As I start typing this one, can’t help but swap the tabs to get the heads-up on the latest score line. The Champions League is under way in South Africa, with 3 teams from India along with their entourage of brands participating in it. While my interest delves into a bit of cricket, was trying to decode how our marketing frenzy brands were all by themselves establishing their visibility in a land of opportunities.
The BASIC as the world knows comprises of the world’s fastest growing and most promising emerging markets. Apart from BRIC, coined by the red knight Jim ‘O Neill BASIC forms a quadrant where things are happening and happening at break neck speeds.
The Indian cricket entourage not only consists of the coaches, physicians and et al but also the end less brands each of them endorse and with CLT they are provided a platform that can be exploited to establish a global foot print. As the teams are to a large part represented from big international brands that have huge visibility to small brands that are hitchhiking on the backs of some lesser known players.
This global event grandiose in its scale, does provide an opportunity for them to set up shop not only in the host country but also in the neighboring countries. On a micro scale this is good, as most of Africa is left open by international brands mainly due to their eco as well as cultural backwardness. If only smaller brands, stand and make themselves count to treat South Africa as the light at the end of the tunnel they will be opening up “easy markets” where capital inputs are not only low but can also get them large profit margins.
South Africa on its part is the torch bearer of the Dark Continent. With the success of FIFA ’10 and with CLT following suit, they are not only convincing outsiders to invest into their country but are also opening up the whole African market.
The poles are reversed, Misr used to be the trading point of Africa in the golden age of pharoahs, but now South Africans are the torch bearers. The MTN-Airtel deal was followed very closely by the world, not only for the sheer size they ‘d be creating but also what ‘d’ve been a nuptials of two independent business models that are aggressive and market leaders. But with the deal called off, owing to the ideological differences between the political mafia.
[To be Contd.....]
