Patanjali takes the sponsorship route
From a wrestling league to bhajan shows on television to talk shows on FM radio, yoga-guru-turned-businessman Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved Ltd is on a sponsoring blitz, supporting almost everything that appeals to young people, has a desi link, or both.
The sponsorship drive is different from Patanjali’s approach last year when it went big on plain advertising.
The strategy is to target young people in urban areas — a consumption segment where Patanjali has not seen the kind of success it has seen in other segments. And almost subtly, say experts, the emphasis has moved from products to brand Patanjali.
There are two things that set apart Patanjali’s sponsorship focus. One, the company will get associated only with Indian sports and events that build on Indian culture, according to a spokesperson for the company. “We’ll never sponsor cricket. That’s not an Indian sport,” this person added. Two, Ramdev himself participates in the events being sponsored in some way.
Patanjali, which had co-presenting rights for the Kabbadi World Cup in 2016, is now sponsoring season two of Pro Wrestling League, besides television serials like POW- Bandi Yuddh Ke on Star Plus and Waaris on &TV, and dance reality show Super Dancer on Sony.
The company will spend more on promotions this year than it did last year, said the spokesperson. While media buyers estimate that the company spent ₹450 crore last year and will spend ₹600 crore this year, the spokesperson said it is a little less.
“We can’t give a specific number. But, you can say our advertising spend will be just about 10% of what Hindustan Unilever Ltd spends a year,” said the spokesperson. Last year, HUL spent ₹4,595.18 crore on advertising and promotions, a little over 14% of its net sales of ₹32,482.72 crore.