The Int'l Cricket Council and Nissan have agreed to an eight-year deal "which will see the Japanese firm sponsor the sport until 2023," according to Bill Wilson of the BBC. The car maker "will be a global sponsor" of cricket's int'l tournaments, including the ICC Cricket World Cup. It "will also back" the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC World Twenty20, as well as U19 women's cricket and qualifying events. Nissan will "replace Hyundai as an ICC sponsor." It will have an "extensive brand presence at ICC cricket venues, as well as broadcast and digital rights at all ICC events" (BBC, 10/14). REUTER's Aditi Shah reported the eight-year sponsorship is a "bid by the Japanese car-maker to boost its small market share in cricket-crazy India." Nissan's passenger vehicles sales in India "fell 24 percent to 19,563 in the six months from April to September," compared with the same period a year ago, "giving it a 1.5 percent share of the market, industry data showed." The slowdown in India sales "has forced Nissan and its global carmaking alliance partner Renault SA to cut several hundred jobs in the country and reduce production at its plant near Chennai." Nissan Global Head of Marketing & Brand Strategy Roel de Vries said, "We have a long-term view in India. ... We want to grow India to at least a five percent market share over time" (REUTERS, 10/14). In Abu Dhabi, Srinivasan Iyer reported de Vries said that Nissan had been "increasing its marketing budget, a significant part of which is being increasingly allocated to sport." BMI Research Head of Autos Analysis Anna-Marie Baisden said that the deal reflected Nissan's "wider push into India, along with its strategy of adding up to 100 dealerships by March 2017 and promoting the more affordable Datsun brand." Baisden: "They have picked a sport with a huge audience in the country, so from that perspective it is a big statement of intent." Consultant firm Front & Sullivan Regional Head of Automotive & Transportation Kaushik Madhavan said that Nissan's "tie-up with the ICC was part of its global plan of associating with popular sporting events." Madhavan: "Nissan in India today suffers from poor visibitliy and awareness, especially in tier two and tier three cities. This collaboration could significantly change it" (THE NATIONAL, 10/14).
