MxMIndia

Tag: Polo

  • Brands like Volkswagen & Parle 20-20 cookies have joined hands with UTV to launch the official IPL season 5 mobile game

    UTV Indiagames gets ‘IPL Cricket Fever’

    By A Correspondent

     

    UTV Indiagames has launched the official IPL season 5 mobile game, ‘IPL Cricket Fever’. They have made sure that all elements of the actual IPL cricket are experienced through the game including the brand associations. Brands like Volkswagen and Parle 20-20 cookies have joined hands with UTV Indiagames, to associate with ‘IPL Cricket Fever’.

     

    Volkswagen has extended its on-ground association with IPL Season 5 to the official game by introducing brand elements for ‘Super Sixes’ & ‘Man of the Series’. Just like the on-ground association, Volkswagen is the brand partner for every ‘6’ hit in the game. For the ‘Man of the Series’ in the mobile game, the player with maximum number of wins during the current IPL season will be presented with the ‘Volkswagen Vento – IPL Edition’.

     

    Parle has associated with the game with their brand Parle 20-20 cookies for various in-game branding elements like ‘4s’ and ‘Replays’. The brand is also the sponsor of the ‘Man of the Match’ reward in the game during the presentation ceremony.

     

    Commenting on the brand associations for the game, Vishal Gondal, CEO, UTV Indiagames said: “The IPL season is the most exciting time of the year for cricket enthusiasts, both on ground and in the digital space. With IPL Cricket Fever we wanted to offer an as close to real experience of the actual on-ground action of IPL and with Volkswagen and Parle 20-20 cookies on board we have made it happen. Now whether the player hits a 4, 6 or wins man of the match or even man of the series, the presence of these brands will give them the actual IPL feel even on their mobile phones.”

     

    Lutz Kothe, Head of Marketing & PR, Volkswagen Group Sales India Private Ltd. said: “The immense response we received for the IPL Edition I has prompted us to introduce the IPL Edition II and this time with both our popular carlines – the Polo and the Vento. To make this more exciting, we are introducing the official mobile game for IPL in association with UTV Indiagames giving an opportunity to all the cricket enthusiasts to win the Vento IPL Edition II. We are sure cricket enthusiasts will enjoy this game and participate to win their favorite carline.”

     

    Pravin Kulkarnii, General Manager – Marketing, Parle Products said: “Gaming is huge in the country today and the mix of cricket and games appeals to one and all. IPL is as popular on ground as it is in the digital space. Parle 20:20 cookies’ association with UTV Indiagames’ official IPL game is the perfect brand opportunity for us as it extends our brand recall in the digital space instantly.”

     

    ‘IPL Cricket Fever’ is based on the IPL Season 5 format and includes all official 9 teams – Mumbai Indians, Chennai Superkings, Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, King XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challenger Bangalore and Pune Warriors.

     

    The users will be able to play with the official IPL players including Sachin Tendulkar, Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Virendra Sehwag, Adam Gilchrist, Gautam Ghambir, Yousuf Pathan, Kevin Pollard, Rahul Dravid, Shane Watson, AB de Villiers, Michael Clarke and many more. There are three game modes available which include quick match, powerplay and IPL tournament. The user can play the entire season as per the actual IPL season too, 4 stadiums with 3 difficulty modes and original IPL players make this the most exciting cricket game around.

     

    The game is available on Android, iOS and Java to ensure that every cricket enthusiast can lay their hands on it to enjoy the IPL season.

     

    UTV Indiagames is India’s integrated game developer-publisher across mobile, online and the interactive television. The company has been a pioneer in the mobile gaming space and has partnered with several major game publishers and media companies in the world such as EA, Disney, THQ, Atari, Universal, Fox, Warner brothers, Sony, MTV, 2K and others whose IP has been published across global leading telecoms including Verizon, Vodafone, Airtel, AT&T, Telstra and others.

     

  • Marketers tap designers to give their brands a fresh appeal and lure customers who have stayed away from them

    Brands get a designer touch

     

    By Tuhina Anand

     

    Wendell Rodricks for Polo, Malini Ramani for Bata, Tarun Tahiliani for Timex… Some of the top Indian fashion designers have moved from their familiar territory of creating haute couture to creating new lines for popular brands.

     

    Wendell Rodricks has designed four new flavours called the Polo Fashion Flavours for Nestle’s Polo and has even given a funky new look to the staid-looking green and blue packaging of the mint.

     

    Malini Ramani, who is known for her bohemian style, has associated with Bata to come out with a new collection of footwear called Malini Ramani for Bata.

     

    Tarun Tahiliani has designed a special collection for Timex to help the brand break away from the sporty image it is associated with.

     

    Giving his views on this trend, Harish Bijoor, brand expert and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. said: “I would call it bringing bizarre into branding. Fashion designers have no connect with the (product) category and it’s a stretch to think of them designing footwear or a designer mint. This is done to just get eyeballs and media share, and not necessarily about gaining market share.”

     

    For brands, it may be an effort to garner eyeballs, especially now, when they jostle with numerous others to grab the consumers’ attention.

     

    For Bata the association came at a time when they were looking at opportunities at designer footwear market inIndia. This, in fact, is the first time that Bata India has roped in a designer to design a special collection for them.

     

    On the reason behind associating with a fashion designer, Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, Group Managing Director, Bata India Limited, said: “The designer market is unique and full of innovations and Bata, as a brand, believes in constant innovations to bring forth the best for their customers. Therefore, we decided to rope in Malini Ramani, who is one of the most coveted designers in the country.”

     

    The footwear major has had a positive feedback of its association with Malini Ramani and hopes to further strengthen this association and even look for similar opportunities with other designers in future.

     

    Mr Gopalakrishnan added: “With the increasing demand for footwear in the Indian market, it is essential for any brand to introduce various designs and variety often. BataIndiaoffers various footwear ranges in every category. We bring out new designs for our customers as per the global trends and standards every month. The entire collection is changed every quarter to cater to the changing needs of Indian consumer.”

     

    Besides the Malini Ramani collection, BataIndiahas genuine leather casual collection for men under Bata and North Star Collection for the young customers. For customers with an active lifestyle, Bata launched a new collection under the Weinbrenner brand with personalized branding. It has Marie Claire collection for women, Power brand for the sports enthusiasts and variety of designs in attractive colours for children under Bubblegummers and Baby Bubbles, besides school shoes for children.

     

    For Timex the association with Tarun Tahiliani was to give break to the stereotype image that the brand has been associated with. VD Wadhwa, MD & CEO of Timex Group India, said: “Timex has been perceived as a sporty and outdoorsy brand since its inception and we want to move beyond that image. To strengthen our connect with the women costumers; we associated with ace designer Tarun Tahiliani. The aim of this association was to establish credibility amongst the women customers at comparatively higher price points and cash in on the wedding and festive season.”

     

    Mr Wadhwa stated that the response has been tremendous as far the collection is concerned. In fact, many costumers have come back asking for more options in this line. Though Timex doesn’t have any plans to add to this collection with other designers.

     

    “Marketers are increasingly leaning on homegrown designers for business associations to launch signature or limited edition lines. All this is done to attract the young and ambitious Indian consumers who would happily pay a premium price to stand out in the crowd. Indian designers are the best bet, since each one of them has a specific style and can fuse Indian and international designs brilliantly to develop an aspirational product,” said Mr Wadhwa.

     

    Fashion designer Manish Malhotra has also been featured in La Opala Diva ads and there is a possibility that he may design for the crockery brand, though the plan has not been finalized yet.

     

    One may even recall that few years ago, Sabyasachi had designed Bombay Dyeing’s new bed and bath range. It is clear that the marketers have started tapping the designers to give a fresh appeal to their products.

     

    It could be to create an aspirational value or tap consumers that have remained away from the brands and lure them in. In a cluttered market, this may be the way to at least garner eyeballs and somewhere succeed in getting an increase in sales too.

     

    Polo image: Nestle.in, other images: courtesy company spokespersons