



Why Hyundai hitched its wagon to the ICC as cricket aims to go global
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mumbai: Hyundai Motor Company has returned to the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a premier partner for two years after a decade-long hiatus. This time, the partnership is global, involving the company’s Seoul headquarters.
What drove India’s second-largest passenger carmaker to international cricket once again, with a big-bang campaign starring actor Shahrukh Khan? Virat Khullar, head of marketing at Hyundai Motor India, talks to Mint about wooing ‘Gen-MZ’ and what’s changed about cricket in the last decade. Edited excerpts:
We will be the premier partner for all ICC men’s cricket tournaments for two years. The idea is to connect with that ‘Gen-MZ’ [millennials and Gen Z] who have a love for cricket.
They are aspirational and very loyal to certain brands. Also, ICC is among the world’s most prestigious global sporting bodies. The idea of our 360° campaign is to bring fans closer to the game they love and create memorable Hyundai fan moments.
All our stakeholders are involved, including dealer-partners and employees. We are running a UGC [user generated content] campaign named the Sabse Bada Deewana [the biggest fan] contest and we will be a ‘co-powered’ sponsor on both connected TV (CTV) and linear TV with a JioStar partnership. More than 600 dealerships will have an ICC zone and a hero product.
Two things. First, cricket has become more global. The short format has done very well for the ICC while T20 was a very young format ten years back.
Second, cricket has also become more democratic and young. We are no longer dependent on 2-3 icons of the game. People are playing the game from much smaller towns, in far corners of the country, with both men and women winning accolades.
. Read on livemint.com