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What's The Story?
On the opening day of the ISL 2017, defending champions ATK are set to lock horns with Kerala Blasters. Mumbai City FC, another high profile team have taken their sponsorship to a new height.
According to CEO Indranil Das Blah, the sponsorship for the side has increased by 50 per cent from last year. He also said that the club has sold its entire inventory, which generated a rise in the sponsorship amounts by a huge margin compared to last year. The Mumbai outfit has added a completely new bunch of sponsors this year.
The context
The teams with smaller market value have a Rs 50-60 million sponsorship range, whereas bigger teams like Mumbai, Kolkata with bigger value fetch a Rs 120-150 million sponsorship deal.
The heart of the matter
Ace Group has been the title sponsor for Mumbai City FC for the last three years, and SpiceJet is the back sponsor, whereas OkSir's logo will be on the chest. The team is looking to crack four more deals with four different sponsors. Mumbai City FC are looking to increase the number of sponsors through licensing deals, which will not be on the jerseys.
What’s next
The Ranbir Kapoor co-owned side is planning to go outdoor and focus on digital marketing as well. He believes that the young fans spend more time on the internet than on television, football is a global sport, and digitisation is the need of the hour. Mumbai will organise many fan engagement activities to make their fans involved with the team and they are also keeping the ticket prices on a lower side.
Author’s take
From this season onwards, ISL has moved to a five-month season from a three-month season affair. Sponsorships are key to keep the better players and the franchisee in the profitable zone. The more sponsors come, the better it is for the entire tournament.
