MUMBAI: In its endeavour to engage its ever-growing fan base, Indian premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has launched a fan engagement contest for the upcoming season. For the first time, we see a club allowing young fans to come up with a ‘cool and exciting‘ name for their mascot.

CSK‘s mascot is a young lion, symbolising the city’s fighting spirit and winning attitude. Even though it has been a long standing fixture in the CSK brand for over four years now, it has remained nameless for all these years. From cheering the team on the sidelines, to colouring the field yellow celebrating victory, the mascot is now going to be a more visible member of the team with the responsibility of entertaining young and old fans who watch the match in the stadium.

Through this contest fans are encouraged to participate in giving a name to the mascot that is not only cool but is reflective of the attitude of the city and the team it stands for. In order to help the fans, there are some likes and dislikes that have been mentioned, that will help them in naming the lion.

CSK joint president marketing Rakesh Singh said, “A mascot is a platform to engage with our young fans. It allows a certain freedom to bring humour and sarcasm into a serious sports brand. Moreover, It can have a opinion on anything and everything and put a smile on faces. We are excited to get our young fans involved in the naming of their favorite mascot and hope that we will receive great response from them. The lucky winner, will not only have a chance to name the lion, but also receive a host of goodies from the team. 10 runners up will win post cards jointly autographed by the captain M.S.Dhoni and the mascot.”

The contest is for fans aged between 4 – 15 years and will be conducted through SMS and online entries. The last date of entry for the contest would be 28 February.