IMT G Markezine Dec 2010 by Zigu MBA

FOREWORD

Dr. S. K. Singh

Dear Students, It gives me great pleasure to see the fruition of yet another Club MarkUp effort to make a difference in the world of Marketing. We have always supported the Club with its various initiatives to make a mark in the dynamic space of Marketers across B-Schools & the industry. While the Marketing World Cup & its other flagship events have gained the Club & IMT a place of respect, I wish the students luck as they now aim to provide a platform for & encourage original thought as Marketers at a national level. An ever changing environment, ever increasing competition & a favourable climate for innovation & enterprise have made the need to stay updated a matter of survival & we hope that Markezine can contribute in its own humble way to the ever growing pool of knowledge in Marketing Circles. I hope to see an overwhelming response to their effort & wish them luck for this & future endeavours.

FOREWORD

Dr. Lubna Nafees

Markezine is here with yet another interesting issue on sports marketing. Sports marketing is usually divided into two sectors: Marketing of Sports and Marketing through sports. One is the advertising of sport and sports associations such as the Olympics, IPL and the NFL etc. The other concerns the use of sporting events, sporting teams and individual athletes to promote various products. Sports marketing is generally perceived to be difficult in a country which does not have a sporting culture. India, in particular, may not be a sports marketing market in a purist sense compared to western countries, in particular the United States of America. Although we lag behind in sports marketing, the earliest initiative was the association of an Indian soft drink brand and textile brand during the Doordashan era of live telecast of cricket matches in the early eighties.India first experienced sports marketing on a grand scale when the late Mark Mascarenhas & World Tel signed Sachin Tendulkar for a whopping $ 1 billion way back in 1996. It was the first time that Indian sports landscape had an experience with sports marketing at this price point. Sports like cricket are like religion and though Sports Marketing is predominantly a cricket dominated industry in our country, tremendous opportunities exist in other sports as well. Individual sports like tennis and badminton are catching up with the success of sportspeople and the rise of fan following in this sphere. There is an interesting range of articles from various B-schools in this issue that touch on the concept, development and challenges of sports marketing specifically in the Indian environment. Markezine touches on this topic at an interesting time when we are witness to several sports marketing companies setting up operations in India. I wish team Markezine and Club MarkUp loads of success in all their endeavors.

Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Desk Dear Readers, We hope you enjoyed our recent edition of Markezine We are back and this time, at the risk of sounding cliched, we are bigger and better. Markezine transcends to newer heights by going inter bschool in this edition. We had invited articles on the theme "Sports Marketing - Challenges and Opportunities" from bschools across the country and the response was overwhelming - in terms of quantity as well as quality. It was truly difficult to adjudge one article as the best since each had a different perspective on Sports Marketing but tough decisions are a part of every manager's life ! The winner for best article is Dinesh RC from NITIE(Mumbai). However, as promised, the top 5 entries have been published here. This time around, we have a brand new section - TETE-A-TETE which will have interesting insights from industry stalwarts in the form of an interview. We flag off this section in conversation with Ms.Prerna Arun, Founder - Director of PI Communications, on her views and tips on entrepreneurship. So all of you out there who aspire to be your own boss, this is a must-read for you. Another new addition to Markezine is TREND CHECK - a section on the emerging trends in the industry that are changing the rules of the game. We focus on Apology Advertising and Green marketing in this edition. Apart from all these ,we have our trademark Mark-O-Meter to tickle your grey cells. The highlight of this edition however is our recently concluded "Marketing World Cup 2010" - we offer you a sneak peak into the huge success that was MWC 2010. MWC had a "Race" theme which infact coincides with our current sports theme as well. The event witnessed colossal participation with over 100+ teams sending in their entries for the first round and 27 teams came down to the campus to attend our 2-day marketing extravaganza.

Editor Vidyullatha Prakash Content Developers Kanika Khandelwal Renuka Nandgopal

Design & Layout Pratik Bubna Ameya Sohoni

Once again, we thank all of you for your wonderful response and hope to see the same enthusiasm and participation in all our future endeavors.

We look forward to your valuable suggestions, feedback and any queries. Do mail us at markup.markezine@gmail.com

1 Marketing Spo(r)t Mithila Mehta, MICA

3 Sports Marketing - Time to look west Harshad Sardeshmukh, IIFT (Delhi)

The Future of Sports Marketing 5 7 Focus on India COVER STORY

V R Shwetha, IIFT (Delhi)

Sports Marketing - Dual Aspects

Sports Marketing - Evolution

Dinesh RC, NITIE (Mumbai)

Akshay Dikshit

Voicetap - Going the entrepreneur way

MARK-O-METER

An interview with Ms. Prerna Arun

18 Trendcheck

Marketing Spo(r)t - Mithila Mehta, MICA

o you remember the “Eat cricket, sleep cricket, drink only Coca Cola” campaign? Of course you do. India is a cricket crazy nation, and we take sports very seriously. By cleverly aligning itself with the sport and the cricketing hysteria, Coke had pulled off a marketing coup. Sports marketing is gaining momentum in India and globally. It refers to how companies leverage the emotional attachment of people to teams, sporting heroes and sports in general. Sports have become a marketing medium, and even companies seemingly unrelated to sports are jumping onto the bandwagon. As per the Pitch-GroupM Survey, the sports marketing industry is worth Rs 1,900 crore and is growing at 25% annually. Sports marketing is a potent medium and marketing opportunity if correctly utilised. "There is no greater dramatic product than sports. It can have emotions running high and have people glued to the sporting action," says CEO of MindShare Asia Pacific, Ashutosh Srivastava. In a world where the customer is discerning and preoccupied, sports provide the 'hook' for marketers to reach their customers. There's something about sports that rouses loyalty. Sports viewers are undyingly loyal. By associating themselves with a particular sport, team or sportsperson, companies can essentially 'cash' into this loyalty. Many have attributed Pepsi's popularity in India (while it trails behind Coke worldover) to the fact that it has been associated with the “Boys in Blue.” Sports also provide marketers the opportunity to reach specific target groups. Golf, for example, has been used to market luxury products. Formula One

is used to target those with a passion for cars and speeds (and hence market products like Mobil One engine oil or Bridgestone tyres). Football is most popular among the youth and young working professionals. Few other media provide access to such specific and interested target audiences. Sports marketing provides powerful positioning opportunities. Bank of Baroda tied up with Rahul Dravid, to promote itself as dependable—deriving from Dravid's existing image as a dependable cricketer.

Increasingly, marketers are also discovering opportunities in sports beyond the conventional cricket. LG has recently decided to allocate 40% of its sports sponsorship budget to non-cricket sports. Companies are also realising that sports marketing can be used to target the local populace and connect with them on a personal level. Vodafone has started sponsoring the local Goa football league, the Delhi marathon and Polo matches at Jaipur. With global boundaries melting, sporting stars are increasingly becoming internationally known celebrities. Sporting events like the Commonwealth Games grab eyeballs, media attention and public interest. This global reach is a tremendous opportunity for marketers looking to

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move beyond physical spaces and cultivate a global presence.

There is also lack of expertise in the industry. This is proving to be a major obstacle for its growth.

However, despite the many opportunities in this field, sports marketing faces lot of challenges. The biggest obstacle is that sports remain an underdeveloped market, and sports marketing in India is still a premature avenue.

Sports marketing may be burgeoning on a global level, but marketers need to understand that every nation is different. China loves basketball, India is crazy about sports that provide entertainment as well (Read: T20 cricket) and Europe loves football and Formula One. Understanding the preferences and psyche of sports viewers in different segments is a challenge.

Apart from cricket, most sports do not have the necessary fan base, infrastructure, visibility or financial support. Within India, it is a very real challenge to get companies to invest in sports besides cricket. The general perception is that only cricket grabs eyeballs. As a result, other sports are

Despite the many challenges facing sports marketing, it seems to a potent tool. If harnessed correctly, sports could well become the ace up the marketer's sleeve! is a challenge. Despite the many challenges facing sports marketing, it seems to a potent tool. If harnessed correctly, sports could well become the ace up the marketer's sleeve!

left out in the cold. It is a fact that spaces in Indian sports are limited and difficult to promote. Companies need to understand that the first step in sports marketing is development of the sport as a whole. Ideally, sports marketing businesses should operate on long-term business model, which includes creation of sports properties and a relevant gestation period. The challenge lies in the fact that companies want instant gratification (and results) instead. There is general ignorance about sports marketing as an industry and a career. Many traditional companies do not understand sports marketing. Others are reluctant to look at it as an option, because sports are considered to be all fun and games--literally.

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Sports Marketing - Time to look west! - Harshad Sardeshmukh, IIFT Delhi

e have long heard of advertisements being launched specially for the Super Bowl and about the huge impact they have. Coca-Cola, Snickers, Budweiser are only few of the brands which have made use of this sporting extravaganza to reach out to one of the largest audiences possible, at one single time. Advertising during Super Bowl 2010 is expected to reach out to more than 90 million users across the USA and a mere 30 second slot is expected to cost around 2.6 million dollars. Marketing through sports is very popular in western countries and has been quite successful too. Be it associations with sports league such as the Barclays Premier League , sponsoring sports teams such as Samsung which is the jersey sponsor of Chelsea football club or Gillette which has famous s p o r t s personalities as i t s b r a n d ambassadors ; sports marketing gives the company an opportunity not just to reach out to local audiences, but in case of popular sports such as football which has matches being telecast worldwide as in the case of the Barclays Premier league, the marketers can reach out to a worldwide audience. So in a nutshell, marketing through sports is an effective way to reach out to the audience. So where does sports marketing stand in India? For long, sports in India has begun and ended with cricket. Hence most of the advertising and marketing has also been cricket centric. Sahara's association with the Indian cricket team,

Sachin Tendulkar endorsing Pepsi, Sehwag and Gambhir in Coke advertisements: It's difficult to blame the companies for not looking beyond cricket. India is and will always remain a cricket crazy nation and the benefits of marketing through cricket will always be huge. But other sports are catching up. Sports such as Hockey, Badminton, Tennis etc have always been popular regionally, but with sportsmen from these sports gaining international prominence, not only are these sports getting valuable air time but also national recognition. And this is where the opportunity lies for marketers. There are two ways the companies can go about this. The first is by using upcoming sportsmen as brand ambassadors. The good thing about the development of these sports is that it has given an opportunity for players from all corners of India to come to the fore. So, using these sportsmen implies that companies can gain from the strong regional connect that such sportsmen will bring with them. Also these sportsmen will be available at much cheaper rates as compared to their cricketing counterparts. India's youth is coming out strongly in support of other sports and they connect instantly with a Sania Mirza or a Saina Nehwal. Another aspect is that by signing on such sportsmen, the companies provide them with financial security which will encourage more youngsters to take up sports as a career option. This is not only good for sports in India but more sportsmen means more opportunities for marketers.

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events itself. The IPL has been a huge success in India and companies have been quick to join the bandwagon in order to promote their brands. Brands such as Cloud 9, Max Mobile have utilised the IPL with great success to reach out to the masses. With viewership of more than 50 million in India alone and a worldwide audience, the IPL is an opportunity that cannot be missed by marketers. However, the recent successful hosting of the commonwealth games by India and the following that it garnered has shown that Indian audiences are ready to move beyond cricket.

recognisable all over the country. To summarise, the rising popularity of sports and sportsmen justifies their use in the marketing of products. The success of companies in the west using these channels for marketing should provide companies in India with sufficient inspiration to utilize this medium to the fullest.

While marketing though sports in India seems very lucrative, there are still a few road blocks faced by the still nascent industry. Companies still see cricket as the only lucrative option and arewary of investing in other sports. The market may be limited to only the sports fans and companies wanting to look beyond this audience may not want to invest in this. Also in case of Leagues such as IPL which has regional teams participating, interest of regions dies down pretty quickly with the elimination of their teams. Some of the players, though gaining in popularity may not be

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C O V E R S TO RY

The Future of Sports Marketing Sport is, somehow, a religion . . . sports flow outward into action from a deep natural impulse that is radically religious: an impulse of freedom, respect for ritual limits, a zest for symbolic meaning, and a longing for perfection. The athlete may of course be pagan, but sports are, as it were, natural religions - NOVAK (1995)

n a nation as cricket crazed as India, with CWG taking the country by storm, and India's medal tally steadily inching upwards in the Asiad games, it's easy to see why Sports marketing seems to be a safe bet for Cos. to grab eyeballs & awareness Cricket & Movies have been the buzzwords to reach out to the true Indian, but with budding performers in various other sporting events, and the Indian middle class even rooting for football, what the country has witnessed so far in terms of sports marketing is surely the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

of IPTVs and 3D TVs, the actual viewing rate is likely to increase further. Fourth, cheering for national teams at international events heightens a sense of oneness, encouraging national unity and social integration. In Japan, the impressive records achieved by swimmers at the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympic Games encouraged Japanese people, who were disheartened by the recession that followed World War II, to regain pride and reunite. Surely, all that good sentiment would lead to great brand association for you as a sponsor! Moving Beyond Mere Recognition

Why Sports? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; It's A Language We All Understand Four Attractions of International Sporting Events First, sport is a universal language. It is clear and easy to understand, and it can bring people together, transcending the social, cultural, and ideological differences. Second, sports deliver unexpected results and upsets and such drama and excitement often go beyond what written stories can offer. Third, sports attract wide attention. The 2006 World Cup games in Germany had 32 participating countries and a billion viewers (cumulative figure), while the 2008 Beijing Olympics had 205 participating countries and 49 million viewers. With the development of various forms of media including the Internet and the distribution

For low-profile companies or brands, sports marketing offers a very effective tool since it instantly enhances brand recognition. Nevertheless, sports marketing should not remain confined to simply increasing recognition, but upgraded in a way that it creates associations that are favorable and unique. Companies today are looking to go the next step in the branding exercise; they are looking to move beyond creating brand awareness to create favorable attitudes towards their brands. Sports Marketing Simplified Set Strategic Direction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; This would help companies to improve coherence between brand identity and sports marketing projects. PAGE

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C O V E R S TO RY

The first step is to analyze the characteristics and tendencies specific to the sports, teams, and players they sponsor, since the fans are likely to share similar tendencies. It is crucial to understand why people become immersed in one team or athlete over another. Choice of sport, personality & team is of utmost importance since the key to association lies in these initial steps. Create the Brand Identity - The next step is for the company to target goals for sports marketing and brand identity, especially concerning the direction and coherence strategy of the brand identity that it seeks to create. Sports marketing can serve as a powerful tool that raises both brand recognition and improves brand image. In case a company discovers a lack of coherence in strategy with a team or player already under contract, since cancelling the contract could be an expensive proposition, repositioning is the best option. Affect Brand Recognition - Finally, companies should find ways to affect powerful brand recognition. Differentiating points should be clearly devised to ensure mindshare since other companies & rivals might sponsor the same popular players or teams.

that spread virally across the online community. CWG: An Opportunity Untapped Common Wealth Games 2010 India's major international sporting event with participation of athletes from 71 commonwealth nations could have been India's claim to sporting fame. It was an event that begged to be marketed with as much fervor as any other in the country. Alas, being surrounded by many controversies including numerous qualms about the infrastructure facilities and political interference, multiple opportunities in terms of sponsorship sales, sponsorship activation, ticketing, corporate hospitality, ceremonies, athlete management, advertising and communications, and new media were lost. Many major international brands preferred to stay aloof lest their involvement put the brand image to risk. However, this is just the beginning and as India climbs her way to sporting glory, we hope to see Sports Marketing getting bigger & brighter in the days to come!

Strategies like Ambush marketing though proven to be highly effective must be used with caution. Moral and social responsibilities must be met at all times to uphold the company's image. Ambush marketing however was used to great effect by Nike in the run up to the Fifa Worldcup 2010 with their popular soccer themed ad PAGE

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Focus on India - V.R. Shwetha, IIFT Delhi

ricket and Bollywood - craze of India and major marketing avenues. There are no trends they cannot sell, no section of society they don't inspire. Why am I talking about cricket only? Because sports in India is highly skewed towards cricket. But things are changing and therein lies the challenge and the opportunity beckoning the sports marketing industry. If sport is a movie on the sports marketing stage, following are the stakeholders: ? Rights Holders eg. ICC: (Producers) ? Broadcasters: (Distributors) ? Facilities/Venues: (Cinema Halls) ? Promoters: (Media Partners) ? Buyers/Sponsors: (Financers) ? Agents/Athletes: (Actors) ? Event Management/Operations: (Director)

Traditional marketing through sports (hoardings, ground display, kit, jersey) With times more opportunities have been exploited eg. specific associations with key moments in the game (4,6,wicket) and latest, the mid over ads on the giant screen ( to great annoyance of the fans).

How it began: India first experienced sports marketing on a grand scale when the late Mark Mascarenhas & World Tel signed Sachin Tendulkar for a whopping $ 1 billion way back in 1996. It was the first time that Indian sports landscape had an experience with sports marketing at this price point. Long before that, Jesse Owens received free shoes in the 1936 Berlin Olympics from Adidas, which was one of the first known examples of an amateur athlete used for a public relations or advertising means. About the same time, television became the means by which sports personalities evolved. The visual aspect was a huge event for sports marketing. People could see their sports heroes and soon wanted to emulate not only their sporting feats, but their styles of clothing and equipment as well. With newer formats like T20 clubs, opportunities for sports marketing is huge. A person just making his debut in intra country T20 event now earns more than Test greats 20 years back. Challenges and Oppor tunities - Observations: Rising cost of cricket: The BCCI sold the TV rights for all the international and domestic matches in India between 2006 and 2010 for $612 million to Nimbus Sport. That is 12 times the amount it charged Prasar Bharati for the TV rights deal for 1999-2004. Consequently more and more companies are involving themselves with other sports: Sunfeast Open Tennis tournament, Airtel marathon etc.

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Viewership: 2.9 crore people watched the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games with a peak viewership of 4.27 per cent of India's total TV audience. Each day of the Games telecast saw a minimum net reach of 2.2 crore. Contrastingly,the India-Australia Test played at the same time saw viewership ranging from 0.44 per cent to 1.62 per cent of the total audience, with net reach lower than 1 crore on all the days. Growth: Indian sports industry is worth $ 4-5 billion currently. It is set to increase multifold in next few years. This is a strong reason for the stakeholders to move up the value chain and offer an integrated approach to sports marketing.

Jocelyn Robiot, VP Global Sports Marketing & MD Adidas International says â&#x20AC;?India has become a very important market from the sports marketing perspective are focusing on India this year because of a series of sporting events starting from early this year till next year. It's a champagne year for us in India.â&#x20AC;?

consultants will look to tap into the Indian sports marketing pie. New markets: U.S. is emerging as a new market for T20 and its global events. U.S. is now a venue to neutral matches. Its U.S.'s chance to grow in cricket. That is why Neo Sports is pondering expanding in U.S./Canada. But the opportunities bring their own challenges. Even though other sports are gaining popularity, none has come as close to replacing cricket. A kid may look up to Christiano Ronaldo but not Baichung Bhatia. The challenge lies in managing the spoilt kid (cricket) and the shy guy (other

sports).One cannot be neglected for the other. People will see other sports only if quality is good and quality will improve only when there is sufiicient pressure on administrators which will come only by viewers' interest. It is a vicious cycle and a sports marketer has to be the Abhimanyu in this Chakravyuh balancing the risk and the cost against benefits.

Exposure: In U.S., sports sponsorship spending is projected to grow at just a 1.8 percent rate to $11.6 billion after years of mostly double-digit growth. With India staging world class events like IPL, it will not be long before international sports

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Sports Marketing - Dual Aspects - Dinesh R.C., NITIE

ver since marketing started playing a prominent role in businesses, the frontiers of its reach have been expanding to include new areas under its purview. As businesses diversify and move into the virtual space, new media of marketing are being sought after. This evolutionary expansion has now culminated in online and mobile marketing with social media. During the dilation, the need for marketing sports and marketing through sports arose when the television broadcast of spectator sports gained popularity after the broadcast of 1936 Summer Olympics at Berlin that marked the first live television coverage of a sports event in world history. The term 'Sports Marketing' can sound ambiguous if used out of context as it may refer two very d i f fe re n t a s p e c t s o f marketing viz. marketing in sports and marketing of sports. The former is marketing through sports where a company promotes its products or services by using sports or sport events whereas the latter is promoting sports, sporting events or sport icons. The success of the former is in direct correlation with the success of the latter. Marketing in Sports: Sponsorship is the most favoured of the sports marketing techniques used by businesses today. A survey by Ernst & Young predicts that going by the present growth rates, and with two more editions of the Olympic Games, 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio de Janeiro) and Asiads (China and the one in 2019, for which bidding is still on) and one more CWG (Glasgow, 2014),

the sports sponsorship market will be more than doubling across the globe by 2019. This clearly shows the enormity of the opportunities available for companies with ambitious global expansion plans. India now has just 1 percent share of the current sponsorship deals (90% of which are cricket based) worth $40 billion and they are primarily coming from companies in Clothing (sports), Automobiles and Telecom industries. As games other than cricket gain popularity, companies investing there will not only get singular brand recognition, but also appeal to the customers' social responsibility quotient for supporting other sports. In sponsorship, some companies align with a sporting event while others build a strong association with either a team or a player in depending upon the sport in contention. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages in either of the strategies. While charismatic individuals can build trust in the b r a n d q u i c k l y, sponsoring leagues or teams reduces the risk of being affected by scandals, bad behaviour or poor performance of individuals. Companies like Accenture, Gillette and AT&T that featured Tiger Woods in their promotions were suddenly forced to rethink their strategies after the recent imbroglio. The challenge here is to choose relevant sports, right team/event and an appealing player to align with for long term mutual benefits. McDonalds and Coke, for example, are long standing partners with

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the Olympic Games and have always been leveraging their partnership for expansion by taking their brands to wherever the games go. Marketing of Sports: As the proliferation of different sports and sporting events engrosses consumers, efficient marketing of sport events becomes a highly exigent task. Different sport federations and teams around the world are competing among themselves for viewership which brings them sponsorship and advertisement revenues besides royalty fee from sale of merchandise that often peaks after the teams' victory. Relationship Marketing forms a key element of sports marketing and sport bodies and teams can embark on the Web 2.0 bandwagon to easily connect to their fans as in case of NBA and LA Lakers, which have more than 2.1 and 1.6 million foll

build a win-win relationship. The key to NASCAR's success is successful management of their brand as they realize that stock car racing is more than a sport, it's a lifestyle. Nike's 'Just Do It' campaign, on the other hand, capitalized on the sentiments around different sports and successfully appealed to the consumers' senses by linking those to their need to stay fit. Sports Marketing as a Career: For marketing students with special interest in sports, opportunities galore with rise of specialty sports marketing companies (e.g. Globosport) and sports focussed marketing groups within organizations. VISA, for instance, has a separate Sponsorship division that looks into sports sponsorship, among others.

owers respectively in Twitter. NBA's recent expansion through increased broadcast coverage and introduction of web pages in local languages have served the cause of increasing fan following and hence higher revenues. The marketing success of sport events like NACSAR and Nike's association with sport are often cited examples of the synergy between marketing in/of sports and how it can

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Sports Marketing - Evolution - Akshay Dikshit, NITIE

ports Marketing is an effective marketing tool which gives a company the opportunity to leverage on the passion that consumers have for sports. It is one of the most effective ways to reach a specific target because just as every product has got its target of consumers, every sport has got its target of fans, viewers and followers. India first experienced sports marketing on a big scale when the late Mark Mascarenhas & World Tel signed Sachin Tendulkar for a whopping $ 1 billion way back in 1996. Over the years, India has witnessed an evolution in Sports marketing. However compared to international opportunities in sports marketing, the opportunities in India are restricted to organizing events, selling sponsorships & ads for the sports properties & individuals. These restricted opportunities in sports marketing can be largely attributed to the role played by various governing bodies in India. The industry is not very well matured, but thanks to IPL the industry is much bigger today. Indian Premium League (IPL) has taken sports marketing to new level in I n d i a . We h ave w i t n e s s e d unprecedented participation from independent entities who have invested heavily in the game. We now see cricketing teams advertising through 360 degree campaigns, various merchandise created for fans to buy, music videos with celebrity brand ambassadors promoting the teams. Teams are putting in maximum effort to connect with the fans through various initiatives and contests. Videocon, the official partner of Mumbai Indians had run an exclusive IPL contest asking the

subscribers to suggest special advice to the players. Karbonn gained 7-8 % of the mobile handset market in India by sponsoring the 'Karbonn Kamaal Catch' and who can forget the adorable Vodafone ZooZoo ads made exclusively for the event? Though Sports Marketing is predominantly a cricket dominated industry in our country, tremendous opportunities exist in other sports as well. One key element of boxing as a sport is that it actually is ideally suited for the modern lifestyle and is shorter than even a T 20 cricket match with bouts lasting for 15 minutes at best. With Indian boxers delivering consistently over the past few years, Monnet Ispat and Energy had signed a $1 million three-year deal with the Indian Boxing Federation to be the team and kit sponsor. The Indian Boxing Federation and its marketing partner Percept have launched Fight Night, India's first ever indoor b ox i n g b o u t s b e t we e n to p I n d i a n a n d international boxers to be held all over the country at periodic intervals. The platform of Fight Night showcases a mix of boxing with live entertainment offering a premium experience for the audience. Though this concept is largely practiced in US and Europe, Indians will experience it for the first time in a very big way. Matches will also be played at high footfall venues like malls, multiplexes, discos, Football is gaining popularity amongst the youngsters & there is a huge opportunity here which can be tapped by organizing national level football competitions. Luxury brands can have an attractive proposition to build their brand image by sponsoring polo matches & golf tournaments. TAG Heuer has tapped into elite sports to create buzz around their brand.

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Coca-Cola & Hero Honda have been associated with mega sporting events like the CWG in form of corporate sponsors. While Coca-Cola India launched a new Visual Identity System (VIS) and logo conceptualized on the platform of "Go Dilli, Let Sports Win", to encourage people to participate in and support the XIX Commonwealth Games so as to ensure the triumph of sports and sportsman spirit, Hero Honda has rolled out the new Passion Pro which is designed as a collector's item to celebrate the Commonwealth games. Such partnership with sporting events provides an opportunity to enhance brand value.

Each sport has an audience that is passionate about it, so the challenge is to find that audience and sell those eyeballs to the corporate. The challenge is to involve other sports into this industry and corporates have to be brought in to promote the growth in sports.

Challenges Sports Marketing can be built to operate on a longterm business model by including creation of sports properties and this would take time to nurture. Though not yet an 'industry', market demand for sports marketing can be created through effective packaging. The best example for this would be the Mumbai Marathon, a city-based event, which derives major sponsorships and partnerships and is promoted at the world stage. The biggest challenge is the perception that only cricket gets the marketing dollar because consumers are only interested in this sport.

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Voice Tap - Going the Entrepreneur Way - An Interview with Ms. Prerna Arun Prerna Arun is the Director of Pi Communications. She is also founding member of Pi Communications which is a young and dynamic PR Firm. She majored in Advertising & PR from Indian Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi and holds a Masters in Sociology from Jamia Milia Islamia University Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, she worked with Hanmer MS&L, Delhi & Leo Burnett PR, Kuala Lumpur. She played a vital role in launching the Philips Water Purifier in India and the launch won a Global PR Award in the Netherlands in 2008. She led the team for LG (Mobiles & IT division) which achieved for the first time the Annual PR target within three months of commencing work. She has worked on diverse brands like ING Vysya Bank, ING Vysya Life Insurance, Daimler Chrysler, Publicis Groupe, JM Mutual Fund, LG, Lacoste, Bose, AXN, Animal Planet, Starcom, MTS, Spice Telecom, Ministry of Tourism, SEWA (Self-Employed Woman's Association), Pipal Research, amongst others.

1. You became an entrepreneur at a very young age. You left a well settled job and entered an unknown territory. How was the transition? What were the challenges that you had to face?

for others, needs to be looked at. We chose the name PI which means Perception by Innovation because it matches with the mission and vision of our company.

I come from a family where people do nine to five jobs, so business is not in my blood and I am not really money minded. I was getting a lot of good job offers and I had no experience of starting a venture from scratch. It all started when I was looking for a job and one of my clients suggested me to be an entrepreneur and start my own firm. This gave me a push and that's how it all started. Not everyone in the family was upbeat about it which is the most common issue we entrepreneurs generally face. And this is because of a common mindset that entrepreneurship happens after the age of 40. It's a mental block of “whether to do it” and “should I be doing it?” I felt that I should atleast give it a try and if it doesn't work out then I can always find a job. With the help and support from seniors and client entrepreneurs, PI communications came into existence. It was something different because a fixed amount salary doesn't get credited to your account every month and a lot of effort is required initially to keep things going. Everything has to be done from scratch right from choosing the name of the firm to the printing of visiting cards. Every minute detail, which we never think while working

There are no shortcuts for a long term successful business. Clients cannot be taken for granted. Getting the first client is always difficult which requires working hard to build upon trust and giving them that extra value for money. Our 1st client is still strongly associated with us, which is a measure of our success. 2.How important is creativity according to you? Creativity is important in every field be it advertising, media communication or the field of science. Without creativity everything gets monotonous and loses mass appeal. Creativity is what sets us apart from others and becomes a point of differentiation for a particular firm. Indian education is so structured that it makes a person think in a particular way. So, a person coming from a science background would think in a particular manner. We sometimes become so logical and methodical that creativity takes a back seat. Creativity has no bounds – it can

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be a random, vague idea or an extension of what we can logically think of. Some people come out with things which are creative and practical at the same time compared to some who work in an entirely different sphere. Creative ideas can be implemented only when they are doable and acceptable in generality as we should not forget that every brand looks for ROI before implementing a particular idea. 3. What different aspects of personality have yo u d eve l o p e d s ince yo u b e c a m e a n entrepreneur? Being an entrepreneur is a totally different experience compared to a traditional job. There are a lot of dynamic external factors which are dependent on many people and an unstructured environment. I have become more patient. The process of signing a contract with our client is long and very unpredictable. There also exists a gap between what people think and what they do which increases the uncertainty. Working for my own firm has broadened my mindset of looking at a particular problem because now I have to look at a bigger picture of not just short term company gains but a long term sustainable partnership with clients. Stress is involved but it is of a different level. We are more concerned about our business deals and day to day operational issues which is obvious for anyone who works at the strategic level. The best part is the benefits neutralize the stress. I get to do things my way, my vision and my way of functioning matches with the work I do for my company, I get more satisfaction when working for my own self and I don't have to please the boss. My work-life balance is maintained as I can plan my day most of the time. I don't have to show how much I am working as I just have to complete my

work. So the work for which I would have to sit for 5 hours to show to my boss, I can now do it in 2 hours. Hence, I can finish my work and can concentrate on other things as clients are looking only for results. Efficiency level has improved because in a traditional office a lot of office politics is involved and lots of disturbances exist while working. Here, I independently work on a particular task and so I am able to finish a work in much less time. It is true that entrepreneurship involves a lot of ups and downs but it also has its share of highs. Everyday there is a lot of learning involved in diverse areas of business and we learn to deal with different people. It is said that boss management is important and we need to please the boss but by that we tend to lose our individuality and start following the rat race. It's the hard work and commitment of work that is required. If we take short cuts there won't be any real learning and eventually we will reach a stage of stagnation. Money is important but the real driving force is the success we get from the real work we do. Ultimately, it all boils down to our dedication and commitment towards real work with long term perspective which is an important aspect in becoming a successful entrepreneur. 4. What is your take on the comparative advertisements that have become very common these days? These days, advertisements have become more daring and are openly hitting their competitors. It finally is the call of that particular company or brand as to what extent they want to go and rage a direct war. Also, there are many creative ads that are created but not put on air mainly because they don't match the general perception. E.g. if a particular ads promotes stupidity in a way that says Young dynamic people who are fast forwardly stupid should use the brand, it won't be a hit among the crowds. The ad could be creative but definitely not implementable and it won't be able to deliver

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results. However, there are ads that are a blend of both creativity and random in idea (e.g. the Volkswagen ad) which become an instant hit. 5. What is your take on Sports advertising? What according to you is the best means to promote a brand through sports advertising?

Out of many innovative ways to promote a brand through sports advertising, the best one I think is the unique association a brand can have with a particular sporting activity e.g. Sahara sponsored the IPL awards.

Zoozoo campaign was the one I liked a lot as its association was very strong. Its brand visibility stood out and it could not be copied by any other brand. They could have continued with the PUG ad but because of their commitment towards constant innovation, they completely discarded the pug ad and came out with series of zoozoo ads specifically for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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MARK-O-METER Think you know it all? Let's see how many of these you can answer without peeking/googling! 1.

Which famous movie on sports marketing can you relate these pictures to?

Explain the Google Doodle.

3. Which very famous ad do you associate this movie with and who were the personalities featured in it?

What is common to all of these?

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6. This 32-year old printer walked from his home in Market Harborough to the nearby town of Leicester to attend a temperance meeting on 9 June 1841. Suddenly an idea flashed on his mind and suggested a proposal to engage a special train for the temperance supporters and he approached Midland Railway Company. Name the person who created a successful worldwide organisation?

Associate them with a sports marketing company .

8. Name the personality who connects all these corporate identities?

9. Identify him and the brand he is associated with. He started an apparel company in 1978 which is based in Molvena in northern Italy.

10. Fo r e ve r y c i g a r e t t e (Hint: Widely Publicized these days.)

t h e r e

i s

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

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TREND CHECK APOLOGY ADVERTISING Consumers cannot be taken for granted and their trust cannot be easily earned. If something has been done wrong, it is better to admit it in good faith. Apology advertizing is catching up. Tiger and Earl Woods are doing it; Toyota is doing it; Nike also came out with apology based ads to try to reinstitute reliability and trust as part of a crisis management policy through very unique measures. Owning up to mistakes isn't easy in any form, let alone via a medium that's never been about realism as much as it has been about fantasies of success and perfection. Two important findings have come out in recent surveys - trust and transparency in business influence corporate identity more than product quality. After a decade of recession, fraud, customers' manipulations, repetitive breaches of privacy and trust, these numbers indicate a fundamental change to interactions between consumers and providers. We all love a comeback. Both Toyota and Tiger are fighting to regain our love and admiration. It's even possible that the battle scars emerging on both these brands will reveal something even more important for their survival than success and perfection: Character.

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ECO SUPERIOR The number one c h a l l e n g e f o r governments, consumers and businesses (recession or no recession) in 2011 remains the quest for more environmentally sustainable societies and economies. When it comes to 'green consumption', expect a rise in ECO-SUPERIOR products: products that are not only eco-friendly, but superior to polluting inc u m b e nt s in eve ry possible way. Think of a combination of eco-friendly yet superior functionality, superior design, and/or superior savings. Why the need for ECO-SUPERIOR? The number of consumers actively seeking out 'green' products is reaching a plateau, as mainstream consumers start to question the value and efficiency of going green: ? While 40% of consumers say they are willing to purchase green products, only 4% of

consumers actually do when given the choice. (Source: Journal of Marketing, September 2010) ? 58% of global consumers think that environmentally friendly products are too expensive, while 33% of global consumers think that environmentally friendly products don't work as well. (Source: GfK Roper, September 2010) ? While the volume of green products available to US consumers increased by 73% between 2009 and 2010, only 5% of products were not found to include some 'greenwashing' claims. (Source: Terrachoice, October 2010) Expect to see a number of leading brands in 2011 switch from purely marketing their products' sustainability and eco-friendliness (with its niche reach) to taking aim right at the heart of traditional alternatives: stressing the superior quality and design, increased durability and/or lower running costs of products in ways that will appeal to even the most eco-skeptic, self-centered or financially-challenged consumer. Ref: trendwatching.com

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