MUMBAI: Adidas director of heartbeat sports in emerging markets Hrishikesh Shende has pointed to the lack of quality in football stadiums and training grounds in India being the biggest challenge in attracting more fans to watch games.
Shende delivered an address on the topic of ‘Putting the Fan Front and Centre’ at the Star Sports India Football Forum 2018, organized and curated by SportzPower on 30 November.
He opined that Indian Super League (ISL) teams needed to take a leaf out of the West by looking to invest in upgrading their infrastructure as well as taking full ownership of them, rather than training or playing in makeshift venues, which would signal greater professionalism and create more heroes.
The issue of infrastructure was also raised by Kerala Blasters team owner and IQuest CEO Nitin Kukreja earlier in the day as part of his address in which he elaborated on the differentiation of fan experience in the corporate boxes vis-Ã -vis the stands.
Shende focused on the matchday experience that fans must deserve to have on and off the field. On the field, he called for better hospitality packages, safety measures and giving away of quality merchandise by franchises. Off the field, the youth has a greater responsibility to engineer an upgrade of football culture in the country through a large number and variety of official fan pages and groups, besides fan clubs. Their interactivity with franchises on digital and OTT platforms holds the key in the latter’s success with their engagement strategies.
Amongst many examples, Shende lauded the #FanBannaPadega promotional campaign by Star Sports for the ISL this season. Television and hashtags on social media were used equally to heighten the interest for the game and not just the tournament.
Adidas itself has been at the forefront of sports marketing on social media in India. The brand’s success story in this regard came during the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in the country last year. It received as many as 56 million impressions and 62.2% brand searches across digital platforms according to Shende. During the same period, the global apparel giant had also joined hands with the ‘Mission XI Million’ (MMXI) project, the biggest school sports outreach programme by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The strategies and promotional campaigns positioned Adidas not just as a brand, but as a crusader for creating a vibrant football culture in all parts of the country. It also resulted in the German-owned company engaging with 10,000 fans online and a 12.8% purchase consideration amongst viewers.
Lastly, Shende threw light on Adidas’ partnership with Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich for initiatives in India such as the ‘Bayern Youth Cup’ which is into its sixth year at present. Terming it a success so far, he believed that it was a perfect fit for the ‘youth-oriented’ approach of the brand, resulting in its collaboration with the MMXI for contributing further to grassroots development of Indian football.
