Hockey has been a popular game in India ever since the country won its first Olympic gold medal in 1928. With continued winning streak at Olympics, the sport gained further popularity.
However, in later years the sport lost its sheen. Now, with concerted efforts of various agencies that also include marketing strategies has led to the revival of the game.
Recently, Odisha hosted the Men’s Hockey World Cup in Nov-Dec 2018. The prelude to the tournament witnessed quite a few marketing campaigns to promote the sporting event. The agenda behind the campaign was to popularise the Hockey World Cup along with increasing tourism in the state.
Odisha Tourism was the host partner of the World Cup and they started their marketing strategies as early as July by unveiling the ‘Odisha by Morning, Hockey by Evening’ campaign.
The campaign included various media tools such as Out-of-Home, social media and digital. Odisha Tourism took to OOH to broadcast the campaign message.
The outdoor advertising comprised billboards strategically placed all over the city such as at airports with an aim to put the state on the global map as a leading ‘global sports destination’.
The agenda behind the campaign is to increase the tourists’ footfall as well as raise awareness about the tourism options available in the state such as ecotourism, religious tourism, among others.
The high point of the mega event was the presence of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, who participated in the opening ceremony. He was also seen in the World Cup anthem video sung by Oscar awardee AR Rahman.
