VGC to design for ICL

The Essel Group venture, Indian Cricket League (ICL), has appointed Vyas Gianetti Creative (VGC) its brand identity design partner. The agency is to look into every aspect, right from defining the brand and what it stands for, to crafting the corporate logo and even the individual team identities. The agency will also look after the design of mascots, collateral and merchandise.

Gaurav Seth, head, marketing and communication, ICL, says, “This is the first time that a concentrated effort to promote domestic cricket will be made. VGC brings expertise to the table that will help ICL carry forward its plans of launching a design appealing to modern India, and to building an immediate connect with consumers.”

Atul Hegde, COO, VGC, says, “The responsibility of creating a comprehensive brand identity for a sports brand such as ICL gives us an opportunity to create something that has never been attempted in this space. With this partnership with ICL, we are looking forward to building a world class sports brand.”

Talking about facing competition from BCCI, in terms of building a brand, Seth says, “Apart from having the first mover advantage, ICL has a lot of advantages. BCCI has succeeded in building a single brand in 78 years; we shall set standards that will get others to follow us.”

Essel Group launched ICL in April this year with an investment of Rs 100 crore. This tournament will provide exclusive content for the group’s sports channel, Zee Sports, and also for Ten Sports, in which the group has a 50 per cent stake. The inaugural edition of the league, which will be based on a 20-20 format, kicks off in November with the participation of six city teams; ICL has announced prize money of US$ 1 million for the winning team. The league will also include former Indian cricketers.

In competition with ICL, BCCI announced the launch of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last month, which will give away US$ 3 million in prize money to the winning team.