Sign up for afaqs! Newsletters
Commonwealth Youth Games empanels three agencies
The advertising spend is around Rs 8 crore
The third edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games will be held in Pune in October this year. The youth games will be a precursor to the mega Commonwealth Games that are scheduled to be held in Delhi in 2010. Young athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations will participate in the October games.
The organising committee of the games has empanelled three advertising agencies to promote the games on a national scale in India. These agencies include Mercantile Advertising and Clear Channel Advertising, both in Mumbai, and Xebec Advertising in Pune. The advertising spend is around Rs 8 crore.
Mercantile Advertising has already launched the Volunteer Programme Campaign for the games. The campaign invites Pune residents to register as volunteers for the games. The Commonwealth Youth Games will hire 8,000-10,000 volunteers by October. The volunteers will be trained to help in the functioning of games in 19-20 categories. Some of the functional areas include hospitality, accommodation, ticketing, health and doping control.
The social and environmental campaign is likely to start in June. Countdown campaigns for 100 days and 50 days will follow the social and environmental campaign. Then there will be a campaign for the merchandising programme of the games. The promotional campaign will promote the Youth Baton Relay, which forms an integral part of the initial phase of the games.
Commenting on the Volunteeer Programme Campaign, Neha Shah, director, Mercantile Advertising, says, “The idea was to infuse a sense of pride amongst Puneites to come forward and contribute to their city in its moment of glory. We have used people from all walks of life in Pune, with each of them expressing their reasons for coming forward to volunteer. The volunteers are collectively called Team Pune because they will work together as a team and ensure a world class event.”
The media mix for the campaign includes print, radio, hoardings, Internet and in-store branding, or OOH.
The Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the games. The games include nine sporting categories: athletics, badminton, boxing, shooting, tennis, weightlifting, table tennis, swimming and wrestling.