How Tata Motors is leveraging PKL?

The Commercial Vehicles Business Unit (CVBU) of Tata Motors announced a three-year long partnership with the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as Associate Sponsor, starting this season. Concurrently, Tata Motors will extend their commercial support to Pro Kabaddi franchisee U.P. Yoddha as the principal sponsor for the second consecutive year. With the aim to promote and encourage sporting talent across India and overseas, this partnership is in line with the Tata Motors objective to strengthen its long-term association with Kabaddi. Through this partnership, Tata Motors hopes to build deeper connections with stakeholders across India, including drivers, fleet owners and the general public at large.

UT Ramprasad - Head Marketing Communications, CVBU, Tata Motors  spoke exclusively to Adgully on this association :

 How are brands now leveraging PKL teams for promotions and their regional impact?

In India, sport is a major platform to connect with the people and the fans, because of the passion and dedication along with mass fan following for respective leagues and teams. Kabaddi is one such sport, which in the recent times has gained huge popularity since the inception of Pro Kabaddi League. For a brand like Tata Motors, India’s largest OEM for commercial vehicles, a sport like Kabaddi can be an instant connect to the fans as the sport reflects machismo, aggression and endurance blending perfectly with the rich heritage, longevity, durability and robust performance of the brand. PKL is a perfect platform for Tata Motors as it helps the commercial vehicle brand to bond with the people of heartland. Partnership with PKL has allowed Tata Motors help connect better with its various stakeholders, such as the truck owners, truck drivers, dealers, etc. who all are deeply associated with the sport.

Brands associated with PKL?

The Commercial Vehicles Business Unit (CVBU) of Tata Motors is an associate sponsor for Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) while the Tata Yodha, a pickup truck by Tata Motors is the principal sponsor for the UP Yoddha team.

How has PKL emerged as a strong media property?  

Since the launch of PKL in 2014, Kabaddi has become one of the most viewed sports in India and It has grown big and has emerged as a popular non-cricketing event.   In the last few years, the league has grown substantially in terms of viewership as well as in terms of brand equity. The fast-paced game with the added glamour and colour has made it exciting for fans in the country, elevating the game through high visibility and appeal. A warrior’s game at large, PKL is a perfect platform for Tata Motors, as a commercial vehicle brand to bond with the people of Indian heartland.

What is the Tata Motors marketing strategy for PKL?

Tata Motors has been very aggressive when it comes to brand campaigns, both online as well as offline. Tata Motors through its brand building have believed in building an emotional connect with its customers and this gets reflected in all the marketing initiatives across various platforms.

Tata Motors introduced a new TVC “DeshKeTruck”, a TVC which featured PKL players along with Tata Motors’ range of commercial vehicles. The video promoted during the Pro Kabaddi League matches further cascaded on to the social media handles with hashtags like - #DeshKeKhiladi #DeshKeTruck #PKL #WFI.

How is PKL leveraging its digital platform?

To strengthen the overall Tata Motors CV brand journey while promoting with Pro Kabaddi League, the campaign highlighted the message ‘desh ke jeet ke liye – desh ke truck’. Tata Motors promoted the advertisement video on all platforms including YouTube, Facebook, IRCTC as well as all Social Media channels aggressively, which gained a lot of traction among our patrons.

The campaign had 19.03 million views across platforms with nearly 1 million views on Facebook Live.