BackIPL season 9: Gujarat Lions, Rising Pune Supergiants bag 13 backers each
Both Gujarat Lions, the Rajkot franchise, and Rising Pune Supergiants are part of the Indian Premier League for a two-year period
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New Delhi: Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants, the new entrants to the Indian Premier League (IPL), have both scored big in terms of team sponsorships and bagged 13 backers each.
IPL’s season 9 starts on Saturday at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Both Gujarat Lions, the Rajkot franchise, and Rising Pune Supergiants are part of the IPL for a two-year period.
Sponsors of Gujarat Lions, owned by Intex Technologies (India) Ltd, a mobile handset maker, include mobile wallet company Oxigen Wallets, TVS Tyres, Gujarat Tourism, Nerolac Paints, Astral Pipes, Sanghi Cement and Johnson Tiles, among others.
Team sponsors of Rising Pune Supergiants, owned by Sanjiv Goenka’s New Rising, are Cargill Foods, Spykar Jeans, Marriot, lubricant brand Gulf and DBS Bank, among others. Cargill will promote its sunflower oil brand Gemini through the IPL team sponsorship.
Brands have paid between ₹ 10 crore and ₹ 20 crore for title sponsorships of IPL teams in the past, according to estimates by media planners.
Sports sponsorship in India grew 12.3% to ₹ 5,185.4 crore in 2015 from ₹ 4,616.5 crore in the previous year, according to the ESP Properties-SportzPower report released in Mumbai this week.
“There has never been an IPL season where teams have not been able to sell their full sponsorship; it might be delayed but it gets done," said Vinit Karnik, business head (sports, entertainment and live events) at media buying agency GroupM, part of WPP Plc.
“Most of the brands will get national salience and will also be able to leverage through on-ground activations at a regional level," he said.
“IPL’s reach and popularity is unchallenged and it is the perfect platform for effectively reaching out and connecting with consumers. Even though we are a new team, Gujarat Lions has generated tremendous response both from fans as well as various brands that have shown interest in partnering with us," said Keshav Bansal, owner of Gujarat Lions and a director of Intex Technologies.
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