10-15% of Our Budgets Go into ExM — Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Kingfisher

by  Shantanu Jain Marketing | May 16, 2017 | News

Kingfisher IPL

As the 10th season of T20 cricket's most electrifying platform the IPL is unfurling before us with great pomp and show, we look at why this sporting extravaganza is the gigantic success that it is. One of the main reasons why the IPL has grown year on year is the unrelenting support of sponsors like Kingfisher, that have associated with it for a decade now.

Kingfisher is one of the biggest and most aggressive brands to leverage its association with cricket, creating one of the best marketing initiatives driven by consumer, retail and institutional activations. The brand has throughout its association with the cricket mecca churned out innovative and consumer driven experiential engagements.

EVENTFAQS reached out to Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Kingfisher to decode more details about the association and the activations planned this year by the brand.

How has the association with IPL turned out for brand Kingfisher? How has this impacted the brand image and engagement?

IPL is the biggest sporting event in India. It is also India’s biggest reality show, with a great mix of sport, entertainment and glamour. These are values that resonate with Kingfisher. We have been associated with IPL since inception. Our association with multiple teams has ensured that we are the most salient brand during this event. This has helped drive volumes and market share and given us unique opportunities to engage with our consumers. It has also driven brand score on sportiness and youthfulness positively.

Take us through the Kingfisher IPL 10 Engagements and how they will be rolled out.

We have run a total of 9 television commercials this year, across live matches as well as on other national and regional channels. We have also run these on Hotstar and across all digital platforms. Besides, we have run engagements on ground, pouring at stadiums, and several contests and engagement activities for all our stakeholders.

Apart from IPL 10, is Kingfisher associating with any other sports platforms?

Yes, we associate with Formula One racing (Sahara Force India), football (Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club) and several other sports.

How important is experiential as a marketing medium for Kingfisher and how much of your budgets swing in that direction?

Extremely important, especially in a media dark environment like India. About 10-15% of our budgets go into experiential marketing.

Share with us some of the upcoming campaigns from the brand that are expected to touch ground soon.

We will run campaigns to leverage Sahara Force India, KEBFC, Sunburn and the Kingfisher Calendar.