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Brett Lee bats for Tourism Australia
MUMBAI: Former Australian cricket player Brett Lee will help push Australian tourism in India as a part of the ‘Friends of Australia‘ advocacy program by Tourism Australia.
As part of his first stint as a Friend of Australia, Lee welcomed more than 70 of India‘s leading travel agents in Melbourne with a personalised tour of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and dinner at the cricketing stadium to share his career highlights. The agents participated in a six?day India Mega Familiarisation and Workshop (IMFW) being hosted in Australia until 6 September.
The programme was jointly hosted by Tourism Australia and Tourism Victoria and it was the second time this business event was held in Australia. India represents a major visitor market for Australia and Victoria in particular. The participants will also visit a number of other Australian states as part of the familiarisation visit.
Lee who recently retired from international cricket is a popular figure in Indian sports and culture, during both his cricketing career representing Australia and playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), in addition to his music pursuits and growing his Mewsic Foundation in India.
Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said, “India is a market that continues to deliver steady growth for Australian tourism and we are delighted to have someone of Brett Lee‘s calibre to further raise the profile of Australia in India and to help us best align to our year 2020 target to secure higher visitor growth from this rising market.”
India is currently Australia‘s 10th largest tourism market, worth Australian $0.8 billion in 2011 and delivering 152,000 visitors in the last financial year to 30 June 2012.
McEvoy said, “India has great long term potential for Australian tourism and we continue to support its development via our recently launched India Strategic 2020 Plan to grow the Indian visitor market to Australia. Brett Lee has a huge profile in India, but also possesses deep credibility by demonstrating a high level of engagement and embracing Indian culture, as a result of his stellar cricketing career and ambassadorial and charity work in country. We are thrilled to have his support to tell more Indians why they should visit Australia for their next long haul holiday.”
Lee said, “Having travelled to India some 60 plus times, I now look forward, as a Friend of Australia ambassador, to encouraging Indians to visit this wonderful country and experience all that Australia has to offer.”
The travel agents and tour operators participating in the familiarisation visit are among the top sellers of Australian holidays in Mumbai, Delhi and other major secondary cities in India. During their time in Australia they have already experienced Sydney and the Hunter Region (NSW), the Gold Coast (Queensland), Perth and Fremantle (Western Australia), and will now disperse throughout Victoria.
Following the Melbourne leg of their visit, where they are meeting with Australian tourism product suppliers, a number of agents will also visit The Whitsundays, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef (Queensland), Adelaide, the Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island (South Australia).
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Barista partners Ginny Weds Sunny 2 with mango campaign
Cafe chain blends cinema buzz with summer menu and 20 per cent offer.
MUMBAI: Love may brew slowly, but marketing clearly doesn’t especially when coffee meets cinema and mangoes steal the spotlight. Barista Coffee Company has partnered with the upcoming hindi film Ginny Weds Sunny 2 as its official beverage partner, in a move aimed at tapping into youth culture through entertainment-led engagement. The collaboration is not just a logo placement exercise. Instead, Barista is translating the film’s high-energy vibe into its cafés with a themed summer menu titled “Main Hoon Mango”, accompanied by a limited-period 20 per cent discount on combo offerings across outlets.
Actors Medha Shankr and Avinash Tiwary feature in the campaign, seen engaging with the mango-themed menu inside Barista cafés, a visual cue designed to blur the lines between reel and real-life consumption moments.
The strategy reflects a broader shift in how consumer brands are leveraging hindi film industry not just for visibility, but for immersive, on-ground engagement. By embedding the film’s narrative into its product experience, Barista is aiming to drive footfall, especially among younger audiences who increasingly seek experiential touchpoints over traditional advertising.
Barista Coffee Company CEO Rajat Agrawal described the partnership as both a branding and growth play, focused on expanding reach beyond the existing customer base and aligning with evolving consumer preferences.
The emphasis on a seasonal, flavour-led hook mango, one of India’s most culturally resonant ingredients adds a timely layer to the campaign, aligning with summer consumption trends while riding on the film’s promotional momentum.
For Barista, the move is part of a larger positioning shift. Rather than operating purely as a coffee retail chain, the brand is increasingly framing itself as a lifestyle destination, one that intersects with entertainment, conversation and shared experiences. By integrating cinema into its physical spaces, Barista is effectively turning cafés into micro-extensions of the film’s universe, where consumers do not just watch a story unfold but participate in it sip by sip.
The 20 per cent offer further nudges trial, lowering the barrier for consumers to engage with the themed menu while amplifying recall through a tangible incentive.
Brand-film collaborations are hardly new, but their execution is evolving. Where earlier partnerships relied on co-branded ads or product placements, the current playbook leans towards immersive storytelling and retail integration.
In that sense, Barista’s “Main Hoon Mango” push is less about promotion and more about participation inviting consumers to experience a slice of the film within a familiar, everyday setting. As the film industry continues to act as a cultural amplifier, such partnerships underline a growing truth, in today’s attention economy, it is not enough to be seen brands must be experienced.
And if that experience comes with a mango twist and a cinematic backdrop, all the better.
