LG Electronics to launch two cricket academies

To further its association with cricket, LG is planning to launch two cricket academies in India. When pressed for more details, Salil Kapoor, head, marketing, LG Electronics, said that the academies will start functioning this year, but on matters whether BCCI too would be involved in the venture, Kapoor maintained silence.

What, of course, the company was more excited to talk about was the 11 city 'Live the Game' promotional tour for ICC Champions Trophy 2004. LG cricket ambassadors - the Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Krish Srikanth and Yuvraj Singh flagged off the event on Friday. The tour will travel across all major towns - Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Bhopal.

The global sponsor for the ICC, LG has a total budget of Rs 50 crore allocated for cricket promotions this calendar year. Out of this, 45 per cent or Rs 22.4 crore will be the budget for the multi-city tours.

Elaborating on his association with ‘Live the Game' tour on behalf of the other captains, Ganguly said, "It is a privilege for me to be a part of this Tour - ‘Live the Game'. It is this very spirit that encourages future - the upcoming talent from different parts of the nation. I congratulate LG Electronics for its efforts. On behalf of the entire cricket nation, I wish LG Electronics all the very best in its endeavour, and so do all my fellow cricket captains".

The Live the Game tour is a departure from the usual fare of promotions that LG has so far conceived. "Firstly, this time round we are not focusing on the mainstream media to promote the ICC Championships Trophy and secondly, we have decided to concentrate on smaller towns," says Kapoor.

The objective of this nature of promotion is to include the masses and convert the event into an occasion that the masses connect with. "This is for the first time that LG is taking the ICC Champions Trophy - 2004 within the close reach of millions of passionate cricket fans across the country. We, for example, would be taking the cricketers to schools in these small towns, so that children can get a first hand view of the cricketers they are so crazy about," explains Kapoor.

That LG gets a 'great brand recall' out of these promotions is obvious. "Our efforts are aimed at not only reinforcing our commitment to cricket but also reiterating the company's brand leadership, brand image and its visibility across India. To a great extent, we have been successful in developing a strong association with this game, which is a religion in India."

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