Kedar Apte, Vice President Marketing, Castrol India Ltd.

In a cricket crazy nation, a homegrown sport has caught the attention of the masses. Especially, in the metropolitan cities and among the millennials. Kabaddi, thanks to the push from Pro Kabaddi League, has managed to carve a category for itself and marketers have started to notice its potential. Be it the tier 2 and tier 3 audience or increasing viewership from metros, Kabaddi has proven that it is ready to be played in hi-tech stadiums with fans rooting for their team.

We interviewed Kedar Apte, vice president marketing, Castrol, to know his views on the growing popularity of Kabaddi, along with Deepak Netram, Lodestar and Karthik Lakshminarayan, Vibrant (Reliance Jio).

POV:

Kabaddi is now a popular sport among kids and now that it is growing in scale, even in Urban Markets, will it still continue to attract the tier 2 and tier 3 markets? How does that work for you?

Deepak Netram , Senior Vice President - Lodestar

From largely being recalled as a game played barefoot in muddy ‘akhadas’ to hi-tech stadiums packed with audiences, Kabaddi has made a giant leap with regards to its popularity in India.

High impact marketing campaigns and a concerted push by established corporates to build the sport are perhaps the key reasons for the rising popularity of Kabaddi. With big film stars and leading sportspersons coming onboard, create glitz and glamour has been brought in to the sport.

This has encouraged brands to increase visibility and strengthen brand recall by associating with PKL year after year.

Brands like Vivo, Amazon, SBI have associated with PKL through its multiple brand engagement opportunities.

Increasing the number of teams every year ensures participation of players from remote areas of India and increases viewership across the country.

For the kind of brand seeking such audiences, it’s definitely a potential platform and Kabaddi as a sport is likely to grow in the future.

Karthik Lakshminarayan , VP Media Planning & Strategy - Vibrant for Reliance Jio

Of course, Kabaddi is an important genre for us. It’s a truly homegrown sport and we support it entirely. The more the game spreads the better for all involved with the game. It should cut across all tiers of the country and not be restricted to just a few. A higher order appeal only means more money invested in the sport.