With the ICC World Cup and IPL seasons just round the corner, brands simply cannot afford to duck down. While non-sponsor brands cannot use World Cup-related trademarks or IPR in their marketing campaigns, they are finding new ways to pitch their offerings to the consumer, in a clever interplay of cricketing themes and catchwords.
Parle Products is bouncing a ‘Full Toss', a potato snack, under the same name. Nike has launched a range inspired by the ‘Men in Blue'. ICICI Bank is tempting credit-card holders to keep the “score” going while shopping.
Public sector Canara Bank too has yielded to the season's frenzy — it has put up a huge billboard to announce its ‘Hatrick' quarterly profitable performance. Cycle Agarbathi will start rolling out mobile vans with special prayer kiosks that will allow customers to light Cycle Pure Agarbathies and pray for Dhoni and his boys to do well at the World Cup. The vans will go around 100 towns and cities; on the final day of the campaign, a 6-feet tall
While Reliance Digital is urging consumers to get ready for the World Cup with an AC stadium at home, obviously pushing for its latest range of air-conditioners. Apart from national brands such as Toshiba and Onida, local consumer durable retailers like Girias, Adishwar and Pai too are padding up for the season with catch-words like ‘six' and ‘howzzat'.
With the World Cup being the over-riding flavour this season, won't any reference to cricket be seen by consumers as a World Cup-related effort? Is this ‘surrogate ambushing' of sorts? According to a sports analyst, “Technically what these brands are doing is not illegal…The World Cup is a cultural property and brands can argue that they have a right to interact with it at some level. But certain countries like New Zealand, South Africa and England, which host huge football events, have legislation against these activities. India does not have such legislation.”
Says Mr Alok Dubey, Vice-President of Arvind Brands that is launching a cricket-inspired line for Flying Machine: “We are just taking inspiration from cricket as we do not want to be seen as indulging in ambush marketing. While the launch of our cricket line coincides with the World Cup, we are looking ahead at four months of cricket.”
But are lines between sponsors and non-sponsors blurring, especially from the point of view of the consumer who can't really tell one from another?
'Common Property'
Cricket is common property and no one can lay claim to that exclusively, says Mr R. Balki, Chairman of ad agency Lowe-Lintas. “While sponsors have exclusive rights such as on-air spots, but one cannot stop competing brands from marketing around cricket during the season.”