Byju's FIFA deal: A win-win game?

When Byju’s announced on Wednesday that it had roped in ex-Facebook tech lead Majid Yazdani as Vice President and former Warner Media executive Shawn Smith as its first Global Head of Comms for OSMO (part of Byju's), it was seen in tune with the edtech platform’s global ambitions.

However, Thursday’s announcement that it has become the official sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 left many in awe for two primary reasons. Byju’s is being touted as the first Indian brand to sponsor FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting property in the world. Secondly, this is the first time Byju’s has associated itself with football, which has a larger global footprint than cricket.

Through the FIFA partnership, Byju’s will leverage its rights to FIFA World Cup 2022’s marks, emblem and assets, and run unique promotions to connect with football fans around the world.

"It is a matter of pride for us to represent India on such a prestigious global stage and champion the integration of education and sport," Byju’s Founder & CEO Byju Raveendran said in his statement.

Kay Madati, FIFA’s Chief Commercial Officer, says, “We’re delighted to be partnered with a company like Byju’s, which is also engaging communities and empowering young people wherever they may be in the world.”

Valued at about $13 billion, the most-valued Indian start-up after Paytm, Byju’s is no stranger to sporting sponsorships and has been the shirt sponsor of the Indian national cricket team since 2019.

According to Brand Strategist Lloyd Mathias, “This (sponsoring FIFA) is a wonderful move by Byju’s to get global visibility especially in Qatar and the middle-east where a significant chunk of the Indian diaspora resides. At the same time, it would also help FIFA to expand its footprint in South Asian countries where cricket continues to be the number one sport.”

Brand guru and Founder of eponymous brand consulting firm, Harish Bijoor, says, “This is a positive move for brand Byju's. A big Byju bite! This is Byju’s going global, beyond the diaspora. Much beyond with football.”

The collaboration has come at a time when a large number of start-ups funded by venture capitalists have emerged as India’s top advertisers with Byju’s being among the top three, as per the Pitch Madison Annual Report 2022. Many start-ups are sponsoring high-pitch cricket tournaments.

Viewership & Engagement

“An Indian start-up associating with FIFA will have a magnanimous impact in the advertising sector as well. It will prompt more Indian brands, especially the unicorns, to take the FIFA route to expand globally in the quickest time,” said another ad expert, citing viewership data and the high level of engagement in the high-decibel game.

To put things into perspective, a record 3.572 billion people - almost half of the world - watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia on TV at home, or on Out of Home and digital platforms, as per a FIFA audit. The final was seen live by a combined 1.12 billion viewers worldwide.

This year, FIFA World Cup will take place from November 21 to December 18.

Deal amount under wraps

The financial details of the sponsorship deal have not yet been disclosed. Industry experts say that it will be a significant amount.

The 2018 tournament was estimated to have earned FIFA $1.45 billion. As per industry sources, FIFA is eyeing $1.7 billion in revenue for the 2022 World Cup.

“FIFA sponsorship deals are huge. It is quite possible that organizers would have relaxed the cost of sponsorship for the Indian EdTech firm for larger gains. That means BYJU’s may not have to pay the same amount as Coca Cola or Adidas, but it will still be a significant amount,” Mathias says.

Coaching Class to Decacorn

Founded by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath as a CAT coaching class in 2006, Byju’s expanded pan-India quickly by offering a bouquet of courses ranging from K-12 and competitive exam preparation to early learning and coding to professional upskilling. The company claims to have over 80 million registered users and 5.5 million subscribers.

This journey to becoming one of the top edutech firms in the country and beyond has been interspersed with a couple of acquisitions in the past two years – Whitehat Jr, Austrian start-up GeoGebra and American coding startup Tynker – being the notable names.