From cheers to cha ching Bigcity bets on Fanforward for sports ROI

MUMBAI: Cricket season has never lacked noise, but proof has always been quieter. With the T20 World Cup and IPL looming large, Bigcity Promotions has launched Fanforward, a new sports marketing platform that promises to answer the question brands dread most after match day: what did we actually get back?

Positioned as a first-of-its-kind solution, Fanforward is built to help brands move beyond reach and impressions, translating sponsorship and advertising spends into measurable outcomes. For marketers juggling compressed timelines, scattered activation tools and an ocean of distracted fans, the platform aims to simplify execution while sharpening accountability.

At its core, Fanforward brings sports-led engagement formats, rewards integration and campaign measurement into a single system. Brands can build interactive experiences around live sporting moments and track them against clear business metrics, including sales impact, revenue generated, engagement levels, visibility and first-party data opt-ins. The intent is to convert passive viewers into active participants, and fleeting attention into tangible action.

The platform leans heavily on Bigcity’s track record, drawing on over 18 years of running large-scale, cricket-linked campaigns. That experience has shaped Fanforward to handle peak-season pressures, reduce reliance on multiple partners and offer a clearer line of sight from fan engagement to commercial returns.

“Sports marketing today is high-stakes and high-spend, but clarity on outcomes often arrives too late, if at all,” said Bigcity Promotions co-founder Vikas Shah. He noted that Fanforward is designed to inject speed and precision into a space long plagued by fragmentation, allowing brands to treat cricket season not as a branding ritual, but as a measurable growth window.

As cricket once again takes centre stage, Fanforward enters the field with a straightforward proposition, if fans are already watching, brands should know exactly what the applause is worth.