India has proved itself in the field of sports, not only in Cricket but also in Badminton, Tennis, Football, Kabbadi and Hockey. The credit goes to the players as well as the Sports Federation of India. However, little do people realize that in order to keep this trend going, a country needs to continuously look for young and budding talent. It has been seen that the Youth of India is driven very strongly towards Cricket, however when it comes to other sports, they do not have the same drive. Keeping this in mind, media nowadays is playing a very significant role in driving the Youth of India to pursue other sports as well.

Following are some of the Marketing and Branding Techniques which have come a long way in contributing to the Sports Industry.

1. New and Upcoming Technological Devices : In order to build popularity and showcase the success of a particular sport, a person not only needs that zeal but also needs an arena which could drive him towards the goal. Keeping this in mind, marketers and brand specialist are investing a lot of money and time in new and advanced technologies where they can advertise the popularity of the sports. Since the youth of India are so keen on mobile technology, therefore they have hit the bull’s eye by targeting the “second screen”. New and advanced apps have been built which can be used to book tickets, browse through the scores and also view live matches! Marketers are also coming up with engaging ways such as surveys, and competition which keep increasing the attention span.

2. Publicity and Advertisement : Media has a very strong influence on the mind and attitude of the youth. Just like print media made cricket a very popular game, Social Media revolution is opening up similar interest in other sports, the best example being the Pro Kabaddi League. New Age branding techniques are helping peak the interest of youth in other sports thus helping surge in more investments leading to better showcasing and viewer experience. All falls into place! In the past, established brands like Pepsi and Hero have proven their success in engaging interest towards Football and just recently Celebrities like Salman Khan have been applauded for their contribution to PKL brand.

3. Using Technology for Sponsorship and Amalgamation : Sponsorship plays a very important role in making a sport popular; It does not only mean attaching its brand or logo in the stadium but also building an association with the players and the audience. Premium mobile phone provider Vodaphone has been the official sponsor for Badminton and with the success of Sania Nehwal in the recent World Badminton League has brought about greater zeal in the youth of today. Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopannai added yet another jewel to the Indian Crown of Tennis and then were sponsored by Micromax.

4. Internationalization of the Home Ground Team : India is an enormous country and Indians are present all over the world. The success of any sport in India is cherished even by NRI and Indians settled in other parts of the world. Apart from spreading the message in our home grounds, media has been successful in making off beat games popular in faraway land as well. The Indian Gymkhana Club in UK is a very good example of patronizing Indian sports such as Hockey and Football. They have very loyal sponsors such as Passage to India. This makes Indian sports such as Hockey’s presence more significant all over the world.