Proving its detractors wrong, the Indian Premier League has emerged as the country?s biggest sporting and entertainment extravaganza offering a perfect platform for brands to connect with their core audience. In its sixth season as all eyes turn to the action on the pitch, more than 100 brands led by title sponsor Pepsi are pulling out all stops to be on top of the game
Six is a magical number in cricket. Players and fans wait for that ?aha? moment when the batsman hits the ball for a massive six over the boundary line. For the Indian Premier League (IPL) that ?aha? moment has arrived. The sixth season of the twenty20 tournament organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has started and with it the country’s biggest sporting and entertainment extravaganza. In many ways, the sixth season is a milestone in the tumultous history of IPL. After the successful completion of the fifth season last year, all the central sponsorship deals were up for renewal. A tender floated by IPL for the title sponsorship saw cola giant PepsiCo India bagging it for the next five years. Again, the Hyderabad franchise changed hands as one of India?s leading media conglomerates, the Sun Group, acquired the team heralding the rise of a fresh new team, ?Sunrisers?.
Already 100 million viewers have watched the first week of Pepsi IPL 2013 on MAX and SIX, the two channels on which official broadcaster Multi Screen Media (MSM) is showing the tournament, according to data collected by television audience measurement agency TAM Media Research. This season, more than 100 brands are betting more than R1500 crore through direct advertising, sponsorships, licensing and merchandising deals with individual teams, IPL management and MSM. Along with them, many restaurants, bars and hotels hope to do some brisk business as fans gather at these places to watch their favourite cricketers on giant screens put up for the occasion. For instance, popular pub Hard Rock Caf? (HRC), which sees a huge turnout of corporate and media professionals during the IPL matches, is serving an extra punch with its specially created cocktail pitchers such as Play, Rum Striker, Stumped and Free Hit for IPL6 fans. There are fun-filled contests and prizes. Hard Rock Caf? has five centres in India ? Mumbai, Delhi. Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore ? and has been screening IPL matches since the first season of the tournament in 2008.
?Every year we have witnessed a surge in advance bookings by corporate houses and also regular walk-ins during the screenings. This year too, we are expecting a good turnout,? said Anisha Banerji, vice president ? marketing, JSM Corp which owns Hard Rock Cafe. ?With multiple LCD screens and cheering crowds, HRC turns into the stadium making it a unique experience for the patrons.?
GroupM ESP, the content, sports and entertainment arm of GroupM Media India, has helped many of its clients leverage the IPL on-ground sponsorship platform, by providing end-to-end IPL related solutions. ?We?ve been part of IPL since its inception and we strongly believe that IPL is India?s biggest and the most powerful marketing platform for brands to leverage the combined appeal of cricket and entertainment,? said Vinit Karnik, head of sports and live practice at GroupM ESP. ?This season has been a busy and fruitful season. We had the opportunity to work closely with the Sun Group?s Sunrisers and have enabled the new franchise get off to a strong start with 10 on-ground official partnership/sponsorships including MakeMyTrip, 7UP, Garnier, Kingfisher, Live-In Jeans, Manyavar, Sheltrex, RN Sports, etc. We also advised Vodafone backed by a comprehensive valuation exercise based on proprietary data and insights which helped them build a case to renew their on-ground associate sponsorship for another five years. Other high profile deals which we managed to facilitate this year included Bajaj Allianz and Mumbai Indians, Flying Machine and Royal Challengers Bangalore among others.? The total value of all the on-ground deals enabled and activated by GroupM ESP this season is around $15 million.
?We are fast reaching a stage where there is nothing left untouched by IPL,? said Indranil Blah, chief operating officer, KWAN Entertainment and Marketing Solutions. There is so much hype and hoopla around the event, that it has generated a new eco-system, believes Blah. For instance, National Geographic channel has announced that it is relaying a special inside series on IPL. From execution to management to broadcast to players and fans, the Inside IPL show will chronicle the greatest sporting spectacle. Explaining the association, Keertan Adyanthaya, managing director of National Geographic network and Fox International said that IPL is more than just a cricket tournament. It involves millions of people and billions of rupees.
Little wonder then that there?s a whole parade of IPL sponsors lined up this season which includes big names such as Pepsi, Vodafone India, Yes Bank and Star India. IPL?s television sponsors include Samsung, Karbonn Mobiles, Tata Photon, Cadbury, Parle Foods, Usha Appliances International, Havells and Godrej. ?I suspect that Coca-Cola may buy a whole lot of IPL airtime in order to continue on in the race. Or, perhaps, it will go the other way and invest in Bollywood instead. It will be interesting to see what their counter-strategy is? Blah said. ?While DLF was long regarded as the sleeping partner of IPL, you can count on Pepsi to keep the buzz alive.?
Pepsi?s big bang
Blah is right. Pepsi has a bag of tricks for IPL. It has launched a new ad film, which is the first in a series of ad films for the league. The ad features actor Ranbir Kapoor in a different frame and the baseline runs: Yeh team kabhi, toh who team kabhi. Par Pepsi Oh Yes Abhi. The cola major bagged the IPL title sponsorship rights for 2013-17 for R396.8 crore ($71.77 million approximately) last year, almost double the original title sponsorship deal done in 2008. Pepsi has also launched a limited edition 500-ml fan can and is creating a branded ?VIP? box where fans can share space with celebrities. Fans can play an alternate Tweet20 tournament on Twitter and there is a new website which will give out merchandise, match tickets, etc. Both these initiatives have already been launched. For in-stadia, Pepsi is introducing can shaped player dugouts, 3D pitch mats, IPL horn, countdown timer, etc.
Deepika Warrier, vice president, beverage marketing, PepsiCo India said that in its first year as proud sponsors of the biggest annual cricket tournament, it was pleased to add extra fizz to fan experiences. ?For us, this is a perfect platform as it provides wider reach and engagement opportunities with our core target audience in the peak beverage season. Marketing initiatives and activations are focused on fans, from interactive contests and engagement in-stadia, on-air and on-line to product and branding innovation, everything is designed to provide the ultimate sporting experience,? she said.
Yes Bank, which has signed up as the official partner in the financial services category, is also optimistic about its association with IPL. Anindya Datta, president and chief marketing officer, Yes Bank said that the bank was looking for one ?stand out? property that cut demographics and also clicked with the Indian diaspora in other parts of the world. Yes Bank has supported other sports in the past such as golf, cricket, polo, badminton, etc., and infrastructure around sports. IPL was a natural extension. This partnership with IPL will enhance Yes Bank?s pan India retail banking franchise. ?We look to deepen our relationship with stakeholders through activation around the IPL tournament in retail branch serving areas across India,? said Datta. Yes Bank will devise on-air communication around the IPL theme which will also talk about the advantages of Yes Bank such as its attractive interest rates. Datta is not too bothered about the fall in viewership ratings or brand valuations for IPL. According to him, the property is best-in-class, vibrant and innovative.
Mobile phone operator Vodafone is also happy that it has renewed its arrangement with the tournament. It has launched a high-decibel campaign to drive adoption of mobile internet and target non-users. The campaign brings back the Zoozoos who have been a big hit since their advent in the second season of IPL. It is expected to drive trials of the internet via two starting packs, priced at R25 on 2G and R49 on 3G. The telecom company is also offering 76 Vodafone fans the royal treatment ? a luxury car picks them up and takes them to the airport from where they are flown to a match venue; they get to sit in the hospitality box at the IPL venue, watch the match in style; get goodies and also a match ball autographed by the winning captain on live TV.
?If you do things that are truly innovative and cutting-edge during the IPL, then the impact multiplier and bang for the buck is unmatchable. No other cricketing platform packages sport, talent, chutzpah and entertainment together on one platform,? said Anuradha Aggarwal, senior vice president- brand communications and insights at Vodafone India.
MSM strikes gold
The broadcasting partner for IPL is MSM. Man Jit Singh, chief executive of MSM said that he expects this to be the greatest season for IPL since fan interest is very high. Bringing on Pepsi as the title sponsor and their focus on youth activation is a big plus, he said. ?In terms of television audiences we expect to reach over 200 million viewers, a big increase from the 170 million viewers in the last season. Advertisers have also recognised the success of IPL and it is a must have for all active campaigns during the season. Sponsors return year after year as they recognise the value of having their brands associated with IPL. In fact, this year some sponsors who had dropped out last year are back again. We are almost sold out on advertising space. So we are seeing no impact of the cautious advertising sentiment,? said Singh.
Cola wars, however, may not be the only spectacle this IPL season. Star India has jumped aboard as associate sponsor, on a prized MSM property. Singh doesn?t flinch in the slightest when he says, ?We are glad that Star too recognises that IPL is the largest and greatest sporting brand in the country and that it is desperate enough to try and get associated with the IPL brand. It validates our belief in our investment in IPL and clearly shows our IPL advertisers that they too are making the right investment.?
Media analysts say that MSM could clock R900 -950 crore in revenues on IPL 2013, while it had clocked over R700 crore in the previous year. As per sources in the channel, Coca-Cola has also bought a lot of airtime on the IPL – more than R30 crore worth inventory. Presenting sponsors have forked out nearly R60 crore to beam on television while associate sponsors have shelled out nearly R40 crore.
Admittedly, MSM had lowered ad rates in the beginning of the season to the tune of R3.5? 4 lakh for ten seconds. But now they are nearly sold out and the last minute inventory is going for nearly R5 lakh. ?Taking the advertiser sentiment into account, we had dropped our ad rates when we began selling. That helped increase the demand and gradually, we have increased our rates. The spot rates are going at over R5 lakh as we speak,? said Rohit Gupta, president, MSM. As per him, the IPL has been growing year on year ? in the first few years, ad rates went up by 25-30%. ?This year also, I expect to outdo last year. It?s a sell-out.? MSM is currently left with just 10% of IPL inventory, said Gupta.
Other brands riding IPL
A couple of years back, Parle Products had launched a campaign for Monaco Mast biscuits on the back of IPL and it got them 15-20% more recall, said Pravin Kulkarni, general manager (marketing) at Parle Products. This year it has a new launch in the form of premium cookies Goldstar. There are also new campaigns for Hide and Seek Fab and Krackjack. Campaign launches are amplified by the IPL, he maintains. Recall goes up many times over because of the buzz and public relations around the event. Parle has been selective in going with cricket properties and IPL is an exception. Falling viewing ratings are also not a concern. ?It?s still delivering more than many of the shows on general entertainment channels,? maintains Kulkarni.
This IPL season is also the coming-out party for Usha International which is one of the on-air sponsors of the IPL and also the official sponsor of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team. The brand aims to project itself as a contemporary brand and connect with the youth. The ads will showcase innovative products brought out by the company, keeping in mind changing lifestyles. ?The company is aiming high in terms of brand presence and visibility through both CSK and IPL. We will bring out a host of exciting contests and activities across the country,? said Neelima Burra, senior general manager, marketing (appliances and sewing machines), Usha International. One of the initiatives planned is an integrated brand campaign called ?Usha Air play challenge? which will give fans the opportunity of meeting their favourite CSK players.
Unleashing the franchise
Again, IPL team Rajasthan Royals is signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an international company to launch a 24-hour RR channel on YouTube. In addition, it is planning a glitzy fashion show in Jaipur. ?The RR Youtube channel will feature new updates and behind-the-scenes action from the RR team,? said Raghu Iyer, chief executive at Rajasthan Royals. ?This year, apart from our regular media plan of print, outdoor and radio ads, we will do a lot of mall activation in cities such as Delhi, Bangalore and Jaipur.? Iyer added that a lot of new fan merchandise will be introduced in association with partner Provogue. ?Usually, fan apparel does not have much for the ladies. This year, we are coming up with slick designs for the ladies and Shilpa (Shetty) is personally involved,? he said.
CSK, apart from launching new cricket gear and cricket kits, is toying with the idea of opening health cafes in the June-July 2013 period. Chandrabhan Tiwari, general manager, marketing at India Cements which owns CSK, said that it was trying to spin off a caf? where there will be protein shakes, along with other health foods. ?Plus, you will have CSK merchandise and lifestyle items all around the same vicinity. We want to time this well, so that we have the maximum walk-ins,? he said. Tiwari added that the franchisee was also experimenting online. It has come up with a video link on Facebook, via which team captain MS Dhoni and the rest of the CSK team have interacted with fans. ?Not too many people know this, but our Facebook page is also operated by fans. One individual is from IIT Mumbai and the other is from Accenture. They were running a false Chennai Super Kings page. We offered them the chance to put up content and run our official page instead. It?s an experiment that has paid off beautifully,? Tiwari said.