    The campaign features a series of contemporary films designed to resonate with today’s consumers, employing relatable, everyday scenarios to forge emotional connections. These films are being broadcast across digital platforms and connected television, capitalising on seasonal demand.

    Bajaj is also leveraging its presence at the major T20 League cricket tournament, a highly viewed Indian sporting event, to bolster its brand visibility. The company aims to utilise the event’s high-profile nature to reach a wide audience and reinforce its brand message.

    The campaign comprises four films focusing on summer essentials BLDC, induction, and TPW fans, and air coolers. Utilising a ‘How It Started vs. How It’s Going’ narrative structure, the films illustrate the longevity of Bajaj appliances, showcasing their continued reliability over extended periods.

    Bajaj Electricals head of advertising & brand management Devika Sachdev said, “This campaign brings our promise of durability and toughness to life with a refreshed narrative that aligns with the aspirations of today’s consumers. Through engaging storytelling and a strong digital-first approach, we aim to create meaningful brand conversations, ensuring Bajaj remains the preferred choice for all home appliances needs.”

    Tilt Brand Solutions chief creative officer Adarsh Atal, said, “Our goal was to strengthen the Bajaj brands connect with the modern discerning consumer while staying true to its legacy. By tapping into real-life relatable narratives, we’ve created a campaign that feels both fresh and familiar. It’s always exciting to craft work that spark conversations and connects across generations.”

    Bajaj’s summer range includes advanced BLDC fans for enhanced energy efficiency and air coolers with an extended three-year warranty. The products are available for purchase online and in retail stores.

  • Reliance to acquire franchise in South Africa’s T20 cricket league

    Reliance to acquire franchise in South Africa’s T20 cricket league

    Mumbai: In the evolving sports ecosystem, Reliance Industries is playing a crucial role by providing ownership of cricket franchises, football leagues in India, sports sponsorship, consultancy, and athlete talent management, and bringing in industry best practices. To provide a better platform, it has announced the acquisition of a franchise in Cricket South Africa’s upcoming T20 league. Based in Cape Town the new franchise will take forward the Mumbai Indians brand and comes close on the heels of acquiring the UAE-based International League T-20 team.

    Further, Reliance Foundation Sports – the CSR wing of RIL has been leading India’s olympic movement by providing opportunities to athletes across the country to become champions in multiple sports and also leading India’s charge in hosting global sporting events.

    Reliance Industries director Nita Ambani led a successful bid to host the prestigious International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai in 2023 after a gap of 40 years.

    On this acquisition, Ambani said, “I’m delighted to welcome our new T20 team to the Reliance family! We are excited to take the Mumbai Indians’ brand of fearless and entertaining cricket to South Africa, a nation that loves cricket as much as we do in India! South Africa has a strong sporting ecosystem, and we look forward to exploring the power and potential of this collaboration. As we grow MI’s global cricketing footprint, we remain committed to spreading joy and cheer through sport!”

    Adding to it, Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani said, “With our South African franchise, we now have three T20 teams across three countries. We look forward to leveraging our expertise and depth of knowledge in the cricket ecosystem & brand Mumbai Indians to help build the team and provide fans with some of the best cricketing experiences.”

  • Burger King strengthens partnership with Mumbai Indians

    Burger King strengthens partnership with Mumbai Indians

    MUMBAI: Burger King India has announced its association with the upcoming T20 League cricketing carnival, in an exclusive category partnership with Mumbai Indians for the second year in a row.  As part of the collaboration, Mumbai Indians will sport Burger King logo on its outfit.

    Celebrating this season with a delectable twist, Burger King has curated a special whopper named after the partner team which is available on the menu through this season of Mumbai Indians.  The Mumbai Indians Masala Whopper is inspired by the flavourful spices of Indian gravies. This unique offering will be available in restaurants located across Mumbai, Pune, and Gujarat in western region.

    Further setting the tone for this cricket season, and taking forward its partnership towards a noble cause, Burger King in continuation with its campaign ‘Sixes for Kings’ shall have an additional exciting element this year. Throughout the season, on every six hit and on each wicket taken by Mumbai Indians player, the brand shall give away Whopper meals to the girls of Avasara Foundation. The partner NGO provides the highest quality education to underprivileged girls in Pune.

    Commenting on the partnership, Burger King India CEO Rajeev Varman said, “I am delighted to announce our partnership with Mumbai Indians for the second consecutive year. Cricket has always proven to be the most impactful medium to connect with our guests and strengthen our brand visibility. This season we have pushed the boundaries to engage our fans in an exciting in-restaurant experience. With numerous engagement activities and special menu dedicated to cricket fans, we are sure that our guests will have a Whopper of a time with this association.”

    A Mumbai Indians spokeseperson said, “Mumbai Indians is excited to partner with Burger King India for second year in a row. Mumbai Indians endeavour to create meaningful partnership for our fans who can experience the cricket fever through the Burger King."

    Avasara Leadership Foundation founder Roopa Purushothaman said, “We are grateful to Burger King for taking forward the ‘Sixes for Kings’ initiative this year as well. Our students are truly grateful for these Whopper Meals and the ongoing support to our organization. The ‘Sixes for Kings’ pledge means a lot to all of us.”

  • Star Sports to broadcast Hero Caribbean Premier League

    Star Sports to broadcast Hero Caribbean Premier League

    MUMBAI: Star Sports has signed two years of broadcast right deal with Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for the Indian market. Star Sports will show all 34 matches live when the tournament gets underway on 8 August with Shah Rukh Khan’s Trinbago Knightriders taking on the St Lucia Stars in Trinidad.

    A Star India spokesperson said, “Star Sports is proud to become the home for the Hero Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The inclusion of CPL to our existing bouquet of T20 leagues is a step forward in our endeavour to bring the best of cricketing action to fans in India. The upcoming edition of CPL starting 9 August will offer action packed games every fan can enjoy.”

    Speaking about the deal with Star Sports, Hero CPL COO Pete Russell said, “Star Sports has a significant reach so we are delighted that the Hero CPL will be shown on Star’s TV network as well as Hotstar for the next two years. There are a huge number of star players from the IPL joining the CPL in 2018, giving fans in India another chance to watch their favourite cricketers in action.”

    The tournament will feature the best cricketing talent from around the Caribbean with the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Daren Sammy all taking part. There will also be an array of global cricket superstars joining the Biggest Party in Sport with David Warner, Steve Smith, Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn and Shoaib Malik amongst the players competing.

  • ‘IPL has aspirations to evolve into a major league like the EPL’ : Ravi Krishnan- Rajasthan Royals vice chairman

    ‘IPL has aspirations to evolve into a major league like the EPL’ : Ravi Krishnan- Rajasthan Royals vice chairman

     After succeeding in the first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Emerging Media-owned Rajasthan Royals has big plans to develop the franchise into a global brand. Part of the agenda is to do a variety of lucrative commercial deals and break even before three years.

     

    Emerging Media is looking at raising around $20 million by selling 10 per cent of its stake. The company is in the process of appointing bankers to find a private equity partner, ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Rajasthan Royals vice chairman Ravi Krishnan spells out the franchise’s future strategies.

    Excerpts:

    The IPL franchisees are said to have recovered close to 80 per cent of the money they paid to the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the first year. Does the huge success of the first edition of IPL mean that Rajasthan Royals will break even faster than the earlier three-year target?
    We are revising our plans positively, though I can’t comment exactly on the figures. We spent less on acquiring the franchise and invested judiciously. We did not sign an expensive contract with a Bollywood star; nor did we spend heavily on advertising campaigns. I have never seen Chicago Bulls run an ad campaign; it is PR-led and builds value from the success that it enjoys. You could focus on the peripheral stuff as well, but the IPL at the end of the day is a sporting competition.

    Since we played well and won the inaugural IPL tournament, this has opened up more opportunities for us like playing in the Champions T20 League. We will, thus, be in a position to rake in more money.

    What are the commercial opportunities that have opened up for you after your success?
    We are scouting for strategic partnerships. There are some obvious ones like sponsorships on the shirt, etc. Then there are those that are not so obvious that will showcase the success of our franchise. We will be announcing more details later.

    What are the plans in the licensing and merchandising arena?
    We are in discussions with different parties for tie ups. We have a very broad licensing and merchandising programme, which would cover a range of goods and services.

    Would it be a challenge for franchisees to get sponsors at high value because of the global economic downturn?
    Even if some sectors have been affected by the downturn, other clients will come on board. When the tobacco embargo came in and Wills stopped sponsoring cricket, there were predictions of doom. However, other companies stepped in. Advertisers can’t ignore the IPL. I do not think that there is cause for any of us to panic.

    Why are some franchisees including Rajasthan Royals looking at raising funds by divesting stake. Isn’t this coming too soon and at a time when there is a global downturn?
    There are different reasons for selling a stake. For us, the aim is to fund the development of the franchise.
    ‘We will be diluting a small part of the equity and are looking at the private equity route. We are in the process of appointing bankers‘

    Are you looking at private equity investors as it is a bad time to go for an IPO?
    We will be diluting a small part of the equity and are looking at the private equity route. We are in the process of appointing bankers.

    Up next for the Rajasthan Royals is the Champions T20 League. How do you see this developing as a property?
    I think that it will be as significant for cricket as the Champions League is to soccer. In tennis you have the year-end Masters Cup where only the best of the best get to play. The Champions T20 League will occupy a similar mind space. It is being held for the first time and so there is some uncertainty among some parties; but I think it will do really well. It will be the icing on the cake when you talk about global domestic competitions.

    One of the things that EPL (English Premier League) clubs have done is to market themselves through foreign tours. What plans do you have in making Rajasthan Royals a major brand?
    You have to remember that the EPL and its clubs are 100 years old. IPL has just finished its first year. While it is new, the IPL has aspirations to evolve into a major league in world sport like the EPL.

    What role will Rajasthan Royals play in helping Emerging media become a player to be reckoned with on the global stage?
    I think that the success of Rajasthan Royals will provide a platform for the company to enter into other areas. However at the moment, we are going into the Champions T20 League, which will be followed by another IPL season next year.

    What is your strategy going to be when the trading window opens on 15 December?
    We are looking at various permutations and combinations. The fact is that our team had seven nationalities. The public loved seeing Shane Warne, Sohail Tanveer and Graeme Smith on the same team. This lent freshness to the proceedings.

     

    The trading window is an innovation that fans look forward to. Who is going to be in the team? Who will not be there? Who will be traded? There will be a lot of drama around this. This is what happens in the US with college drafts for baseball and basketball. The composition of some teams in the IPL will change which will cause speculation and excitement.

    What were the things discussed at the recent meeting in Bangkok to improve the IPL?
    We had a conference in Bangkok to debate on the areas where we can improve upon. It was a three-day session that looked at different things – from organisation to ticketing to hospitality.

    Hospitality as you mentioned is an area that could be improved upon. What are Rajasthan Royals’ plans in this?
    We recently launched our membership programme. We benchmarked this against other membership programmes globally. It is a five-tier programme and also includes kids. Creating a community can contribute to the financial success of the franchise as they would buy tickets, merchandise products and also attend special events. We are the first IPL franchise to launch a structured membership programme.

     

    Our membership programme could create life-long fans for the franchise. I have supported a football club in Australia since I was five years old. I am a repeat buyer of their jerseys and other club merchandise. It is about building a community and then finding ways to get them excited. Giving them special offers is one such way.

    What is the impact that IPL will have on world cricket and on the business of sports marketing?
    Let me take the second point first. In terms of sports marketing, it is providing a viable platform for companies to get involved with cricket. It could be through attaching themselves to the league itself or to a franchise or getting visibility on the broadcasting platform. The fact that there is also a Bollywood element to it has made the IPL an interesting marketing platform.

     

    The IPL has also brought in opportunities for service providers like ticketing companies, ad agencies and firms that specialise in hospitality.

     

    As far as the world of cricket is concerned, the IPL has found its place. English and Sri Lankan players badly want to play in it. The IPL offers players the chance to make the most out of their short career spans. While the Future Tours Programme might make it difficult for all players to take part, the way the BCCI and other boards are dealing with the issue is good.

     

    The IPL has also upped the ante as far as careers in sports go for Indians. Cricketers who were unheard of, can make more money here than from playing the Ranji Trophy.
    As a sports marketer, do you feel that there is danger of Test cricket and ODIs getting devalued as T20 grows in importance?
    This sport has had its origins in Test cricket and it would be wrong if the people in charge of the future of cricket, were not concerned about this format losing its lustre. The gatekeepers need to ensure that there is enough opportunity for the various formats to survive. The administration has to see to it that no format is overplayed or underplayed.
    Would the league franchise model for another sport like hockey or soccer work?
    A lot of things have to be pulling together in the right direction for this to succeed – the sports administration, the broadcast platform, the corporate community and the players.