Brands loyal to Sachin Tendulkar even after his retirement have decided to invest in social media rather than television to bid farewell to the master blaster. Prohibitive ad rates on television have resulted in a host of Sachin-endorsed brands such as Adidas, Toshiba and Aviva Life Insurance resorting to the digital media on the eve of his retirement.

Japanese laptop and television brand Toshiba, which recently co-created cricket series LED televisions with Sachin Tendulkar, has decided to reach out to Sachin fans through social media for his last match, instead of buying airtime on television.

Chat show

“We have planned a chat show on Sachin’s Facebook pagewhere he already has 11 million fans. It would give his fans an opportunity to discuss the features of our latest television series with the master blaster. Since ad rates on television are already high, cost of media is definitely cheaper and effective on the digital platform. We want to make Sachin’s departure memorable and using social media is part of our plan,” said Sanjay Warke, Country Head, Toshiba India. Having completed four years with the icon, Toshiba has extended his contract till next year.

Tushar Goculdas, Brand Director, Adidas India, too, has big plans for Sachin’s farewell match.

“There are other media apart from television, and buying airtime is not the only way to pay tribute to Sachin. We will be definitely give a memorable farewell to Sachin, but it would be on Facebook. Plans are on to use this medium in the next few weeks till his last match.”

Sachin has been with Adidas for the last 16 years and will continue the association even after his retirement.

“We have been providing equipment for Sachin to play on the field. We would be associating with him even after he retires,” he added.

Other firms such as Aviva Life Insurance are also eyeing the social media to bid farewell to Sachin. Rishi Piparaiya, Director, Marketing and Bancassurance, Aviva Life insurance said, “We have planned a bunch of exciting events on the digital media with a special focus on social media. There will be a digital campaign on the eve of Sachin’s last match.”

Aviva Life insurance has been associated with Sachin for the last six years with on-ground activation events.

As Pratik Gupta, Co-founder of FoxyMoron, a digital agency, observes, “The cost per engagement on the digital medium is multiple times lower than buying airtime on television. The digital medium is better suited for advertisers today, as it is not one-sided like television. Advertisers can directly talk to their consumers, especially when there is an emotional moment like Sachin’s farewell.”

The timing of the last match, which is after Diwali, could also be an additional factor for advertisers to stay away from television, as most would have exhausted their ad budgets by this time.

purvita@thehindu.co.in

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