The Cup Is Half Full

With days to go before the first encounter of the 2011 World Cup at Dhaka,Bangladesh,there is no big buzz. A new marketing low? Or just plain fatigue with cricket?

With New Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla playing host to a match between South Africa and West Indies on February 24,there is no clear idea when the physical sale of tickets would take place. Barring a few online partners officially selling tickets,there is no visible on-ground promotional activity. Many blame the overkill of cricket in the past few months for the lack of fizz.

Food and Beverages

Restaurants are gearing up for their routine round of promotions,like extended Happy Hours,sporty beverages and regular match screenings. But there is a sense of restrained involvement. “We do not want to go overboard with the celebrations since ODIs are tough to sustain and the excitement fizzles out after the first two hours” says Vyom Ghai,MD Buzz,at the MGF Mall,Saket. Their outlet is organising Happy Hours from 3pm to 9pm,with a popular Dhol player and a DJ as thrill boosters during the India matches. This biased approach is being followed by most other venues who plan to offer schemes only for India matches,unlike the T20 tournies,where discount schemes were applicable for all.

Sponsorship activities

Even where sponsors are concerned,there is a lack of commitment towards cricket fans. Hyundai,one of the official sponsors of the game,has kicked off its promotional activity with the ‘First Ball Tour’,which comprises a convoy of three Hyundai i10s visiting Hyundai dealerships in different cities,carrying the first ball to be used at the Dhaka match. There are also plans for cricket ‘fan parks’ to screen India matches. “This is only open for Hyundai customers,” says Rajiv Mitra,Head,Corporate Communications,Hyundai. “We need to extend our brand loyalties too,” he continues.

As far as memorabilia is concerned,Pepsi is selling Wold Cup T-shirts,special edition Pepsi bottles,caps and bags at a few outlets. Fans,however,are not queuing up to buy these items,and the company doesn’t have any accurate sales figures.

Cinema owners have laid down conditions for match screenings at their halls. “If India makes it to the Quarter-Finals,we will organise screenings at a few halls. Otherwise,it is not financially viable for us,” says Anant Verma,Business Head,DT Cinemas.

“The duration of the game is an impediment since,in comparison to a 20-20 match,ODIs last for six to seven hours. We cannot block a theatre for such a long duration if there isn’t any sponsor,” he adds.

Even PVR Cinemas is employing a wait-and-watch tactic. Spice Cinemas,Noida,which organised routine screenings during the IPL,however,has dropped the idea altogether for the World Cup.

Travel plans

While it may be early to gauge bookings at hotels,some travel operators are offering cricket packages. Le Passage,though,is skeptical of a good response to its cricket packages. “Some locations do not foster vibrant tourism because of their size. In Mohali,we had trouble finding accommodation since there were not enough hotels. A little more preparation and thought should have gone into choosing the stadiums,” says Arjun Sharma,MD,Le Passage to India. Subhash Goyal,Chairman,STIC travel group,agrees,“For some reason,there is less excitement compared to the previous Cups.”

Music too?

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s official anthem which,the musicians say,avoids cliches of patriotism for a “fun and funky tune with a folksy feel”,too doesn’t seem to be bringing the house down,despite getting considerable airtime for two months. Worse,with a number of music composers cashing in,a slew of new songs have been launched,but even these haven’t caught the popular pulse. “Nobody seems to have any idea of who all are singing and dancing and what all is happening,” says Naina Sharma,an ad professional. Playback singer Kailash Kher has sung Go India Go,composed by Leslie Lewis,while composers like Bappi Lahiri,Anand Raj Anand and Lalit Pandit,too,have put in their two-bits but none of these songs are on TV or radio.

(With inputs from Suanshu Khurana)