The Indian Premier League (IPL) is never short of advertisers but this time around, joining beverage makers, telcos and auto manufacturers in the eighth season will be a clutch of online companies.
Multi Screen Media, which broadcasts the IPL on SET Max and Sony Six channels, has already sold 90-95% of its inventory and is expecting to clock in an advertising revenue of R950 crore. Digital companies are expected to contribute 20-25% of this, at roughly R190-240 crore of these spends.
While Amazon India made its debut last year, Rohit Gupta, president at Multi Screen Media (MSM), confirms that the online brigade is stronger: From Amazon and Snapdeal to mobile wallet and m-commerce firm such as Paytm, Cardekho and Magicbricks, they’re all in.
While companies such as Amazon, Paytm and Cardekho have bought sponsorship rights for the tournament, Snapdeal has bought air-time which is equivalent to being an associate sponsor. Gupta believes that the ability to target youth directly is what is drawing online firms to IPL.
“Any other cricket tourney attracts largely male viewers of 25 years and above. This is the only property where a large number of viewers are young people,” he explains.
Shankar Nath, senior vice-president, Paytm, is on board because he feels a brand ought to be present wherever its target consumers are. “The IPL provides non-stop access to consumers for 40-45 days and as an advertiser I can utilise the time to drive engagement with consumers,” he observes, adding that apart from launching a new campaign on television, his firm will also leverage the social media platforms.
Paytm isn’t the only one getting ready to ride the IPL wave. For LK Gupta, chief marketing officer, Girnar Soft, the parent company of Cardekho, IPL is the perfect platform to reach out to the masses. “Apart from the tournaments organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), IPL is the only property which is an apt combination of entertainment and sports,” says Gupta who’s looking to use the IPL platform to try and transform Cardekho into a mass brand. Both Paytm and Cardekho are associate sponsors of IPL and have invested close to R35-40 crore each.
Kartik Iyer, managing director, Carat Media, a media planning and buying outfit, points out that while long- term advertisers use IPL to drive engagement, there are those who use the platform for the reach it provides. “Depending on how well the cricketing event goes, some advertisers may opt to return next year and a few may not,” Iyer said.