The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s marketing committee hosted a conclave ‘Masterminds’ to discuss the business of sports on September 10 at a city hotel. My Kolkata was the digital media partner for the event.
The summit witnessed the participation of eminent masterminds who created brand value for various sports — Sundar Raman (former COO, IPL); Joy Bhattacharya (CEO, Professional Volleyball League and former COO, Kolkata Knight Riders); Joseph Eapen (CEO, MyGov.In); Sunando Dhar (deputy secretary general, AIFF); Yatneesh Pandey (VP, marketing, GreenPly); Farzaan Heerjee (head, sports & protocol, Tata Steel); Joydeep Karmakar, Olympian shooter; Sumedh Patodia, team director, Kolkata Thunderbolts; and others.
The conclave focus
Abraham G. Stephanos, president-designate, BCC&I, and managing director, Tata Steel Downstream Products Limited said the sports industry has changed fundamentally in India over the past 20 years, especially in India. "Today, sports is not just an active platform for marketing and creating branding opportunities for corporates investing in sports, but also creating value for fans across the country," he said in his opening address.
Olympian Joydeep Karmakar and Mukul Choudhari, chief of sports centres, Tata Steel and CEO—Jamshedpur Football Club, shared how major developments can be brought to the sports industry in India through branding and marketing strategies.
Olympian Joydeep Karmakar addresses the audience. Amit Datta
“I am a hardcore athlete. But in my sport, we have hardly seen sponsors in our life. There are also no leagues. This is one of the best performing sports in India that brings medals. But there is a lack of monetisation and sponsors. So today I am hopeful that the minds here will find a solution for these sports that are yet to be monetised,” Karmakar said.
Conversation on strategies and marketing
The conclave further moved on to one-on-one discussions.
Joy Bhattacharya and Sundar Raman discussed responsible advertising, players as brands, and brand building in sports and restructuring marketing strategies over the years, especially in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“In earlier days, when IPL was only on pen and paper, I was in conversation with the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) on how this can be a million-dollar property but little did I realise that it was a million-dollar property. I was offered to lead and I spent more than 10 years here. It was odd to see that the players were getting less for playing the game but more for starring between the overs. We had to structure that model and get the team brands so that the players could focus more on the game,” said Sundar Raman, the former COO of IPL.
Joy Bhattacharya (left) in conversation with Sundar Raman. Amit Datta
The discussion further focused on the games that are not very popular among the audience. Explaining why popular sports gain popularity, Bhattacharya said a game like cricket or football is thrilling to watch on TV. Other games need to be made watchable on the television to restructure how viewers perceive it. He focused on how branding plays a very important role here because the presentation of the game is important. He also shared how the Prime Volleyball League was turned into an entertaining and engaging sport on television.
Panel discussion
A panel discussion was held with Amaan Khan, global vice-president, Unilever; Moitrayee Dutta, head of advertising and media planning, Amul; Arunabha Banerjee, director, Alliance Broadband, Sunando Dhar, deputy secretary general, AIFF; and Sumedh Patodia, team director, Kolkata Thunderbolts.
Panel discussion with (L-R) Moitrayee Dutta, Amaan Khan, Sumedh Patodia, Chandradeep Mitra, Arunabha Banerjee and Sunando Dhar. Amit Datta
The panel was moderated by Chandradeep Mitra, strategy coach and mentor for Start Ups & Entrepreneurs, branding & innovation consultant.
The discussion focused on each speakerֹ’s expertise in their respective field of work, changing faces of communication, changing faces of brands, influencer marketing, millennial consumers etc.
Sumit Lai Roy anchored the conclave Amit Datta
Engrossing quiz, games and Q&A for the audience
The conclave was anchored by Sumit Lai Roy, founder and director, UnivBrands who engaged the audience through quizzes and interactive games. A question-answer session followed after each address and discussion. The conclave was attended by various corporate leaders.
