DDB MudraMax India secures complete franchise and venue management for Bengal Warriors
DDB MudraMax has been entrusted with the complete franchise management of Bengal Warriors, Big Bazaar’s ProKabaddi League team. Apart from handling the franchise of the brand, DDB MudraMax has also been awarded venue management for all games that are held in the Netaji Indoor Stadium, home ground for the Bengal Warriors.
As the franchise management partner, DDB MudraMax spearheads the marketing communication and consulting on brand strategy and direction. With a mix of marketing touch points the campaign communication has seen a burst in OOH, media, print, direct marketing, events, all integrated via digital platforms.
Bengal Warriors is one of the teams in the ongoing Star Sports ProKabaddi League, the league that has made Kabaddi capture the imagination of the entire nation. The league has eight city based franchises owned by well known corporates/individuals and is being broadcast live daily on Star Sports and Star Gold.
Sandip Tarkas, President, Future Group & CEO, Bengal Warriors said, “Kabaddi is potentially the second biggest idea that India can export to the world after Yoga. It is an absolutely amazing sport that is played by really fit and skillful players, and the idea, like Yoga, is very Indian at the core, frugal, simple, environment blended and works for an overall development of mind and body. Indian-ness is one of the core values of Future Group and we immediately consented to associate with the sport, when the idea of the ProKabaddi league was born. The choice of Kolkata was also a natural one, as Future Group does enjoy a special bond with Kolkata, the group’s first stores in both Pantaloons and Big Bazaar having been born here. Having done that, managing a sports event at this scale needs some special skills and we found in DDB MudraMax a willing partner who not just shared our enthusiasm for the sport but also had the requisite skills and was willing to invest in the same where such skills were not available in-house. Our commitment to developing the sport in West Bengal also manifests itself in the recently concluded Junior Kabaddi League that was organised under the aegis of the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India’s (AKFI) West Bengal Uni”.
On the partnership, Mandeep Malhotra, President of DDB MudraMax said, “The ProKabaddi league is a rebirth to the best touch sport of our country, and it surely got me running for my breath. So when we got the opportunity, we grabbed it! My team and I have been on ground at the Netaji Stadium, for every single match, and it’s great to see how this sport has come back to life! I am proud of this association as an Indian and as a participant on building a great team sport. We are all one team and are working towards making Bengal Warriors the most successful franchise on and off the field in the ProKabaddi league.”