Havas Media Group India relaunches sports and sponsorship vertical Havas Sports & Entertainment
Havas Media Group India has announced the relaunch of its sports and sponsorship vertical, Havas Sports & Entertainment. Additionally, Havas Sports & Entertainment will collaborate with Shobiz Havas, the communication agency of the Havas Group India. According to the agency, this will bolster the offerings of Havas Sports and Entertainment in driving seamless, innovative, and integrated brand solutions and strategies. The association of Shobiz Havas will expand the brand experience and experiential communications solutions in the on-ground space.
Havas Sports & Entertainment India has facilitated a two-year association between Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Swiggy Instamart, as the official on-ground partner for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and 2023. As per Havas, this association is in line with the agency’s commitment towards the evolving sports genre in India and not just in cricket. With the growth in other sporting leagues, increase in investments and commercials, Havas Sports & Entertainment will have a fresh approach towards sporting events across football, kabaddi, kho-kho, badminton and more.
The relaunch of Havas Sports and Entertainment comes at a significant time, Rana Barua, group CEO, Havas Group India, stated. “The sports advertising market in India is estimated to amount to more than Rs 8,000 crore. The sports genre will grow, giving advertisers across sectors various opportunities to create long term value. We look forward to further consolidating our position in the sports and experiential market by forging many more strategic partnerships and offering integrated and meaningful solutions,” he added.
For Ashish Lingamneni, head of brand, Swiggy, over the years, the association with Indian Premier League (IPL) has helped establish the fact that food and cricket go hand-in-hand. “The association brings with it the IPL fandom and reach to elevate the match viewing experience of viewers. It will additionally help us drive campaigns, varied consumer engagement, and business offerings at scale,” he remarked.
The Group claims that besides sports engagement, the agency will be investing in research on consumer behaviour, interests, and consumption, such as the research conducted last year, ‘HI-CRICKET’ – a proprietary study on the impact of IPL 2021 in influencing brand health metrics across categories.
Havas Sports and Entertainment’s resurgence comes on the heels of a revamped team and expertise, and in line with Havas Group’s recent launch of a virtual village in the metaverse – The Sandbox video game, Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India, said. “R. Venkatasubramanian, president and national head, investments, HMG India, will continue to invest in the vertical with a team who have the knowledge and expertise in marketing and branding activities through consultancy, partnerships, activations and associations. We look forward to collaborating with traditional and digital media partners, platforms and content creators to offer an immersive and augmented experience and help brands create a connection with the sports and gaming community,” he added.
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