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INDIA’S BIGGEST SPORTS PROPERTY

ARRIVESIt’s early May 2008,

and the Indian Premier League (IPL) is already an acknowledged success. Most marketers

and brands, which bought into the event, are happy with their RoI. The Television channel airing them is happy too, as are advertisers, with the eyeballs the tournament is delivering. Most importantly, consumers in the stadia, and consumers at home, are delighted with the engagement that the IPL has provided in its inaugural edition.

It would not be unfair to state that the dynamic mega event called IPL has clearly filled a void that existed. Several office-goers stopped pondering long ago, on what would be playing on Television when they got back home. Blame it on single Television households (and daily soaps), or blame it on the lack of quality sports properties through the

year – there was a void and we found things to fill it up with.

We had better things to do instead of sitting in front of the idiot box each evening. While that wasn’t such a bad thing, there’s a sports reality show on today, every day – one that you can come back home to. It can provide the ambience for an evening out with friends. It can be the centre of attention for you and your team. Or, it can be your companion for the evening. If cricket, Twenty20 and being a spectator of live sports in a stadium of tens of thousands is your calling, you could be part of the spectacle in eight cities in India. It would be value-for-money if your team’s playing – or even if a couple of your favourite players are. The format seems scripted for success. As several people have now called it, it’s ‘sportainment’ at its best.

And therein came the primary issue. The biggest

challenge that the IPL has had to face was, perhaps, in ensuring that the entertainment elements, and glitz and glam, did not overshadow the sport called cricket. Despite the cheerleaders (who have drawn more attention to themselves than necessary, thanks to the ‘moral’ brigade), Shivamani playing the drums to resonate with the crowds, Shoaib Akhtar’s ‘in and out’ drama, Sreesanth and Harbhajan’s ‘slap’ episode, and despite Shahrukh Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif, Preity Zinta, Vijay, Nayanthara and Vijay Mallya, cricket has stood its ground.

It was also suspected that loyalty to individual teams would be tested, with an array of Indian players scattered across several teams. It was a logical argument. When Robin Uthappa plays the Royal Challengers of Bangalore, or when Harbhajan Singh

plays the Kings XI Punjab, whom would the crowd root for? That’s another battle successfully won by the IPL organisers, with ample support from several communication agencies (Advertising, Events, Public Relations, Digital) who have painstakingly crafted and communicated individual identities that match the teams with the cities they ‘belong’ to.

A lot of thought has gone into this identity created for the different teams. Kings XI Punjab has a Punjabi track featuring Daler Mehndi that helps identify with the team’s city of origin. Shah Rukh Khan it is for Kolkata, but he’s got enough Bengali in his team’s anthem. Akshaye Khanna’s daredevilry at the stadium was enough to underline the Delhi team name. It was a stroke of pure genius to have Kris Srikkanth as ambassador and percussionist Shivamani playing the drums, for Chennai

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Teams and Event Management / On ground Agencies Mumbai Indians – Wizcraft, Kyazoonga.com (Ticketing)Delhi Daredevils - WizcraftKings XI Punjab - WizcraftRoyal Challengers - DNA NetworksKolkata Knightriders - Red ChilliesDeccan Chargers – In House Team, Ogilvy Action (launch, pre-tournament promotions, road shows)

Super Kings. Nothing else could have communicated the team’s roots better to the rest of the world, even as actors Vijay and Nayanthara, arguably the hottest on-screen idols of the present day youth, reached out to audiences in the home state. One readily sees the difference in the cheerleaders and their outfits too. If one doesn’t see the cultural fit (of outfits) with the cities, one surely sees the match of the cheerleaders’ identities with the franchise

owners’ personalities – at least in some cases. Event agencies have had a lot to do through the series – and not just at

the inaugural ceremonies as one might have expected. From taking the teams to the masses in terms of imagery

and merchandise, to building and nurturing fan clubs, there’s a lot left to do. IPL, after all, is only in its first year.

But as a sports property, it is already the biggest that has been created in the country, yet. The primary credit for that should rest this game that India is crazy about. It might be Twenty20. It might be bold. And it’s beautiful too. But it’s still cricket. The BCCI, and Lalit Modi, have ensured that.

Wizcraft is handling several responsibilities for three teams in the IPL.

For the Delhi Daredevils, Wizcraft planned and executed the daring stunt for Akshay Kumar, the team’s ambassador. The stunt saw the actor suspended in the air over 70 meters from the ground, sliding on a wire from one end of the stadium to the other. For Kings XI Punjab, Wizcraft is the official Activation partner, also handling Corporate Hospitality.

EVENTFAQS’ Karishma Hundalani caught up with Wizcraft’s Sabbas Joseph, for a low down on the IPL challenge – for the agencies too.

What is Wizcraft’s role in the DLF IPL T20 championship?

Wizcraft is involved in the on-ground activities and entertainment for three teams of the IPL: Mumbai, Delhi and Mohali. We have managed all the entertainment for these teams at the matches.

The objective has been, broadly, about how to build the fan base and position the team in the minds of the fans, so that they see sustained support. Our role would include all performances, stunts (as seen in the case of Akshay Kumar), sound systems, other technology requirements, fireworks, cheerleaders, etc. We’re even in charge of the hospitality for the corporate box for one of the teams.

We’re working with

‘The IPL tournament works on an evolving platform’ – Sabbas Joseph, Wizcraft

the teams. Since the team manages the venue of its city, the entertainment on all the days that house a match at the venue is being taken care of by us. That’s approximately 24 events being handled by Wizcraft over the tournament. I think we’re the only agency with such a large portfolio for the IPL.

Describe the journey from Brief to Execution.

Wizcraft is part of the strategy team for each of these, and together with the advertising agency, PR agency and the management of each of the teams, the best strategy has been arrived at. It’s been an advantage to work together with every agency to achieve a common goal. The brief was created jointly by the entire strategy team for best results in the short turn around time we had.

What have been the innovations from Wizcraft at IPL? Was there any conscious effort to differentiate the offering?

The entertainment included the brand ambassador of the team, for e.g. the Akshay Kumar stunt for Dare Devils was a perfect way to introduce the team through the ambassador.

Wizcraft’s offering was unique in the sense that we made it a point to have different types of acts rather than the ones that are expected to be seen. Trick bicyclists

and martial art performers in the midst of fireworks is definitely distinct from the expected cheerleaders for entertainment.

Tell us more about the entertainment component – what were the objectives? Was there a risk of overshadowing the cricket?

It was very important, that we ensured, that the entertainment does not disturb the perspective of the game. The objective was how we should build the fan base for each of the teams we were working with. The entertainment was a way of achieving this.

What would you term as the biggest challenge with the IPL assignment?

The challenge was obviously not just delivering world-class entertainment, but delivering at the IPL. It’s not easy to plan events for the matches because you can’t go

onto the ground.For IPL, we had a very short

turn around time, and also an event like this is taking place for the first time. It required detailed co-ordination. I think the spirit and enthusiasm of every party involved has made it possible. The magnitude of the property itself, together with the amount of money involved in the IPL, resulted in very high expectations. We needed to deliver in spite of the shortage of time.

What one could expect, going further into the tournament ?

I think the IPL tournament works on an evolving platform. Each match and elements of the match will teach us about the audiences and what works for them and the matches. We will need to respond to this by giving the audiences what they want in terms of entertainment, so that we can build a strong fan following for a particular team.

It was very important, that we ensured, that

the entertainment does not disturb the perspective of the

game. The objective was how we should

build the fan base for each of the teams we were working with.

The IPL has seen many creative, media and BTL agencies getting involved, contributing to India’s largest sporting property. Lessons from the English Premier League and other franchisee-owned team formats would show that marketing a team (or shall we say a brand), takes precedence in the formative stage of the league.

The concept of an Indian league with city-centric teams, but having both national and international players that are owned by Bollywood or industrial hotshots, would be confusing even for the ad frat to grasp. The creation of team brands and marketing strategies obviously has been a mammoth task.

Each team turned out to be competitive right from the stage of choosing an agency to work with and for good reason. Each team emerged with a strong brand identity and a marketing strategy that left little room for any cricket enthusiast but to pick a favourite team and be part of the fan club. However, like Lalit Modi, Vice President BCCI also admitted, “It’s not going to happen overnight, it will take years; creating emotions and rivalry is a real challenge for us.”

O&M set high standards in terms of creative thought with their two-stage ad campaign for the IPL tournament as a whole. The first of which was the Karma Yudh (the battle of skills) that set the pace for the tournament and familiarized audiences with the concept of the league, showing both Indian and international players alongside each other. The second stage, aired just days before the tournament began, clearly invited audiences to choose their side and instilled a sense of pride in being a team loyalist.

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The Team Identity

Mohali - Kings XI Punjab McCann was the creative

agency for the team. The biggest challenge was considered to make the team popular. The intent was to use Punjab’s inherent cultural qualities of warmth, passion and colour in the communication. McCann developed the team’s brand identity; anthem, jingle and multimedia launch campaign.

The team colours are Red and White/Silver, while the logo has the image of a shield with roaring lions.

The anthem for the team is ‘Live Punjabi, Play Punjabi, Punjabi being state of mind…’ which has been used in the song for the music video.

Team Uniforms have been designed by Surliy Goel in Silver and Red. They leverage the flaming red of the brand logo in the uniform. Spice is the team sponsor.

Rajesh Metal Industries has the licensing rights agreement with Kings XI Punjab to produce select merchandise and market them through their own network of malls, supermarkets, book stores, cafes, music shops, multi brand outlets, gift and novelty stores under the HotMuggs Brand. The initial range of merchandise includes Lassi Glass, Mugs, Badges, and Special autographed merchandise and Collectors’ merchandise.

Team’s official website: http://kingsxipunjab.com

Mumbai - Mumbai Indians Commune Marketing Pvt. Ltd. is the agency handling

marketing and sponsorship for the team. Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan is the brand ambassador. The team logo has the

Sudarshana Chakra with the team’s name engraved in it. The anthem of the Mumbai Indians is ‘Rock the World’,

penned by lyricist Javed Akhtar, with music by Anu Malik. The anthem and music video depicts the team’s determination to fight it out in the tournament.

The team’s jersey is a two-tone blue with three stripes in orange. Adidas has partnered with Mumbai’s Indian Premier League team as the Official Kit Supplier.

Team’s official website: http://www.themumbaiindians.com

Delhi- Delhi Daredevils Leo Burnett is the creative agency for the offline campaigns of

the Delhi Daredevils. It has created the team’s logo, slogan and ad campaign.

It has launched a website called www.Delhidaredevils.com, designed by Arc Worldwide, the integrated marketing services

agency of Leo Burnett. Arc Worldwide is using both the online and offline media to promote the site.

The team colours are Black and Red. The significance of the brand colours and logo is that they are reflective of Delhi’s passion, aggression and love for the sport and cricketers. Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador.

The slogan reflects the aggression for which Delhi is well known: ‘Hum Dilli ki Team Hain Boss, Front Foot Pe Khelenge’.

Team’s official website: http://www.delhidaredevils.com

Hyderabad - Deccan Chargers Deccan Chargers tied in Ogilvy’s Activation division, Ogilvy

Action, for a unique on ground promotion for the team. A road show was sanctioned with the objective to create awareness and a strong fan base for the team in and around Hyderabad.

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The team colours are beige and black. A charging bull, the mascot for the chargers, signifies strength, power and aggression. The gold bands on the flag stand for dominance and victory. The logo also includes the line, ‘The Unstoppables’, capturing the very feeling the logo tried to communicate.

The team has its sponsor in the Jaypee Group.Team’s official website: http://www.deccanchargers.com

Bangalore - Royal Challengers

Rediffusion DYR has the advertising duties for the team. The communication plan involved creating a unique identity for the team that would include a brand name for the club, designing uniform, logo, kits, besides a music video, TVC and other BTL activities.

The team colours are Red and Golden Yellow.

Vijay Mallya wanted to associate one of his top-selling liquor brands, either No. 1 McDowell’s or Royal Challenge with the team. The latter was chosen, hence the name Royal Challengers. The logo consists of the RC emblem with ‘Bangalore Royal Challengers’.

Rediffusion also created a music album with director Sanjay Gupta of ‘Kaante’ fame directing. Dr Mallya also features in the music video.

The jersey colours are the same of the Karnataka flag: red and golden yellow.

Reebok and Louis Philippe for the sporting gear and formal attire respectively have chosen to rise on the Royal Challengers. Designer Manoviraj Khosla is said to have created outfits for the cheer leaders, who have made heads turn since day one.

Team’s official website: http://www.royalchallengers.com

Kolkata- Knight Riders Nokia is sponsoring

the team and took it upon themselves to create a 360 degree approach to communication with a mix of electronic, print and digital media. This included a TVC, a muti-city print campaign and road shows in Kolkata over weekends during the IPL series.

The team’s colours are black and gold.

The logo of the team consist of a blazing golden viking helmet against a black background, with the name of the team Kolkata Knight Riders written in gold.

The tag line of the team is ‘All the King’s Men’. The mascot, a Royal Bengal Tiger, has been named Hoog

Lee. The main theme of the team, ‘Korbo, Lorbo, Jitbo Re’ (We will do it, Fight for it, Win it), has been created by the Vishal-Shekhar duo. The Knight Rider album with several singers and music composers including Usha Uthup and Bappi Lahiri has become popular, with SRK in the lead for help.

The team’s jersey has been designed by Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra. It is a combination of black, representing the colour of goddess Kali, and gold, because the team aims for gold.

Team’s official website: http://www.kolkataknightriders.com

Jaipur - Rajasthan Royals

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) had won the account for the team and planned a 360-degree campaign. A TVC, radio spots and outdoor activities were among plans for promotions. The agency also planned a school, college and mall activation campaign in Jaipur, Delhi NCR, and Gujarat.

The idea behind the campaign was to appeal to people at a local level and make them want to support the Rajasthan Royals. The team colours are blue and gold. The team’s mascot is a lion named Moochu Singh, while its anthem, ‘Halla Bol’, has been sung by Ila Arun

Reebok is the sponsor for the team jerseys and merchandise. The merchandising mainly constitutes of fan gear and replica jerseys.

Team’s official website: http://www.rajasthanroyals.com

Chennai - Chennai Super Kings The team has appointed

a Chennai-based ad agency, Salt, to handle it’s advertising campaigns. The Chennai team’s campaign is very confident and talks about Chennai Super Kings emerging as the only possible victor at the end of the tournament.

Team colours are yellow and blue. The name ‘Super Kings’ honours the rulers of the golden era of Tamil culture. The team logo, a Lion, is the insignia of the Pallava dynasty, which ruled Southern India including the areas that constitute present day Chennai.

The star ambassador for the team is the Tamil film star Vijay. Actress Nayantara, who was initially appointed as a co-brand ambassador, was reported to have been dropped later as she was unable to meet the commitments of regular match appearances.

Big Music and Entertainment has created a music album in Tamil and Hindi that comprises of the official theme song and victory anthem of the team, together with songs on celebration and victory.

Reebok is the official apparel sponsor. As the team sponsor, Aircel gets branding rights on the players’ uniform including their shirts and hats as well.

Team’s official website: http://www.chennaisuperkings.com

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The Indian Premier League saw Indian city team franchise rights go under the hammer, in an auction that gathered interest from industrialists, Bollywood and the media alike. On January 24, 2008, eight teams comprising of a minimum of 16 players each, were sold to franchisees. The IPL, on the lines of the English Premier League, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league created and promoted by the BCCI. (It seems so silly to even say that now, but we have to for the uninitiated.)

The franchisee-based system involves buying and transferring players. The highest from amongst 90 bidders won the franchise for the eight teams. Bollywood stars were not the only one’s lined up for a slice of the IPL pie. Hollywood star Russel Crowe was one of the names in the list of bidders together with business honcho Anil Ambani. There were also talks of one bidder offering to buyout a franchise after losing out in the auction.

The auction, which set out with the base price of $ 400 million, ended up fetching $ 723.59 million to make IPL the richest cricket league in history.

Some of the highest valued teams were: Mumbai Indians, which was won by Reliance Industries Ltd. owned by Mukesh Ambani, valued at 111.9 million dollars. According to business magazine Forbes, this amount is not even a tenth the value of top American baseball team, the New York Yankees.

Bangalore Royal Challengers closely followed, with a team value of 111.6 million dollars, owned by another billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya. Meanwhile Deccan Chronicle won the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers for 107 million dollars. Each of these amounts is for franchise ownership for a ten-year period. Experts predict the team owners to break even within four or five years depending on how lucrative that city is in terms of advertising and entertainment revenues.

The player auctions took place on February 20, 2008, in Mumbai. The event was attended by the franchise owners, present to bid for the 77 players on the auction list. Each team needed to have at least four players from their respective ‘Catchment Areas’ and four Under-22 players. The players from Catchment Areas could be an iconic player, a Ranji player or an Under-22 player. Each team could have a maximum of eight overseas players but only four would be able to play in a single match.

Players were bid for according to their annual base price, skill sets and whether they were expected to be available for the inaugural year. There were sets of 12 players in each bid. First on auction were what the IPL termed as the ‘marquee players’. These included Australians Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds.

The icon players – some designated city players – were to get 15 per cent more than the highest paid player in their teams. This put Sachin Tendulkar of Mumbai, Saurav Ganguly of Kolkata, Rahul Dravid of Bangalore and Yuvraj Singh of Mohali also above the $1 million per annum earnings mark.

Trophy players are to receive a fixed sum of $50,000, while the under-22 players, who have not played any first class match, will receive a fixed sum of $20,000.

Each team was required to spend a minimum of $ 5 million towards building their team of players. The Jaipur team was therefore penalized for spending less than the mandatory sum and the difference was to be paid to the organizers.

Team and Player Auctions

There are several issues that have cropped up since the announcement of the IPL, which have serious commercial implications. But what took the imagination of the country (and the world) by storm was the player auctions. The team franchisee bids didn’t excite as much as the player auctions, but that was to be expected.

But there was action all around, and all the time. Pepsico was understandably unhappy with Coca Cola being given TV spots on IPL. As the IPL’s official beverage, Pepsi had on-ground sponsorship rights to the tournament. While Coke’s deal is only for a year, Pepsi has a five-year contract. And for the first time, we had commentators plugging sponsor brands LIVE. Praise for Pepsi from the commentary box on air didn’t go down well with Coca Cola.

There was this other cricketing issue that cropped up too. ICC refused ‘international status’ to IPL matches. Said ICC spokesman James Fitzgerald: “The IPL is not international cricket, it is a domestic tournament. Therefore, the matches do not have Twenty20 international status.” So runs scored and wickets taken by players in the tournament will not be added to their first class records. The only zeroes that will count are the ones added against their names in the pay cheques. We don’t see too many players complaining.

Franchisees have also applied for entertainment tax waiver as they are playing ‘serious cricket’. But most state governments are not impressed. Not yet.

It’s a rich man’s game

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What kept the IPL BUZZing?Not OUT!

Luck seems to be on his side. After a rollercoaster ride, we are now told that Shoaib Akhthar, who was bid for by Shah Rukh Khan for the Kolkata Knightriders, can now play.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had earlier imposed a five-year ban due to Shoaib’s repeated violation of the player’s Code of Conduct, compelling the IPL to disallow him from playing. The governing council of the IPL had barred him from the tournament, stating that he would not be allowed until the ban is lifted.

Now however, the scenario is different. An exuberant SRK and happy Modi have welcomed Shoaib in the ongoing IPL Twenty20 tournament on May 4, 2008. After the player’s appeal, the Pakistani appeal tribunal suspended the five-year ban.

Currently undergoing fitness and health tests, its all green signals for the Pakistan fast bowler, who insisted on staying, ‘NOT OUT’!

Preity to the rescue!Sreesanth and Harbhajan stayed tight lipped,

except for making the right noises, after the much talked about ‘slap’. Understandably, in order to avoid the issue from flaming up. Preity was quick to cool down the situation by coming onto the field to console her player, Sreesanth, who burst out in tears in front of the cameras and the spectators.

The Bollywood star giving her team captain Yuvraj a congratulatory hug has also done the rounds in the news recently. And to think that it was the same Preity who was accused of showing discriminatory behavior towards some of the players in her team, by putting them up in a sub standard hotel in Chandigarh!

Sivamani spreads magicPercussonist Sivamani had the stadium moving to his

beats, at the match between hosts Chennai Superkings and the Mumbai Indians. Though he played for only fifteen minutes before the match, he had both the young and old moving to his beat. And in all the Chennai Super Kings matches, it was his rhythm that kept the cheerleaders going.

Sivamani was also caught running out into the stadium after Chennai’s victory over Bangalore. The percussionist, with his drum kit, ran out into the stadium and was stopped by security personnel until Dhoni intervened and asked them to let the drummer in. The ecstatic Sivamani followed this up with a killer drumming set.

From : Hindustan Times

From : Hindustan Times

From : Mumbai MIrror

BY KARISHMA HUNDALANI

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Case of the lengthening hemlinesCheerleaders, inspired from other global sporting events, made a significant mark at

the IPL with no shortage of controversies. Cheer girls, from India and abroad, ensured that the entertainment levels surged up with their performances and dangerously low hemlines. With a couple of states (West Bengal and Maharashtra) suggesting a ban terming it ‘vulgar’, compromises were quickly agreed upon. As a result, hemlines came down further and Indian folk dances like Bhangra and Lavani were also included in the itinerary. Yet another statement on whose tune we all dance to in this country.

What kept the IPL BUZZing?

Dada Warne(d)The IPL was also witness to two captains having a go at each other with unrestrained aggression. Shane Warne and Sourav

Ganguly were tailor made for this script. Warne launched into a stinging attack on Dada, captain of the Kolkata Knight Riders, for what he perceived to be a blatant disregard for the spirit of the game. The issue was that Ganguly had refused to walk for a catch taken by Graeme Smith. Ganguly, never one to hold back punches, dismissed the criticism and even questioned Warne’s moral right to comment about the spirit of the game. IPL decided to fine both of them 10 percent of their match fees, while Pratap Kumar, the on-field umpire, was suspended for a game following the catch controversy. All this, despite the Kingfisher Airlines fair play award. Now imagine, if we didn’t have such an incentive to respect the spirit of the game…

From : Mumbai MIrror

From : Hindustan Times

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Ogilvy is one agency that has been closely associated with the IPL, ever

since it won the pitch to become the official advertising agency for the IPL tournament. The agency’s focus was to create the required awareness, and more importantly, the buzz around the tournament.

O&M built the momentum with the initial campaign of ‘Cricket ka Karmayudh’, (cricket’s ultimate battle zone) followed by a campaign that literally invited audiences to chose their favourite team. It simply asked them, ‘Who’s side are you on?’

The jingle featuring Hrithik Roshan for the Mumbai Indians and the outdoor work featuring Tendulkar are also popular images by now, courtesy Ogilvy.

There was also news of the Ogilvy Group signing up with Emerging Media group, which is the franchise owner of Indian Premium League’s Jaipur team. The agenda was to manage the communication strategy for the team.

“The media group plans to roll out major brand and marketing activities to create awareness and enhance brand IPL Team Jaipur,” Emerging Media said in a statement.

But the not-so-talked about work by Ogilvy (Ogilvy Action) is for the Deccan Chargers team, as the activations agency. Ogilvy’s activation division, Ogilvy Action, was responsible for the planning and execution of the launch of

the team’s brand identity and logo, the on-ground promotion of the team through road shows before the tournament, and the launch of the team’s uniforms and merchandise.

The launch of the Deccan Chargers logo and team’s flag was through an action-packed event at the Novotel in Hyderabad. The event was attended by V V S Laxman and also included some heavy duty entertainment surrounding the unveiling of the team logo. Sidhesh Pai, Business Head, Ogilvy Action, West and South, said, “The event saw a performance by Taufiq Qureshi’s band Mumbai Stamps as a precursor to the Logo reveal. This was followed by a dance performance by Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy who kept the pace going at the glittering event.”

Ogilvy’s Action didn’t stop there. Its commitment to the team was to build up a fan

base and create awareness among audiences about the team and the upcoming IPL tournament. A three-city road show was carried out to take the brand to audiences. Ogilvy Action planned an engaging format of interaction with the public, while creating initial impressions about the team and IPL.

Pai explained, “We engaged audiences in a contest which involved questions about the players and the T20 format of the tournament. Winners were gifted T-shirts with the Deccan Chargers logo on it.” The Deccan Chargers’ branded float went through Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam and Vijayawada.

As an additional effort to build up the excitement and anticipation for the tournament, and also to promote the team

Ogilvy gets into Action

to potential sponsors, the team uniforms and merchandize were launched through a high profile fashion show at the Taj Krishna, Hyderabad.

“The who’s who of Hyderabad were on the guest list for this event. The franchise owners and their managements invited potential sponsors to this event and it made for a great promotional ground for the team” explained Pai. Ogilvy also designed the uniforms of the Deccan Chargers team.

The Hyderabad team didn’t see much hullabaloo on the day of the matches as many of the rival teams. Pai clarified, “The other teams had entertainment because of their partnering a brand ambassador and the entertainment was around that Bollywood star. Since the Deccan Chargers had no such association, we didn’t see the need for entertainment at the match venue.”

The challenge after this initial T20 tournament is much greater, stated Ogilvy Action President Anurag Gupta. He said, “Now we need to see how we can sustain the fan base for a team after the tournament is over. We need to plan on how to create such a strong fan base for a team, that it will lead to an individual adorning their walls with that team’s merchandise.”

Whether the agency will continue working with the Deccan Chargers team even after the tournament, to build this sustained fan following, is not yet decided.

The other teams had entertainment because of their partnering a

brand ambassador and the entertainment was around that Bollywood star. Since the Deccan

Chargers had no such association, we

didn’t see the need for entertainment at the

match venue.- Sidhesh Pai

BY KARISHMA HUNDALANI

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Sameer Golatkar, an EMDI trainee, on his experience with Kyazoonga.com, handling ticketing for all the Mumbai team matches for the ongoing IPL tournament:

On Ground...

‘At Kyazoonga.com, I take care of the online ticketing before the matches. I’m also in charge of the ‘will call’ section of the site. This section allows an individual to book the tickets online and collect them at the box office after confirming a number and showing photo identification. I feed in the data of the person and check for the required proof and then hand over the tickets.

During the matches, I supervise the Maharashtra Home Guards. They help scan tickets with a scanner. In case a scanner isn’t working it is my responsibility to have it replaced with another one. I also look into F&B.

Even though I’ve worked for the Beyonce Concert with Ticketpro previously, this experience has been very different. The Beyonce concert involved only one day’s work, where I had to scan the people coming for the concert. I had to supervise only one gate, and fortunately, it was the gate for higher priced tickets, through which Aishwarya Rai and other celebrities entered the concert. At the IPL however, I have to supervise the home

I am looking after the local accreditations at the Wankhede stadium during the IPL matches. This is the first time I have worked on anything like this. It seemed easy at first. However, with such a high number of accreditations to be made, it involved lots of hard work but it was also fun. As the finals come closer, work’s getting tougher but the experience has been great so far.

I have learnt that I need to work till the very last minute as there are changes occurring constantly. I would have liked for the matches to be a little spaced out and there are still many matches to go, but the experience has been great!

guards and look after all the 10 stadium entry gates including the VIP entry.

Being a crazy cricket fan and working with such a great team is simply fantastic. The tournament so far has been a successful and high prestige tournament. It’s really a big achievement for me to be a part of such a tournament and I feel very proud and very enthusiastic working on this. I’m grateful to EMDI and Kyazoonga for giving me such

an opportunity. I am also proud to be a part of team kyazoonga while they break records match after match through higher sales.

I’ve learnt a lot, I now know exactly how the ticketing department works. There are various departments through which ticket sales are done: the cash counter where direct sales are done, the courier department and the ‘Will Call’ window. Since I had the opportunity to work in each of

these departments, I’ve got an overall knowledge about how it all works. This kind of work is very different to what I’ve experienced so far.

It’s too early in the tournament to talk about areas of improvement, but I would like to request the organizers to consider a better place for ticketing in the stadiums. Wankhede has a small and congested ticket booth where as D Y Patil had trouble with fluctuating electricity.’

Nitya Bagri, an EMDI trainee, on her experience working with DNA, for the IPL matches:

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Cricket rules, riding on entertainment

The crowds have given their verdict. BCCI’s mega show, the Indian Premier League (IPL), is

an out and out entertainment package, built on the foundations of a religion called cricket. It’s more than just a sporting extravaganza. Even as purists cry hoarse about the bleak future of ODIs and Test matches, the paying crowd has given the ‘blink, and miss action’ a thumbs-up already. With music and cheerleaders to pep audiences up between overs, and boundaries hit off almost every other ball, the crowd is kept at its feet for most part.

The tourney has hogged the limelight since the time of its inception, with constant action being off the field till the actual event began in April 2008. Controversies surrounding any event has become the norm, invariably offering more mileage to the event, and thereby ensuring more eyeballs. The Indian Premier League has been an exceptional conformist to this norm.

Eventfaqs spoke with couple of spectators who witnessed the IPLT20 matches, and had previously also watched ODIs and Tests at stadiums, for a comparison between the formats on the live entertainment front.

The writing on the wall is clear. IPL is fun, exciting and much more entertaining than the traditional matches. Though not appreciated for its cricketing content, spectators appreciated the ‘entertainment package’ consisting of music, entertainers and fast-paced cricket offered by the format.

Mumbai based Jatin Sanghadia, a cricket enthusiast who caught the action live at the newly constructed DY Patil stadium, comes away pleased with facilities on offer. “I managed to get inside the stadium and get to my seat in just 10 minutes, “he said. Agreeing with him is Vivek Vishwanathan, who managed

to catch the action of Mumbai Indians at both the stadiums – Wankhede and DY Patil.

Terming the facilities at Wankhede as ‘pathetic’, vishwanathan noted that the basic amenities at Wankhede had to improve by leaps and bounds. He observed that DY Patil was at par with international standards. “While getting guaranteed seating is a problem at Wankhede, thanks to the numbered seating arrangement at DY Patil the process is far better and easier for spectators,” Vishwanathan explained.

the whole package was good, but added that there was scope for some improvement. Cheerleaders have been a talking point for many. Sanghadia labeled them as a welcome break between oversthat cheerleaders were not an interference and were a welcome break.

“That said, with my experience at watching the matches held in Mumbai and Pune, I believe that Mumbai crowd supports good cricket and derives entertainment more from sixes and fours than from cheerleaders. If given a choice,

the name of famous bowlers or batsmen. The names of relatively unknown players are not even mentioned by the announcers and it’s a bit problematic for us as we cannot identify the players from a distance. Moreover, there are no proper arrangements for food and beverages, considering that one is not allowed to bring in any outside food,” elaborated Vishwanathan. On the other hand, Sanghadia stressed on the need to improve delivery mechanisms for tickets. Citing his case, he added, “I had booked the tickets online, but did not receive the ticket at home as promised. Due to which, I had to reach the stadium at 2 pm for collecting the tickets of an 8 pm match.”

When questioned on the future of this format, Sanghadia is of the opinion that Twenty20 cricket is here to stay and feels it will be a threat to the 50 over ODIs and not Test cricket, as the Test format is enjoyed by cricket purists, irrespective of ages. He further believes that even T20 will evolve over the next editions. “The format might have to probably allow substitutes to come in during game play, akin to ODIs,” he suggested.

Sports in itself is entertainment, yet the ‘Indian Paisa League’, as dubbed by a blogger, has been more about the celebrities endorsing the game than the game itself or its players. Cricket and Bollywood have been the biggest fortes of Indian entertainment over many years. With a confluence of both, entertainment has already reached a crescendo. Things might sustain or drop in the coming years. Initial response does not guarantee long term acceptance or profits. Having said that, one must add that a majority of pundits, punters and purists are of the view that T20 and IPL are both here to stay.

To attract consumers, create hype and constantly innovate – that’s the process. If IPL manages to do that consistently, the joy dances will continue.

Jatin Sanghadia Vivek Vishwanathan

A majority of pundits, punters and purists are of the view that T20 and IPL are both here to stay.

Calling the IPL T20 format a treat for 2-minute noodle entertainment lovers, Vishwanathan ranks this format a couple of notches higher than the traditional (long) cricket formats. “In this current age and scenario, where people are constrained for time and looking for wholesome entertainment, they will spend money on this rather spend a whole day watching a match. This format allows me to spend 2 to 3 hours with a group of friends and get more fun and entertainment in a quicker time,” he added.

Agreeing with him, Sanghadia pointed out that

I would choose to watch a test match as I like watching and appreciating cricket, rather than enjoying off-field entertainment at cricket matches,” he said. Despite the many positives, several spectators felt the need to improve some facilities and features on offer at the stadiums as well as in the format.

“There is a lack of proper communication mechanism in the stadiums regarding the match being played, as the display screens in Mumbai are not big. The announcements during the match and in-between overs need to share more information than just

BY JAGADEESH KRISHNAMURTHY