Parle sponsors official IPL 6 mobile game

Last year, Parle was a co-sponsor along with auto brand Volkswagen.

Disney UTV's Indiagames has launched the official IPL 6 mobile game called 'IPL Cricket Fever 2013'. The multi player cricket game, which is available on the Android platform, is sponsored by Parle 20-20 cookies.

The game is a close replica of the IPL matches, with the nine official teams including Mumbai Indians, Chennai Superkings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils, King XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Pune Warriors.

According to Indiagames, the game will be available for cricket enthusiasts for one year and the association of Parle will stay on as well. This is the second year that Parle has sponsored the official IPL game. Last year, it was a co-sponsor along with auto brand Volkswagen.

Speaking to afaqs! about the objective behind the association, Pravin Kulkarni, general manager, marketing, Parle Products, informs that Parle is looking forward to tap the younger audiences who are cricket lovers and gaming enthusiasts.

"IPL is a huge platform which allows us to reach out to a large number of audiences across age groups. Mobile as a medium has grown tremendously over the last few years and consumers are spending more time on their mobile devices. We wanted to tap this growing segment and this association with the official mobile game for IPL gives us a perfect platform to reach out to the younger audiences," Kulkarni adds.

Vishal Gondal, managing director, digital, Disney UTV, opines that getting brands on-board to associate with the official IPL mobile game is to enhance the gameplay experience of the user. "With IPL Cricket Fever 2013, we wanted to offer a close-to-real experience of the on-ground action of IPL. With Parle 20-20 cookies on board, we have made it happen. Presence of the brand when a player hits a 4 or a 6 gives the users an actual IPL feel on their mobile phones. The brand fit with Parle 20-20 cookies just sits perfectly with the concept of the IPL tournament."

Gondal says that the biggest feature added this year is the Challenge mode, where players can challenge other players within the game and compete with others. "Enhancing the essence of the sport, gamers can add 'cheerleaders' from the in-game store. The cheerleaders will applaud every four or six hit by the gamer," he adds.

Gondal claims that the game has crossed lakhs of downloads in the first 10 days. However, he declined to reveal last year's download figures.