Free Cheers, courtesy Mid-Day and Foster's

Mid-Day, in association with Foster's, will throw 100 parties in Mumbai homes on April 25, to coincide with the IPL finals

Sunday, April 25, will be an exception to the end-of-weekend blues, as the cricket-crazy audience gets hooked to watching the finals of IPL 3. However, going by Mid-Day's plans, that's not the only hangover to nurture the next day.

Mid-Day, in association with Foster's, will arrange 100 parties on the night of April 25 in Mumbai, to coincide with the clash of the IPL titans. The property - Foster's presents Mid-Day Happy Hours @ Home -- is targeted at corporate executives in the age group of 21-40 years, who are the primary consumers for both Mid-Day and Foster's.

Free Cheers, courtesy Mid-Day and Foster's

"To carry forward our property, Happy Hours @ Work, which we have been doing for past two years, we came up with the concept of Happy Hours @ Home. Through this, we are also capitalising on the IPL frenzy and driving our objective of creating more fun," Neville Bastawalla, marketing head at Mid-Day Infomedia, tells afaqs!.

To win a party at home, contestants can either register at select outlets of eateries such as Mainland China, TGI Friday, Machan, Golden Chariot or Jughead's; or send an SMS with name and address to 53650. A team from Mid-Day would visit the lucky winners' homes on April 25, bringing along booze, food and party-poppers.

"Introducing and conducting innovative, exciting brand properties is a great way to connect with our target audience," says Manajit Ghosal, MD and CEO, Mid-Day Infomedia.

"The biggest unique property of this project is that alcohol cannot be advertised; however, through our innovations, we are allowing Foster's and brands like it to connect with their customers. These companies have a die-hard need for sampling and keeping the brand top-of-mind, without regular advertising," says Bastawalla.

He is also exploring the opportunity to get the event featured in the Limca Book of Records. "A hundred parties in a day must be some kind of record," he says.

Mid-Day, which has editions in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, has roped in its own radio station, Radio One, to notch up the promotions for the contest. There are about 200 radio spots of 30 seconds each, running all day on the radio station. And once the party is over, Mid-Day will feature select homes in its Mumbai edition, via an Impact four-pager Jacket on April 29.

"So far, we have received over 2,000 SMSes," says Bastawalla, who is likely to spend the week planning the parties.

The company is also planning this activity in June, during the Soccer World Cup. "We'd do this activity in Mumbai; and probably try and explore the opportunity in the other cities where we operate," says Bastawalla.

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