Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India

Pro Kabaddi League proves that with ample backing, adequate training, and proper infrastructure, a traditional Indian sport can be registered in the favorite's list of audiences. Moreover, it establishes the fact that such homegrown sports could be taken to a global arena.

We interviewed Mr. Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India along with Avinash Hegde, Vice President, Lodestar UM, and Akila Jayaraman, Senior Account Director, Essence to know their thoughts on Kabaddi.

Kabaddi particularly has seen a growing interest thanks to PKL and is now the second most popular sports property. Did you ever consider that a traditional Indian sport will catch the fancy of international brands? What factors do you attribute this growth to?

Last five years have been phenomenal for Indian sports. Few years back if any marketer was asked to associate with a sport like kabaddi, how many would have wanted to? But today, Pro Kabaddi League has given a new shape and spotlight to this game.

The energy & pace of the game is not only bringing fans from small towns only but also from cities. It is an excellent case of how the potential of a (home grown) sport can get revived and harnessed with due attention, care and packaging. With this growing popularity within and outside the country, Kabaddi is turning out to be a potential global sport.

POVs

In 4 years’ time, the way PKL has grown and consequently Kabaddi, it is not hard to picture it as a rival to its cricketing sibling IPL. However, there’s still a lot left. Digital and TV viewership metrics, meaningful associations, and high-level consumer engagements are yet to be explored completely. With leagues like PKL offering a good mix of on-air visibility along with on-ground activation opportunities, how best do you think marketers can leverage this relatively new property?

Avinash Hegde, Vice President, Lodestar UM

Kabaddi is a homegrown sport and very popular in the heartland of India. PKL has revamped the viewers interest and added glamour to the sport. PKL today is the second biggest league after IPL. It has managed to increase its reach year on year. Reach numbers are approximately 70% of that of IPL. PKL reached 274 mn viewers (All audience) in its 5th season. On Male 15+ NCCS ABC there is a growth of 187% on reach and 73% in TVRs when compared to PKL season 2 in 2015. In a country which is dominated by cricket, PKL now gives marketers an opportunity to be creative in their association with the sport and not be restricted. Brands can be interestingly associated bringing about their core proposition. Particularly where brands are looking to bring out aggression, never die attitude, agility, and strength. Since would be a good imagery there are teams representing markets it benefits brand to pick the markets where they need the brand thrust. Moreover, for local brands, association with PKL and visibility on national platform boosts imagery and credibility. Association with teams, usage of players images, meet and greet, dealer activation, consumer engagement, promotions to name a few are the opportunities that can be leveraged by brands. Apart this visibility on TV is a big booster for local brands as well. Number of advertisers who have partnered with the sport has increased over the years which are clear indication of the gaining popularity of PKL.

Akila Jayaraman, Senior Account Director, Essence

Let’s not see PKL as a rival of cricketing sibling IPL. With decades being invested in cricket, it is phenomenal to see how Kabbadi and specially PKL has caught the attention of fans and marketers alike. Some reports have suggested that interest in PKL to have grown significantly, making it the second-most popular and watched sports league on TV in India after IPL. Additionally, consumers now view Kabaddi as being more “Modern,” “Innovative” and “Entertaining.” This presents a great opportunity for marketers to associate with these attributes and the league's growing audience base on levels beyond inventory and tap the engaged audience in an integrated way across online and offline platforms. According to various sources, in the last season, PKL saw a 2 X jump in TV reach, while monthly search volumes for PKL franchises saw a 4x jump during the season, the conversations jumped a whopping 22x during the season over the rest of the year indicating an opportunity for brands to actively also be part of the social conversations. There is opportunity beyond the urban markets too, with sports viewership increasing in rural areas as well with Kabbadi being more popular, making PKL comparable to IPL in rural India.