lame it on Sania Mirza, Narain Karthikeyan and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, but life has suddenly become complicated for agency and marketing hands. Earlier, the choice was cut and dried: it was either cricket or Bollywood, and when money was in short supply, the stars of Indian television. Now tennis, F1 and shooting are whetting popular curiosity and brand managers and advertising strategists are grappling with new questions of brand fit and long-term returns.

CII recently organised a seminar in Delhi on the business of sports under the banner SportzCom 2005. At the seminar leading sports personalities such as former Indian cricket stars Kapil Dev, former Olympian Zafar Iqbal and corporate and agency honchos Rajiv Karwal, chief executive officer, Electrolux India; RC Venkateish, managing director, ESPN Software India; Ravi Kiran, managing director, west and south, Starcom India; and Sundar Raman, general manager, MindShare, spoke on sponsorship issues, on sports broadcasting, celebrity endorsements and on how to maximise returns through sports. Some excerpts.... more