The Advantage of Going Dutch

The unlikely partnership between the Netherlands cricket team and Amul butter

How do you get mileage from the cricket World Cup without spending too much? You spread your butter on toast that comes cheaper.

Amul’s sponsorship of the Netherlands cricket team is a clever move by one of India’s iconic companies. By putting their logo on a team more affordable than India, they have killed two birds with one stone. Their strategy is similar to Dubai-based real estate developer DEC’s (Dheeraj and East Coast LLC), sponsors of the New Zealand cricket team. The shirt Netherlands wear during matches has an Amul logo on the sleeve. The one they wear during practice has a bigger logo on the shirt front.

“We have been looking to associate with cricket for long. The World Cup came as an opportunity—and it clicked,” says RS Sodhi, managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, which markets Amul.

The Dutch are not complaining. Ed van Nierop, the Netherlands manager, says, “Major Dutch brands like Philips, Shell and KLM were interested. But the ICC (International Cricket Council) has exclusive deals with rival companies. For example, they have a deal with LG, which means we cannot have Philips as the sponsor. It was a bit of an issue to get sponsorship. So we are very happy Amul approached us.”

He does not reveal the value of the contract, but hints it is proportionate to the status of Netherlands cricket. “We only have 5,000 people playing cricket in Holland. Cricket gets ten minutes of TV time a year. Only when Bob Woolmer died and spot fixing occurred did we have some airtime.”

Van Nierop says the deal is limited to the duration of the World Cup. The deal between DEC and New Zealand cricket, though, is for three years.

Asked if he was aware that the company was known for its advertisements, Van Nierop says, “Yes. They have also made a special ad for us.” They should also hope that the association with a butter brand does not affect their catching.

About The Author

Akshay Sawai