Star Sports ropes in Mahendra Singh Dhoni as brand ambassador to endorse football
Yes...Guess who is the biggest star signing in this season's Barclay's Premier League? Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Broadcaster Star Sports has roped in the Indian cricket captain as brand ambassador to endorse the English club football championship, the world's biggest sports league, in India in the 2013-14 season.
"The aim to associate with MS Dhoni is to introduce, invite and excite sports fans who consume a lot of cricket to sample soccer properties like Barclay's Premier League and expanding their fan base," Vijay Rajput, COO at ESPN Software India, said. Star Sports will kick off its campaign featuring Dhoni on August 11, one week before the start of 2013-14 season, in a bid to boost the appeal of soccer in a cricket-crazy country.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been roped in as a brand ambassador to promote the English Premier League (EPL) on STAR Sports.
"A keen soccer enthusiast and a Manchester United fan, MS Dhoni will invite all sports fans to 'Join the Game' in a clutter breaking integrated marketing campaign which will be launched early next week. The campaign will have a strong on-air and digital media thrust," the channel said in a release.
The campaign will portray Dhoni as an ardent soccer fan and will showcase how the cricketer is always glued to the television set, watching EPL every weekend while his close ones run around searching for him.
"I am an avid EPL fan and I just played out a real situation in front of the camera. If I am not busy with cricket, I am always busy with EPL during week-ends. Soccer is extremely exciting and very close to my heart. I was a goal keeper during my school days. Even today, I play soccer as a warm up game ahead of key cricket matches," said Dhoni.
"I feel that Indian sports fans should consume different types of sports. I want them to be passionate about cricket as they are, but at the same time one needs to give healthy respect for other disciplines as well."
"This STAR Sports initiative to provide soccer commentary now in Hindi will go a long way in making soccer exciting to watch and comprehend for new audiences across the nation. Similar efforts should be done to promote other sports as well," he added.
Star Sports has taken a number of initiatives this year to capture the ever-increasing football lover youth community of the country. Earlier they had announced that apart from the regular English commentary, Hindi commentary will also be available for the first time for over 100 live matches across the season.
"We are delighted to have MS Dhoni come on board as the brand ambassador for EPL in the country. We are targeting to expand the fan base of EPL in India by leveraging the iconic power and fan following of MS Dhoni to attract cricket fans to sample EPL," said Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd.
Dhoni's love for football is not something new, as widespread media reports indicated that he had regular playing sessions well after his teenage years in Kharagpur, before he had turned a professional cricketer.
"A keen soccer enthusiast and a Manchester United fan, MS Dhoni will invite all sports fans to 'Join the Game' in a clutter breaking integrated marketing campaign which will be launched early next week. The campaign will have a strong on-air and digital media thrust," the channel said in a release.
The campaign will portray Dhoni as an ardent soccer fan and will showcase how the cricketer is always glued to the television set, watching EPL every weekend while his close ones run around searching for him.
"I am an avid EPL fan and I just played out a real situation in front of the camera. If I am not busy with cricket, I am always busy with EPL during week-ends. Soccer is extremely exciting and very close to my heart. I was a goal keeper during my school days. Even today, I play soccer as a warm up game ahead of key cricket matches," said Dhoni.
"I feel that Indian sports fans should consume different types of sports. I want them to be passionate about cricket as they are, but at the same time one needs to give healthy respect for other disciplines as well."
"This STAR Sports initiative to provide soccer commentary now in Hindi will go a long way in making soccer exciting to watch and comprehend for new audiences across the nation. Similar efforts should be done to promote other sports as well," he added.
Star Sports has taken a number of initiatives this year to capture the ever-increasing football lover youth community of the country. Earlier they had announced that apart from the regular English commentary, Hindi commentary will also be available for the first time for over 100 live matches across the season.
"We are delighted to have MS Dhoni come on board as the brand ambassador for EPL in the country. We are targeting to expand the fan base of EPL in India by leveraging the iconic power and fan following of MS Dhoni to attract cricket fans to sample EPL," said Vijay Rajput, Chief Operating Officer, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd.
Dhoni's love for football is not something new, as widespread media reports indicated that he had regular playing sessions well after his teenage years in Kharagpur, before he had turned a professional cricketer.
Source - www.economictimes.com , www.goal.com
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