With the heightening Cricket fervor in the country, this season, Pan India GSM mobile service operator IDEA Cellular has stepped up the tempo by announcing a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the current IPL Champions, The Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad. The pan-India mobile operator, IDEA Cellular will be the Principal Partner of Deccan Chargers, starting with the third edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 Cricket Tournament, scheduled to start from March 2010.
The tie up is unique and significant as it brings together last season’s IPL Champions and IDEA, which believes in being a ‘Champion, Elevating and Humane’ brand. Further, IDEA is a strong telephony brand in the home of Deccan Chargers, with over 6 million subscribers in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
During the upcoming IPL 3 T-20 Tournament, all 27 players of Team Deccan Chargers, along with the Coach and support staff, will be seen sporting the IDEA Cellular logo on the front of their jersey and trousers. Team Captain Adam Gilchrist, Ace batsmen Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma, pace bowler Chaminda Vaas, and several other leading international players such as Ryan Harris, Dwyane Smith, Scott Styris, Kemar Roach and Fidel Edwards will wear Brand IDEA during all their sporting action during the forthcoming T20 championship.
Announcing the partnership, Mr. Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, IDEA Cellular, said, “The Cricket fever is rising and IPL 3 will only add more excitement to it, further electrifying the cricket frenzy nation. Going with our essential brand promise of bringing champion ideas through the power of mobility, we have partnered with the Champions of IPL, to offer cricket entertainment by the Deccan Chargers to our 60 million subscribers across the country. With IPL being back in the country, we are confident that this tie up will offer a huge platform to create visibility for Brand Idea through on-ground cricket action, and magnify the impact by reaching out to a larger audience through various media platforms.”
IDEA will launch a range of value added services on Voice, SMS and WAP portal, for 60 million subscribers, across the country to bring them closer to the Deccan Chargers. IDEA subscribers will get a chance to win tickets for the matches, autographed merchandize, participate in Meet & Greet with the players, download special player messages and many more exciting interactions with Team Deccan Chargers.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Dinesh Wadhwa, Chief Operating Officer, Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures Ltd., said, “IPL is the most followed sporting event in the country. The success of Deccan Chargers in the last tournament has further increased the fan-following of the team. Our partnership with IDEA Cellular will take the team to a higher plane of reach and visibility by connecting with millions of mobile consumers in the country. We hope to have a long-term, mutually beneficial association with IDEA.”
