Ogilvy wins the toss for IPL pitch

Ogilvy has won the creative pitch for BCCI’s Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, which will take place in April. The other participants in the pitch were Leo Burnett and JWT. Considered a prestigious account because of the stakes involved, the pitch process required all the agencies to come up with a series of innovative ideas to win the pitch and churn out strategies to give IPL instant recognition, recall and hype. The size of the business is around Rs 25 crore.

Ogilvy will soon begin work on the IPL campaign, once its discussion with the IPL board is done. Its mandate is clear – put the focus on IPL.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and national creative director, Ogilvy, India & South Asia, says, “The biggest task is to build the IPL brand. The ambition is to convert IPL into one of the biggest cricket brands not just in India, but across the world.” Ogilvy will use multiple innovative ideas and formats in the cities where the league matches will be held. The media duties for IPL will be handled by GroupM.

The IPL tournament, featuring eight teams, begins on April 18. The top two sides in the tournament will qualify for an international Champions Twenty20 League, which will be held in October 2008.