McCann bags creative mandate for Indian Badminton League

McCann Worldgroup India has been awarded the strategic and creative responsibilities for promoting the Indian Badminton League (IBL).

IBL is a joint initiative of Badminton Association of India and Sporty Solutionz, the commercial right holders of the League. IBL is billed as the richest badminton league in the world with prize money of US $ 1 million. The tournament is set to take place in six Indian cities.

Prasoon Joshi, president - South Asia, McCann Worldgroup, said, “We are happy to promote badminton and use our expertise in sport communication to further the game and the Indian Badminton League.”

Alok Lall, executive director, McCann, added, “Badminton was invented in India - not many know this.  It’s a great opportunity to make the wonderful sport of badminton become front of mind once again through the IBL. Having said that, it is a challenge to create a lasting impression for a sport other than cricket but that’s what drives us at McCann.”

Ashish Chadha, CEO, Sporty Solutionz, said, “McCann Worldgroup was a unanimous choice as our creative partner. Our decision was based on their experience and expertise in managing similar mandates in the past. We believe McCann Worldgroup, as a partner, has the ability and the right amount of tenacity to think beyond basic advertising and look at the larger picture of brand building”.

The Indian Badminton League will be hosted from 14 to 31 August 2013. The six franchise-based city teams featuring in the first edition of the IBL are Hyderabad Hotshots (Hyderabad), Rajdhani Smashers (Delhi), Mumbai Masters (Mumbai), Karnataka Kings (Bengaluru), Pune Vijetas (Pune) and Lucknow Warriors (Lucknow).