Authors : Chopade P .M .
Page Nos : 233-235
Description :
Nowadays we cannot walk down the streets
without seeing giant billboards of SaniaNehwal or
ViratKohli urging you to buy some electronic gadget or some sports drink. Sports marketing is not new in
India. Sports marketing industry exists in India for quite a long time, but has been undervalued. In
past
few years it can be said that sports marketing is a growing phenomena and the money the industry
generates is attracting more and more people. Sports marketing have emerged as a multi
-
million
-
dollar
business in India. A number of factors are at work,
including changing demographics, lifestyles,
acceptance of other sports, top players attracting lucrative contracts and endorsement deals from a wide
range of corporate sponsors, increased number of career opportunities. In fact, recent years have been
man
y specialist sports marketing firms being established to handle the growing demand. The launch of
Premier Leagues of many different sports by the governing bodies of the respective sport has contributed
significantly to the sports marketing business. The r
ecent scenario shows that the marketing and the
branding techniques equally contributing for the upliftment of sports in India as the athletes and the
Sports Federation of India are doing. Hosting some of the major international events like Commonwealth
Ga
mes, Cricket World Cup and now the U
-
17 FIFA World Cup has given a unique opportunity to create a
youth revolution in the country and take sports to the whole nation. In India, a country whose sporting
affections are yet to be seriously diverted towards ga
mes other than cricket, sports marketing has
contributed a lot and making constant efforts in creating people’s interest in other sports. Sports
marketing is largely older and developed in multisport nations like South Africa and Australia, while the
infra
structure in India is still found wanting. However, there is a lot activity seen now in India, with many
sports marketing companies and finding success.
