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#SSIPLWatch Harsh Pokharna, OkCredit on their maiden IPL brand association

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Sneha Yadav
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Harsh Pokharna

As the official Digital Credit Ledger of Delhi Capitals, OkCredit’s Harsh Pokharna sheds light on the company’s objectives and leading the digital wave this season of IPL.

OkCredit endeavors to leverage its journey of digitizing the micro and small business landscape in India amongst the huge fan base of the team and tournament. Harsh Pokharna, Co-founder and CEO, OkCredit speaks at length about the company's IPL strategy and recovering the investment made in this sports marketing association.

Edited Excerpts

What was the insight behind your association with Delhi
Capitals? 

With this partnership with Delhi Capitals, we are looking to reach the length and breadth of the country and take the next step ahead in creating a Digital India. We are extremely thrilled about the season and looking forward to engaging with fans as well.

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

Digital channels have proven to be a key differentiator in our growth and marketing strategies. With the changing norms of operating on digital modes by our consumers, a significant percentage of our media mix is reserved and tilted for digital channels.

Our social strategy was built around enabling small businesses. Clubbing it with this IPL season and Delhi Capitals as partners, we have kicked off multiple initiatives across digital platforms - to Support #VocalForLocal as our core social media theme. Our first anthem launch #TaiyaarHainHum is very well appreciated by small businesses, which runs with a core message of saluting these small businesses who have served the community during the tough times of pandemic. In addition to this, we are also supporting old and traditional businesses around Delhi to go digital, and more to unfold as the campaign progress proceeds. 

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Our products have been able to reach and grow with digital outreach and word of mouth marketing primarily. We are looking forward to amplifying the same strategy with Social Media marketing and communication to reach out to a more potential audience.

Also Read: #SSIPLWatch Apart from high TV viewership, no major changes in IPL consumption pattern: Khushnooma Kapadia, Marriott Bonvoy

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

Through this association, we will leverage our journey of bringing about a digital wave in the micro and small business landscape in India. Moreover, we have also partnered with Delhi Capitals with their ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign by empowering various small retail businesses across the city with simple digital solutions.

What
are the parameters to calculate ROI on your IPL marketing initiatives? Do you
think it will be difficult to recover the investment amidst the pandemic
crisis? 

The reach of our product, its usage and businesses, and small retailers engaging in it will define the ROI for our marketing initiatives during IPL and festive times ahead. With unlocks happening in India with social distancing as a mandate, we are completely expecting more consumers to adopt digital products. This will ease their business management and operations at this point in time and ahead, hence we are expecting it to be a good return on investment.

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

Consumers' habits of digital communication and adoption have been observed across business verticals and our core consumer segments during the pandemic. Though it is a difficult time for all of our consumers as a brand, we have put forward very simple products to adopt, and we are seeing positive trends in both re-opening up and digital adoption.

Pre
corona v/s post corona: has IPL marketing or sports marketing in general
changed dramatically? What are the key advertising & marketing trends you
foresee?  

This is the first time we as a brand are participating in IPL/Cricket. We believe that Cricket is not just a sport in India and more like a festive time. Usually, brands have established and grown during the festive season with the right core messaging and communication. This IPL is even more interesting since it will end with a kickoff of the Diwali festival and jointly IPL and Diwali will definitely see a great uplift in the businesses of our consumers and eventually ours.

Harsh Pokharna Harsh Pokharna OkCredit harsh pokharnna ipl interview okcredit delhi capitals OkCredit ipl OkCredit ipl strategy