Okay, I know that it has taken decades for F1 to arrive in India, and the F1 fans are scurrying for tickets from all over India. The VIP seats are already taken, thanks to our influential and attention-hungry political and business class. I read that the hotels in Noida have quadrupled their tariffs in F1 anticipation. That brings me to two very interesting questions a) Is F1 the new cricket of India? b) Is F1 the next big marketing platform? It’s almost a yes for both. Airtel is the sponsor of F1, Vodafone is doing big print adverts nowadays, and given the global nature of sport (It’s telecast live in almost every country on this planet) it’s a unique opportunity for Indian brand going global such as Mahindra, Airtel, Tata, etc. More than that, given the glamorous nature of sport, it’s a great marketing vehicle for high-end brands that often lack platforms to put their labels on. Cricket is mass-drive, hockey is forgotten, football doesn’t exist, and Polo is too exquisite. F1 is just the right platform to target the burgeoning middle class and the affluent. I’d be hoping to see luxury brands make the most of Indian F1.
.jpg)
The race has got the right kind of hype already. The print media is creating a hype, digital is somewhat underutilized, TV will take some time coming. F1 has cult following in India. Either there are crazy fans or those who can confuse pit with Pitt (Brad). What augurs well for Indians is that now we have an Indian brand that has already had a podium finish. Karthikeyan has been an F1 driver and it seems Chandok will go a long way too. I won’t be surprised if there’s a prodigious talent karting somewhere in Bangalore right now.
The first year is going to be a bit lukewarm on the advertising front but I see F1 going big in the coming years as a marketing platform. It sounds good. I can’t help asking myself when will India host a tennis grand slam? It will make big bucks for sure. Marketing & Advertising has never been so exciting. Thanks Bernie!
September 14, 2011 at 4:36 pm
I am rather surprised at the interest that the first F1 event in India is generating. I was trying to analyse why other sports barring Cricket do not get this sort of attention. Is it perhaps to do with us Indians relying more on skill rather than on stamina and strength?
We have started doing well in shooting at the Olympics and Asian Games because it is a game of skill. Golf requires a great deal of skill and we do have some golfers of international repute. Cricket is more of skill than stamina and strength so we do manage. F1 too requires a lot of skill so i am sure we will get a lot of new talent in this field.
Hockey, Football , Weight Lifting, Wrestling, Athletics and other such sports require a great deal of stamina and strength, departments where we lack, so our poor performance.
The whole thing boils down to diet. With the measly budget being allocated by the Government to these sports, the players often have to spend from their pocket to have three square meals. Additional diet is out of the question. Sponsors have to come forward to take on the responsibility for different sports and provide good facilities and incentives to sportsmen if we want to do well in the other sports. Will anyone bell the cat?
September 14, 2011 at 4:46 pm
That’s a very interesting comparison between skill and strength. I agree that Indians are usually not as well-built as their counterparts. Even in cricket, Australians & South Africans are usually better-toned that their Indian counterparts. Fitness is an issue in cricket as well. Look at Munaf Patel, Yuvraj Singh, RP SIngh. Our fast bowlers can’t bowl at more than 130 kph.
Having said that, I do hope that someday our management/federation will wake up and work towards building a stronger system and meal for players. For us to do better in Olympics or football, we have to fix the complete system from creating grounds for honing athletes at young age, world-class academies and a sports culture. It’s sad that we lack in everything apart from cricket as our economy is ready to go north in any sport that it embraces.