Two-time champion and IPL-5 runners-up Chennai Super Kings team does not want to wait until next year to roar again. From grassroot coaching camps and cricket contests to art competitions for children, the team is planning a series of events to engage with fans throughout the year. It also plans to associate itself with arts and cultural events to promote “all-round talent”.

“Winning or losing does not matter for fans. We want to establish a strong dialogue with them through the year as we look to build a consumer lifestyle brand,” says Mr Chandrabhan Tiwari, General Manager – Marketing, India Cements, which owns the team. CSK is looking to leverage its mascot Super Singham (this name is incidentally the result of a fan contest) in these activities.

The team will also promote apparel and other merchandise aggressively – more colours (than just yellow) and designs will be rolled out through the year. “We sold three times more merchandise during the IPL-5 season than we sold during the whole of last year,” says Mr Tiwari. CSK is also betting big on social media to keep the conversation alive. The team as of date has over 10 lakh fans on Facebook and 79,000 Twitter followers. The team video ‘Raise your hands' had over one lakh views till Monday evening.

> swethak@thehindu.co.in