The fintech company, RapiPay has announced a strategic partnership with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals (DC). In this association, the fintech firm has been appointed as the team’s Neo Banking Partner for IPL 2022.
SportsMint Media reached out to the Head of Marketing at RapiPay, Vineet Chugh, who has 16+ years of robust experience in Offline and Online Marketing across various sectors like Fintech, FMCG, QSR, E-commerce. An MBA (Business Economics) from the University of Delhi, Vineet has worked with traditional brands as well has been instrumental in building start-up brands with his marketing acumen and skills.
Vineet told SportsMint Media in a brief interview that connecting with fans through social media will help RapiPay build consideration in consumers’ minds. Chugh also revealed a few more intriguing details about RapiPay’s relationship with the Delhi-based franchise.
• Why did the company choose to sponsor Delhi Capitals? Why not any other IPL team?
There are multiple reasons for that. Although we are a PAN India brand, our head office is in Delhi NCR and NCR is one of our bigger markets too. This made Delhi Capitals a logical choice for us to sponsor and partner in IPL 2022. Also, Delhi Capitals has an impressive lineup of players, that was another reason for choosing it.
• How difficult was the entire process of landing a sponsorship deal with an IPL team?
It was seamless. IPL franchises have a smooth process of onboarding sponsors and there are many assets that one can sponsors; from Jersey to Helmet, to on-ground etc
• What was the thought process behind sponsoring an IPL team?
IPL is very popular in India and it is the biggest sports event in terms of viewership on TV or OTT. This T20 league is a great option for brand building and creating brand awareness amongst the masses.
• How this partnership will help the company’s Neo banking service?
We are ‘Neo Banking Partners’ of Team Delhi Capitals. The title ‘Neo Banking partner’ reinforces our positioning as a leading Indian Neo Bank. A partnership of this scale manifests our growing commitment in Fintech and neo banking services.
• What is the company’s aim with the contest being held on the social media platform and what are the expectations through this partnership?
Social Media is purely for engagement with consumers. With engagement on social media, you not only gain followers but also build consideration for the brand in consumers’ mind. With our IPL debut and this partnership, RapiPay aims to connect with millions of cricket fans across the world and attract eyeballs for brand RapiPay
• In future, does the company plan to extend its sponsorship deal with more IPL teams?
We have a 2-year agreement with Delhi Capitals and going by the result we are seeing this year, we would like to extend this further and explore more sports led partnerships.
• Will there be any TVC or will you go ahead with the campaigns and contests on your social media platforms?
Social Media contests will continue for driving engagement. We are not doing any TVCs but are running digital video content (commercials) on social media and Youtube with an objective to build brand awareness.
• If everything goes well, will the company collaborate with any team from the next season?
We would like to explore various other assets in IPL in the next season. Whether it will be any other team or not is difficult to comment at this stage.