Brandwagon at Olympics 2021: What’s the outcry about?
Opinion
Brands and sports: The friendship
You must have seen several brands supporting Indian Olympians this year, but why has the engagement peaked during Tokyo Olympics 2021?
Sport comes to the forefront only with mass audience viewing. That’s primarily the reason why cricket has always been a flourishing sport in India. Tokyo Olympics witnessed a massive 69 M viewership in its opening week. With such large scale events taking place, brand integrations and their planning begin much in advance - to gain viewership and make money.
Tokyo Olympics 2021 - Game of ads
Worldwide sponsors such as Coca Cola, Airbnb, P&G, Alibaba, Samsung, Toyota, etc. are part of the pool that allows the Olympics business engine to run by spending money on advertising. Sponsorships are key to the influx of money for all sporting events.
But, there are also brands that piggyback on success stories. These brands support established and rising stars for ephemeral fame by showering them with brand freebies. The question is, how can brands be ethical about it?
To support the claim, let’s take a look at a few of the things Neeraj Chopra was rewarded with, for winning a gold for India at the Olympics:
Anand Mahindra - SUV XUV700
Haryana, Punjab, Manipur Govt. - INR 9 Cr (Total)
Indigo - Unlimited 1 yr. Free travel
OYO - Free stay at any OYO
Byju’s - INR 2 Cr
Chennai Super Kings - INR 1 Cr
Neeraj stands second to Virat Kohli in brand value after his stellar win at the Athletics Javelin Throw competition.
Run for your brand life!
In brand jargon, offering such incentives that propel brands into public radar is called moment marketing. But it is a tricky space for brands to operate in.
A few days ago, PV Sindhu sued 20 brands for using her name and image without permission. When Mirabai Chanu expressed her wish to eat Pizza after winning silver, Dominos announced that she will get free pizza for life from them. This announcement received criticism, considering athletes work hard to maintain their diet and the brand doesn’t fall under the healthy foods category.
The quiet, good brands
There are also a set of quiet, strong, and supportive brands that look out for sportspeople. Local Indian brands such as Shiv Naresh and Six5 Six have shown support for the Indian Sports Community in times of dire need as well as rejections from bigger global brands. There are also individual contributors who silently yet actively push Indian athletes in the long run.
However, in this article, we question those brands that piggyback on sports victories that culminate after years of hard work and dedication.
Brand ethics - What questions must we ask?
To brands, we must ask:
How sustainable are these modes of support that brands offer?
Do they support just one person or the entire sports community?
Do these exercises facilitate growth of sports and people in India?
Is this plain piggybacking for self-gain or are brands interested in the long-term outcome for sports as well?
Flashback
Time and again, we have seen that sportspersons outside of cricket in India, don’t do well financially and have to resort to different modes of income for sustenance.
For instance, Sita Sahu, a Special Olympics medalist is now a street food seller. National Kabaddi player, Shanti Devi, makes money by selling vegetables. Kamal Kumar, a national gold medalist in boxing, has turned to garbage collection to make a living.
The change we need
This issue is certainly much deeper than it appears. One significant aspect of the change stems from the funding the sports community gets from the government but for the purpose of this article, let’s focus on brand contributions.
We require ethical changes that go beyond temporary popularity and one-time prizes. We need brands to support the sports community by improving their living conditions while they commit to sports. We need brands to grow sporting arenas and facilities in collaboration with government authorities. Last but definitely not the least, we need brands, to be honest, and transparent.
Author’s note
There are several authorities and independent bodies, which support athletes in their growth. We respect that deeply and are in support of more such initiatives. Our intent with this article is to highlight the fine line between a brand piggybacking on somebody’s hard-earned success versus genuinely extending support. We welcome views and ways to support our country in this regard.
All about hemp business
Startup
What even is hemp?
Hemp is a plant, every part of which can be used: the stalk, seeds, and flowers. It is an environment-friendly, sustainable and climate-adaptive crop. Hemp can be grown without pesticides, requires a lot less water and is more productive per area of land than other crops. Along with bamboo, hemp is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Its earliest mention was in the Vedas, where it is listed as one of the five sacred plants.
Hemp is not the same as marijuana!
Marijuana comes from the plant cannabis indica, which can have tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations as high as 5-10%.
Industrial hemp, on the other hand, comes from cannabis sativa, a totally different but related plant. The THC levels in industrial hemp are typically between 0.2-0.3%.
But regulation has demonized both.
1894 - Indian Hemp Drugs Commission (1894-1895) began to regulate the use and processing of cannabis in India.
1925 - The International Opium Convention in The Hague banned the exportation of “Indian hemp” to the countries that had prohibited its use.
1985 - The government of India passed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. It is under this legal framework that the hemp plant has been grossly suppressed and demonized.
Many states ready for hemp business
Since 2015, there has been an active movement to liberate hemp from criminalisation. UP has now joined Uttarakhand in legalizing hemp farming in India. Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur and many other states are ready to open up as well.
The NDPS Act allows individual states to regulate hemp cultivation in India, as long as they have the infrastructure in place to ensure that the THC content is below 0.3%.
Multiple industries can embrace hemp
Medicine
Pharmacological researchers discovered many hemp-based treatments for a variety of ailments; cannabis leaves alone were found useful to treat more than 25 diseases! It is useful as an analgesic, a narcotic, a stomachic, an antispasmodic, an anodyne and as a sedative agent.
Construction
Hemp strands are extremely strong, and some of the manufacturing methods can make them up to 200 times stronger than steel! Hemp is mixed with lime to create blocks of insulation. Creation of composite panels by car manufacturers since 2002!
Nutrition
Hemp seeds in India are consumed to supplement protein and iron requirements. They can also be used to make “hemp milk,” a satisfying non-dairy beverage. Hemp seeds have been used in bird feed mix with more than 95% of hemp seeds sold in the European Union used in animal and bird feed in 2003. Leaves of the hemp plant can be eaten as a leafy vegetables or pressed to make juice.
Textile
The oldest natural fibres are known to man. Great cooling characteristics, making them perfect for warm-weather clothing. Hemp and linen are often blended with other natural and man-made fibres, including cotton, silk or polyester.
Paper
Hemp is a great choice for paper, not least of which because it is fast-growing and more sustainable than wood. Hemp paper is much stronger, with higher tensile strength and tear-resistance. Lower lignin content - mostly used in cigarettes, banknotes and technical filter paper.
USD 26.6 billion by 2025
Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy found that the global market for hemp products is estimated to be worth USD 4.7 billion. India’s contribution to that market is a mere 0.001%. With the world market expected to grow to USD 26.6 billion by 2025, now is the time for Indian hemp products to try to grab a bigger piece of the pie. Indian general market size is between USD 500–750 million annually. 30 companies operating different parts of the value chain are in India.
Current Indian hemp landscape
BOHECO - BOHECO is involved in all aspects of industrial hemp in India from food to fabric to clothing to medicine. Driven by a social vision, they state that they have assisted the livelihood of over 500 farmers in the Himalayas.
Most of the large startups (Health Horizons, Satliva, Hempsters) use hemp for beauty/body care/personal care - hemp oil, body creams, shampoos, body balms and butter to shower gels and lotions. Some startups have explored ayurvedic medicine – Vedi.
Changing perceptions
Perception of cannabis is changing from “dope” to “hope”. Hence, they integrated a social impact story along with the positive environmental impact narrative of hemp. It was accepted medically, but, in consumer circles, there was a lot of taboo around the subject. The hemp industry requires aligning every member of the ecosystem – from the government and scientists to farmers, and finally the end-consumer.
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