Beverage giant Coca Cola has started off a new campaign to boost the sales of its cold beverages. Amidst huge competition, the company has started wooing customers outside Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai during the ongoing IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket season.
Inside Wankhede Stadium, cricket players are being served Coca Cola products with their labels stripped off, as Pepsi is the official sponsor of the tournament and has exclusive in-stadium branding rights, while Coca-Cola is the beverage partner of the IPL team Mumbai Indians. This is also a rare example of a product being served without branding.
An official from the Board of Cricket Control for India (BCCI) said, “This is the only way the rights of the title and pouring rights partner, Pepsi, can be protected”. On the other hand, the spokesperson from Pepsi said, “Watertight anti-ambush clauses have ensured that the only visible branding in-stadium is of PepsiCo brands.”
Coca- Cola has set up many kiosks outside Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla ground and Chennai’s Chepauk Stadium, where young boys and girls in red t-shirts are selling newly launched 400 ml Coke bottles for just Rs. 10. A spokesperson from Pepsi said that their success is prompting some of their competitors to try and sell brands at a throw away price, which is way below cost price.
