acko: Acko earmarks over Rs 25 crore on sports sponsorships in FY23

Mumbai: Acko, the insurtech start-up which
turned unicorn last year, has decided to up its marketing budget from Rs 150 crore in the last fiscal, to Rs 250 crore in FY 23. Out of this, over Rs 25 crore will be on sports related activities, said a top executive.

“Our marketing budget is split between brand marketing and performance marketing… We’ve gone from a Rs 45 crore brand budget two years back to Rs 150 crore last year and to Rs 250 crore now in FY23,” Ashish Mishra, EVP, marketing at Acko, told ET. “Approximately 10% will be on sports sponsorships and activation.”

In the current season of the Indian

League (IPL), Acko has moved from individual-specific tie-ups to team specific tie-ups. The company is associated with six IPL teams, including the two new teams – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow SuperGiants.

The company had its first association with Delhi Capitals, which was three seasons ago and later added Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In addition to IPL teams, Acko is also associated with Chennaiyin FC, the Chennai franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL).

“As an insurance player we are focusing on the top 24 cities only that are our core areas. We want to have operational capabilities in each of these markets to be able to deliver the brand promise and the brand propositions, before expanding into other markets,” Mishra added.

The company also organised Acko Fan Arena, drive-in experiences offering a combination of cricket and entertainment by featuring live cricket, stand-up artists, live music, DJs, face painters, merchandising, refreshments, and more. These drive-in experiences were scheduled from April 8 till May 21 across seven cities through 14 events and attracted over 3,000 audiences.

The company, which unlocked 15 new cities this year, also plans to launch its retail health insurance by the end of this year.

Unlike traditional insurance companies, Acko sells directly to the consumer and passes on the benefit of cost to the consumers.

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