Mandeep Malhotra Talks About The Social Street's Association with Champions Boat League & More!

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | September 20, 2019 | Interview

Champions Boat League 2019 The Social Street E-Factor Entertainment Kerala Tourism BookMyShow

A spectacle of passion, celebration, and strength, the Champions Boat League 2019 in Kerala, was launched by Kerala Tourism in association with the marketing and communication partner The Social Street, event partner E Factor Entertainment and ticketing partner  BookMyShow.

The League which is conducted at 12 different venues across Kerala started with the prestigious Nehru Trophy Boat Race in Alappuzha on August 31^st,2019 and will conclude on November 23rd, 2019 at President's Trophy Boat Race, Kollam District.

In an exclusive interaction with EVENTFAQS, Mandeep Malhotra, Founding Partner & CEO, The Social Street, shared the insights how did The Social Street come on-board as marketing and communication partner, other partners involved in the organization of the league and more.  

How did The Social Street come across this opportunity of doing the Champions Boat League? Please share the details.

Early this year, the Department of Kerala Tourism floated the official RFP for the management, execution, and promotion of the Champions Boat League for five years. The Social Street and E Factor Entertainment combined its expertise and experience to form a consortium and won the rights for the branding, promotions, marketing and revenue generation activities starting 2019 until 2023.

E Factor comes with a vast experience of promoting and organising large-format culture tourism festivals like the Pushkar Fair, The Vizag City Festival, Winter Festival Mount Abu, etc. The Social Street has worked with some prestigious sporting tournaments in the country such as International Premier Tennis League (ITPL), Premier Futsal League, Pro Kabbadi League, Indian Premier League (IPL), Bengaluru Tigers at the Super Fight League (MMA), Tamil Nadu Premier League (cricket) as well as major sporting events for Star Sports and Hotstar.

Can you share insights on how the idea of Champions Boat League was conceived and how did you action it along with Kerala Tourism?

Snake boat races have been conducted on Kerala’s backwaters for decades now. Until now these races were limited to particular parts of the state and so there was no integrated platform for sports lovers or tourists to follow all the races. So, Kerala Tourism coined the idea of this IPL-format property with the intention of creating an international sporting atmosphere for participating clubs and their oarsmen. And subsequently, build fan loyalty for the league as well as boat clubs & boats, in a similar way as leagues all around the world have done.

Another reason was to create a world-class experience for tourists and make the state a 365-day destination. The state witnesses its highest foreign tourist influx in the 1st quarter of the year with 35.99% of visits, followed by 29.5% in the last quarter. On the domestic front, tourist arrivals are highest in the 4th quarter constituting 30.08%, followed by 2nd quarter constituting 24.39 %. (Source: Government of Kerala Department of Tourism report titled Kerala Tourism Statistics 2017). Through the Champions’ Boat League, Kerala Tourism aims to bump up the tourism numbers during the leaner boat race season in the monsoons to make Kerala a round-the-year tourist destination.

Could you explain the concept behind organizing this League?

The concept and format are simple. The league consists of 12 races conducted in 12 different venues across the state. Nine boat clubs vie for the coveted trophy through a level playing field created for all. The standard is set throughout. Points are given in a conventional league format. For every race, the teams accumulate points. The club that comes first get 10 points, the second 8 points and the third 7 points and so on. The team coming last in a boat race will get one point. There are also bonus five points given to the team that clocks the fastest timing at each race.

While the first three winners of each CBL match get Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively, the overall CBL winner after the accumulation of all the points from the 12 races will get a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, while those finishing second and third will get Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, respectively.

What other partners are involved in the organisation of the league? What roles/responsibilities do each one bring on board?

Our consortium partner E-Factor Entertainment is a leading Events Management Company with strong focus and presence in the luxury travel & tourism business. Known for larger than life, awe-inspiring set ups and formats, E Factor manages the end-to-end logistical and infrastructural support for CBL.

The Social Street, being a full services advertising and marketing communications agency, manages the entire branding and promotion activities and revenue generation of the league.

As the Champions Boat League is still on, tell us about the response so far.

The response so far has been overwhelming. The energy levels on ground are incredible and absolutely unparalleled. We had the honour of Sachin Tendulkar and Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan officially inaugurate the Champions Boat League. Music maestro A. R. Rahman created a beautiful short film titled Thaalam, especially for the Chundam Vallam (snake boat) races this year.

The race is telecasted live on Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports Tamil, Asianet Plus and Hotstar. We have received some great response from our television viewers as well. We have started receiving the weekly ratings, and it looks promising. The fan bases across our social media too are growing at an excellent rate of about 85% across platforms. Fans have been very forthcoming about their views and opinions on their favourite teams. Their excitement for the league and passion for the game shows it.