‘CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME’. It is easy to believe that the cliché applies to most companies entering the sports sponsorship arena, starting from their home country, before branching out to the world. However, if there is one Indian company that is taking a different route, it is Balkrishna Tires, better known as BKT Tires.
BKT has made headlines this year for rapidly widening its sports sponsorship gambit from Europe through activations with football leagues in France and Italy, followed by Australia’s premier T20 cricket tournament Big Bash League, and now to the Pro Kabaddi League in India.
The company’s decisions make for a compelling study. So SportzPower’s Dhruv Rupani took the opportunity to interview BKT’s joint managing director RAJIV PODDAR to explore them more in depth. Excerpts:
Being in the industry for more than 30 years now, when and how was the idea of sports sponsorship conceived at BKT?
It is a combination of internal and external factors. Internally, our corporate culture reeks of basic values which describe sport in its true essence whether it is competing fairly with the best, respecting opponents as well as teammates, our philosophy of ‘Growing Together’, and so on.
Externally, we have observed that sports is one of the best tools for connecting not just with consumers, but all our stakeholders in any part of the world. So we balanced these aspects with our core competency of making off-the-highway tires by first foraying into the United States in 2013 in the form of the Monster Jam tournament, which has developed an incredible fan base.
Before the sponsorship boom this year, we have also been actively involved in smaller events such as the World Ploughing Championship. We at BKT, would like to call ourselves ‘an MNC which is now coming in India’ due to our history of being an export-oriented firm. 90-95% of our products are sold in overseas nations through our chain of suppliers and distributors that work alongside our subsidiaries.
BKT is more confident now of progressing in the Indian market too due to the increase in our production capacity in Bhuj.
BKT is currently associated with Football in Europe, Motorsport in the US, Cricket in Australia and Kabaddi in India. Could you elaborate on the strategies that went behind each of these sponsorship decisions? How have these partnerships progressed so far as per the company’s expectations?
For us at BKT, the size of the event doesn’t matter as much as maybe perceived. Although each of the competitions have been approached with a different strategy, the major appealing factor is basically the same: The event must be popular with our target audience in the market.
At present, it is too early to comment on expectations. Yet we are extremely pleased with our venture in the United States as Monster Jam has grown not just in popularity but stature as well in the last five years. It has become a massive event now as it has forayed into other regions such as Latin America and Australia on an annual basis.
Talking about football in Italy and France, ever since the sponsorships were declared this summer, the response from startups in these countries especially related to the game has been outstanding towards us. We won’t be short of getting any assistance there as we have also taken initiatives such as ‘meet and greet’ to develop a long-lasting relationship with our stakeholders.
When it comes to the Big Bash League, cricket remains Australia’s top sport despite Cricket Australia’s recent administrative troubles and the official numbers show it as well. The board has done well to be extremely supportive to us and will do what it takes to make the tournament a festival once again. It will be taking place next month, so the results are yet to be seen but we remain positive.
The statement we want to make is that we are ready to take on the best players in the overseas markets.We at BKT are interested in growing in even if it is a massive challenge. Michelin in France is one such example.
With the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), our rationale was that we wanted a non-urban sport and tournament since the heart of our Indian operations lies in the rural regions. So we decided to go local and focus on those places where there is a scope of growth. This is why we virtually hand-picked seven out of the 12 teams after much research and deliberation, namely Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Tamil Thalaivas, Telugu Titans, U.P. Yoddha, Bengaluru Bulls and Haryana Steelers.
It is much easier to gauge PKL success since we have been relatively more hands-on with executing our marketing strategies. Farming is very dear to us at BKT and we have had people appreciating our efforts to bring them to watch matches at the kabaddi venues for the first time in their lives from Tamil Nadu (Chennai) to Uttar Pradesh (Noida).
The love for the game in areas such as North India and Gujarat reflects our decision and its timing. Our marketing team’s efforts of focusing on word-of-mouth and tagline of ‘Desh Ki Dharti Se Juda’ has worked wonders more so since we are into the niche product category.
We see a long-term association which will last beyond this season for sure.
Speaking of farmers, was supporting them for charity a part of the Big Bash deal or an add-on to it? Are there any other similar initiatives in other sports that BKT has taken up?
Definitely it is an add-on and our call since we value corporate social responsibility (CSR) whether it is in sports or any other form of sponsorship and associations.
There has been a drought in Australia in the last 12 months much to our surprise. This made us believe that our sponsorship isn’t just about sport, it is about humanity too and that made us decide to donate 60000 AUD ($43000 approx) to several Australian charities involved in helping struggling farmers.
We are also fortunate to have Cricket Australia’s support in this regard. The board has also found our move inspiring as well.
As of now, we don’t have similar initiatives in other sports. However, in India itself, we already have charitable causes to participate in such as building hospitals in the rural areas where our tires are manufactured. We have also taken up providing 100,000 students for their mid-day meals free of charge in association with Bengaluru-based NGO Akshay Patra Foundation.
BKT became the first Indian company to sponsor an overseas football competition of the repute of Coupe de la Ligue. Was the decision influenced largely by France’s FIFA World Cup win? What was the potential that BKT saw in the competition for this decision to be taken?
It was a huge co-incidence that France won the FIFA World Cup this year at the time when we were in the final stages of confirming the Coupe de la Ligue deal. So it wasn’t an influencing factor as such. Besides, things change quickly in sport and business so the relevance of the World Cup win won’t count for much in the long run when it comes to our deal.
BKT’s USP lies in being different while following our values. Hence, venturing into a second-division French league was never a concern for us as long as the tournament could help us establish a strong market presence in the country. And again, football continues to be the biggest sport in France, irrespective of the performances of the national team. The culture matters more, which made us see the potential.
Please shed some light on your recently announced partnership with IMG-Reliance.
Our partnership with IMG-Reliance is a natural progression for us to succeed in the Indian market. It is one of the biggest sports marketing companies in the country. Besides that, it has the experience and know-how of how the sports industry works in India. So it was a given to associate with them at some stage or the other.
IMG-Reliance will be assisting us in future sports sponsorship opportunities in India and specifically, cricketing ones in overseas countries except Australia. This is because Havas Sports and Entertainment of Italy is our global sports management partner and has played an exceptional role in our success so far.
For us at BKT, giving value to our stakeholders is essential in relationship building with them, which would determine our next course of action. More than planning, it is accurate, careful market research and going with the flow that matters more to us.
If Canada hosts the 2026 Winter Olympics for example, how much would such a development prompt BKT to sponsor sports in the country seeing that there is a subsidiary in Toronto? Despite Canada being a sports friendly nation, why hasn’t BKT sponsored there yet?
We are considering that prospect as we are open to suggestions positively. At present, we don’t think there is a rush as such. If it turns out to be a natural fit, BKT will give it a shot. However, markets like Canada are yet a work in progress and it is about taking one step at a time.