#SSIPLWatch 70-80% focus is on social media where CSK & RCB are very active: Naina Parekh, EUME

As part of #SSIPLWatch series, EUME's Naina Parekh gets talking to Social Samosa, divulging details on the lifestyle brand's strategy to leverage IPL.

Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore have partnered with EUME as their official mask partner for Indian Premier League (IPL) 13. The association will see CSK players and their support staff wear EUME masks.  The brand has also unveiled special edition masks for CSK and RCB fans, similar to the ones worn by their players. Naina Parekh, Founder of EUME talks about the ample opportunities that IPL as one of the biggest celebrated events in India has in store for the brand and the digital media prowess to create awareness.

Edited Excerpts:

What was the insight behind your association with CSK and RCB?

IPL is something which Indians are proud of and is considered on par with Bollywood. The fan fair, cricket stars, and excitement around it make it irresistible for any brand. Being huge fans of cricket we had been contemplating getting associated with IPL for some time now and finally decided to take the big leap of faith this year.

We found that backing two teams led by current Indian team Captain VK and Ex-Indian Captain MSD could be an interesting mix. Especially when it comes to CSK with MSD announcing retirement it will be a special season for his fans irrespective of the team they are supporting and we did not want to miss this opportunity.

What does the overall marketing plan for the season look like? What kind of a role will social media play?

We are a digital-first brand. Social media is mainline of our communication. We are driving our marketing campaigns in a very organic way. Our core strategy is to engage fans of teams we are supporting as a driving force. We have been running various weekly campaigns to engage fans with giveaways including branded merchandise, we are seeing a phenomenal interest from fan bases and a high rate of engagement.

Please take us through your media mix. How much percent of it is reserved for digital?

70-80% of our strategy is focussed on social media where the two teams are extremely active. Apart from this, we are investing in offline media too, but the spending in this area is very minimal.

Also Read: #SSIPLWatch upGrad’s association with IPL 2020 is driven towards brand awareness: Arjun Mohan, upGrad

Take us through your marketing strategy. Any campaigns or activities lined up to support your partnership?

Our marketing strategy is a focussed one, where we want to uplift the spirit of the game. Our target is to trigger that passion point of team spirit where fans of the RCB and CSK can proudly showcase their love for their teams.

Keeping that in mind we have introduced the #EumeSuperDuperFan contest in which we launch branded AR filters of our branded masks. Fans can proudly apply these filters and showcase their love for their favorite teams with exciting captions.

Do you think it will be difficult to recover the investment amidst the pandemic crisis? 

We fall in a category of masks, where we have a huge responsibility on our shoulders of ensuring people's safety. The masks we have introduced are of high quality and come with multi-layered protection. They are clinically certified and offer optimum protection during this pandemic.

More than monetary value, our main intent from this association is to bring in that awareness amongst people to be responsible by wearing quality masks to keep themselves and the interaction between people safe.

How will you be leveraging IPL to bounce back from the pandemic induced business lull & changing consumer habits created by the lockdown? 

The pandemic has affected businesses/people in one way or the other and we believe that IPL would be a significant redemption from the ongoing pandemic psychologically for many. IPL allows us to bring in awareness amongst a larger audience to wear masks mandatorily to protect themselves and their loved ones.

From the sports marketing or perspective of general marketing in relation to pre corona vs post corona, the new normal is here to stay for quite a long period of time. With social distancing a mandatory factor, digital is only going to get stronger and we will see more people embrace digital technology in one way or the other.

With this evolving trend, new needs have arisen with those whole new opportunities across different customer segments. We firmly believe the future belongs to those who listen to their customers closely, pick up digital trends quickly, and capitalize on these emerging trends.