Indiantelevision.com Team

(15 January 2007 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Neo Sports has announced that Perfetti Van Melle has been signed on as the first anchor broadcast sponsor for the BCCI cricket that is being played in India till 2010. Neo Sports will telecast the series live.

Confirming the deal, Neo Sports Broadcast Pvt Ltd chief executive officer Shashi Kalathil said, "We are delighted to announce Perfetti as our 1st Anchor Sponsor. They are brand prolific, aggressive and creative marketers. We see this as significant market expansion activity outside the sectors that have traditionally invested large amounts in a sustained fashion on Cricket. The value that Perfetti evidently saw in our anchor construct went a long way in their coming on board."

In addition, Neo Sports is looking at freezing for anchor partners across two single-sector companies and two multi sector or corporate entities. In exchange for the commitment, Neo plans to not only offer spots but also allow them to be associated with branded properties - such as extra cover, man of the match, turning point, master blaster and fall of wickets among others, informs an official release.

Kalathil also acknowledged the contribution of the media agency Maxus in shepherding this media deal to productive conclusion. "Media agencies have traditionally tended to bulk discount big buys, this however, is simply not the anchor construct, which is less deal based and more value enhancing, it took foresight and understanding to break the rules."

Maxus India MD Ajit Varghese said, "We, at Maxus, are always open to explore and discover new ways of building win-win partnership between client and media owners. Probably a first of its kind in the last decade, we have taken a forward position on media buy for the next 4 years. This we believe will help not only counter but also take advantage of the changing media landscape. We also believe that this would help brands realize scale of India cricket in advance and use it in a more strategic sense."

Perfetti Van Melle head marketing Sameer Suneja said, "Cricket has always been a strategic investment for us and this partnership will help us take a long term stake in what is possibly the most effective media vehicle in India - International Cricket played by India at home. With this tie up we hope to build creative brand associations and properties on Cricket on a sustained basis."