Ed Sheeran's India tour 'Perfect' for Kotak Mahindra Bank's business

There is more math to Ed Sheeran’s Mathematics tour than just its name ‘+ - = ÷ x’ and Kotak Mahindra Bank can testify to that. 

Kotak Mahindra Bank has tied up with Ed Sheeran’s Mumbai tour organisers which has resulted in the bank selling more cards than ever.

This is because the pre-sale tickets to Ed Sheeran’s concert that were priced at a minimum of Rs 7,500 each were available at a discounted price of Rs 5,500 for Kotak Bank white credit card holders. Moreover, for Kotak Mahindra Bank credit cardholders, these tickets were available for pre-sale for two days. 

"We have seen a fivefold increase in applications for our premium credit cards - the white and white reserve cards - following the pre-sale announcement," Business Head of Credit Cards at Kotak Mahindra Bank told The Economic Times. 

While on any normal day the bank receives 6,000 credit card applications, due to the pre-sales offer the number has surged to 30,000 a day. 

This is not the first time the bank has tied up with a celebrity to offer discounted prices to its customer base. Kotak Mahindra Bank has also been the presenting sponsor for Backstreet Boys World Tour in India where it allowed its customers to buy the pre-sales tickets at a 25 per cent discount. 

In the past, the bank has been associated with Backstreet Boys' DNA World Tour, Trevor Noah's Off The Record Tour, and WestLife's The Wild Dreams Tour. 

The 32-year-old musician will perform at Mumbai's Mahalaxmi Racecourse on March 16, 2024, as part of the Asia and Europe tour, also called The Mathematics tour, the organisers said in a press release.

Sheeran's performance in Mumbai will be the final stop in the Asia Tour and also feature a guest, singer-songwriter Calum Scott.

The tour will draw from all of his albums since 2011, starting with Plus, Multiply (2014), Divide (2017), Equals (2021) and Subtract (2023). The tour also includes a song from 2019’s No. 6 Collaborations Project (Blow).

(With PTI inputs)