Bridgestone India has upped its marketing budget by 20% to Rs 300 million this year, according to Indiantelevision.com, with 40% of the total set aside for television ads.

In 2011, the company had a marketing budget of Rs 250 million, half of which was allotted for television.

The company, which is a heavy user of sports as part of its marketing efforts, recently signed a deal to be the official tire sponsor of World Series Hockey, a field hockey event in India, and as sponsor of the Mumbai Indians field hockey team.

“Partnering any form of sports is a natural extension of our marketing philosophy. We have been doing it for so many years now ever since Bridgestone Corp. was conceptualized. It helps us to connect to our target audience and in achieving our marketing strategy as well,” said Bridgestone India sales and marketing manager Vaibhav Saraf.

“We started advertising in India in 2011 last year around April and the first thing we did was partnering with Mumbai Indians as associate sponsor,” he told the website. “So we are quite keen on tying-up with sports events in India mainly from the perspective that it goes directly to our audience and that is a much salient way of putting your brand to your customers.”