Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will return to the Indian Premier League on July 22 at the end of a two-year ban imposed by the Supreme Court.
CSK’s return will be celebrated at the inaugural match of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2017, a state-level T20 tournament at MA Chidambaram stadium on July 22. The match will be sponsored by CSK Cricket Ltd, which owns CSK and is a subsidiary of India Cements, said team franchisee director Kasi Viswanathan.
Indian Cements is also the title sponsor of TNPL, which is conducted by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.
Chepauk will turn yellow with CSK billboards all around. And, the fans who want to watch the inaugural match have been asked to come in yellow jersey, the official colour of CSK team, said Rakesh Singh, Executive President, India Cements Ltd.
Singh said India Cements’ association with CSK will be for ever as it is important for the company’s brand building at all-India level. The company will continue to have its logo on the back of CSK team jersey. Earlier, having the logo was free but now there is a fee, he told newspersons.
Brand buildingOn its association with TNPL, Singh said the company’s core markets are Tamil Nadu and Kerala. TNPL is a good opportunity to build the brand in these markets. TNPL was envisaged to take the game to rural areas.
TNPL is a vehicle that can take the brand to these smaller markets where cricket is being played in southern districts of the state. This was the main reason for sponsoring TNPL.
“Last year, it was a trial but we are going full blast this year,” he said. TNPL has helped a strong brand recall among customers as more number of people are watching the game in both stadiums and on television.
Singh said the company’s association with both CSK and TNPL will help reduce its advertising spend.
The company is looking to connect with 350 dealers in Tamil Nadu, 200 in Kerala and 50 engineers from the two states.
This is besides 2,000 customers, 7,500 masons and 1,000 staff of dealers. They will get to travel to venues where 32 matches will be played from July 22 to August 30, he said.