“We believe in sports marketing because it allows us to tap into consumers’ enthusiasm for the sport and reach captive audiences. To capitalize on these partnerships, we don’t limit our brand presence to visual branding alone. We further amplify these partnerships through campaigns across various platforms,” said Mark Titus, Director of Marketing, Nippon Paint (India) – Decorative division while speaking about the brand’s tie-ups with CSK, Chennaiyin FC, Indian Olympic Association, Bengaluru Bulls, and leveraging sports marketing.
“During previous seasons of IPL, we used to fly some lucky customers around the world to watch the matches. Another marketing activity we continue to conduct is the meet-and-greets with sports players from teams like CSK for stakeholders and channel partners. Though it will happen virtually this year, fan’s excitement will not be any less. Though the pandemic posed a lot of marketing challenges, we continue to engage with our customers digitally. Now, as markets have opened up, we can do a complete 360-degree campaign around our associations,” he added.
According to Titus, focusing on less commercially popular sports like Kabaddi and football is a key trend, and that is great because it goes a long way in promoting such sports and sportspersons amongst the public.
“In a bid to promote such sports, Nippon Paint has collaborated with Chennaiyin FC and Bengaluru Bulls. Another very positive trend I see is the rise of sportswomen as brand ambassadors, especially since 50% of the Olympic medals won for India were secured by sportswomen,” Titus said.
Speaking about his vision for Sports Marketing in India, Titus said, “Sports has a cult-like following unlike any other. It can engage with a wide range of people across diverse segments; in fact, it affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Sports marketing can be leveraged to reach a large fan base. Marketers can use it to promote their products, services and build brand image. As a sports marketer, you now have a wide range of options. Matches are watched by fans in the stadium (in the pre-Covid era), on television, and, increasingly, on-demand on their mobile phones. Each new format has increased the number of options available to advertisers. My vision for Sports marketing is to include promotion and sponsorships of less popular sports and invest in a manner that makes a real difference to the sport.”
“Sports marketing isn’t something that could achieve the desired outcome for all brands.,” observes Titus.
“One must assess the event and ensure that it is a good fit for the brand. If the brand has a specific regional focus, such partnerships (for example, IPL) can help to increase brand awareness in that market. Entering into a partnership is not enough; the brand must engage in additional activities to amplify the partnership to benefit the brand as a whole. A comprehensive 360-degree multi-platform campaign to engage all stakeholders in the partnership will help to increase brand salience and recall significantly,” said Titus.
Nippon Paint is currently focusing on the festive season and are excited as the IPL coincides with the festive season.
“As Nippon Paint is one of the leading decorative paint brands in the country, it’s a crucial painting season as more consumers paint their homes in preparation for the festive season. We want to make the most of this season through our festival campaigns. Parallelly, we are also running a 360-degree campaign for a newly launched product, Weatherbond PRO, to highlight the superiority of this exterior emulsion with up to 15 years of performance warranty. This revolutionary product provides superior water resistance and extreme durability to protect from extreme heat and rain,” concluded Titus.
