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The pre-pageant tour was hosted by Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts and the finalists spent six days visiting four of their properties – Cinnamon Grand and Cinnamon Lakeside in Colombo and Cinnamon Bey and Bentota Beach Hotel outstation.
“For Miss India we originally expected US$ 3-4 million but from my indications it could be more than that. TV is where the big value is and they are saying they can give us much more minutes based on the material that they shot here,” Mudadeniya said.
Number of hits on Facebook posts related to the contest has increased considerably as well while the exposure created by the girls through their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts is considerable. “We have one message but many messengers – that is the idea of brand activation programs.”
Having hosted Miss France contestants in Sri Lanka last year, the company is working on bringing in more beauties to enjoy the warmth and the grandeur of the country in the future as well. “Cinnamon will continue to create events,” he assured. “It can be in fashion, information, education, but it will be related to tourism.”
Events will add credibility and give coverage to not only the destination but to the brand name of Cinnamon as well. “The PR value of hosting such events is great; but we must be constant. If you do one event and do nothing for the next 10 months, you will be forgotten. It cannot be a one-off. There is a need to be consistent and to be innovative so that you are in the news all the time, in relevant market. We have taken that challenge.”
For Miss France, the total media coverage value has been finalised at having exceeded US$ 10 million in international exposure alone. “We believe in ROI marketing, and this is a clear sign,” he said.
As a leading company in the country, Cinnamon is also interested in expanding the size of the cake so that everyone can benefit from it. “Since taking up the challenge to do that we have tried to create a demand for the destination so the destination gets most of the benefit, while our products will also be branded to some extent.”
For India, brand association has been identified as vital for promotional campaigns, Mudadeniya expressed. “If we are fishing in that upper segment – the hip and the modern market – this association is vital.”
Miss India in that sense, was the ideal platform. “It has a very positive connotation because of what it has been in the past, who is organising it, the Bollywood connection, and people who have won previously. It is a fairly positive association.”
The partnership established with Times of India will also provide a lot of leverage in India in the future as well, Mudadeniya acknowledged.
At the initial press conference on 11 March, Times Group COO-OMS Rohit Gopakumar announced that the group will consider bringing the grand finale of 2015 contests to Sri Lanka, which would create close to 500-600 international participation. He also noted the anticipation to tie up with Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts to utilise their properties outside of Sri Lanka for pageant purposes in the future.
