CIBC is continuing its support of South Asian culture in Canada by signing on to be the presenting sponsor of this year’s International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFAA), which is being held in Toronto in June.

It’s the first time the awards show, known as ‘the Oscars of Bollywood,’ is being held in North America, and the bank is hoping to take advantage of the local media coverage and enormous reach of the broadcast, Veni Iozzo, SVP, marketing and strategy, CIBC, tells MiC.

‘CIBC has a long history of celebrating Canada’s rich cultural diversity,’ he says. ‘The IIFAA sponsorship is a great way for us to reach out to the millions of Canadians that follow the Bollywood film industry and demonstrate our commitment to this community.’

The bank’s logo will be appearing as the presenting sponsor on all materials being circulated in Canada. The broadcast will be carried by Rogers’ OMNI channels in Canada and distributed internationally by Star TV. The estimated worldwide audience is 600 million viewers, a CIBC spokesperson said.

Yesterday’s announcement comes on the heels of another sponsorship covering some of the same audience. In December, the company announced it would help CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada resurrect its Punjabi-language broadcast and webcast with a season-long sponsorship.

The bank also sponsored the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcasts in Canada, Iozzo adds.

‘Our sponsorship of IIFAA is just another example of how CIBC supports programs that matter to our clients and our employees.’

The IIFAA is expected to attract over 40,000 visitors to Toronto.