IPL’s Lucknow Super Giants bring in Infront Lab to identify and grow fanbase

The IPL franchise, LSG will leverage Infront Lab’s Activation Engine to engage fans and collect zero and first-party data

Zug, Switzerland/Lucknow, India - Infront Lab and IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have agreed on a year-long partnership to increase the professional cricket franchise’s digital fan engagement via Activation Engine, Infront Lab’s proprietary data capture and fan engagement tool. 

Activation Engine leverages bite-sized games to engage fans and capture zero-party and first-party fan data, turning anonymous fans into identified ones and improving relationships between fans and their favourite teams and leagues. 

Lucknow Super Giants was founded in 2022 and compete in the Indian Premier League - world’s most popular Cricket league. As a new franchise in the densely populated Uttar Pradesh region, LSG wants to grow locally, and are using activations and data capture to connect and engage with their fans, to better understand their needs and preferences. 

Abhishek Padwal, Founder & CEO of HiG Sports, the agency that facilitated this partnership, said: “LSG is a classic case of the cultural diversity of India and the IPL. The franchise is the first and only IPL team from one of the five Hindi heartland states of India, owned by Kolkata-based RPSG group, which is in the Eastern part of India and captained by the Star Cricketer, KL Rahul from the state of Karnataka which is in South India. As a result, the franchise has been looking for innovative ways to capture and consolidate fan data in their CDP. Infront Lab has simplified this dynamic challenge via its Activation Engine.”

Atishay Agarwal, Head of Digital, RPSG Sports, said: "Partnering with Infront Lab has enabled us to add a layer of intelligence to the fan data that we are gathering on our newly adopted CDP. Furthermore, the plethora of activations that are possible through Activation Engine empowers our fan engagement efforts. The pilot undertaken during the 2023 Cricket World Cup is a testament to that, and we look forward to fully leverage Activation Engine in the upcoming IPL season. Thanks to HiG Sports for helping us connect with the team at Infront Lab and onboard the product."

LSG already has a strong following on social media, with more than 5M followers across the various networks. The franchise will use multiple activations a month to engage with fans on social media, WhatsApp, web and mobile. Their first activation surrounding the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup engaged thousands of participants who answered trivia questions about the event. More than 70 percent of fans who engaged with the activation offered data based on questions the club personally selected. 

Alon Hemasani, Senior Growth Manager, Infront Lab, said: “LSG utilises Infront Lab’s Activation Engine to introduce distinctive and captivating activations, providing the team with more exciting opportunities to interact with their fans. This initiative promotes stronger connections between the team and its supporters and enables LSG to collect valuable data to use for improved marketing efforts. By leveraging this tool, LSG is deepening fan engagement and gaining invaluable insights into their individual preferences and interests.”

Infront Lab is part of the Group's Media, Betting and Technology unit led by Amikam Kranz as Senior Vice President. This combination of Infront’s technology business with betting and media rights provides more holistic commercial opportunities to rightsholders.

About Infront Lab

As the tech branch of Infront Sports & Media, Infront Lab offers full 360 support for rights owners and sports organisations to shape the future of sports by creating fan-centered experiences. Located in the heart of Israel’s tech capital and across the European sports landscape, Infront Lab has a front-row seat to the latest developments, cutting-edge technologies and the world’s top sports organisations, allowing us to match the right technologies with the correct rights owners.

About RPSG Sports Private Limited

RPSG Sports Private Limited is the sports arm of the RPSG Group (owned by Dr Sanjiv Goenka), one of India’s largest and oldest conglomerates with an asset base of $7 Bn, revenue of $4.3 billion and an active presence in 35+ countries. Headquartered in Kolkata, the Group's businesses include power and energy, carbon black manufacturing, retail, IT-enabled services, FMCG, media and entertainment, and agriculture. RPSG Sports was formed in 2014 to breed excellence within the sporting community of India. The current portfolio of RPSG Sports include the iconic ATK Mohun Bagan Football Club which competes in the Indian Super League, the Lucknow Super Giants IPL franchise and the Durban Super Giants team that plays in the South African T20 Cricket League.

About HiG Sports

HiG Sports is a Mumbai-based B2B Consulting Agency, established in 2022, to foster cross-pollination of innovations in the Sports, Fitness, and Media industries between India and the rest of the World. In essence, HiG supports, advises, and facilitates go-to-market access for tech firms, brands, and sports rights holders. At the other end of the spectrum, HiG augments, simplifies, and offloads the scouting, and discovery of solutions for sporting entities to solve their problems and streamline efforts in marketing, operations, and other business areas.