Mumbai: Mad Influence, one of India’s largest influencer marketing agencies, and Star Sports, the official broadcaster of IPL 2024 and T20 World Cup 2024, unveiled the Star Sports Dream Job contest, with an endeavour to unearth fresh talent through the power of social media. After participating for almost eight weeks, Soumi Dey Sarkar, a national-level athlete in powerlifting and a runner, has bagged the prestigious Star Sports ‘Dream Job’.
Star Sports Dream Job garnered an overwhelming response, attracting 5,500 entries from a diverse array of participants spanning across different demographics, geographies, and walks of life. The enthusiasm for the IPL on Star Sports was evident, with entries from differently-abled creators to a Sam Curran look-alike super fan from all the way Australia.
The top 10 contestants travelled to Ahmedabad for the playoffs, where they captured the match day excitement as Star Sports reporters going live on the national broadcast. The final three contestants—Pramita Mohapatra, Soumi Dey Sarkar, and Aayush Ambasht—were then chosen to travel to Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad respectively for the final challenge. Their final challenge was to report stories from across cities around the buzz of the IPL final.
Some entries gained significant attention on social media, with one reel amassing over 61 million views, demonstrating the contest’s vast reach and engagement. Overall, the Star Sports Dream Job activation was a unique initiative leveraging the digital ecosystem to discover talent that resulted in being a masterstroke from Star Sports as it accumulated over 310 million views with #IPLonStar across all entries.
Sarkar, who has been plying her trade as an anchor in other sporting events, will now see herself pick up the mic for a coveted full-time anchoring position on Star Sports during the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup.
Speaking about winning the Star Sports ‘Dream Job’, Soumi Dey Sarkar said, “This is a dream come true for me. I am grateful to Star Sports for recognizing my efforts, and I can’t wait to work alongside the stars and legends of the game. Anchoring has always been my greatest passion, and now, by winning the Dream Job, I have the opportunity to turn that passion into my profession. I hope to make the most of this incredible opportunity.”
Mad Influence CEO & founder Gautam Madhavan expressed his enthusiasm, "Collaborating with Star Sports for the Star Sports Dream Job campaign has been an exhilarating journey. Star Sports is the true home of sports and is a benchmark when it comes to fan centric activations. We are glad to partner with Star Sports to roll this historic, one-of-a-kind, and unique initiative that provided a platform for aspiring talents to showcase their skills. Using social media, we now have a winner who will pursue her dream of sports anchoring with the biggest sports broadcaster in India. We are immensely proud of the talent we’ve unearthed and the opportunities we’ve created for these individuals."
Speaking about the second edition of Star Sports Dream Job, renowned cricket anchor and presenter Jatin Sapru, who won the title the first time, said, “Welcome to the club, Soumi! Congratulations on this remarkable achievement. The Dream Job will offer you a unique anchoring experience, allowing you to learn intricate nuances and technicalities from a talented team in the studio. This is a life-changing opportunity where your hobby has transformed into your profession. I encourage others to keep pursuing what they love. Your Dream Job might be just around the corner.”
