ICL reveals brand logo and campaign

ICL’s overall brand identity was created by O&M. The advertising campaign will run in three phases, from November 7 till December 16

Indian Cricket League (ICL), an Essel Group venture, has revealed its brand logo and campaign. ICL’s first Twenty20 cricket tournament is slated to begin on November 30 and carry on till December 16.

ICL’s logo has been created by VGC, and the brand campaign is the brainchild of O&M. Anup Chitnis, executive creative director, O&M, and Hitesh Patel, brand management supervisor, O&M, explain: The brand logo features a red cricket ball with ICL in a large, stylised, steel coloured font wrapped around it. ICL’s brand positioning will be ‘where dreams can come alive’. ICL will promote itself in the media with the brand proposition of being the destination where real talent from all over the country is valued. It will portray itself as the platform for aspirants who have the skills to be accomplished cricketers but haven’t had the right opportunity to showcase their talent.

The position line for ICL states: ‘Sapne Manzil Tak’. The advertising campaign will run in three phases from November 7 till December 16. The first phase introduces the brand proposition of ICL with Kapil Dev as the brand ambassador. It highlights the journey that is possible from a small town or village to a cricket stadium and encourages amateur cricketers to realise their dream. It stresses on the fact that it may not be easy to find a chance to play cricket in the prevailing system, but ICL recognises individual talent and provides the wherewithal to nurture it.

The outdoor campaign has already broken and the TVC will be on air on November 8. The outdoor campaign says, ‘Khel hai bada. Iraden hain pakke. ICL – Sapne Manzil Tak’, and ‘Dum jigar main. Khel rag-rag main. ICL – Sapne Manzil Tak’.

Once the brand proposition has been established through the first phase, the second phase will talk about individual identities and qualities in the six chosen teams. The teams include Kolkata Tigers, Hyderabad Heroes, Delhi Jets, Chandigarh Lions, Mumbai Champs, and Chennai Superstars. O&M will create a full fledged campaign for each team in the second phase with proper positioning lines. That’s why the overall budget for the campaign will be more than Rs 25 crore.

The third phase of the campaign will highlight the teams as rivals and emphasise on individual heroes from each team. The first phase will last for two weeks, the second phase, for over three weeks, and the last phase, till December 16. The media mix includes outdoor advertising, television commercials, on-ground promotions in each of the six cities, the Internet and a little bit of print advertising.