After scooping up the title sponsorship for IPL last season, the Tata Group is now tapping into the growing interest in women’s cricket. It has bagged the title sponsor tag for the Women’s Premier League (WPL) that starts tomorrow. While the fee for the WPL title sponsorship is unknown, experts reckon it would be a fraction of the sum that the conglomerate spent on the IPL title rights for the 2022 and 2023 seasons for an estimated `300 crore per year. The WPL title sponsorship will be a five-year deal from 2023 to 2027, and is expected to enhance the Tata brand attributes of being socially responsible and inclusive.
As per Hansa Research’s IPLomania 2022 report, Tata gained the highest sponsor recall among brands at 78%, which roughly means that 8 out of 10 viewers recalled a Tata brand during the men’s IPL last season. This is a good benchmark for Tata and the company will want to drive similar brand recall through its sponsorship of the WPL.
Supporting women’s sport could enable the Tata Group to position itself as a company that values gender equality, which can be a compelling differentiator in today’s market, according to Santosh N, managing partner, D and P Advisory. “The partnership can provide opportunities for Tata to showcase its various businesses and services, especially women-centric ones, through targeted marketing and sponsorship activations. There are several synergies between the company’s various brands that can be leveraged to make the most of the association,” he says. For instance, he points out that Tata’s jewellery brands (such as Tanishq) could introduce customised jewellery collections during the tournament. Likewise, Tata Consultancy Services could potentially provide digital solutions for the WPL, such as a mobile app for fans to track scores and buy tickets.
Two of the company’s brands, Tata Motors and Tata Capital (the Group’s financial subsidiary) will also be the WPL’s title sponsors. Abonty Banerjee, chief marketing & digital officer at Tata Capital, notes that consumption of women’s sports will continue to see an upward trend globally in the coming years. This is evident from the growing viewership of the sport — the recent bilateral India-Australia women’s series saw a record viewership close to that of a men’s game, as per reports. “We are seeing the emergence of women’s sports icons who are in turn inspiring the younger generation to take up sports. The immense talent of these women cricketers will attract a huge audience, and in turn this association will help groom domestic talent, create opportunities, and attract more fans towards the sport,” says Banerjee. During the WPL, Tata Capital will run an integrated marketing campaign across TV and digital platforms to leverage the event and connect with as many fans as possible.
Risks & rewards
Although the WPL title sponsorship has come at a cost lower than that of IPL, the association will not be without risk, given the league’s nascence. That apart, the Tata group also need to be aware of ambush marketing and other activities lined up by competitor brands that can undermine the value of its sponsorship. Remember how Pepsi “sponsored” the 1996 cricket World Cup without spending a penny? After Coca-Cola bagged the official sponsorship rights to the Wills World Cup, Pepsi stole the eyeballs by retaliating with its spirited “Nothing official about it” campaign.
That said, experts say the rewards of the association would far outweigh the risks. Nisha Sampath, managing partner, Bright Angles Consulting, points out that the Group stands to benefit both as a consumer facing and as an employer brand. “WPL is not just ahead of its time, but ahead of many other sports like tennis, where inequality in women’s pay still persists. The BCCI’s decision to pay equal match fees to women has set the tone. While sponsors often seek value for themselves, the Tatas have the weight to actually add value back to the association. WPL needs to draw a larger audience to stadiums and TV screens. I would expect the Tatas to showcase the talented players’ stories because it is the players who will draw the fans,” observes Sampath.
Broadcaster Viacom18 has already unveiled a campaign conceptualised by Ogilvy, which seeks to turn women cricket stars into household names. That will be the endeavour for all stakeholders at the WPL.
The Tata Group has a well-known history of promoting sports like hockey and football at the grassroot level, something that can be useful in supporting women’s cricket, remarks Bhairav Shanth, co-founder at ITW Consulting. He says, “Focussing on growing women’s cricket at the grassroot level and taking the game to smaller cities may be a wise strategy to build up the sport in the long run, as well as help create a solid fan base. As title sponsors, the Tatas can use their credibility in the market to grow the WPL as a property.”