Pepsico back as official sponsor of BCCI

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur says board taking new look at revenue streams and trying to open new revenue channels

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday tied up with snacks and beverage major PepsiCo as an associate sponsor, a year after the company had terminated its five-year title sponsorship deal of the Indian Premier League citing credibility issues.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that the board is taking a new look at the revenue streams and trying to open new revenue channels.  This is the first time the BCCI has hived off on-ground sponsorship rights from title sponsorship. Till now, title sponsors would advertise on-ground as well, at least for home matches.

“We are opening up new revenue streams. Besides Pesico there are two interested parties who are tying up with us as associate sponsors. The deal will be closed in next few days,” Thakur said.

PepsiCo will be the official partner for refreshment, snacks and drinks of the Indian cricket team besides grounds right, where the beverage firm would have visibility on the field. The agreement also gives PepsiCo benefits of prominence in stadium branding and on-ground advertising for 80 matches in four years across the three formats. Gatorade,  an energy drink from PepsiCo stable, will become the official performance drink of the cricket team.

The deal will be effective from the start of the new international season when India hosts Bangladesh later this year.  According to D Shivakumar, chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India it will help the company to leverage the benefits of branding for its portfolio across food and beverage. The company will indulge in innovative customer engagement programmes through scale campaigns.

When questioned on the reason on what brings back the company back to cricket after walking out just a year back, Shivakumar said, “I clearly mentioned during that time that PepsiCo will not part ways with cricket.”