MxMIndia

Tag: Rajasthan Royals

  • The campaign has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, Kolkata

    Rajasthan Royals partners Dollar hosiery

    By Our Staff

     

    Dollar Industries has launched its latest brand campaign to promote Athleisurewear. The campaign has been conceptualised by Lowe Lintas, Kolkata. As Principal Sponsors of the Rajasthan Royals team for this edition of IPL, Dollar has partnered with five cricketing idols – Sanju Samson, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal & Riyan Parag of the Rajasthan Royals team to push forward the fashion quotient and strike a chord with the GenZ audience.

     

    Said Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dollar Industries Limited: “With majority of business meetings taking place in front of a notebook at home – casual leggings, sweatpants and loungewear have quickly become inherent pieces of our personal and professional wardrobes. This has naturally prompted us to launch an entire range of Athleisure wear – Tank Tops, Crew Necks, Henleys, Polos, Sweatshirts, Jackets, Hoodies, Bermudas, Capris, Track Pants, Joggers and Socks – which perfectly marries our young consumer’s desire for comfortable yet trendy and versatile clothing options which they can wear at multiple events and locations, from work to gym classes to lunch dates.”

     

  • Official Team Partner of Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad

    Kotak partners 6 cricket teams, launches MyTeam cards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (Kotak) has announced that it is the official partner of six IPL cricket teams – Delhi Capitals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and has launched MyTeam Debit and Credit Cards.

     

    Said Uday Kotak, Managing Director & CEO, Kotak Mahindra Bank: “Undoubtedly cricket is at India’s heart and is keenly followed by millions of fans. I count myself as one among them. This year, due to the unique circumstances, the excitement and interest in the cricketing events are at another level altogether. In this context, I am delighted to announce that Kotak is partnering six power-packed teams and launching MyTeam Debit and Credit Cards. Indian cricket fans can now carry a memento of their favourite team in their pocket and flaunt their loyalties at every swipe.”

     

     

  • The cola giant mulls not rebidding for the title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League after its contract ends in 2017

    Is IPL the right choice for Pepsi?

     

    By Ratna Bhushan

     

    PepsiCo may not rebid for title sponsorship of the Indian Premier League after its five-year contract ends in 2017, three industry insiders said, a day after a Supreme Court panel called for the suspension of two IPL teams for two years.

     

    “There has been too much controversy in the IPL and the internal thought process is that the company doesn’t want to re-bid for the title sponsorship,” said an executive with knowledge of internal discussions at Pepsi.

     

    “Title sponsorship is a direct association with the brand image, which directly risks getting impacted by controversy,” the executive said.

     

    PepsiCo won the right to attach its name to the tournament with a .’396 crore bid for a five-year period that started 2013, the very year in which the spot fixing scandal broke with the arrest of three cricketers. Pepsi’s bid was almost twice what the previous sponsor, real estate firm DLF, had paid the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the 2008-12 term.

     

    The company declined to comment on the matter.

     

    “We do not comment on speculation,” said Vipul Prakash, vice president, beverages, PepsiCo. “We have not seen the copy of the complete order and hence will not be able to comment any further at this stage. We remain committed to ethical conduct in sport and expect that issues surrounding IPL are adequately and swiftly addressed. The faith of cricket fans is important and needs to be restored in the interest of the game.” The Supreme Court-appointed RM Lodha committee on Tuesday suspended the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchises for two years, besides banning Gurunath Meiyappan of the first team and Raj Kundra of the second for life. The move could force the IPL to go into the next season with just six teams, although the CSK owner plans to appeal the decision. The other team is also expected to appeal.

     

    TIES TO CONTINUE

    The beverage company won’t be snapping its ties completely with the tournament after 2017, said the persons cited above.

     

    “PepsiCo, however, will continue to be associated with the IPL through other platforms, such as on-air broadcast sponsorship, pouring rights etc. That’s because IPL, which is held in April-May, is peak season for soft drink firms and PepsiCo spends heavily on marketing,” said one of the executives. Since becoming the IPL title sponsor, PepsiCo has pegged its summer strategy to the tournament. This year, it ran the “Crash the IPL” campaign, which asked viewers to create their own Pepsi ads. The previous year, it had run the “Oh yes, Abhi” campaign. Summer accounts for 40 per cent of overall soft drinks sales, and the April-June quarter generally sets the pace for the rest of the year.

     

    PepsiCo chairperson and chief executive Indra Nooyi had alluded to some discomfort over the IPL spot-fixing scandal in an interview in 2013. “We would like to see no controversy of the sport… We hope they fix it,” she had told ET. “We are a highly ethical and principled organisation. So we want to associate with organisations that are principled and ethical. We hope the current problems of IPL are short term and they are addressed. But if they are not, we will have to go back and rethink.”

     

    Brand consultant Harish Bijoor drew comparisons with the Maggi noodles episode. After the product was banned in June for excessive lead content, brand endorsers such as actresses Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta also got sucked into the row.

     

    “This (latest development) has stirred a hornest’s nest and all lead sponsors would question their association with the team. In the consumer’s mind, lead sponsors could be also painted with a negative brush, which is what the brands have to be careful about,” Bijoor said.

     

    An executive involved with PepsiCo’s advertising campaign said the company may have to rework its marketing strategy because CSK team captain MS Dhoni has been one of the most visible brand ambassadors of Pepsi Cola and Lay’s chips.

     

    “As a brand, anyone wants to be associated with something positive,” said Varun Gupta, managing director at global consultancy American Appraisal. “There will be some negative connotations with the tournament at least in the short term. But this also gives the IPL an opportunity to clean up and move forward competitively.”

     

    To be sure, IPL has been an attractive property for advertisers despite the various controversies attached to it. This year, tournament broadcast rights holder Multi Screen Media (MSM) generated about Rs 1,000 crore from sponsors and the sale of advertising time. Besides PepsiCo, key IPL sponsors included Vodafone, Hero MotoCorp, Amazon, Paytm and Magicbricks.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • All eyes on whether CSK and the Royals have new owners or are out of the tournament

    Dark Clouds for IPL Sponsors?

     

    By Pritha Mitra Dasgupta & Ratna Bhushan

     

    The proposed suspension of Indian Premier League teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals following a betting scandal evoked mixed opinions about how the cricket tournament would be affected, although it is unlikely to financially hurt title sponsor PepsiCo or team sponsors such as Aircel and UltraTech.

     

    In all probability, the Board of Control for Cricket in India will have to compensate sponsors financially for any loss of opportunity to market their brands, two people who deal with such negotiations said.

     

    “Both teams have star players such as MS Dhoni and Shane Watson who are brands in their own right and the teams have been performing well. If BCCI chooses to go ahead without the two teams next year, then it will have to decide on how the sponsors would be compensated,” a source said.

     

    The sponsors of CSK and Rajasthan Royals won’t take any hit, said Melroy D’Souza, chief operating officer at Professional Management Group, the sports marketing unit of Madison.

     

    Media planners said suspension of two of the eight teams may be a problem for Sony, official broadcaster of the T20 cricket league. “Sony Max will not be able to match the ad sales revenue it raked in the previous IPL season because the number of matches will reduce,” a top media planner said.

     

    “There will be a lot of challenges for the next edition of IPL,” said Santosh Desai, MD & CEO of Futurebrands India. “The immediate issue will be adjusting the format and one would imagine that the brand value will take a knock. And advertisers will be wary at least for the next season of IPL.”

     

    According to Ashish Bhasin, chairman & CEO South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network, “Both CSK and RR are very big teams and their suspension will impact the tournament in a big way. But I am sure BCCI will find ways to reorient the tournament.”

     

    Bhasin added that the tournament is unviable with six teams and “financially it will be very difficult to sustain. If the number of matches get lesser there will be less advertising time. So we need to see how BCCI restructures IPL.”

     

    Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Media brands, said that IPL is bigger than the teams and “people watch it more for its entertainment value than competitive cricket. So in my opinion, advertiser interest will remain.”

     

    Vodafone, one of the three official IPL partners and one of the biggest advertisers, declined to comment.

     

    PepsiCo India said it expects the issues surrounding IPL to be adequately and swiftly addressed. “The faith of cricket fans is important and needs to be restored in the interest of the game. With reference the ban on the two teams, we will discuss it with Board of Control for Cricket in India and are hopeful they will be able to find a solution, which is in the best interest of all stakeholders,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said.

     

    Mobile wallet company, Paytm, which came on board as an IPL sponsor in 2015, will “wait and watch before signing another deal with IPL.” Shankar Nath, senior vice president at Paytm, said, “We are stunned by the news. But the good news is there is still a lot of time before the next season and maybe it will prove to be resilient.”

     

    “IPL has emerged as a robust and endearing sporting event property, which has only grown stronger with record TV viewership and instadium attendance. We believe that the strengthened governance structure and enhanced image of the IPL will further build the popularity of the league and benefit all its stakeholders, including sponsors,” said Anindya Datta, chief marketing officer at Yes Bank, one of the official partners of the event.

     

    Aircel, the oldest and biggest team sponsor of CSK, went into a huddle over the question of disassociating with a team found to have links with a betting scandal.

     

    “The verdict has just been announced and we are reviewing our position in the matter,” Aircel said in a statement to CSK.

     

    A leading media agency is of the opinion that both CSK and RR will play in the next season of IPL, probably under new owners, and therefore the tournament format will remain unaffected.

     

    However, the agency said a number of big advertisers may not associate with IPL because the property is marred with the betting scandal and the matter is sub judice. No one would want to come under the scanner of the new government.

     

    The agency said cricket as a property in India has become very expensive and a number of beverage and FMCG brands might use this as an excuse to get out of IPL.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Media planners and industry sources say sponsorship rates have risen 10-15% over last year, when the eight teams put together made just over Rs 250 crore from sponsorship

    IPL teams to mop up Rs 300 crore in sponsorship deals as most brands stay committed

    By Ravi Teja Sharma & Nandini Raghavendra

     

    That the Indian Premier League (IPL) has emerged as the choicest new brandbuilding opportunity can be gauged from the sheer stickiness that brands have displayed with the teams, and this year too most of the sponsors have decided to renew their contracts for at least the next two years. Together, the eight teams in the T20 league are estimated to mop up close to Rs 300 crore from kit deals — sponsorship on shirts, trousers and caps of players – with existing as well as some new sponsors this season.

     

    Media planners and industry sources say sponsorship rates have risen 10-15% over last year, when the eight teams put together made just over Rs 250 crore from sponsorship. “A lot of companies today want to invest in sports. Those who were already there felt the tournament has given them a good bang for their buck,” says Mohit Burman, co-owner of Kings XI Punjab.

     

    Among the newcomers to the IPL party this year is Chinese mobile handset maker Gionee, which will be seen on the front of the shirt of Kolkata Knight Riders’ players, replacing longstanding sponsor Nokia. The brand believed to have paid between Rs 15 crore and Rs 18 crore a year for the three-year deal. Another brand that has come in this year is Japanese air conditioner maker Daikin, which has signed up with Delhi Daredevils for an estimated Rs 10-11 crore.

     

    Among those who have renewed, Aircel’s deal with Chennai Super Kings is the most expensive at Rs 22 crore a year. For Mumbai Indians, Videocon d2h has renewed sponsorship at Rs 15-16 crore a year. Huawei has renewed with Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 10-12 crore, while Ultratech logo will again be seen on Rajasthan Royals shirts at Rs 9 crore.

     

    “Even the ground sponsors for teams look closely at ratings and reach of the tournament. These aspects have done well in recent years and that is what they see value in,” says Rohit Gupta, president of Multi Screen Media, official IPL broadcaster.

     

    The cumulative reach of the IPL has risen from about 100 million in its first edition in 2008 to 191.4 million in 2014.

     

    Last year, rating for the tournament grew to 3.6 from 3.2 in 2013 despite a part of the tournament being played in the UAE and stiff competition from Lok Sabha election. “In early years of the tournament, rating was over 4 but it has now stabilised which is attractive for sponsors,” says Gupta.

     

    Rajasthan Royals has added a new sponsor in Kalasalingam University from Chennai, which is advertising for the first time in the IPL. “They see this as the right platform for visibility within other states of India,” says team Chief Executive Raghu Iyer.

     

    Venky Mysore, the chief executive of Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders, says they have seen a 15% increase in pricing. “Brands evaluate the value they see and the fan base, which for KKR has grown hugely, which is why we can command a premium,” says Mysore.

     

    One of the most high talked about franchisees, Royal Challengers, has seen a churn in the last few years. While initially most of its sponsors were in-house brands of the UB Group — Royal Challenge, Whyte & Mackay, McDowell’s No. 1, White Mischief — over the last few years they have been replaced by outside brands. Huawei India, Tata Motors Bolt, Britannia and Kingfisher Beer have renewed their deals.

     

    Vinit Karnik

    While the World Cup viewership didn’t exactly set record, IPL, experts feel, will be a different ball game. “Fatigue levels for prime time cricket viewing is not there because the World Cup was not prime time,” says Vinit Karnik, national director, sports and live events at GroupM ESP. “What is also helping is the realistic pricing despite a slight increase in pricing this time.” IPL teams can be put into two buckets. The three top teams — Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders — are in a different league when it comes to pricing of their kit deals.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • Along with Engage Sports Media, the media partnership deal will offer Rajasthan royals fans a compilation of team-based content across all media platforms worldwide.

    Rajasthan Royals launches new media asset for enhanced content

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rajasthan Royals has announced the launch of RR TV, a new media asset that offers enthusiasts a compilation of up-to-the-minute content related to the team and its activities across all media platforms worldwide.

     

    Launched in partnership with Engage Sports Media in order to give fans access to exclusive original content, RR TV fired up a week before the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 started, and goes behind-the-scenes with Captain Rahul Dravid and the Royals team.

     

    The partnership between Rajasthan Royals and Engage Sports Media will create, produce, distribute and market a broad range of media products to help build a worldwide fan base and boost the commercial value of the Indian Premier League franchise.

     

    RR TV includes daily online video clips of the team and offers a number of TV shows during the current season and post-season. It is syndicated and distributed to the Royals’ website and fan zone, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as online publishers, news and sports websites, radio, mobile and television networks in India, the sub-continent and selected international territories. The platform will continue to produce and distribute content in the off-season to give a year-round media product to build both the fan base and fan engagement around the world.

     

    Talking about the association, Raghu Iyer, CEO, Rajasthan Royals, said, “We believe our fans are our biggest stakeholders. They live and breathe the brand, taking it with them wherever they go. As far as the IPL is concerned, RR TV is a highly innovative media platform and one that looks at offering enthusiasts exciting exclusive team-based content. We’re continuing to give fans a unique digital experience taking them very close to the team and all the action.

     

    Gregg Oldfield, CEO of Engage Sports Media, said, “We are delighted to be working with Rajasthan Royals and to be building RR TV into a valuable media asset for the IPL franchise. There is real fan engagement as we bring to life ‘behind-the-scenes’ and ‘player access’ for fans across all digital and TV platforms.”

     

  • Campaign featuring Rajasthan Royals players to be supported with brand activation and social and digital media to reach out to millions of cricket fans in the country

    HDFC Life’s new campaign propagates ‘Never Give Up’ attitude

    By A Correspondent

     

    HDFC Life, one of India’s leading private life insurance players, has unveiled a new advertising campaign featuring the players of Rajasthan Royals to promote and propagate its brand philosophy of ‘Self Respect’. HDFC Life has been associated with Rajasthan Royals for the fourth consecutive year as the Associate Sponsor.

     

    Commenting on the new campaign, Sanjay Tripathy, Executive Vice President and Head, Marketing and Direct Channels said: “Our campaign carries a simple yet compelling message. The theme is focused on the spirit of ‘Never Giving Up and Moving Forward to face all challenges’. With the new IPL season, the Rajasthan Royals’ commitment is focused on giving their best to the game. Their attitude is not solely to win or lose, but to perform for the team. In simple terms, they play with pride, self-respect and determination.”

     

    Mr. KV Sridhar, National Creative Director, Leo Burnett, said: “Through this simple ad, we have tried to showcase the significance of HDFC Life’s brand value ‘Sar Utha ke Jiyo’. When a team gets onto the field, full of zeal to perform their best, it doesn’t really matter what would be the result, but to play the game for pride and self-respect.”

     

    HDFC Life plans to drive the core essence of the association through different platforms and intensify the brand experience. It will drive a focused TV campaign on the news genre, followed by the movies segment to derive maximum visibility for the campaign on account of regular news updates on the IPL property. The campaign will be running along with exciting contests across prime multiplexes in India (Fame, Fun, Big Cinemas, Inox and Cinemax).

     

    In digital space, HDFC Life will leverage on the cricket frenzy season and drive users to a very engaging contest on Facebook. The users will not only get a chance to interact with the other cricket fans, but also get an opportunity to win exciting IPL Rajasthan Royals merchandise. The company, in partnership with Indiatimes and  Youtube IPL, will roll out a unique HDFC Life Zone to feature the Man of the Match, best batting innings and best bowling innings as the ‘Sar Utha Ke Jiyo’ moments of the day. Through this unique partnership, HDFC Life intends to reach out to millions of consumers across the country.

     

    For the on-ground activation, HDFC Life ‘Game of Pride’, an interesting mall activation drive will be rolled out in two phases across four cities.

     

    Campaign Credits for Rajasthan Royals 2012:

    Creative agency – Leo Burnett, Mumbai

    Executive Creative Director -  Rajesh Mani

    Creative Director -  Manan Mistry

    Copywriter – Rajesh Mani, Akshay Seth and Shatrughan Tripathi

    Art Director – Manan Mistry

    Production House – Opticus Inc

    Director – Sanjay Shetty