


	WAN-IFRA XMA Cross Media Awards 2010





	Company: Lokmat Newspapers Private Ltd
	Project name: Lokmat Aurangabad Premier League (APL) - A Cricket Carnival





	General information about the publication

	Lokmat Group Media Ownership: (Newspapers, TV News Channel, Lifestyle Magazine) The Lokmat group is one of the leading media houses in India. It not only publishes newspapers in three languages - English, Hindi and Marathi but has also diversified into TV news channel & magazines. Its flagship daily, “Lokmat” is the second largest read daily in India with over 10 million readers and is the No.1 daily of the state of Maharashtra, India. The group's circulation is over 1.6 million copies every day. Its core purpose is to create, collect and disseminate high-quality news, information and entertainment content. Details of media owned by Lokmat Group are given in the attached PDF.

	Entry description

	The advent of the Twenty- Twenty Cricket (20 overs a side cricket match) has rewritten the rules of the game making it more exciting and more popular amongst the masses. The first season of Lokmat Aurangabad Premier League (APL) cricket tournament in 2008 had set an unprecedented trend amongst the local cricketing fraternity with nearly 60,000 people attending the final cricket match. The format of this cricket tournament is straightforward - there are eight franchises. These are eight prominent businessmen & entrepreneurs of the region. Each franchisee had to pick 15 players, all local players affiliated with the district cricket association, local governing body of cricket. It was mandatory for all teams to play at least one under-16 and two under-19 players in the playing eleven. Each team was given 1200 points and each player had to be bought for a minimum of 30 points. The players were then paid according to the points they received. Lokmat Group has created an ideal platform for nurturing, recognizing and rewarding local and young cricketing talent. The franchises strategically bid for the players at an auction held at a five star hotel, keeping in mind their quality, endorsement value and glamour quotient and finally the team composition. The event offers a unique branding opportunity to all stakeholders as it is promoted extensively across all media. Financials & revenue model of this tournament is discussed in detail in attached PDF.

	The basic idea of your cross-media local project

	What is the basic idea of your cross-media local project? Ans: The basic premise was organising a cricket tournamnet with all the local players and having Industrialist & business people to buy eight teams, a franchisee model. It also had an element of Corporate Social Responsibility by promoting local and budding cricketing talent at the same time creating a profitable business venture for all stakeholders. What was the purpose of implementing this? Ans: Promoting local and budding cricketing talent at the same time creating a profitable business venture for all stakeholders. Which audience segments did you want to target? Ans: Our existing readers and target audience of all the eight team owners. Do you intend to attract new customer segments or is it more a tool to retain existing customers? Ans: Retaining existing customers and at the same time associating with new businesses. Coverting non-advertisers into sponsors of our tournament.

	Used media channels


	Newspaper		TV

	Mobile Services		Online

	Radio

The implementation

Since when do you implement your cross-media local project?
Ans: This is the third season and it all began in 2008. We normally start promoting our tournamnet a month in advance.
Which department(s) is the driver of setting it up?
Ans: Advertisement & Marketing Department is the one majorly responsible in securing all the sponsorship that make this venture of ours profitable.
How do you use and connect the different media channels?
Ans: This cricket tournament is extensively promoted through our English, Hindi and Marathi dailies. We also promote APL through Television, FM Radio, Online, Mobile messaging (SMS) and Outdoor advertising.
1. Print Media: [Please Refer Attached Newspapers]
One full broadsheet page coverage was given daily for a period of 14 days highlighting the pre, post and during the
tournament activities in Lokmat (Marathi Newspaper), Lokmat Samachar (Hindi Newspaper) & Lokmat Times
(English Newspaper). A detailed team analysis with expert reviews is carried prior to the beginning of the tourney so
that the team could weigh their chances against one another.
2. TV News Channel & Local Cable Network: [Highlights available on www.lokmatcricket.com homepage]
Analysis and match results were daily showcased on IBN Lokmat (Marathi News Channel). Moreover, matches were live
on MCN-Hathway, the local cable network for a period of 10days. Commercials carrying messages of forthcoming
fixtures, products & services offered by the team owners were also run during intervals.
3. FM Radio:
Outdoor broadcasting (OB’s) of celebrity bytes during breaks & also of the man of the match. Match updates and
contest details were broadcast on a regular basis.
4. Outdoor Advertising: [Please Refer Exhibit 7]
Almost 80 hoardings were put across Aurangabad city promoting the tournament and 120 kiosks promoting individual
players from all teams.
5. Online: [www.lokmatcricket.com, Please Refer Exhibit 8]
APL was also promoted online through a dedicated portal www.lokmatcricket.com . Match analysis, photo gallery,
video streaming, statistics, schedule and team information was available on the website & updated daily.
6. Mobile: [Please Refer Exhibit 9]
We ran a contest “Predict APL Winner” whereby all the entries were in the form of mobile SMS & winner received an
attractive gift hamper.
Is it consistent across all channels?
Ans: Yes it is consistent in order to attract as many people as possible.
Why?
Ans: Cricket is like a religion in India and any cricketing initiative at a local level gets a huge response.

Image(s)

lokmat Corp Logo.jpg (14 KB)

Lokmat_WANIFRA2010_Entry.pdf (16834 KB)

lokmatcricket.com.jpg (778 KB)

Mobile SMS Contest.jpg (2909 KB)

Lokmat_Times.pdf (8174 KB)

Lokmat_Times_Inside_Page.pdf (11093 KB)

Links

http://www.lokmatcricket.com
http://www.lokmat.net
http://www.lokmat.com
http://www.ibnlokmat.tv
http://www.readg2.com

Results of the local project implementation

We all are aware that Circulation Revenue & Advertisement Revenue are the two revenue streams of an ideal newspaper orgnaisation. A profit of 187,186 USD in two months is a substantial boost to the company's bottom line. All the audited financials are included in the attached PDF.
A 25% increase in Circulation (cash sale) during the 10day long tournament.
So, overall Lokmat APL tournament was a major success and shows the potential of an event which can have a social as well as a business angle to it.