Exclusive: How branding has played key role for Indian athletes as stars rise to prominence at Paris Olympics
Exclusive: How branding has played key role for Indian athletes as stars rise to prominence at Paris Olympics
It is another successful campaign for the Indian athletes at the Paris Olympics 2024 as they continue their sparkling form in the French capital. At the time of writing, India has won three medals in the Paris Games and continuessearch for more glory. While athletes play a huge role in making the nation proud, the backbone of these athletes is the support provided to them. WION caught up with founder and Managing Director of IOS Sports & Entertainment, Neerav Tomar, who discussed in detail how they work for branding.
Changing landscape of Indian sports branding
Over the past eightyears, Neerav’s brainchild, IOS Sports & Entertainment has been the exclusive marketing agency for the Indian Olympic Association which has stood behind the success of prominent medal-winning athletes.
“The journey of IOS has been unrealistic, considering we have about 60 athletes as part of our family which included Vijender Singh (the first Indian boxer to win a bronze at the Olympics). Having started in 2005, we had setup challenges but eventually, we overcame them. Our major deal was in 2016, when we joined hands with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) when there were hardly any sponsors. However, the athletes now don’t have to worry as we now have 14 sponsors,” Tomar said in an exclusive conversation with WION.
Asked how sponsorship deals have inflated over the last eight, Tomar reflected on the journey and stated how he has pioneered to set a benchmark.
“Back in 2016 before the Rio Olympics, there was a lack of strategies and approaches when the deals were made. However, now we have seen an exponential growth of almost 2000 per cent as we have set up strategies on how to deliver and bring big brands and this has helped IOS and the IOA to be successful in cracking big sponsorship deals,” Tomar added.
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IOS Sports has played a crucial role in the success of Indian athletes on the global stage. Notably, IOS represents Olympic medalists and Olympians - Vijender Singh, Mary Kom, Mirabai Chanu, Lovlina Borgohain, Manika Batra, Kishore Kumar Jena and Paris Olympics star Manu Bhaker.
Interestingly, under Tomar's leadership, the sponsorship and endorsement market for non-cricket sports in India has seen significant growth, with many new brands and companies emerging to sponsor and sign endorsements with the athletes.
