In the limited time during World Test Championship (WTC) final between New Zealand and India in the past five days, new deals with ICC were activated. ICC has actively signed multiple sponsors and global partners in the last six months.
Byju’s was one of the first major sponsorship deals signed by ICC for the next cycle of ICC events. Courtesy of this global partnership deal, Byju’s had their logo featuring on the outfield. The Indian edutech firm had signed a three-year deal with the governing body of international cricket in February. Byju’s will be a regular feature in all the ICC events until the end of the deal. Even though the Indian team was not wearing bilateral test kits featuring Byju’s in the front, the edu-tech firm had good visibility during the WTC final. Byju’s also sponsored the national anthem between the teams. Moreover, students from all over the country shared a video to send best wishes to the Indian team for the WTC final.
Another Indian brand that made their debut as ICC’s partner was BharatPe. Along with ICC confirmed BharatPe as a global partner at the start of June, but the deal was in the pipeline from the start of the year. The digital payment platform had a similar-sized logo in the outfield besides Byju’s during the WTC final. The payment platform will be getting similar visibility in the upcoming ICC events in the next three years with the next event being the T-20 World Cup later this year.
Along with getting a presence in the outfield, BharatPe and Byju’s also featured on the stumps and boundary LED screens. Byju’s and BharatPe were accompanied by Booking.com in the outfield. Meanwhile, long-term partners MRF and Oppo had their big-sized logos at the opposite outfield. Along with Byju’s and BharatPe, Himalaya Drug Company also made its first appearance as ICC sponsor during this event through a digital campaign.
Considering the viewership for the WTC final on Disney Hotstar was close to 18 lakhs, both brands have got good visibility on the streaming platform. Meanwhile, the game was broadcasted across more than 190 countries, so the global reach is also expected to be tremendous. In India, the game was also telecasted on DD Sports along with Star Sports, so Byju’s and BharatPe managed to grab the attention of a larger audience on their ICC debuts.
Two days have been washed out until now, which has hampered broadcasters and on-field brands. However, one day will be compensated as the two sides play on the reserved sixth day. Participation of India in the WTC final has definitely boosted the first activation of Indian brands’ sponsorship deal with ICC. Having the presence of the Indian team in the latter stages of the ICC tournaments in the next three years will be the ideal outcome for these brands to make the most out of their deals with ICC.