India's victory in the World Cup '' which recored high viewership '' has brought joy to sponsors. Now, they want an even larger association with the sport.
''We started our association with cricket in India in 1998," said Mr Y.V. Verma, Chief Operating Officer, LG Electronics India Ltd." Since then, the brand has got immense visibility as LG was new to Indian soil. This association will continue for another eight years. We see this as an opportunity to grow significantly."
Asked if there was a spike in sales during the cricketing series due to its association, Mr Verma said sales of flat panel displays shot up by 10-15 per cent during the period. "More people are opting for flat panels and the branding certainly has helped."
The official car partner, Hyundai, is now looking forward to more success as part of its four-year association with the ICC. Hyundai is also looking to increase its association with the Indian Premier League.
''With India winning the World Cup our move of sponsoring the tournament has paid off. We are sponsors with ICC till 2015, so it includes the T20 World Cup and the Women's World Cup. As for local events we are already on-air sponsors with the IPL. We are also looking at increasing our association with IPL but no deals have been finalised yet,'' said a Hyundai spokesperson.
According to industry sources, Nike India had earmarked Rs 40 crore for cricket. The company's Bleed Blue campaign was a success despite the risk of buying one-minute spots instead of the conventional 10-second spots.
"During the World Cup we released a new ad for every game that India played. While in the quarter finals it was the Pledge campaign, in the semi-finals it was the new Yards campaign. We are delighted with the Bleed Blue theme which was created nearly six months ago and when you see almost 70 per cent of the stadium in blue, you know the campaign has succeeded," Mr Sanjay Gangopadhyay, Marketing Director, Nike India, said.
Nike is now celebrating India's win with its latest campaign, ''United By Blue''.
Sponsors of individual players also have a special reason to cheer about. ''It is impossible to attach a value to the World Cup and what it does to the brand value of ambassadors. No doubt, the World Cup win will bring a huge jump in the brand status of these cricketers but now is the time to savour the victory,'' said Mr Harish Bhat, Chief Operating Officer, Titan Industries, which has two brand ambassadors in the India team '' Mahendra Singh Dhoni endorsing Sonata and Virat Kohli endorsing Fastrack.
Union Bank of India, whose advertisements popped up on the television screen at every action replay ' says that its investment of less than Rs 15 crore for the World Cup slot has paid off.
''We had similar action replay advertisements during the World Cup T20 and IPL matches as well. So we knew the benefits in terms of recall and visibility. That is why we decided on advertising during the World Cup. India winning the World Cup will help our brand even more,'' said Mr S. Aftab, General Manager, Union Bank of India.