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