AFI Media
9th July 2020
New Delhi. India’s best track and field athletes are coming to your home screens to keep your kids active and fit! Brought to you by MILO® National Inter District Junior Athletics Meet (MILO® NIDJAM), the premier junior athletics talent hunt of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), in partnership with Nestlé MILO®.
Nestlé MILO’s latest initiative, “#MILOHOMEGROUND” is a pathbreaking extension of its worldwide legacy of over 86 years of nourishing young champions by providing nutritious energy and the inspiration to grow with sports. Through this initiative, MILO® HOME GROUND will roll out workout videos inspiring kids to enjoy effective and easy exercises demonstrated by leading AFI sporting heroes like Hima Das, Neeraj Chopra, KT Irfan, Md. Anas Yahiya, MR Poovama and many more. These videos will be available for free on the social media handles of MILO® (@MiloIndia) and MILO® NIDJAM (@MiloNidjam).
Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Mr. Vineet Singh, Director – Dairy, Nestlé India said, “In more than 50 countries, MILO® inspires parents on the importance of sports in helping their kids achieve everyday victories that instil values to help them succeed in life. MILO® HOME GROUND aims to create opportunities for these everyday victories and get kids to stay active even while staying home. In collaboration with the Athletics Federation of India and the AFI athletes as part of MILO® NIDJAM, we are excited to offer fun exercise routines that children can do at home – by themselves or with parents. When a child successfully completes an exercise, they can win the MILO® Green Card, which rewards positive behaviour, a welcome change from the usual Red and Yellow cards that are awarded for bad behaviour.”
The President of Athletics Federation of India, Mr. Adille Sumariwalla said, “Sports in the life of a growing child is most fundamental. An active lifestyle leads to healthier families and this kind of lifestyle begins at home. The partnership with Milo, a brand who stands for giving nourishing energy to kids for an active and healthy lifestyle, is going to help us to spread this message to the country at large. What started as a partnership at back of the National Inter District Junior Athletics Meet last year, has grown to a digital playground led by AFI’s top athletes and India’s loved celebrities. We are proud to associate with Milo Home Ground and will encourage people to spread the message of active energy far and wide.”
And #MILOHOMEGROUND won’t leave parents behind! Sports and fitness role-models like Shikhar Dhawan, Mandira Bedi and other celebrities are stepping-up to share their own experiences of MILO® HOME GROUND with their kids. They want to encourage their followers and the community at large to start inculcating physical exercise into the child’s routine with MILO® HOME GROUND – and share their experiences online. For every exercise video that is posted on the MILO® Facebook and Instagram handle (@MiloIndia), the parent will be given a MILO® GREEN CARD to reward their child as appreciation and encouragement for having completed the exercise.
Each MILO® GREEN CARD is a fascinating collectible autographed by a famous athlete. Parents can motivate their kids to collect all 6 MILO® GREEN CARDS: some exciting surprises await those who earn the entire collection.
So it’s not just MILO’s signature choco-malty taste and nourishing energy that kids can look forward to enjoying, while at home.
The campaign has been created and executed by Meraki Sport & Entertainment, commercial and marketing rights holders of MiloNidjam and marketing partners to the Athletics Federation of India.
Namrata Parekh, Co-founder & Director, Meraki said “While MILO-NIDJAM actively engaged over 65K kids across the country last year, our endeavor with MILO-HOMEGROUND, in 2020, will be to significantly increase reach, whilst simultaneously building brand affinity within the primary target group. To this end, apart from a comprehensive influencer marketing strategy that includes, celebrities, fitness enthusiasts & athletes, we have also partnered with large digital communities, and are in conversations with organizations & institutions who have effectively leveraged the power of sport, as a tool for development & social change.”
About MILO®
MILO® is the world’s leading Cocoa Malt Beverage. About 37 million serves of MILO® are consumed daily in more than 50 countries across the world. MILO® is powered by ACTIV-GO™, which contains PROTOMALT®, a unique malt extract, and a specifically-designed combination of 8 essential micronutrients (vitamin B2, B3, B6, B12, D and important minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus) that support efficient energy release in the body. Each serving of MILO® with milk meets 23% of a growing child’s protein needs for a day.
About Athletics Federation of India:
The Athletics Federation of India is the apex body for running and managing athletics in India and affiliated to the IAAF, AAA and Indian Olympic Association. The AFI has as many as 34 affiliated state units and institutional units. The AFI came into existence in 1946 and the federation organises the National Championships, trains the Indian Athletics National Campers, selects the Indian Athletics Teams for various international competitions, including the Olympics, Asian Games, CWG, IAAF World Championships, Asian Championships and other international meets, conducts the National Championships for various age categories.
Besides, the AFI conducts international and national championships and various meets to promote the sport and popularise it amongst the masses and make athletics commercially attractive for the further growth of the athlete and the sport. The federation also supervises and assists its state units in their activities, plans and sets up special coaching camps, coaches training and takes initiatives for development programme and grass root promotion of athletics in India.
About MILO® NIDJAM
MILO® NIDJAM, organised by the Athletics Federation of India, is currently one of the world’s largest talent hunt programmes for a single sport. Established in 2003, the National Inter District Junior Athletics Meet (NIDJAM) aims to spot, nurture and provide a national platform to talented athletes across the country. The grassroots initiative, reaching about 500 districts, is a platform for boys and girls in the Under-14 and Under-16 age groups to showcase their talent across 10 athletic disciplines. NIDJAM in the past has unearthed champions like Dutee Chand, Neeraj Chopra, Navjeet Kaur Dhillon and V Subha.
About Meraki Sport and Entertainment–
Established in September 2015, on the premise of “building brands through sport”, Meraki Sport & Entertainment is one of India’s leading home-grown sport consulting & marketing companies with five key business verticals: Advisory, Rights Management, Talent Representation, Live Experiences & Intellectual Properties, who:
a.) Work with brands, helping them leverage sport as a marketing vehicle viz. Nestlé (Milo), Bira 91 (Bira Light), Max Life Insurance, Welspun, Reebok etc.
b.) Engage with federations, teams, properties & franchises to drive revenue & enhance salience viz. Athletics Federation of India, Cycling Federation of India, Kerala Blasters Football Club & North East United Football Club (ISL), Tamil Thalaivas (PKL), Fastrack Music Run etc.
c.) Represent some of India’s best Olympic and Paralympic athletes viz. Dipa Karmakar (Gymnast), Manasi Joshi (Para-Badminton), Rohan Bopanna (Tennis), Sandesh Jhingan (Football), Devendra Jhajharia (Para-Javelin) etc.
d.) Conceptualized & instituted, India’s largest cyclothon, Pedal Delhi (2017 & 18), supported by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Govt. of India
e.) Implemented FSSAI’s Swasth Bharat Yatra – one the world’s largest social awareness campaigns, reaching 600+ districts across the country
f.) Created Axia, India’s first brand alignment tool for teams, franchises & events (a chlorophyll-Meraki model)
