Interview: Founders of Game Changer India talking about the sport industry and their venture

In our new Business Interview series we talk to Amrut Joshi, Founder Partner and Prantik Mazumdar, Managing Partner of Game Changer India. They talk us through their company profile and the services that they provide and also give us an insight on Sports Law and the impact of Social Media on Sports. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

Could you tell us what the idea behind the conceptualization of GameChanger was?

By the end of 2011, one of us (Amrut) had finished 8 years in the practice of law, during which time he had worked on some landmark transactions in the Indian sports market, written extensively on contemporary issues in the field of sports law, and developed a great network of sports business professionals across different markets. At the same time, Prantik was moving on to join a social media startup, after having done stints with the Singapore Government and a couple of other brand consulting and social media consulting firms.

We had a shared passion for sports and wanted to utilise our professional skill-sets to develop a suite of consulting solutions for the global sports market. Based on Amrut’s interesting experiences of working with new sporting leagues in India, sports persons and sports administrators, we felt that the Indian sports market, like with all other sunrise industries, needed to experience a wave of professionalisation before it could really grow and become globally competitive.

While India has been witness to new sporting leagues such as the IPL, the Hockey India League and the newest kid on the block, the Indian Badminton League, it is our hypothesis that even these leagues have been conceptualised without much thought being given to issues such as good corporate governance, a clean ecosystem for franchisees and sponsors to invest funds in a secure manner, and appropriate methods of marketing (be they through traditional media platforms or through new media platforms).

Further, the sports agency space in India was occupied either by (a) large sports marketing and production firms (who are in the business of buying and selling sports rights) or (b) largely “one-person” agencies who were effectively agents of particular players. Also, there are some large multi-industry advertising agencies who broker sponsorship deals for sporting properties as well. There is a virtual absence of an intermediate layer of agencies, who are staffed with professionals who can effectively help stakeholders in the sports industry (be they sports governing bodies, sponsors, players or not-for profit bodies who use sport as a Corporate Social Responsibility tool) address governance challenges as effectively as designing a range of marketing solutions.

Gamechanger Sports Ventures has been conceptualized to address exactly this challenge.

What are the different aspects in the sports industry that Gamechanger works on? Could you please elaborate on them?

We studied how sports business consulting firms in advanced markets such as the UK and US had been structured. Then we mapped our professional skillsets vis-à-vis the potential demand in the Asian market (considering Prantik operates in Singapore and both of us have extensively worked with Australian sporting organizations). Based on this exercise, we provide the following solutions to the Asian markets:

a. Sponsorship Consulting

We use a hard data-driven approach to advise sponsors & property right holders in devising creative yet financially meaningful solutions.

b. Digital Marketing Advisory

We specialize in marketing sports personnel, teams, franchises, governing bodies & events through new media channels.

c. Anti-Doping Consulting

We are attempting to develop an Anti-Doping Consulting Practice whereby we can offer anti-doping advisory and education services.

d. Corporate Partnerships

We leverage on our extensive global network in the sporting world to structure meaningful corporate partnerships.

In addition to the above mentioned generic service offerings which can be applied to any sport, we have leveraged our extensive understanding of the Cricket and Football industries to devise customized consulting solutions for stakeholders in both these industries.

From a strict business point of view how does this company or organisation contribute to the rise of the sporting community in the country?

We have developed a proprietary content platform, gamechangerindia.com, where we share our analysis on contemporary issues in the fields of sports law, sports management and sports marketing. We believe that this is a huge value-addition considering that there has been very little analytical content on the legal and business issues surrounding sport in India. Eventually, we believe this knowledge-transfer and sharing would lead to a greater awareness within the Industry of governance, legal, marketing and management trends, and would contribute to a healthier and mature sports ecosystem in India.

The company is also known for its consulting. Is this done on a case to case basis or do you work with your clients charging them on the number of consulting hours?

Consulting services form the core of our business offerings. We evaluate our client’s requirements and objectives and accordingly, we suggest customized solutions for that particular client. Our business model varies depending on the industry, scope and size of the project – it can either be based on a retainer, a fixed fee based project or one that is based on the number of billable hours that we spend.

What role does each one of you play in the company?

As a Founder Partner of the Firm, Amrut is responsible for shaping the vision and strategy of the Firm, apart from also spearheading it’s Cricket and Football Business Consulting Practices. Prantik, the Managing Partner, spearheads the Firm’s day to day business operations, and is currently spearheading its Sponsorship Consulting and Digital Marketing practices. Our third colleague, Aditya Shamlal currently spearheads the Firm’s content initiatives in his role as a Managing Editor. Aditya is also utilizing his experience in the field of dispute resolution to help structure a specialized Anti-Doping Education and Advisory Practice.

Can you explain more about the work you are doing with anti-doping. Do sportsmen in India have enough awareness of Anti-Doping?

Our objective is to share knowledge on the complex regulatory framework that underpins the fight against doping. Our Managing Editor, Aditya Shamlal shares his research and thoughts on doping-related matters through periodical posts on the “Anti-Doping Monitor” section of Gamechanger’s proprietary content platform, www.gamechangerindia.com. While Sports Governing Bodies across the world are increasingly alert to the requirements of educating sportspersons on the dangers of doping, Indian administrators are behind the curve in terms of the fight against doping. According to a recent report by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), India has the second highest number of dope cheats in the world. Forty-three Indians are currently serving suspensions for doping, just behind Russia, 44 of whose athletes are on the suspended list. This is clear evidence of the fact that there is still a lot to be done by Sports Governing Bodies in India to counter the menace of doping.

Do you think social media is a massive influencer in the sports business?

Globally, digital media has and is completely revolutionizing the way sports related content is being created, co-created, distributed, consumed, influenced and advocated. Social media, in particular, provides a wonderful bridge that has allowed fans and sports stars to get up close and personal, something that was unfathomable even a few years ago. We believe it is not a fad and that this medium is here to stay and further transform and influence the sports industry. We hope to stay on top of the game to be able to constantly educate and advise our clientele on how they can maximize opportunities in the digital arena.

Can Gamechanger be considered a corporate initiative? What is the work that you do with corporates?

As discussed earlier, ‘Corporate Partnerships’ is one of the key pillars of our business. We believe that the best opportunities are created and harvested only when multiple nodes in an ecosystem work in cohesion, with a shared goal in mind. Through our extensive network, we connect like-minded, complimentary businesses to help create/further new sporting properties, promote merchandising deals, cross-promote their respective services, and foster joint ventures in the sports industry, with a view towards enhancing the competitiveness of the Asian sports industry. Corporates are a vital component of the sporting ecosystem, as seen in international as well as domestic sport, and their strengths need to be harnessed to maximize the outcome for the sports industry.

A lot of your work revolves around legalities is sports. How important is law in sports? What do you have to say about the impending implementation of the sports bill in India?

Amrut continues to be involved in the practice of sports law, wherein he assists different stakeholders in the sports industry on their contractual and regulatory requirements. There is no doubt that a healthy respect for laws and regulations is a sine qua non for the growth of any industry, and it is no different with the sports industry. As is evident from the recent controversies that have gripped the IPL, the Indian sports industry has a fair distance to cover in terms of understanding sport-specific rules and regulations and adhering to them, apart from always adhering to the laws of the land, whether they pertain to corporate governance, foreign exchange or laws of contract.

As regards the implementation of the sports bill in India, firstly, it will require a huge amount of political will for politicians to pass the bill. Thereafter, the political class will also need to step aside or reduce their involvement in sports administration, and focus on more burning issues that confront India today, and leave the administration of sport to professional sports administrators, marketers and ex-players. Only then will India actually witness a true transformation in its sporting culture.