Nimbus to spend Rs 40 crore to market WSH 2012

World Series Hockey (WSH) has started a 360-degree marketing campaign to promote the sport and the series, taking Suniel Shetty on-board as brand ambassador for the inaugural edition of the league. Recently, Bridgestone was taken on board as title sponsors for the series.

Nimbus has launched a campaign to promote World Series Hockey (WSH), its joint initiative with Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), which is scheduled to begin on February 29. The event will be telecast on Nimbus Sports' channel Neo Sports. The total marketing spend earmarked by Nimbus for the tournament is about Rs 40 crore.

In the initial phase, the campaign covers television, radio, print, digital and on-ground activations. A television commercial featuring the brand ambassador of WSH, actor Suniel Shetty, was launched on February 26. Beginning with Hindi news channels, the television campaign will later spread to include movie channels and Hindi GECs (general entertainment channels) as well.

Sorbojeet Chatterjee, vice-president, marketing, Neo Sports Broadcast, says, "This is the initial burst campaign for the series, which involves high intensity marketing. We have tried to tap the eight markets of the participating cities in the first phase."

An on-ground outreach programme was organised in schools, through which 30,000 students and hockey players were reached.

The digital and social media campaigns are being handled by Red Digital, a Mumbai-based agency. It involves initiatives such as games, polls, promos, contests and Facebook pages that will carry the latest updates of the tournament.

The radio campaign is spread over four to five radio channels in each of the eight cities, while the print campaign involves major English as well as the regional newspapers. WSH has also entered into a strategic alliance with Dainik Bhaskar.

The creative mandate is being handled by Euro RSCG. The agency has, along with the in-house team of WSH, designed the silver trophy for the league. The 2.5 feet trophy has intricate carvings with two hockey sticks on it.

Nimbus Sports and the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) launched the WSH league in 2011, with an agreement of 15 years. The tournament comprises eight teams - Karnataka Lions, Delhi Wizards, Chennai Cheetahs, Pune Strykers, Mumbai Marines, Chandigarh Comets, Bhopal Badshahs and Sher-e-Punjab. The teams are owned by corporates such as Wizcraft, Zentrum Group, Jubilee Granites, SRF Group, Sai Grace Sports and Events and Chennai Sports Organisers. Apart from the marketing spends of Nimbus, each of the eight teams has spent Rs 3-4 crore on an average for individual promotions.

WSH is scheduled to begin on February 29 and will continue till April 2. A total of 59 matches will be played in eight cities across India.