GroupM ESP predicts top trends for 2015

More celebrities becoming digital influencers and the growth of non-cricket sports among the key trends to watch out for.

GroupM ESP (Entertainment & Sports Partnerships) has come up with the top 10 trends for 2015. The specialist business unit of Group M feels that sports in the country has never been this exciting -what with leagues being born across various sporting formats etc. The unit also sees an increasing opportunity for brands to associate with movie and sports.

Says Vinit Karnik, national director, GroupM ESP, "As we scale up our practice, 2015 will see a change in the way consumers interact with the sports and entertainment category. Sporting entities will evolve by building digital and social assets to drive their valuation and brands will increase the role and usage of celebrities as influencers especially across digital assets. We have strategically positioned ourselves to embrace this change and are confident that it will help us achieve our clients' objectives by offering innovative brand solutions."

The key trends GroupM ESP has predicted for this year are:

1. Increased role and usage of celebrities as digital influencers

2. Sporting entities will evolve by building digital and social assets to drive their valuation

3. Blurring lines between Entertainment & Sports

4. "Associative" to "Associative + Integration + Surround + Social"

5. From Advertisers to Sponsors

6. New avenues for traditional licensing - ex. branded real estate

7. TV fiction characters as Brand Ambassadors

8. Non-cricket sports to expand sports business ecosystem

9. Sports businesses to build strong grassroots engagement through experiential programmes

10. Music concerts to grow bigger than award shows

Karnik further adds that, "celebrities have been using the digital space extensively for their work. From promoting their movies to inviting fans to attend a social cause, celebs make use of the digital platform in a great way. With millions of followers, celebrities have the power to influence their fans and effectively send their message forward. Digital and social assets are used by sports entities to keep their fans up to date. In order to increase the fan base, sporting franchisees and leagues will develop fan following around them by efficient use of digital medium. With immense focus on digital rights of sporting leagues, digital video sites will be competing with television broadcasters for eyeballs in the near future."