We’re poised to make 2024 an exceptional year for sports gaming in India: Puneet Dua

India’s coveted and leading sports gaming platform, BalleBaazi, has announced its rebranding to SportsBaazi. It has time and again demonstrated its dedication and commitment to revolutionising the landscape of sports engagement in India, while continuing on a rapid expansion and growth trajectory. It has also unveiled its new brand logo and the launch of the “LIVE Mein Hai VIBE” campaign for introducing the “Watch and Play” category of skill games on its platform for elevating user engagement.

The well-thought-out and strategic decision of the brand to rebrand itself and thereby expand into the Watch and Play category of skill games has the objective of inculcating innovative and exciting game formats as well as user experiences for redefining the way fans interact with and experience sports. It is working on unveiling a new avatar, promising to engage and immerse millions of spectators of Indian sports in an unparalleled gaming experience as the event unfolds.

The concept of Watch and Play is a comparatively new concept, where the fans not only get a chance to watch their favourite sports, but at the same time participate in them with the help of live skill games actively. It is an experience that is immersive bringing the fans near to the thrill that live sports give rise to and thereby motivates and also encourages them to test their knowledge of the player and sport dynamics.

In conversation with Adgully, Puneet Dua, Co-Founder, and Chief Marketing Officer, SportsBaazi, said, “Our mission is to bridge the gap between passive viewership and active participation, thus bringing fans closer to the action and empowering them to be an integral part of the games they love.” Excerpts:

What is the concept behind the ‘LIVE Mein Hai VIBE’ campaign?

Throughout the years, we have noticed that Indians are avid viewers of events across different sporting categories and formats. Be it watching Sunil Chhetri display a class act in his games or Mahendra Singh Dhoni making the winning shot in the 2011 World Cup; the level of involvement, excitement, and sense of community witnessed is unmatched. Taking inspiration from this, we decided the narrative of our campaign should reflect this sentiment and display the energy sports enthusiasts exuberate when watching tournaments and events.

Also, featuring one of India’s most successful pacers, Zaheer Khan, the campaign spots portray the dynamic nature of the live sports experience. It nudges users to transcend the boundaries of passive viewership and actively participate in identifying how the next over/ set will pan out. With the campaign’s launch, we announced the introduction of the “Watch and Play” category on the SportsBaazi app along with rebranding to SportsBaazi.

What is the prime reason behind this rebranding?

When we started BalleBaazi, we focused on building the team fantasy caveat with the premise of our genesis built around bringing in an experience that engages users more seamlessly and in an elevated manner. We understand that fantasy gaming is a new category and the opportunity to expand and bring in new additions will remain abundant.

But as times changed, the market became cluttered but still lacked elevated user engagement. We realized that the user engagement on fantasy gaming platforms drops by almost 80% the moment the sports event begins. This insight led us to make a conscious call to work towards redefining the experience that a sports gaming platform extends in the country. We built a research and development facility to work towards becoming a new-age sports gaming platform. We understood that we needed to bring a fresh perspective of live skill gaming into the ecosystem which led to us rebranding ourselves to SportsBaazi. We are elated to extend an engaging, unconventional platform that will enthrall millions of spectators in India and globally.

What are the expectations of the campaign? What are the outcomes expected out of this rebranding exercise?

With the launch of "LIVE Mein Hai VIBE", we announced the rebranding from erstwhile BalleBaazi to SportsBaazi and introduced the spectator engagement category. With this, we wish to establish our platform as a unique and pioneering destination for sports aficionados where users participate in skill-based games and extend an opportunity to engage in dynamic and interactive gameplay.

With the launch of this campaign, we are taking a strategic step towards redefining the gaming experience by integrating the excitement of watching sports across formats with the thrill of using their skills and making strategic decisions during live gameplay.

Who is the TG for this campaign?

The campaign is targeted at capturing the imagination of sports fanatics aged between 18 and 44 across geographies, who relish social interaction, have team loyalties, and appreciate diverse sports interests.

How is SportsBaazi taking a lead in online gaming with the Watch and Play category?

The concept of spectator engagement is at a nascent stage in the country. Furthering our commitment to ensure continuous innovation backed by state-of-the-art technology like AI (Artificial Intelligence), we are certain that we will continue to bring in new features in the segment that will add to the category’s growth in the country.

We believe that the excitement of live sports should extend beyond the confines of a screen and enable them to actively elevate their participation and experience. SportsBaazi is committed to continuously innovating and developing games that can be enjoyed before and during the live games. Our mission is to bridge the gap between passive viewership and active participation, thus bringing fans closer to the action and empowering them to be an integral part of the games they love.

How will the Watch and Play category create a more informed and committed community of sports enthusiasts across the country?

When we had set up our research and development facility to extend a series of groundbreaking categories and features for our users, the primary agenda remained to build a product that could be a go-to platform for sports enthusiasts. A space that will capture emotions they experience during tournaments and parallelly challenge them to test their knowledge continuously.

The “watch and play” category extends an intriguing opportunity for users to continue interacting during the game, encouraging them to increase their knowledge about the sport and the dynamics involved. We believe this addition to the SportsBaazi platform will increase user engagement and further their love for sports.

What aspects are going to be revamped with the rebranding exercise of the brand?

We have unveiled a brand new SportsBaazi logo by enhancing and leveraging our loyalists' connection with the shield from our previous logo, the brand communication, and the user interface on the platform to ensure a seamless transition & elevated user experience that is safe and engaging.

Which creative agency has conceptualized the campaign?

The campaign has been designed and conceptualised by our in-house marketing team.

What is the marketing mix for this campaign?

The “LIVE Mein Hai VIBE” is a digital-first campaign that will be leveraged and boosted on our social media channels. We have also featured SportsBaazi’s brand ambassador and popular cricketer Zaheer Khan in the videos to introduce the immersive spectator engagement category and reintroduce the brand as SportsBaazi.

What are the plans and vision for 2024?

In the year ahead, our primary focus at SportsBaazi is to keep pushing the boundaries of innovation in the realm of sports gaming. Our unwavering commitment to “making sports gaming fun” remains at the core of everything we do, and we are determined to keep redefining how fans engage with sports.

While researching and developing in the segment remains a priority, it is also important that we continue to expand on the "watch and play" category to introduce compelling features and formats in the game. How we have planned it is that we will continue to monitor the growth, while in the latter half of the year, we will work towards building in-app experiences that will further elevate user experience.

As we embark on this exciting journey, our vision is to continue fostering an informed community of sports lovers. We aspire to make SportsBaazi the go-to platform for millions of users who seek an engaging and interactive way to connect with their favourite sports. With continuous innovation and a commitment to enhancing user engagement, we are poised to make 2024 an exceptional year for sports gaming in India.