By Raghav Bagai
Time to brace yourselves, as it’s IPL season! The Indian Premier League (IPL) is not just any sporting event but an extravaganza, a festival, a celebration of sports, entertainment, and emotions all rolled into one. It is no secret that brands have capitalized on this marketing phenomenon since its inception a decade and half ago.
Imagine if there was a way for brands to connect with audiences without being intrusive. It is exactly what moment marketing does. It allows brands to swoop in and leverage ongoing events to create spontaneous, engaging content that resonates with consumers. And when it comes to the IPL, the opportunities for moment marketing are endless. According to the numbers, TV and OTT viewership reached around 426 million last year.
Let’s explore how advertisers can catch eyeballs during IPL — More than 70% of people globally use a second screen like a smartphone, tablet, or laptop while watching TV. It implies ample opportunity for brands to communicate their message to the audience. And let’s not forget about those high-impact moments during the match – the nail-biting finishes, the stunning catches, and the adrenaline-fueled celebrations. These are the moments that brands can leverage to connect with their audience and amplify their reach.
Right moment to connect with the right audiences
IPL is the holy grail of marketing opportunities for brands looking to connect with their target audience, basically the super bowl of India. But it’s not just about the numbers. It’s about reaching out to the right audience at the right moment. The key to a successful moment marketing campaign lies in insightful execution, targeting the right audience at the right moment and through the right platforms. Witnessing the rising preference for OTT platforms, fueled by India’s internet offerings, brands can leverage the opportunity to advertise where the young generation spends most of their time.
Create content that is tied to human emotions
IPL is an ideal opportunity for brands to capture the audience’s pulse by creating content that resonates with their emotions. For instance, brands can create ads that show the excitement and thrill of watching IPL with friends and family. The ads can showcase how IPL brings people together and invoke a sense of brotherhood. Brands can also go one step further and leverage the tournament’s popularity by creating humorous memes, impactful social media posts, and entertaining reels that resonate with viewers on a deeper level. The possibilities for brands to make a splash with moment marketing are endless.
For example, Swiggy, in its 2018 IPL ad campaign, “No order too small,” featured a man ordering a single piece of gulab jamun. The campaign conveyed the message that people matter more than the order value. The ad helped increase new user orders by a significant percentage.
Cred’s DVC featuring an angry Rahul Dravid as “Indiranagar ka gunda”, took cult status within days of launching the campaign, leading to massive uptick in the brand recall.
Many brands have also been sailing on the IPL advertising namely boat, CRED, Pepsi, Zomato, Amul, Vivo, Disney+Hotstar, among others.
Occupy consumer mind-space and maximize impact
IPL 2023 offers an unparalleled opportunity for brands to seize consumer mind-space. By creating content that resonates with viewers, brands can leave a lasting impression on their target audience. Moreover, pre and post-match shows that draw millions of viewers offer brands an excellent platform to create branded content, collaborate with niche influencers to create user-generated content (UGC), and reach a wider audience. By doing so, brands can position themselves as part of the tournament and become integral to the viewers’ overall IPL experience. IPL creates a lot of excitement on social media, which brands can take advantage of by promoting their products and offerings through campaigns on social media and targeted advertising. With endless possibilities to capitalize on IPL, brands can elevate their presence in the minds of consumers and make a significant impact.
Over to the readers
IPL is a great tournament for moment marketing strategies. By capitalizing on its popularity, brands can connect with their existing and new consumers at the right moment and create content that strikes a chord with their emotions. It is time for brands to gear up because IPL 2023 is just around the corner, and it’s the perfect festive season for them to showcase their creativity and join in on the fun through moment marketing. It’ll be interesting to watch brands hit a six; let the game begin!
The author is the co-founder of Sociowash, an Indian digital marketing company
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook