CRICKET FEVER MOUNTING HIGH

The all new Pepsi packaging has become a talk of the town. Seeing advertisements on the television, billboards or hearing them on our favorite radio stations has become whether we like it or not part of our daily life. Being exposed to numerous advertisements do affect our behavior and the way we interact with each other, therefore I think the most of us would strongly agree with the above statement. We do live in a material world and there’s not much we can do about it. And as we transit from the century's first decade to its second, the Indian Consumer is firmly in the spotlight. Everything else in the market place is governed by his or her behaviour and how to best monetise that. Increasingly, it is the consumer who's calling the shots.

With just few days left for the most awaited event- Cricket World Cup 2011 to kickstart, consumers are being bombarded with tons of advertisements.The 90-day frenzy of the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup will see brands adding to the high profile noise. Every sponsor on the Cricket World Cup is talking “360-degree” brand activity. Sponsor Pepsi, besides the TV advertising taglined “Change the Game” — with Dhoni’s ‘helicopter shot’ and Harbajan Singh’s ‘doosra’ ads on air and another three to come up — has a high decibel contest,  “Pepsi Change the Game 11”, that will take 11 winners to live CWC matches. MTV is covering the contest and will broadcast it like a reality show. Lays have introduced six new flavours just for the CWC. Every major CWC sponsor is holding contests that will culminate in winners being taken for live matches.

The big brands are cashing on through these events by triggering the consumer's psychology and making gold for themselves. With ad companies spending crores in marketing their product, their sole aim is to increase their sales and create a bridge between the brand and the potential consumers.

Well, whatever these commercials have to promise to the king of the century, I only hope that our players perform well in the event and bring us the "CUP" back home. This is all, we Indians aspire for.