The Hindu Business Line : Marketing plans

No wonder the Caribbean countries are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to improve infrastructure and facilities for tourists and expect the benefits of the investment to keep coming long after the World Cup is over. Further, to make it easier for visitors to the Caribbean during the World Cup, the nine nations where the matches would be played would have a single visa. Several cricket/tourism packages are being planned.

But it is not just the Caribbean nations that are rolling out high-decibel marketing initiatives. With the Champions Trophy tournament only three months away and the World Cup eight months away, the official global partners for the ICC events (which include LG Electronics, Pepsi, Hutch and Hero Honda) are betting on cricket to drive their sales this year. The ICC has got $550 million from sponsorships of two World Cups and three Champions Trophy tournaments between 2000 and 2007. According to estimates, of this amount, more than $300 million has come from India-specific companies. Further, as per estimates, over Rs 2,000 crore was spent on advertising in India during the last World Cup, and marketers expect similar investments this time too.

Sandeep Tiwari, Marketing Head, LG Electronics, says cricket will be the flavour in its marketing campaigns starting August. "We will be spending Rs 34 crore on cricket-related campaigns this year. It would be a consumer-oriented promotion in which we would give away tickets for the cricket matches. Further, the Champions Trophy would overlap with the festive season, which would provide an impetus to sales of all consumer durables. We would be coming out with more marketing initiatives around that time," he says.

Hero Honda too is planning several cricket-related initiatives. "We expect a huge impact on sales with the Champions Trophy coinciding with the festive season, followed by the World Cup," a company official said. However, with the first of the ICC tournaments only a few months away, there are already some concerns over ambush marketing, which made much news off the field during the last tournament.

ICC officials, however, say they will ensure that sponsors get value for the investments they make in cricket. The ICC's agreement with the sponsors has a clause protecting the latter from ambush marketing, which refers to an effort by an unauthorised entity to benefit from an event at the expense of another company's association with the event.

In the context of a cricketing event, it would amount to linking a promotional campaign with it without paying the fee. An `ambush' ensures that the official sponsors' exclusive association with the event gets diluted. One of the most famous examples of ambush marketing was seen during the 1996 cricket World Cup held in the sub-continent. Though Coca-Cola was the `official' sponsor of the event, Pepsi stole the limelight with its `Nothing official about it' tagline.

So, starting October and stretching on to April next year, get set for action not only on the field but also off it.

More Stories on : Promotions & Offers | Sports | Tourism

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
The media as activist

Ears for growth

A brave, grey world

Moulding medium to message

All the Presidents

The calypso beat begins

Marketing plans

Star-struck!

The 360-degree spin

Photos never represent objective evidence