Toes crossed, India Inc prays for a Golden Goal

‘‘These big football players don’t live in India nor are these players located here, so there is not as much impact,’’ says Sunil Alagh, Chairman SKA Advisors, Mumbai. Ask him if the companies in India are doing enough to promote themselves at the game, pat comes the reply, ‘‘Sadly, the companies in India are not doing any interesting promotions as yet. No great innovations have been applied. It seems like Indian companies have woken up to the fact quite late.’’

While the whole marketing blitz around World Cup starts 6-8 months in advance, in India it is a late start. In contrast, for World Cup Cricket 2007, the plans are already underway, he says.

Despite the naysayers, a host of firms feel this time will be different. While some companies are using the soccer mania to promote existing products, others are stepping up marketing efforts for their newest range. Globally, the World Cup is a Rs 45,000-crore market, whereas in India the market has been pegged at Rs 225-450 crore with a huge potential.

This is also the time when sales of consumer durables like TV sets shoot up substantially. Says Vivek Sharma, vice president of consumer durable firm, Onida: ‘‘We have set aside a marketing, promotional budget weaved around World Cup at Rs 8 crore.’’ Of course, most of this activity will take place in soccer-crazy metros and states like Goa, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and North East region, he adds.

Interestingly, analysts say FIFA World Cup has been able to generate a lot of interest in India. It happens to be most watched game after cricket. In the big urban centres, the viewership is almost equal to any other cricket game.

Coca Cola, which has a budget of Rs 6 crore for World Cup initiatives, expects to build excitement around its brand. The multinational is targeting consumer centric ‘key cities’ like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata etc.

Wireless phone operator Bharti has tied up with Yahoo and broadcaster ESPN for live games content and news. ‘‘We expect to make decent amount from value-added services, though the games are not a direct revenue stream, they do make some money for us,’’ says Sanjay Kapoor, joint president of Bharti Enterprises.

Adidas plans to spend 8-9% of net sales on total marketing efforts in India. Adreas Gellner, managing director of Adidas plans to promote its special World Cup products ranging from Rs 550 to Rs 12,000. Gellner feels India is almost a virgin territory when it comes to football, and this is an opportunity to cement its category leadership with the current generation.