PGI's Sujala Martis on sports marketing and leveraging Women's Premier League
Sujala Martis, Consumer Marketing Director, PGI India discusses the campaign, leveraging cricket as a tool for marketing, its association with Women's Premier League and more.
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In December 2023, Platinum EVARA launched a campaign titled ‘Becoming Me’ featuring ace cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues that showcased her extraordinary journey of finding her true self, and how she relentlessly followed her calling while staying true to her core. The campaign spotlighted her unique journey and celebrates her indomitable spirit fuelled by the power of unwavering self-belief
Now, with the second season of Women's Premier League coming up, Platinum EVARA by Platinum Guild India has launched a new campaign titled #IGotThis featuring Jemimah that further celebrates her extraordinary journey of self-belief. The new campaign '#IGotThis ' serves as a fitting run-up to last year's 'Becoming Me'. Through a series of 6 captivating films woven around the concept of ‘6 challenging balls, 6 extraordinary deliveries’, the campaign showcases the different challenges and struggles Jemimah’s overcame in order to emerge as the cricketing icon that she is today.
Sujala Martis, Consumer Marketing Director, PGI India discusses the campaign, leveraging cricket as a tool for marketing, its association with Women's Premier League and more.
How has PGI been leveraging cricket as a powerful tool for marketing communications?
We have strategically tapped into the cricket frenzy that engulfs our nation, recognizing it as a potent avenue for marketing. Given that cricket is a religion in our geography, it manages to unify audiences and secure their attention, like nothing else can. Although the formats and number of games have multiplied it reigns supreme in Indian hearts, and when leveraged right it can enable rapid audience reach and salience while helping in building equity and top of the funnel measures. We leverage cricket in both our segments – Men of Platinum ie. Platinum jewellery for men & Platinum Evara which has lighter more wearable formats of platinum jewellery for young women.
Our approach to the game, however, goes beyond salience building, the intent has been to bring to life the values & meaning system of the brand. Ingraining it in conversations around the game. Platinum is a rare precious metal and there are multiple attributes that make it so, for example, its ability to endure or it’s resilience or its authenticity, various content formats with cricket and cricketing icons at the heart of it help us bring alive these traits.
In the case of Men of Platinum for instance our male audience believes success is a mandate for them, but depictions & interpretations of success are changing. Getting defined more by men whose values stand the test of time and circumstance. The brand has hence created an enduring archetype of success deeply anchored in values. Men of Platinum are men of character who hold their values close to heart in their journey towards success. Rooted in rare which is our biggest functional differentiator, the brand stands for values that build for success today such as self-belief, courage, resilience, endurance etc. This narrative finds a perfect analogy in cricket, a game where values are essential to success. Our partnership with the ace batsmen KL Rahul and now SuryaKumar Yadav has helped us establish the brand and its key imagery parameters, while driving awareness and consideration, this success underlines the importance of our continued investment in the game.
Can you elaborate on sponsorship deals and partnerships?
While TV is a key medium for tournaments, sponsorship deals can pose an entry barrier – at the same time one notices the surge in content consumption around cricket on social, digital platforms and OTT. What we created hence are series, “The League of Platinum Men” with KL Rahul the first time around in association with Disney+Hotstar & “A Minute with Men of Platinum X Surya Kumar Yadav” that followed. Capitalizing on a winning combination of reverence for the game, a cricketing icon & content that kept the brand and the metal traits at the centre of it. We unlocked the brand world, driving familiarity with the metal while adding to the equity of platinum.
We have also in the past collaborated with platforms like ESPNCricinfo & Cricbuzz to create segments around the Man of Platinum of the match. Initiatives like this are intended to make the brand name part of cricketing parlance & embedding it in the heart of conversations around the game in the most organic form. Players' performances were analyzed through the lens of Men Of Platinum values, highlighting rare displays of key character traits at critical junctures. The chosen player was then declared “Man of the Platinum of the Match”. Building associations with a host of cricket stars via a content segment intrinsic to the brands narrative. We further opened it up for conversation and participation amongst the fans so they could guess who that player would be post every match hence adding an engagement leg and mentions in the digital universe.
In the women’s segment the narrative is naturally different, based on the evolution of the game in our country and the journey that women players have seen. We have found sync points between that journey and the brand’s current discourse. Platinum Evara is about a celebration of womanhood; women’s cricket, its struggles & its journey to its moment in the sun now form the perfect backdrop to bring the brand world alive.
In what ways is PGI establishing a distinctive presence in sports marketing through an association with WPL?
With the BCCI’s support the WPL has emerged as a transformative platform for women's cricket, garnering mainstream attention and media coverage that was previously reserved for men's cricket. This heightened visibility has propelled the tournament to unprecedented heights, with remarkable increases in viewership and engagement. According to reports, the WPL 2023 edition saw an overall viewership increase of 790%, with viewing hours up by 44% compared to 2020. Social media engagement was also significant, with the tournament driving 2 billion impressions, 10 million engagements, and over 1 million mentions.
In the 2024 edition, the average time spent is expected to increase by 1.3x. Women's reach in the tournament is expected to cross approximately 65 million across both TV and digital platforms. Moreover, the upcoming WPL season promises growth, with plans to stream the tournament for free on Jio Cinema, an expansion to two cities, and involvement from established IPL franchises, thereby widening the fan base and enhancing the reach. These facts really make a compelling case in favour of an association with women’s cricket and for a brand like ours once again it offers an opportunity to embed our narrative in the centre of the game with our association with Jemimah. Platinum Evara stands for modern femininity which increasingly subscribes to the view of women finding joy in just being themselves, unapologetically and fearlessly. Platinum with its key trait of being distinctive and rare is a unique expression of their identity. Women today believe in exploring their strengths, embracing their flaws, and most importantly, taking pride in who they have come to be. Keen on crafting their own stories, their journey is defined by self-belief, defining their worth on their own terms, and learning to love every part of themselves.
This growth is an essential element of their individual journey. Each step, each milestone they reach, is a moment to be treasured and celebrated, marking the significant strides on their way. When you look at the women in cricket who better to bring this narrative to life. Women cricketers have seen a trajectory that very few can boast of. From surmounting opposition, the gender bias to finding their own voice and footing – it’s truly a journey like no other with significant milestones that pave the way. Women cricket stars have become a source of both aspiration and inspiration critical for a brand like ours.
