The Hindu Business Line : Business of sports

When Western Union, the money transfer service, decided to sponsor the premier hockey league for two Punjab teams, its intent was clear: capture the attention of affluent Punjabis who were passionate about the sport. With Punjab a big market for money transfers, using hockey as the sport to grab attention was the idea of Relay Worldwide, the sports marketing arm of media agency Starcom, which belongs to the Publicis group.

A pioneer in the nascent business of sports marketing in the country, today Relay Worldwide has company. Specialisation is gaining momentum in the sports business with more advertising and media agencies joining the fray. O&M's recent decision to dedicate an entire division to cater to sports marketing and communication indicates the enhanced levels of specialisation that agencies are undergoing in this nascent field. Close on the heels of O&M announcing its new venture came more sports entities from other agencies such as Vyas Giannetti and Havas Group (which owns MPG and Euro RSCG in India). Advertising and media agencies have begun to give sports promotions an extra push, drawing their strengths from the international experience of their parent companies.

While launching its new sports marketing and communication division, Ogilvy Sport, Pratap Bose, CEO, O&M India, said, "Ogilvy Sport will be a professionally-run sports marketing outfit. Being part of the Ogilvy network gives it access to cutting-edge marketing tools and the expertise of new media in the digital space. Fusing the Ogilvy Sports expertise with this knowhow allows the usage of new platforms for innovative activations." The new division would focus on sports marketing consultancy, property representation and sales, licensing and merchandising, new media and event management. While cricket continues to dominate in India (with MNC brands such as Pepsi taking the lead), there are other forthcoming events such as the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010, which is drawing more advertising and media agencies into the fray.

Observes Lucien Boyer, Global CEO, Havas Sports, "India is currently witnessing exponential growth in sports-led marketing and with the Commonwealth Games happening in 2010, we are taking the opportunity to enter the Indian sports arena with the intention of establishing a leading position in this promising yet complex market.'' Having carried out and managed the event at Champs Elysees as part of the Paris 2012 Olymic bid, Havas Sports will use its proven global learning in the new markets that it enters. In India, Havas Sports will look at getting involved actively in sporting activities in association with various regional and national sports bodies. The focus will be on establishing a competitive framework for any interested sportsperson to participate in, with talent-spotting being one of the end goals of these exercises. Methods to support talent through training, equipment and the like, once talent has been found, will provide a way for brands that are connected to become further involved in the makings of a champion.

Says Atul Hegde, Vice-President, Vyas Giannetti Creative, "Sports marketing in this country has till now been restricted to player management — be it endorsements or columns. It has always focussed on the individual player or at best marketing sponsorship platforms on existing sports properties (read cricket). Marketers have completely ignored the fact that gradually the interest in sports is spreading, the biggest indicator being the growing popularity of other sports, be it F1, soccer or tennis. While it will still be sometime till it catches up with cricket, what is interesting is that there is a lot more consumption of other sports today, be it watching or active participation. But, unfortunately, all that gets marketed is cricket-related properties. This for us was an opportunity waiting to be tapped.''

Vyas Giannetti Creative Sports is expected to be India's first sports concept firm. Headed by Anand Yalvigi, who is also a former first class cricketer, it will create customised communication solutions for brands with sports as a backdrop. The company is currently working with clients in diverse sectors as media, insurance, automobiles with the purpose of creating customised sporting communication solutions for specific business needs such as loyalty programmes, talent retention or even internal HR activities. "For us it's a natural extension of our `creative' core,'' adds Hegde.

Even Havas Sports is looking at going beyond cricket in the country. As Arjun Rao, Business Director, Havas Sports, says, "Havas Sports India has been set up in recognition of the sports marketing potential in the country. With a bulk of the other sports marketing players focusing primarily on talent management and/or cricket, not much is being done in other fields. Be it other sports, hospitality programmes, sports development, sponsorship consultancy, evaluation metrics or just pro-Am style events, the scope is tremendous and Havas Sports India will be looking very seriously at developing these offers to capitalise on them.''

In fact, all the new entities will continue to draw on the creative strengths of their respective parent agencies. As Prashant Singh, Business Head, Ogilvy Sport, claims, "The division's reason to exist is the agency. The division works on briefs that the agency receives from a client in the same manner the creative department does and creates solutions based on these briefs. A large number of Ogilvy's clients already use sport in their marketing mix, and Ogilvy Sport will aid in crafting better and more efficient plans.'' For instance, if Hutch is using sport to increase its revenue from value added services, the existing Ogilvy account team will be able to provide it with concepts and costs, which, hitherto, Hutch would have had to go elsewhere for. Having an agency with this resource internally also ensures confidentiality and a seamless stretch across plans. Ogilvy Sport has already bagged Zee Sport as its first client and will be helping the channel in building the game of football.

Long way to go

Extending the benefits from the parent agency, Rao of Havas Sports says, "Both Havas agencies, Euro RSCG and MPG being global will lend their experiences and client base for potential sports-led opportunities. The proprietary `Prosumer' research in addition to the several secondary surveys that it subscribes to would become key catalysts of insight-led sports marketing. Our potential clients in the short term would be corporates and sporting associations that are interested in leveraging sports as a medium both for enhancing brand equity as well as generating business results.'' But sports-related marketing still has a long way to go before clients in India realise its potential. Mahesh Ranka, General Manager, Relay Worldwide, who has been in this business for the past two years, should know. Says he, "As partners of the marketers, agencies have understood that this is one territory that's largely untapped. It's not about a sport, but how sports could help a brand / business and hence it's not skewed to any sports, as we see it."

Yet, sports-related marketing is at the initial stages, and there's a long way to go before sports become an integral part of marketing in India. As of today there is lack of science and benchmarks and most of the people are either sceptics or non-believers in sports to deliver requisite business objectives. However, there are a few thought leaders who have tasted success and made positive moves using sports as a part of their marketing plan, explains Ranka.

With new entities from the media and advertising industry making their presence felt, the business of sports is poised for a change in the country as clients realise the potential of the business and make sports an intrinsic part of their media strategies.

Cricket still in good nick

AGENCIES continue to bet on the game's popularity.

At a recent sports journalist award function, L.V. Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, said: "Cricket allows 26 different platforms for placements, including ground placements such as perimeter boards, logos, T-shirts of players with the brand message on them, and even the replay bug, or the tag on the statistics of players on the screen. An estimated Rs 520 crore per annum is pumped into gaining brand visibility in a sports event in this manner. While sports-related products can seamlessly integrate themselves in a sport, such as energy drinks in the drinks break, other brands have to work harder."

Considering it is cricket, which built the sports marketing business in the country, agencies continue to bet on the popularity of the game. Says Arjun Rao, Business Director, Havas Sports, states, "The Indian market has progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few years due to cricket and its management today. Also, due to the massive influx of funds into cricket, smaller brands which are not able to be a part of international cricket but which are convinced that sports plays an interesting part in their brand's life, are now beginning to look at other ways and means to get involved with sport. This is good for the industry. As more and more brands come on board, sports marketing and the management of various sporting interests will play an increasingly larger role in the lives of brands.''

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