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Tag: Vivo

  • Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    Star ushers in IPL’s new era with a bang

    NEW DELHI: Star India is all set to reinvent the Vivo Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 by increasing viewer-engagement levels. In a sign of things to come, the broadcaster’s press conference in Delhi today started with a conversation between social humanoid robot Sophia and former India cricketer Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh.

    In a bid to get closer to fans, Star India is using all its might to reach out to India’s vast regional audiences by tailoring coverage in six languages-Hindi, English, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. As a result, it is targetting 700 million fans across TV and digital. “We researched and found out that only 50 per cent of the potential fans consume IPL in Tamil Nadu because of the language barrier,” Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said.

    The auctions on 27 January 2018 are eagerly awaited. For the first time, fans can vote for their favourite players on vivoiplelection.hotstar.com as part of the ‘Election se Selection’ campaign on the network. The campaign, according to Gupta, has received more than one lakh votes in less than 12 hours of its launch.

    Gupta also confirmed that the TV and digital telecast will be in sync. “The feed on TV and digital will be aired live at the same time; there will be no five-minute delay,” Gupta confirmed to Indiantelevision.com. Additionally, for the first time ever, IPL will be streamed on Hotstar using virtual reality.

    BCCI CEO Rahul Johri said, “Despite the scale of its success, the sky remains the limit for the VIVO IPL 2018. The IPL, as a brand, is [worth] over $4 billion.”

    Star is actively seeking regional brands that cater to each of the six languages. “Star India is planning to multiply the number of brands compared to last season. The ad rates will be different for different channels based on their reach,” added Gupta.

    The Kannada channel, which was to replace Channel V on the airwaves, has, however, not yet seen the light of day. When asked about the launch of Star Sports Kannada, Gupta declined to comment and added that it was still at the planning stage.

    “Over its 10-year journey, the IPL has grown into the single biggest property by far on Indian television. And now that it is on the Star India network across both, television and digital, we are set to use the confluence of technology, consumer insight, and experience in cricket coverage, to broaden the outreach and experience even further,” Gupta concluded.

  • BCCI invites brands to acquire third-party rights for IPL

    BCCI invites brands to acquire third-party rights for IPL

    MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited third parties to indicate their interest in acquiring rights pertaining to the VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL).

     There will be three types of partner rights, which include official partner rights, strategic time out partner rights and umpire partner rights. The term for each partnering rights will be of minimum three and maximum five years.

    Last year, Star India won the global rights, which include broadcast and digital, by bidding Rs 16347.5 crores.

    According to a BCCI release, the official partner rights include the exclusive association of the brand as the official partner, right to use the official IPL composite logo and official partner status in all communications, category exclusivity across all the central sponsorships for Vivo IPL and also the first right refusal on broadcast sponsorship in product category.

    For on-ground, the official partner will be on LED perimeter advertising boards, pitch mat on the outfield at midwicket, boundary rope branding across all matches, branding on all interview and press conference backdrops and logo featured on back panel of team dugouts.

    The cut-off date for sending in expressions of interest (EoI) is 17 January 2018.

    On the digital side, brand logos will be featured on the IPLT20 website. Match day activation integration will also be done on the website. These will be applicable to all the three types.

    The second type, IPL strategic timeout partner rights includes the right to use the official IPL composite logo and strategic timeout partner status in all communications, category exclusivity across all central sponsorships for Vivo IPL, first right of refusal on broadcast sponsorship in product category.

    On-ground will include branded timing graphic on the big screen at each strategic timeout for all the matches.

    The last type is IPL umpire partner rights, which includes the right to use the official IPL composite logo and umpire partner status in all communications, category exclusivity across all central sponsorships for Vivo IPL and first right of refusal on broadcast sponsorship in product category.

    The TV facing branding includes static logo branding on LED sight screens (50 per cent on each sight screen), big screen for 3rd umpire decisions and DRS decisions, on all interview and press conference backdrops, logo featured on back panel of team dugouts, umpire shirts, trousers, hat/cap, match referee shirts and jacket.

    No more than one third party will be granted rights in relation to each product category. BCCI intends (but shall not be obliged) to appoint up to a maximum of six official partners, one strategic timeout partner and one umpire partner. Third parties may express an interest in acquiring the rights in respect of more than one product category but no single third party will be appointed as an IPL official partner, IPL strategic timeout partner or IPL umpire partner in respect of more than one product category.

    The grant of the rights shall be conditional upon the relevant third party entering into a binding agreement with BCCI, the form of which will be sent by BCCI to any relevant third party. No legally binding obligations shall be assumed by or imposed on BCCI or its nominated representatives in connection with this document and its subject-matter, and none of the rights shall be granted until such time as a binding agreement is entered into by BCCI and any relevant third party.

    BCCI anticipates a period of negotiation with third parties submitting EoIs till 31 January 2018, and does not intend to consider any offer for the rights which are received after this date. The above time schedule is subject to revision by BCCI in its discretion.

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    Guest Column: Star India’s IPL deal raises three crucial questions

  • PKL sponsors and partners cross 100-mark

    PKL sponsors and partners cross 100-mark

    MUMBAI: Star India chairman & CEO Uday Shankar has this uncanny ability to see  opportunity where many do not. For many years, TV broadcasters had only one sport which could be monetised: cricket. Which was a major limiting factor to developing  the overall Indian sports and sports broadcasting ecosystem. Hence, he and team Star India looked around for indigenous sport that could be developed around six years ago.

    One of the properties that popped up was kabaddi, a highy underdeveloped sport, which was being pushed by a company called Mashal Sports and industrialist Anand Mahindra. Shankar saw a lot of promise in the venture and today he can be rightfully be pleased with what has been achieved.

    “When we started out, it was difficult to get corporations to own franchises,” says Shankar. “Anand used his personal charm to get folks on board. But this year, when we added four teams, a large number of top corporates and individuals were very keen. We had a problem of plenty. “

    Not just owners. Even brands have been hopping on board to back the Vivo Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL)  as it has been gaining viewership from the first season to the ongoing fifth season. 

    The need for looking at the commercial aspect of sports and supporting it for the sake of business and branding, packaging and cultivating viewership were some of the ideas which have been proven on the ground — by Star India and the Kabaddi franchises.

    In Season 1, PKL hardly had any sponsor and partner, but, with the traction it has got for the past couple of seasons, it has managed to cross 100-mark in Season 5 including individual teams sponsors and partners.

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com, Unilazer Sports CEO Supratik Sen said, “All the sponsors including jersey sponsors, on-ground, and title sponsor for UMumba has a range of Rs 8 million to Rs 20 million which is generally applicable for all the other teams.”

    Vivo PKL Season 5 has seen many late-entrant brands as sponsors and partners. Brands are aware that PKL is the only major non-cricketing event dominating in the present times.

    Corporates, of course, support events for the sake of building their brands. Given the demographics in India, advertising was done for more visibility. “For the sake of going the whole hog into sports promotion,” an analyst says, “the complete supply chain would need to be looked at – from scouting for talent to sports good manufacturing etc. to CSR.”

    Remarked Sen: “The team performance helps to get the brands on board. From Season 2, we were pretty much close to breaking even, but it was notional. But now, the reach of sports has become more important instead of breaking even (and profits),” Sen said.

    The recently added sponsors and partners for PKL as well as the teams are: Title sponsor Vivo signed a Rs 3 billion ($ 45 million) deal for five years with the league a couple of months ago.

    The associate sponsors are — Gillette, TVS Motors, Mutual Funds, Bajaj Electricals, Nissin, Royal Challenge and RR Kabel are the partners. Recently, Ultratech Cement has been roped in as an associate sponsor.

    Dabang Delhi has roped in ISME (Indian School of Management and Entrepreneurship) and ISDI (Indian school of Design and Innovation) as its jersey sponsors and the new partners are Gold gym’s, zoom car and Insidesports.

    UMumba has shifted its title sponsor from Nise Gel to Zandu Gel. The team is powered by Manforce. Bangaluru Bulls has roped in Karbonn Smartphones as the title sponsor and Kent RO and Gem Paints as the principal sponsor.

    Puneri Paltan has got Force Motors as the principal partner and Syska as the new associate partner. Jaipur Pink Panthars has pocketed Muthoot Finance and Performax Activewears as the new associate sponsors.

    Tamil Thalaivas  was the only team with no sponsor in the beginning of Season 5 but it has now attracted Muthoot Fincorp as the title sponsor, powered by Maha Cement and associate sponsors are — Agni Steels, Nippon Paint, Smartron and Admiral.

    Telugu Titans has Greenko as its title sponsor and UP Yoddhas has roped in Karbonn Smartphones as its jersey sponsors.

    The sports sponsorship market in India witnessed a healthy growth trend in the last couple of years from Rs 51.9 billion in 2015 to Rs 61-65 billion in 2016 as per KPMG FICCI Frames 2017 report.

    The fifth season is touted to become one of the biggest league tournaments as one sees traction from several brands as sponsors and partners.

    Also Read :

    PKL 5 advertisers grow three-fold, sponsorships rise 320%

    How brands are reaching out to wide PKL audience

     

    PKL: sponsors adding up even as matches start

  • PKL 5 aids Star Sports First top chart in maiden week

    MUMBAI: It is a coup of sorts. Star India’s channel which recently became free to air with sports content has not only come up trumps in the Top 5 sports channels’ list but is leading the pack.

    Star Sports First has managed to pocket as much as 148506 Impressions (000s) sum in BARC India week 30 beating the second best channel by around 14000 Impressions.

    Star Sports First in its first week has gathered the viewership from Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 5 which has helped it to reach to numero uno position in sports genre.  

    The opening day of Season 5 of the tournament has registered a cumulative reach of over 50 million registering a jump of over 59 per cent over the inaugural day of Season 4 of the tournament.

    This has been a season of many firsts for Vivo PKL- four new franchises joining the existing eight this season, the geographical representation of the league has garnered reach across 11 states. More than 130+ matches spread across 13 weeks, strengthens Vivo PKL’s status as India’s biggest non-cricketing sports league.

    With the introduction of Star Sports First, India’s first free-to-air (FTA) private sports channel, and SS1 Tamil, a first of its kind dedicated regional sports channel in India,Star Sports has allowed for India’s own sport to reach out to the growing number of Kabaddi enthusiasts across the nation.

    A number of On-Ground activations have enabled the sport to achieve a deeper penetration even in the remote pockets of the country; contributing to a spike in the number of users consuming Kabaddi. Witnessing impressive growth over the last 4 seasons, Vivo PKL has emerged as a significant benchmark for sports leagues in India.

    Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said, “I believe this is the first big year for sports beyond cricket. The spectacular growth in viewership for Kabaddi is testament to this journey. It is heartening to see the response Vivo PKL has evoked from millions of fans across the country, cutting across geographies and demographics and I am overwhelmed by its success and rapid rise.”

    The state of Karnataka has contributed significantly with a viewership growth of 137 per cent for Season 5 as compared to Season 4. The average rating for day 1 showed an increase in other key markets as well with Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra registering a growth of 48 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.

    In addition, Star Sports First, accounted for 23 per cent of the total viewership generated on the inaugural day of the season.

    ALSO READ :

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    Star India’s PKL 5 telecast via 12 channels in five languages starts today

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  • PKL: sponsors adding up even as matches start

    MUMBAI: Pro-Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 5 has begun and is still seeing a lot of interest from the brands. PKL already has six sponsors and three partners which includes Vivo — the title sponsor. The latest entrant is Manyavar as an on-ground sponsor.

    The sponsorship for PKL Season 5 has increased by 12 per cent as compared to the sponsorship for Season 4, which was 59 per cent. On-ground sponsorship in 2015 and 2016 for PKL was Rs 480 million and Rs 1.23 billion, respectively.

    Vivo reportedly signed a Rs 3 billion deal for five years with the league. Associate sponsors — Gillette, TVS Motors, Association of Mutual Funds of India, Bajaj Electricals, Indo Nissin, RR Kabel and Manyavar have paid around Rs 120-150 million each, according to industry sources.

    Star India EVP Anil Jayaraj said, “Kabaddi has been clearly established as the number two sport in India after cricket.” With 10-second spots selling at an average of Rs 1.5 lakh, media buyers said that the rates are just lower than the Indian Premier League as far as sports events are concerned.

    Each match has around 3,000 seconds of inventory, and with more than 50 per cent  of the inventory sold, Star India is “already in a good place.” PKL’s sponsorship revenue is up by 320 per cent from a “battery of new advertisers,” with 12 teams competing for Rs 80 million worth of prize money.

    Also Read :

    Star India’s PKL 5 telecast via 12 channels in five languages starts today

    How brands are reaching out to wide PKL audience

    PKL 5 advertisers grow three-fold, sponsorships rise 320%

    Pro Kabaddi: Mashal Sports invites tenders to own & manage new team

     

  • Vivo, Denver, Syska, PC, Manforce & Hike board Splitsvilla on MTV

    MUMBAI: With India’s original dating reality show celebrating a decade, MTV, the iconic youth brand, brings back the most watched game of love ‘Splitsvilla’ with a renewed take on the concept of dating, with an all-new exciting theme – ‘Catch Your Match’. In its latest season, Vivo Presents MTV Splitsvilla X, powered by Denver Deodorants, Syska Personal Care, PC Jeweller & Manforce, connected by Hike Messenger will not be any less than a carnival for sponsors who will ride high on the longest running dating reality show’s massive viewership amongst the youth of the country. The latest season of the show will be hosted by MTV VJ, Rannvijay Singha and Bollywood’s femme fatale, Sunny Leone who will enable the contestants to discover whether there is any science behind falling in love as the tenth season of Splitsvilla goes on air on 23 July at 7pm, on MTV.

    Splitsvilla, the cult show revolving around dating and relationships has only been steadily rising in popularity since hitting the Indian Television scene ten years ago. Its last season attracted massive viewership from amongst its core target audience which stood at 19 million across the All India 15-21 Youth audience and 100 million across the All India All 2+. With such strong following, the latest season promises to bring in more audiences with its unique new twist while retaining the fun-filled flavour that Splitsvilla is known for.

    Owing to the massive reach of the show amongst youngsters, some of the top brands and new entrants in the industry grabbed the opportunity to be associated with the show. Loaded with sponsors, Splitsvilla X has been successful in clinching lucrative deals with leading brands in the country. With Vivo Smart Phones as the title sponsors, the show also has Denver deodorants, Syska Personal Care, PC Jeweller & Manforce as the powered by sponsors while Hike Messenger is onboard as the connected by sponsor.

    Elaborating on the concept of the show and the sponsorship deals, Viacom18 head – youth, music and English entertainment Ferzad Palia said, “Splitsvilla is the biggest youth reality show in India. In its landmark tenth season, it is watched by 150 million Indians across platforms every year. And we keep growing with every passing season in both viewership and advertising revenues! We at MTV take great pride in this being a ‘home grown original’ format. This year we’re upping the game to a new theme – ‘Catch Your Match’, where it’s ‘heart vs head’. Great excitement in store for our 10th anniversary.”

    Vivo India CMO said, “Splitsvilla embarked on to establish new rules of youth programming over a decade ago and today enjoys being one of the most watched show by youth. Spiltsvilla showcases relationships, relevant for today’s young generation much like Vivo, a brand that believes in surprising the audience with its innovation. With Splitsvilla witnessing its 10th anniversary this year, we are hopeful that our core target audience i.e youth will find it even more thrilling and will be a memorable season for the contestants and the millennial generation. We congratulate MTV on running nine successful seasons and we wish Splitsvilla X Season 10 tremendous success.”

    Along with VIVO Camera and Music who has come in as the title sponsor on Splitsvilla X, MTV has also brought on board Denver Deodorants, Syska Personal Care, PC Jeweller and Manforce as the powered by sponsors; Hike Messenger as the connected by sponsor; Iarra and Macho as the associate sponsors; Voot as the streaming partner, Red FM as the Radio Partner, Jawed Habib as the Salon Partner, Café Creame as the Café Partner, Gianis as the Hangout Partner and Florista as the Gifting Partner.

    With every new season of Splitsvilla, MTV comes up with a fresh new theme to keep the youth glued to their TV screens. The theme for the latest season of Splitsvilla has been conceptualized keeping in mind the psyche of the youth of today. With so many dating apps available to them and the mathematical formula involved to find ‘the one’, MTV thought it would be great to employ the same thought and see whether there’s any science involved behind falling in love in today’s day and age with the theme ‘Catch Your Match’. To reach out to the youth across the nation the show will be supported by a 360degree marketing push by creating multiple touch points using mediums like TV, Outdoor, Print, radio, brand associations and digital. And with Rannvijay and Sunny back as the hosts, the excitement is just about beginning!

  • Vivo wins IPL title rights for Rs 21.9 bn

    MUMBAI: Vivo has won the title rights bid for IPL for 2018-2022 for Rs 21.9 billion — which is a 554 per cent hike over the previous contract. Oppo, with Rs 14.3 bn-bid, Motorola, Xaiomi, and Intex were the other bidders.

    21 June was the last day for interested companies to pick up the bid document, which was available from 31 May.

    The IPL’s title sponsorship has been held by three brands since the tournament’s launch in 2008. For the first five years, DLF held the rights while, in 2013, Pepsi came on board.

    However, after the BCCI found itself in a mess with the betting and spot-fixing scam, the beverage giant discontinued its deal in late 2015. This made way for Vivo to pick up the rights for the last two years of Pepsi’s contract tenure.

  • IPL ’18 media rights decision likely in July, player recruitment norms to be tweaked

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Indian cricket board BCCI explores tweaks in new player recruitment norms by franchisees for the next edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2018, decisions on media rights is likely to be taken by next month and the title sponsorship to be decided by month-end.

    This was stated by IPL commissioner Rajeev Shukla yesterday during the India-Bangladesh semi-final match in England where the Champions Trophy is under way.

    According to Shukla, who was in conversation with commentators of All-India Radio (AIR) during the India-Bangladesh cricket match, the media rights would be hawked in a bundled form as well as separately. The media rights for IPL include those for TV, online, digital and overseas (outside Indian geographical region).

    Chinese phone maker Vivo, wanting to make a splash in the Indian market and establish a presence, had picked up the title sponsorship for IPL for two years in 2015. Earlier, such sponsors included Indian real estate company DLF, and PepsiCo. The latter had opted out of sponsorship after betting and match-fixing scandals rocked IPL a few years ago.

    A 2016 news report in the Mint newspaper stated that, for the Indian sub-continent, BCCI will award the television rights for 10 years and digital media rights for five years. The competitive bidding process would close on 25 October 2016.

    At present, IPL’s TV broadcast rights are held by Sony Pictures Networks Pvt. Ltd, which will expire in 2017, and the Internet and mobile rights rest with Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, a unit of Star India, for a period of three years till 2017.

    As to whether IPL is contemplating increasing the number of participating teams from the present eight, Shukla replied in the negative. This would mean that the teams from Gujarat and Pune would have to bow out in 2018 as controversy-tainted Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings are likely to stage a comeback after a two-year suspension.

    Shukla also said during the conversation on AIR that BCCI and IPL are contemplating making changes in various criteria to pick and buy cricketers by various franchisee owners from next year.

    The senior BCCI official elaborated that “some restrictions” would be placed on IPL team owners to desist them from picking a rookie player without any experience of BCCI-supported domestic cricket tourneys as it amounted to discrimination of deserving players who have played in Indian domestic cricket tournaments (Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Trophy, etc).

    About the reason behind BCCI agreeing to participate in Champions Trophy (where India would sometime have to play Pakistan, a country regarded back home as abetting and encouraging terrorism against India), Shukla smartly skirted answering directly, preferring to say that BCCI agreed on participation in CT 2017 as it wanted the national team to retain the trophy.

    India is the current holder of the Champions Trophy and the next edition of the tournament would be held in India.

    Shukla, while admitting that India has become a nerve-centre for global cricket contributing sizably to the revenue kitty of cricket’s international governing body ICC, stated that all outstanding financial issues related to revenue sharing would be sorted out soon and amicably between ICC and BCCI.

  • BCCI invites bids for IPL title sponsorship

    MUMBAI: A few brands have been associated with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its money-spinning Indian Premier League as its title sponsor. Among them: real estate giant, DLF, Pepsi and finally Vivo which paid Rs 100 crore annually for it (2016 to 2018).

    Now the cricket body has begun the process of finding a new title sponsor. It placed an ad in the newspapers, saying that it was starting the invitation to tender (ITT) process from 1 June to 21 June.

    The ITT document is available at a non-refundable fee of Rs 300,000 and the bids have to be submitted by 12 noon 27 June 2017 at a specified place mentioned in it or any other place that the board decides. The BCCI has also reserved the right at its discretion to cancel or amend the entire bidding process at any stage.

    The new title sponsorship deal will be for the next five seasons starting from August 2018 to July 2022.

  • Vivo becomes FIFA’s smartphone sponsor in a six-year, US$ 450m deal

    MUMBAI: Football is one of the most fascinating sports, and the FIFA World Cup one of the top global sporting competitions. The global smartphone brand Vivo announced its agreement with International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to sponsor the FIFA World Cup for six years, covering two tournament cycles.

    FIFA reportedly secured the vital financial support of the smartphone maker in a US$ 450 million (EUR 400m) sponsorship deal. According to people in the know cited by Financial Times, Vivo will pay about EUR 60m– EUR 70m a year to sponsor tournaments run by FIFA until the 2022 cup in Qatar. FIFA has in the past lost several big-time sponsors, such as Sony and Emirates, when their contracts expired.

    Vivo, which is the sponsor of the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ongoing Pro-Kabaddi League in India, has been presented as FIFA’s official smartphone sponsor under an agreement that will cover the next two editions in 2018 and 2022. As one of the world’s largest sporting events, the FIFA World Cup has tremendous influence and worldwide coverage. Apart from IPL and PKL, Vivo’s previous involvement in sport includes a strategic partnership with the NBA to become NBA China’s official mobile handset sponsor.

    Vivo became FIFA’s twelfth sponsor for the 2018 World Cup. Before the previous tournament in Brazil, FIFA had 20 corporate partners on board, which supported payment of of US$ 2bn cost of running the event.

    The announcement was made in Beijing at the historical and iconic Imperial Ancestral Temple in the presence of Vivo executive vice-president Ni Xudong and FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura. Vivo’s persistent focus on constant improvement was attractive to organizers of the FIFA World Cup. Vivo became the third Chinese company to sponsor the World Cup in 2017-18 after Wanda and Hisense.

    Vivo will sponsor the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup. The global reach of this partnership is set to take Vivo to new heights. The Vivo logo will appear during every match on pitch advertising boards, match tickets, media releases and other key promotional platforms. The agreement includes special marketing activations such as the right to select guests to be a Vivo phone photographer during pre-match player warm-ups. Vivo will also gradually introduce a customised FIFA World Cup phone that will offer a unique experience for football fans around the world.

    Xudong explained: “Football is a sport full of passion and moments of wonder, creating happiness for millions of people. The spirit of football is about constant progress. As a global sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, Vivo hopes to strongly associate itself with the football spirit and show consumers all over the world Vivo’s creative, joyful and international brand image. In the meantime, Vivo will bring more personalised, energetic and youthful elements to the FIFA World Cup experience and the game of football.”

    Samoura said: “Football and technology are coming closer by the day, on and off the pitch, and it is a great moment to start a partnership of this nature with the leading global smartphone brand. We are very excited to be working closely with Vivo and keen to see their involvement in the next editions of the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Confederations Cup.” Samoura told the FT that seeking and pocketing sponsorship was not an easy business anywhere, but to have China as the partner for the third time in a year showed that football was a global sport and that China would be an important client.

    FIFA rights include special marketing programs such as the right to invite guests to be Vivo phone photographers during pre-match player warm-ups. Later, Vivo will introduce a customised FIFA World Cup phone to offer a one of a kind experience for Vivo consumers and football fans. Additionally, FIFA staff will use Vivo smart phones on-site and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017, which will begin on 17 June, marks the start of Vivo and FIFA’s cooperation.

    Sports marketing: From 2014, Vivo began to expand into markets in Southeast Asia and other regions. Deploying localized product and marketing strategies, Vivo saw rapid growth, and was strongly embraced by local consumers. Vivo has continued to invest in R&D, and established seven major research centers across China and the United States. Vivo has also used sports marketing to increase brand awareness in international markets.

    In 2015, Vivo became the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a sporting association that is highly influential in British Common Wealth countries and India. In 2016 Vivo started a strategic partnership with NBA China as its Official Mobile Handset Sponsor, inviting NBA superstar Stephen Curry to become the product ambassador for Vivo’s flagship Xplay6. As sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, Vivo seeks to earn itself even more attention on the international stage.

    According to FIFA’s annual reports, revenues from commercial and marketing deals related to the 2018 World Cup were US$ 246m in 2015, down from $404m in 2013. The lack of sponsors, alongside legal costs related to corruption probes, contributed to FIFA making a $369m loss in 2016.