Reebok vs. Nike !!!

When Nike outbid Adidas and Reebok, to become the official kit supplier for Team India and used its famous ‘swoosh’ on the arms of the Indian players, every one thought it would be Nike all the way.
It spend 200 cr, to get best possible form of branding available in India, i.e. sponsoring Indian Cricket Team.

Reebok, answered they rivals in style, with the following steps,

1) Seven players of Indian Team, endorse Reebok which include, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan.

2) Reebok persuaded them to sport the Reebok logo on their bats, pads and gloves.

3) Around 50 domestic and international players sport the Reebok logo on their bats, compared to almost none by Nike.

Now compare the impact of "Swoosh" on the arms and "Logo" on the bats !

According to Subhinder Singh Prem, MD of Reebok India,

"A cricket lover perhaps wouldn’t remember the logo on Sachin Tendulkar’s jersey but ask him about his bat and pad would come the reply — is it MRF? It makes sense because according to industry estimates, a promising player who has just burst into the scene earns only a couple of lakh of rupees to sport a logo on his bat for 2-3 years. And with Rs 200 cr you can have a lot more players doing that with greater effect. The trick is to catch them young. "

For Reebok, its now, jingles all the way !!!



***In the Rs 800-crore Indian premium sportswear market, Reebok is the leader with a marketshare of 51%, followed by Adidas at around 25%. After Adidas acquired Reebok globally for $3.8 billion in September 2005, the combined share stands at 76%. The balance is accounted for by Nike and Puma, with Nike in the third spot.

Source : Economic Times

Irreplaceable... DADA !!!

Just yesterday I wrote about,motivation to write. One thing, or infact I should say, one man that motivates me to write this article is Saurav Ganguly "The Off-Side GOD". He is retiring.He is playing his last test-match at Nagpur.Today we all wished him to score a century before he leaves, but Krejza got him on 85.Nevertheless, it didn't affect "Dada's" stature.

Cricket was (or is... I am confused) the game of Gentlemen. Indians took this term a bit too seriously, whereas teams like Australia snubbed it.Indians were more of "Gentle" rather being "Men"!
When Dada took captaincy,he insured Indian team should play like "Men" even if not being gentle.He injected aggressiveness in Indian line-up.He nurtured his young talented mates and supported players like Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Zaheer at the time of their despair. He fought for anti-regionalism in Indian team. He never played cricket as just a game, it was war for him. It was always about India's honor.

And not to forget about his batting.
Genius, when it comes to off-side!
Powerful, when it comes to hitting sixes to spinners!
Patience,when it comes to anchoring innings and hitting centuries!

I salute you Mr.Ganguly for motivating us.For making us believe, "Yes we can do it"!

Many people criticized you, but you were among those who came out tougher,when the situations were tough.
You taught us to be a step ahead when it's about your country, your morals, your honor.You dared to face any adversities, whether it was Steve Waugh, Greg Chappell, injuries or BCCI.

I bid you adieu Dada. You are irreplaceable!