Mumbai: In the heart of India, where every street corner echoes with the chants of cricket enthusiasts, every school has a rich history of rivalry against other schools' football clubs and every district has an annual Kabaddi championship tournament which the entire community awaits eagerly, sports are not just games; they are a way of life. This very passion for sports has many brands strategically planned their campaigns around the sporting events happening in the country throughout the year. From the extravagant IPL or the PKL to domestic sports season at the state and national level, brands from across industries have always been in a tussle to capture the essence of the season and reach out to their target audiences in the most effective way possible. This quest has become the canvas for some of the most creative and compelling brand narratives that transform the brands with mere products into representations of the community all through the power of storytelling.
The idea of brands presenting themselves in the form of a narrative or a compelling story is not just another marketing gimmick to grab the audience’s attention but it has a deeper sense of connecting with the audiences on a personal level, becoming a part of the community and recognising and celebrating the impulse of the masses. Let's say the cricket season for example, in India is not just a sporting season but as the IPL 2015, tagline said ‘India ka Tyohaar’, is a festival in itself. May it be a multilateral or bilateral series between nations, an ICC event such as the World Cup or an annual league event like the IPL, the tournament grabs everyone’s attention. Now the amount of exposure to audiences via digital and social media has surpassed all limitations, but it has its drawbacks. With consumers being bombarded with information about thousands of products from hundreds of brands, it has become essential for brands to stand out and develop a real connection that the audiences get hooked on. This is where the art of storytelling in an advertising campaign has taken a front seat.
The storytelling approach has proven to be effective for brands across industries. One such is from the Disney Star network of channels in India. In 2016, promoting their new approach towards content and society when Star Plus launched a new tagline of ‘ Rishta Wohi, Soch Nayi’, in alignment with Disney Star’s ‘Nayi Soch’ campaign, the most narrative-driven movement was run by the brand when they asked the Indian Cricket Team, with star-studded cricketers such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma to wear a jersey with their mother’s name on the back. This initiative created a much-needed buzz around that particular game and indirectly towards Star’s new tagline and approach. Followed by a video series of player interviews where they expressed their thoughts about their mothers, it struck a chord with every individual. Thus, capitalising on a universal relation between a mother and a son, Disney Star subtly pushed ahead its narrative.
Another example of a highly content-driven campaign comes from Unacademy. Unacademy, one of the official partners for the IPL 2020, seamlessly merged its product with its association with the tournament. The target audience for the edutech platform being school and college-going students, Unacademy created a fun, easy-to-remember jingle song that instantly appealed to the masses. Utilising some of the most prominent video footage from the IPL season and turning it into simpler examples of complex educational concepts. For example, showing the Pythagoras Theorem using how MS Dhoni sets his field or taking Virat Kohli’s on-ground aggression as an example to explain Volcanic eruption, all of this in just one song, Unacademy created an experience for the students both while learning the concepts as well as watching the game, thus, giving the brand an incomparable recall value.
These compelling narrative-driven campaigns now have seeped deep into the lower tiers of the sports ecosystem, with newer brands taking a similar approach to establish their presence at the domestic level. One such example of this can be the Nexus Day Surgery Centre, a world-class medical facility, specialised in sports injury treatments, that adopted a similar approach. Nexus Day Surgery Centre with a vision to establish its presence in Maharashtra’s vast local sports ecosystem, partnered with four National level women athletes from the state, becoming their official healthcare partners for the season 2023-24. Nexus Day Surgery Centre timed this announcement with International Women’s Day to show their support and encouragement towards women’s participation in sports. Following this, the Nexus Day Surgery Centre also provided discount incentives to athletes from Maharashtra for their treatment and checkups. This way, Nexus Day Surgery Centre reached out to the close-knit Kabaddi and football community, established its presence, extended its support to the values of the community, i.e. of women empowerment and made a lasting impact on the minds of the people.
As sports seasons continue to captivate the nation, innovative brands will keep pushing the boundaries of creativity. However, this innovative, story-driven approach is certainly transforming the way audiences or consumers perceive commercials. Now it has become less of an interruption and more of an essential chapters in the grand saga of sports, connecting us on a level deeper than mere fandom. As the sports advertising landscape evolves, with every match becoming a story waiting to be told, brands will continue to find new and ingenious ways to transform their products into legends, ensuring that the passion for sports in India burns brighter than ever before.
This article has been authored by SportVot co-founder Shubhangi Gupta.
