Even as the World Cup debacle lingers on everyone's mind, advertising agencies have welcomed Zee group chief Subhash Chandra's announcement of a parallel cricket league in the country.
"Everyone must cheer for it as Chandra is investing in what is in our blood," said Piyush Pandey, chairman and national creative director, Ogilvy India.
Pandey, a former Ranji Trophy player, went on to describe the announcement as an "investment in our future". The advertising business was the most affected by the national cricket team's dismal performance in the World Cup.
Advertisers, who had pumped in an estimated Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion), started questioning the efficacy of cricket as a marketing medium. SET India, the official broadcaster of the World Cup and Zee's rival, was flooded with requests for renegotiating the payments for advertising spots.
Pranesh Misra, president and COO, Lowe Lintas, agreed with Pandey. "That definitely looks promising. Since Zee has a bouquet of channels, Chandra can recover his investments," he said.
But there are others who are waiting before they openly admit to putting their money on Chandra's promise. Girish Rao, vice-president, sales and marketing, LG Electronics India, said it was still too early to comment as to whether or not they would consider this as an advertising option.
LG, according to some estimates, had invested Rs 50 crore in associating with the World Cup. "It is a new format which is still in an experimental stage," added Rao.
Tarun Rai, vice-president and general manager, JWT, said while it was still early days to comment upon the reaction from advertisers, it would also largely depend upon whether or not it generated enough TRPs.
"Domestic cricket is not a very exciting medium for advertisers in India, but since this is a different format, there may be some interest in the event," said Rai. He added that while the concept was interesting, advertisers would closely watch how it is implemented. "If both the event and the telecast become successful, then advertisers would sign on," said Rai.
Subhash Kamath, CEO, Bates David Enterprise, added that Twenty 20 cricket was still to catch on in India, both as a sport as well as a mass advertising medium.
"If this is done on a large scale and manages to generate considerable viewer excitement, the ad monies will follow," he said.
