Western countries were among the first to identify the significance of “Media “ in late 1867 (UW Libraries Special Collections Division, 2008). The root of this marketing type gained significant importance because of its function (Arackal, 2013):

1. Mirroring Society- reporting or recording faithfully & objectively events as they happen.
2. Setting agenda- deals with social responsibilities.

Cricket is also seen adapting media marketing from its early years. The rise of socio-economic transformation in this sport started from mediums like:

• Newspaper Ads. – this is considered to be the first medium for reaching out to people, its presence was highlighted in 1440 (University of Minnesota, 2010). The primary aim of this media was to aware people of what is happening in and around their place ( Lindstädt & Budzinski, 2011). Cricket used this medium to share the internal news (of the club), scores of matches, and Player’s endorsement with brands (Tewari, 2017). Example-Australia Cricket Board sets its investigator to trace in corruption allegation during Pakistan & Sri Lanka Tour in 1994/95 (Hindustan times, 2018).
  
   

• Magazines– This medium is again similar to a newspaper, as its primary focus is on creating awareness and providing information. Cricket uses Cricket Monthly (by ESPN), cricket 365, Spin, Cricket World Magazine, etc. for keeping the cricket fans updated. (w3newspaper, 2017)

• Hoardings– This medium is primarily focused on promoting of event or brand. Though the impact is not that significant but possesses hope for branding. As people continuously see there are chances for them to get attached to the sport.Example: In Kolkata hoarding is seen to be placed where the crowd is maximum so that fans could get connected and attached with cricket (NAIR, 2015).
• Radios– The first cricket broadcast was air by ABC in 1924. It gave ICC competition’s live update to users through radio (Bradman Centre, n.d.).This medium focuses on keeping the fans updated on scores or tournaments. Example: Talksport 2( from the UK), BBC Radio 5(UK),98.3(India), etc are among the top stations adapting this medium. 
• Television– This medium focuses on promotion & attracting fans by showing live telecasts.Example: Sachin Tendulkar(top Indian Cricketer) & Shah Rukh Khan(famous Indian Actor) coming together in the advertisement of Pepsi. This advertisement uses cricketers fan, actors fan for branding Pepsi through the theme of cricket, wherein it stands to be the win & win situation for all (Express Web Desk, 2017). Secondly, Top cricketers like Sachin (India), Shane Warne (Australia) & Carl Hooper (West indies) were seen in Pepsi advertise bantering with each other during the World Cup 2003. This not only promoted the brand but also the event “World Cup-2003”. (Malu, 2020)

• Sponsorships– cricket equipment like a bat, ball, stump, etc., and engaging partnership with clubs. Where in along with the product’s brand even the sport got significant attraction. This unique medium uses brands to gain interest in sports among the audience and also helps brands to attract more customers and generate profit (Nuseir, 2020). Example: Kookaburra (1974) –Australian Brand (Cricket Australia, n.d.), MRF(early 90’s)- Indian Brand (Singh, 2018)and GM early (90’s) (GM, n.d.)– England Brand is the cricket accessories manufacturing companies who were seen adapting this medium in early 70’s &90’s. Also, brands like Sahara(India), Vodafone(England) & ACB(Australia) were among the ones who were not directly involved in the sport.

 

Bibliography

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Lindstädt, N. & Budzinski, O., 2011. Newspaper vs. Online Advertising – Is There a Niche for Newspapers in Modern Advertising Markets?, Denmark: Urs Steiner Brandt .

Bradman Centre, n.d. Cricket & The Media. [Online]
Available at: https://internationalcrickethall.com/whats-here/cricket-and-the-media/
[Accessed 09 May 2021].

Cricket Australia, n.d. Commercial Partners. [Online]
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Express Web Desk , 2017. Indian Express. Remember when Shah Rukh Khan dressed up like Sachin Tendulkar? Before Sachin: A Billion Dreams, watch this throwback video, 17 April.

GM, n.d. WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF GM CRICKET. [Online]

Available at: https://www.playwiththebest.com/cricket.html
[Accessed 09 May 2021].

Hindustan times, 2018. Cricket. Cricket Australia removes head of integrity amid match-fixing investigation, 1 June.

Malu, J., 2020. Republic. When Sachin Tendulkar Hoodwinked Shane Warne, Carl Hooper In Pepsi 2003 WC Ad: Watch, 20 August.

NAIR, S., 2015. Cricket Monthly. The great Indian cricket ad tamasha, October.

Nuseir, M. T., 2020. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research. The effects of sponsorship on the promotion of sports events, 22(2), pp. 191 – 207.

Singh, C., 2018. Top 5 cricketers to have used MRF bat. [Online]
Available at: https://www.sportskeeda.com/cricket/top-5-cricketers-to-have-used-mrf-bat-sstl
[Accessed 09 May 2021].

Tewari, D. P., 2017. RELEVANT DERIVE (International Research Journal of Social Science Quarterly Bilingual). Cricket Visuals Dominate In Indian Media:A Content Analysis of Front Page Visuals In Indian Newspapers, 7(17), pp. 44-48.

University of Minnesota, 2010. History of Newspapers. [Online]
Available at: https://open.lib.umn.edu/mediaandculture/chapter/4-2-history-of-newspapers/
[Accessed 09 May 2021].

UW Libraries Special Collections Division, 2008. Early Advertising of the West, 1867-1918, Washington: UW Library.

w3newspaper, 2017. Cricket Magazines and Cricket Websites. [Online]
Available at: https://www.w3newspapers.com/magazines/cricket/
[Accessed 11 May 2021].