‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ means guests are equivalent to god and hospitality has been the culture of Indian society over centuries. Oxigen Wallet is the official sponsor of the Proteas – South African T20 Cricket Team visiting India for The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series.
In line with the core nature of Indian hospitality, Oxigen Wallet launches a new marketing campaign called ‘#Playthehost’- and will help cricket fans across India to play the perfect host to The Proteas – South African T20 Cricket Team.
Oxigen Wallet aims at winning hearts through the country’s most celebrated sport – Cricket in this association with Cricket South Africa.
This extensive 4 month campaign will communicate Oxigen Wallet’s key value proposition which will be around safety, convenience & dependability. The South African cricket team will promote Oxigen Wallet and the players will be seen sporting the Oxigen branded jersey in the T20 matches. The marketing budget set for the entire campaign is approximately USD 15 million.
On the launch of the campaign, Ankur Saxena, CEO of Oxigen Wallet commented, “Playing the host is an effort to reinforce India’s warmth and hospitality to people from across the world. The famous verse from the ancient Hindu scripture is the inspiration behind this 360 degree campaign. By making Indian cricket fans “hosts” to the visiting teams, we plan to reach every nook and corner of India, using interactions with the Proteas in person, and on television, through outdoor promotions, on social & digital media and through radio channels.”
“India & South Africa has a long history together, right from trade ties, to our freedom struggle and now with the corporate relationship that Oxigen shares with its Joint Venture with Blue Label Telecom, a leading prepaid player in South Africa, over the last 12 years. The previous success of incorporation of global players in IPL teams, have made the South African cricketers a household name, amongst the cricket fans in India. Hence, sponsoring them was a natural choice. We would like to leverage their presence as much as possible during the T20 tour to India.” added Ankur.
Expressing his elation at the prospect of participating in the Play the Host campaign, Faf du Plessis, Oxigen Proteas T20 Captain said, “We are really excited to be partnering with Oxigen Wallet during our tour of India, and hopefully this ground-breaking partnership will get the Indian fans closer to the Proteas. India is a home away from home for us and it’s always exciting for us to play in front of passionate cricket fans. We spend a lot of time in India during IPL every year and are always treated to the best hospitality and cultural experiences. We have no doubt that our tour in October will be the same and are looking forward to it”.
Haroon Lorgat, Chief Executive, Cricket South Africa, commented “The Proteas tour to India is always special and one of our most exciting adventures. Now with Oxigen as our partner in India and The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series at stake, this tour will take on even greater meaning for the players and fans.”
“We are delighted with our partnership with Oxigen and getting a sponsor from abroad has certainly been a pioneering step for us. We wish Oxigen the best with their exciting plans and I am sure our players, who are household names in India, will add value to this campaign,” he added.