Sport Marketing in India
GROUND REALITIES
Sports Marketing:Changing the Game
Nitin Singh*
Do you remember the “eat cricket, sleep cricket, drink only Coca Cola” campaign? Of course you do. India is a cricket crazy nation, and we take sports very seriously. By cleverly aligning itself with the sport and the cricketing hysteria, Coke had pulled off a marketing coup. Sports marketing is gaining momentum in India and globally. It refers to how companies leverage the emotional attachment of people to teams, sporting heroes and sports in general. Sports have become a marketing medium, and even companies seemingly unrelated to sports are jumping onto the bandwagon.There are many games and sports in the world. Certain sports are limited to the geographical boundaries of a country while some gradually spread their wings beyond the borders of a country and reach several other important parts of the world. Then there are certain games like cricket, hockey, football etc. which gain fame at international levels.Games and sports bring fame to the countries where they are played. The players associated with certain games make their countries’ name popular along with their individual names by their excellent and superb performance in the games and sports they participate.
Formula 1 carraces are no exception this rule. So far India, the world’s second largest populous country was not on the map of motor sports. With the news of Formula 1 race to be held in India spreading around, the motorsports lovers all over the world have started looking towards India.This paper aims at the emerging opportunities& challenges for India as well as the firms which are associated with this grand event.
Introduction
T
he World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people “travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”. When people travel for a sporting event to a particular destination, it
Sports Marketing:Changing the Game
Nitin Singh*
Do you remember the “eat cricket, sleep cricket, drink only Coca Cola” campaign? Of course you do. India is a cricket crazy nation, and we take sports very seriously. By cleverly aligning itself with the sport and the cricketing hysteria, Coke had pulled off a marketing coup. Sports marketing is gaining momentum in India and globally. It refers to how companies leverage the emotional attachment of people to teams, sporting heroes and sports in general. Sports have become a marketing medium, and even companies seemingly unrelated to sports are jumping onto the bandwagon.There are many games and sports in the world. Certain sports are limited to the geographical boundaries of a country while some gradually spread their wings beyond the borders of a country and reach several other important parts of the world. Then there are certain games like cricket, hockey, football etc. which gain fame at international levels.Games and sports bring fame to the countries where they are played. The players associated with certain games make their countries’ name popular along with their individual names by their excellent and superb performance in the games and sports they participate.
Formula 1 carraces are no exception this rule. So far India, the world’s second largest populous country was not on the map of motor sports. With the news of Formula 1 race to be held in India spreading around, the motorsports lovers all over the world have started looking towards India.This paper aims at the emerging opportunities& challenges for India as well as the firms which are associated with this grand event.
Introduction
T
he World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people “travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes”. When people travel for a sporting event to a particular destination, it