MAM
BKT appoints Infectious Advertising as creative & digital partner
Tyre maker shifts focus to On-Highway segment with new brand narrative in India.
MUMBAI: BKT just rolled out a fresh creative tyre-kick because when your brand wants to hit the highway, you need an agency that can steer the story straight. Balkrishna Industries Limited (BKT), the Mumbai-based multinational tyre manufacturer renowned globally for its Off-Highway Tyres (OHT) in agriculture, mining, construction and infrastructure, has appointed Infectious Advertising as its integrated creative and digital agency for India.
The mandate covers both mainline and digital for BKT’s tyre business in the country, including its established OHT portfolio and the newly launched On-Highway tyre range. Infectious will craft a contemporary brand narrative that translates BKT’s global legacy of performance, quality and reliability into emotional resonance with Indian consumers.
Infectious Advertising co-founder & CEO Nisha Singhania said, “It’s a huge honour to be chosen as a partner as BKT moves into the On-Highway tyre space. This is a pivotal moment for the brand, and we’re thrilled to be chosen as a brand custodian at this inflection point.”
BKT chief marketing officer for India Mahesh Koppad added, “Following a rigorous multi-agency pitch process, we chose a partner that truly understands our ambition to transform BKT from a performance-led brand into a powerful purpose-led consumer brand. As we launch the new brand purpose ‘Elevate Your Drive’, our focus is on building deeper connections with consumers.”
Infectious Advertising co-founder & creative chairman Ramanuj Shastry noted, “We look forward to creating exciting work that helps the brand earn a place in the hearts of Indian consumers. We will use our integrated mainline and digital mandate to build a brand that is rooted in performance yet powered by culture.”
The appointment comes as BKT accelerates its push into the On-Highway segment in India, aiming to blend its international pedigree with local relevance. For a brand built on tough terrain, teaming up with Infectious feels like fitting the perfect tyre for the long Indian highway ahead gripping every turn with style and substance.
MAM
JioStar unveils ‘The Winning Edge’ playbook for live cricket advertisers
Data-led guide shows multi-screen, sponsorship strategies drive higher impact
MUMBAI: JioStar has launched ‘The Winning Edge’, a data-backed advertising playbook aimed at helping brands maximise impact on live cricket, positioning the sport as one of the most powerful marketing platforms in India.
Built using billions of impression-level data points across marquee cricket properties and validated through studies by Kantar, the playbook offers practical insights into how brands can drive measurable outcomes such as awareness, recall and purchase intent.
The findings make a strong case for live cricket as a growth engine for both new and established brands. According to the report, new advertisers on live cricket campaigns saw up to 6.9 times higher brand awareness and up to 10.8 times higher purchase intent compared to industry benchmarks. Established brands also recorded gains, with up to four times higher awareness and nearly five times higher purchase intent.
Speaking about the initiative, JioStar head of sales sports Anup Govindan said, “The Winning Edge, developed in partnership with Kantar, is built on rigorous, data-backed analysis of how real brands have performed on our platform across categories, objectives, budgets, formats and tournament phases. The study reaffirms that when it comes to driving real outcomes such as awareness, consideration and purchase intent, nothing matches the intensity, scale and impact of live cricket. The depth of attention and emotional engagement during live moments creates a multiplier effect that non-live environments simply cannot replicate.”
One of the standout insights is the advantage of multi-screen strategies. Campaigns that ran simultaneously across linear TV, connected TV and mobile delivered up to seven times higher purchase intent than single-platform campaigns, with minimal audience overlap ensuring incremental reach.
The playbook also highlights the impact of combining formats. Brands using both video and display formats saw up to 7.4 times higher brand awareness compared to those relying on video alone.
Sponsorships emerged as another key lever. Brands with formal sponsorship deals recorded up to nine times higher purchase intent and up to eight times higher ad awareness than those opting only for standard inventory buys. Adding pre and post live studio programming further boosted aided awareness by up to 2.1 times.
Crucially, the report identifies high-impact in-match moments such as Super 4s, Super 6s, DRS and fall of wickets as prime opportunities for brands. Campaigns aligned with these moments delivered uplifts of up to 10 times in awareness and up to seven times in recall, reinforcing the value of contextual advertising.
Echoing these findings, Kantar managing director and chief client & solutions officer Soumya Mohanty said, “Numerous Kantar Brand Lift Studies have demonstrated the incremental impact of live cricket advertising, with results consistently ranking at the top end of Kantar’s Brand Lift database. This playbook distils those insights into actionable media planning and creative recommendations to help advertisers drive stronger outcomes in live cricket environments.”
With live cricket continuing to draw massive, highly engaged audiences, JioStar is positioning ‘The Winning Edge’ as a blueprint for brands looking to move beyond visibility and towards measurable impact.
As the competition for consumer attention intensifies, the message is clear. In the world of sports marketing, playing smart may matter just as much as showing up.
