The Indian flagship incense stick company, Zed Black partnered with the Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Delhi Capitals (DC) for the ongoing 2023 edition. Currently, the company is serving as the official prayer partner of the Delhi-based unit and becomes the first ever incense stick entity that had collaborated with the Indian T20 League side.
SportsMint Media got a very special opportunity of interacting with Mr Ankit Agrawal, Managing Partner of Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH) & Zed Black. In this esteemed interview, Mr Agrawal threw light on the company’s objectives behind this partnership with DC and also unveiled its future ambitions.
1. What briefing was given by Zed Black to the agency before finalising this partnership with Delhi Capitals?
Cricket is a religion in India and IPL is one of the hottest cricket properties especially in summer when people do not venture out and prefer to watch television from the comfort of their homes. The brief given was that we wanted to capitalize on this mindset of people and we wanted visibility on the cricket ground and in matches. So, we wanted to tie up with a good IPL team and when the choice of sponsoring Delhi Capitals opened up, we took it up.
2. Is Zed Black planning to capitalise on its big consumer market, which is Delhi, through this partnership?
Yes, we will be definitely capitalising on the partnership with Delhi Capitals to reach out to more northern markets. Since the news of the tie-up with Delhi Capitals came out, the brand perception has changed. With this association, we have reached other levels of advertising, especially for a brand from Madhya Pradesh being associated with an IPL team. The idea is to leap ahead of our competitors and capture a larger chunk of the consumer market.
3. Does Zed Black have plans of leveraging this partnership at a pan-India level?
We have advertised pan-India through print Ads to reach out to the masses about our tie-up with Delhi Capitals. However, we are looking at it more in association with IPL. IPL fans may have loyalty towards a particular team but what they really enjoy are the big hits, close games, etc. IPL is beyond the boundaries of supporting a particular team and is more of entertainment and enjoyment with the family.
4. Does this association includes a special TVC featuring DC players?
Yes, we have specially curated an anthem with three key players from Delhi Capitals i.e Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey and Ishant Sharma. It has a hook step which goes with a catchy anthem highlighting the tagline #HumariPrarthnaHogiSweekar. The anthem inspires one to work hard and give their best shot in life for achieving success.
5. What are the several different activation touchpoints in this association?
Activation Touchpoints are Television, Newspapers, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms.
6. Does Zed Black has plans of partnering with ICC for the WTC Final and ODI World Cup 2023?
If we get our synergies in sync, we would love to partner with ICC for the WTC and ODI World Cup 2023 as these are two of the biggest sporting events, especially with the ODI World Cup being hosted in India.
7. How fruitful has been the partnership with MS Dhoni for the past six years?
The partnership with MS Dhoni is the best thing to happen to us and we are proud to be associated with him as our brand ambassador. Dhoni is a living legend, his popularity has not reduced despite him not playing international cricket. We have seen 25,000-30,000 people come just to see him practice. So taking MS Dhoni on board was one of the best decisions we made six years ago for our flagship product Zed Black 3-in-1 Premium Agarbatti.
8. Does Zed Black plans of partnering with more IPL teams in near future?
As of now, we have partnered with Delhi Capitals, and depending on the response we will look ahead and decide on tie-ups with other IPL Teams. MDPH is an incense stick manufacturer, and we believe in spreading prayers, so we are not averse to being associated with any other IPL team and taking the category of ‘Official Prayer Partner’ forward.