VivaKi Exchange bags media mandate for Indian Badminton League

VivaKi Exchange has bagged the media mandate for the Indian Badminton League (IBL) in a multi-agency pitch.

The $1-million (prize money) IBL, which is the richest badminton tournament in the world, is a joint venture of Badminton Association of India (BAI) and Sporty Solutionz (P) Ltd, the commercial partner.

VivaKi will handle traditional, social and digital media for the IBL.

Akhilesh Das Gupta, president, BAI, and Member of Parliament, added, “The Indian Badminton League aims to bring long-term benefits for the players and will usher in a new era in the sport. We welcome VivaKi on board and hope this association will take badminton to new heights.”

Ashish Chadha, CEO, Sporty Solutionz, added, “The world’s biggest badminton league demands the maturity, size and depth for national and international launch and VivaKi posses the requisite skill sets. We are extremely pleased with the vibrant approach and enthusiasm of the entire VivaKi team.”

Mona Jain, CEO, VivaKi Exchange, said, “Of late, sports category has seen a massive upward swing, largely due to plethora of sports channels and coupled with Indian accolades internationally. Badminton is undoubtedly the fastest growing sport in the world and enjoys a massive following in India after Saina Nehwal’s exploits in the 2012 London Olympics. I am sure IBL will be seen as a viable destination for large spending advertisers, who want to maximise their spend on media through sports this year.”   

The inaugural edition of the IBL will be held from August 14 to 31. Top players of the world are expected to participate, including India’s Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Parupalli Kashyap, Ashwini Ponnappa and PV Sindhu.