Mumbai: With the evolving sports eco-system in India and its exponential growth, Havas Media Group India on Thursday announced the relaunch of Havas Sports & Entertainment, the sports & sponsorship vertical of the agency. To begin this revivified journey, Havas Sports & Entertainment India has facilitated a two-year (2022-2023) landmark deal between Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Swiggy Instamart, as the official on-ground partner for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and 2023.
“Our market intelligence revealed that while the sports genre has exploded in India, there are glaring gaps in marketing and brand solutions in this space. Therefore, to address these gaps, we are relaunching Havas Sports and Entertainment 2.0 that will offer first-in-India brands solutions," said Havas Media Group India president & national head investments R Venkatasubramanian. "The USP of this division is embedded in its offerings like media strategy, brand solutions through marquee sporting events and delivering a world-class experience in this space.”
This association aims to reaffirm Havas Sports & Entertainment’s commitment towards the evolving sports genre in India and not just in cricket. With the growth in other sporting leagues, increase in investments and commercials, Havas Sports & Entertainment will have a fresh approach towards sporting events across Football, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Badminton and more, stated the agency.
“Over the years, our association with the mega cricketing event has helped establish the fact that food and cricket go hand-in-hand,” Swiggy head of brand Ashish Lingamneni said. “IPL is one of the most celebrated sports leagues in the world, and this year, we are excited to partner with the BCCI to offer a wholesome experience to audiences with our large assortment of munchies, beverages and other snackable options through our quick commerce grocery service, Instamart. The association brings with it the IPL fandom and reach to elevate the match viewing experience of millions of viewers. It will additionally help us drive clutter-breaking campaigns, varied consumer engagement, and business offerings at scale."
Besides sports engagement, Havas Sports & Entertainment will be actively investing in bespoke research to understand the ever-evolving consumer behaviour, interests, and consumption; like the research conducted last year, Hi-Cricket - a proprietary study to understand the impact of IPL 2021 in influencing brand health metrics across categories, according to the agency. This year too, HMG India will be launching Hi-Cricket 2022 during IPL, offering 360-degree solutions by bridging advertisers and brands’ interests, and decoding India’s biggest sporting event.
“The sports advertising market in India is estimated upwards of Rs 8000+ crore,” said Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua. “The sports genre is pegged to explode further giving advertisers across sectors various opportunities to create long term value. The relaunch of Havas Sports & Entertainment 2.0 comes at a significant time, and we’re excited to kickstart its journey by facilitating a landmark partnership between India’s biggest sporting event, IPL, and our long-standing unicorn client, Swiggy. We look forward to further consolidating our position in the sports and experiential market by forging many more strategic partnerships and offering integrated and meaningful solutions.”
However, with the influx in emerging technologies the sports industry in India is growing on the back of newer trends that has opened massive opportunities for brands and marketers. The amalgamation of the real and digital worlds, with availability of tangible data and analytics, evolution of e-sports and fantasy leagues, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and immersive technologies have put the sports genre in India on a massive growth trajectory.
“Havas Sports & Entertainment’s resurgence comes on the heels of a revamped team and expertise, and in line with Havas Group’s recent launch of a Virtual Village in the metaverse - The Sandbox video game,” stated Havas Media Group India CEO Mohit Joshi. “R Venkatasubramanian will continue to invest in the vertical by having a dedicated team who have the precise knowledge and expertise in marketing and branding activities through consultancy, partnerships, activations & associations. We look forward to collaborating with traditional and digital media partners, platforms and content creators to offer an immersive and augmented experience and help brands create a meaningful connection with the sports and gaming community.”
Over the years, Havas Sports & Entertainment has partnered various sporting events, driving strategy for clients across sectors like automobile, e-commerce, online education, retail, FMCG, health, financial services and is working with clients such as Swiggy, Bira, RenewBuy, Sujata, TVS Eurogrip, Hyundai, Domino’s, KIA, Voltas, Realme, Oyo and Gamezy, to name a few.
