MUMBAI: With the 2018 FIFA World Cup set to kick off on June 14, Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) is gearing up for the company’s most-anticipated event of the year. Banking on the rising popularity of football in India, the formidable FIFA brand and a viral ad campaign, the sports cluster of Sony Pictures is aiming to double up its viewership this year.

While the football viewership in India on the rise, FIFA events tend to enjoy a further spike in the television rating as they draw both fans and fringe-viewers to the screens. In a bid to heighten the excitement around this edition of the World Cup, Sony has opted for a fan-centric campaign instead of a player-centric one.

“When we looked at data, we saw that there is a football audience and there is a FIFA audience, wherein the FIFA audience is far greater than football audience. People follow FIFA since we don't have our own country’s participation it and it was a challenge to drive communication around it,” says Sony Pictures Networks senior VP of marketing and OAP of sports Kedar Teny.

Titled ‘Meri Doosri Country’, the campaign aims to encourage Indian fans to cheer for an ‘adopted’ country. The campaign idea took shape over a cup of coffee between Sony and agency Culture Machine. Sony was clear about what it wanted - a campaign that goes beyond clichés of football to make it relevant for the fans.

While Sony was part of the creative process, it did not interfere with the creative freedom of the agency.

The campaign was shot at various locations in Mumbai, Kolkata and Goa and an enormous cast of over 800+ actors. Interestingly, the last (closing) shot itself featured over 300 people.

The campaign has adopted a 360-degree approach and is spread across TV, digital, print, and radio and will be telecasted in English, Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam.

The world feed in English will be on SONY TEN 2 SD and HD channels, the Hindi feed will be aired on SONY TEN 3 SD and HD channels while Bengali and Malayalam feed will be available on SONY ESPN SD channel.

The company is aggressively advertising and marketing the tournament on television and various digital platforms. Soon after launching the first campaign, Sony has launched a series of short format content on television and digital.

Sony’s partnership with FIFA has been a successful one, claims the network. Some of their previous collaborations with the world football’s governing body include the 2014 FIFA World Cup, FIFA U-17 WC India, FIFA Confederates Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup.

“The association with FIFA has been good for business for Sony Pictures Networks. Our viewership numbers have exceeded our expectations in all events and we are extremely proud of our association,” highlights Sony Pictures Sports Networks president of sales and distribution Rajesh Kaul.

Sony is confident of having a successful tournament. Given the instant success of its promotional campaign, one cannot fault the management for being in a buoyant mood ahead of the showpiece event. Now, all they can hope for is an exciting tournament that will keep the fans glued to their television sets.