Sony unveils IPL on print

Sony Max and Sony Six, the official broadcaster of the two month long Indian Premier League Season 6, came out with a print innovation on the inaugural day of the tournament.

On the inaugural day of the Indian Premier League Season 6, Sony Max and Sony Six greeted Kolkata readers of The Telegraph with a bang. The channel came up with a print innovation to create a buzz about the tournament.

The front page of the newspaper carried a full page advertisement of IPL. The ad featured choreographer Farah Khan with the tagline, 'Sirf Dekhne Ka Nahi!'. The back page showcased the pictures of the IPL anchors with the tagline, 'Pepsi IPL gets Extraaa Larger than Life'.

The front and back pages were wrapped with a translucent jacket that read '4, 6 wicket ka dance seekha kya?' The blurred image of the front page advertisement and the translucent jacket made it appear as if the reader was unveiling the IPL.

Gaurav Seth, senior vice-president, marketing, Sony MAX, says, "We have restricted the innovation to Kolkata only as the IPL inaugural match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils is taking place in Kolkata."

Seth refused to divulge details on the spend. The target audience for the campaign is any one above the age of four, who loves to watch cricket.

Seth says, "The main idea behind the campaign is to break the clutter in advertising for IPL, create a buzz and generate high recall value for the tournament. The campaign is extremely eye-catching."

The campaign was designed by Anandabazar Patrika and reached more than 9 lakh readers across Kolkata. Though the wrap innovation was restricted to Kolkata, the ad featuring Farah Khan on the front page was spread across 17 leading national dailies across India.

Apart from print innovations, Sony is also using flash mobs, outdoor, below the line activities and radio contests to create buzz around the tournament. It plans to come up with more innovations to create high recall value for IPL.

To increase audience involvement, the channel has launched a series of television commercials that feature Farah Khan teaching specific dance moves related to happenings on the field. The TVCs urge people to not just watch the matches but also dance along and end with the catch line, 'Sirf Dekhne Ka Nahi!'.

This year's IPL includes nine teams and will continue till May 26. There will be 76 matches before the winner for the season is decided. The event will be broadcast by nearly 10 broadcasters across the globe, including SET Max, ITV Network, Rogers Sportsnet, Willow TV International United and 4 Sky Network.