India Bike Week to make profits in 3rd edition of the IP

Industry Watch | January 6, 2015 | News

Martin D'Costa Seventy EMG Fox Life India Bike Week 70 EMG

It would be rare if not a first, for a large-scale festival IP to realise profits in its third year of existence. The Indian Bike Week, which has kick-started the events, marketing and activations as a lead up to the main festival, boasts of this achievement. In conversation with the IP-owner, Martin D'Costa, CEO, Seventy EMG (Fox Life owns 40% of the IBW IP), the confidence, enthusiasm and encouragement was palpable. "I think we've created history in more ways than one. In being a festival IP, started from scratch, to make profits in its third year of existence. Also, bookmyshow.com, the ticketing partner to the event, have bought 5000 tickets upfront! And we also have doubled our sponsorship revenues from last year," elaborated D'Costa.

 

What's new @ IBW?

 

1. Majorly every prominent motorbike brand is a paying sponsor.

2. The participation is expected to increase from about 8 thousand as was seen last year, to about 13 thousand this year.

3. The Howling Dog quarter mile Drag Race will take place along side the main festival arena.

4. Shell has come on board as a Gold level sponsor, sharing the space with Harley Davidson that has supported the property since its inception.

5. 'IBW On Tour' is now an added aspect to the IP, which takes a 5-hour version of the India Bike Week to tier 2 and 3 cities across the country.

 

Commenting on how the 'IBW  On Tour' is a great success story in year-one itself, D'Costa, said, "The tours are also fully sponsored, and profitable in year one itself. I think this too is a first, where an established festival brand is going into tier 2 and 3 cities, to extend the experience. The objective was clearly to give enthusiasts in these cities, who don't have the chance to ride to / travel to Goa for the main event, a similar experience."

 

Sponsors too get the extended leverage in these markets / cities, with some sponsors coming on board to the main event and extending their presence in the tour as well. 'IBW On Tour' has launched this year with 8 cities, but the plan is to extend this to 30 cities in the next 2 editions.

 

Seventy EMG is said to have invested close to 10 crore rupees in its two IPs: India Bike Week and Zambala (and a few others int he pipeline) so far. On owning, creating and growing IPs as a strategy for the company, D'Costa explained, "We have invested heavily in our IPs and we have a few more in the pipeline. It is very encouraging to see a return on our investments finally. IPs are a great asset for any organisation, and I feel they can bump up the evaluation of a company by 20x in some cases. I think we would look at our IPs contributing to at least 60% of our bottom-line in the next 5 years."

 

As for the current financial year, 70 EMG is still looking at a positive growth of close to 38% on the overall business, with social events contributing strongly.

An exclusive chat with Martin D'Costa, CEO, Seventy EMG, on how innovations and doubled sponsorship revenues have elevated India Bike Week as an IP.

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