Sangeeta Tanwar
Media

Neo Cricket gets Harbhajan Singh to promote six months' non-stop cricket

Singh will spearhead the brand campaign -- titled Dekh Lega India -- to promote six months of non-stop cricket on the channel

Neo Sports has roped in Indian cricketer, Harbhajan Singh as brand ambassador to spearhead its campaign for the ongoing cricketing season on Neo Cricket.

Beginning with the inaugural Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Corporate Trophy in September, the channel will play host to a number of international and domestic tournaments featuring India.

Sources close to the organisation confirmed the news of Singh being roped in to spearhead the channel's brand campaign, Dekh Lega India.

Neo Cricket gets Harbhajan Singh to promote six months' non-stop cricket
Sharing the details of the new campaign, Abhishek Verma, head, marketing and communications, Neo Cricket, says, "To promote six months' heavy cricket season on Neo Cricket, we are putting together an equally charged-up marketing campaign. We began promoting the upcoming series by coming out with the first phase of our communication plan, consisting of a print campaign. Now, the second leg of promotions has begun with the theme, Dekh Lega India."

The channel has earmarked advertising spends in the range of Rs 3-4 crore for creating buzz around its cricketing season.

Neo Cricket gets Harbhajan Singh to promote six months' non-stop cricket
The first phase of the campaign, carried in various national and regional dailies, impressed upon viewers that the heavy dose of cricket on Neo Cricket will make changing channels impossible. According to Verma, the phrase and the theme, Dekh Lega India will be the channel's tagline for the next six months.

The campaign follows the concept of dual communication. It signifies two things – the audience will be watching Neo Cricket; and the country will challenge and beat competing nations at the game of cricket.

Taking the communication beyond television sets, the channel has put together an anthem with the title, Dekh Lega India. With lyrics by Prasoon Joshi and music by Aadesh Srivastava, the song has been rendered by Kailash Kher.

The creative agency for Neo Cricket is McCann Erickson, which also explains Joshi, head, McCann Erickson India contributing to the lyrics. The channel plans to run the song in leading multiplex chains in the metros.

Verma informs that work is also in progress for a TV commercial, wherein a montage of winning moments of Indian cricket will be put together to bring out the exuberance and excitement around the sport; thus, emphasising the fact that there is no excuse to miss six months of cricketing action.

It is learnt that the brand ambassador, Singh will spearhead the channel's publicity activities, including events, on-ground activities and special presence in on-air shows on the channel.

Neo Cricket is also experimenting with the look and feel of its current shows and is preparing to launch, a new, yet untitled, cricket show in magazine format.

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