Influencers play a significant role in the purchase process of consumers in India. According to The Goat Agency’s India Influencer Marketing Report 2025 in partnership with Kantar, 63% of Indian users turn to influencers for product discovery, 69% for information, and 60% for making purchasing decisions. The same report puts the influencer marketing industry in the country at ₹3,600 crore in 2024, with projected growth of 25% in 2025. Nearly all brands surveyed indicated influencer marketing was either a strategic component or a top priority within their marketing plans.
Sport Meets Storytelling
Now you see why JioHotstar enlisted a line-up of popular Indian influencers to amplify its Wimbledon 2025 campaign. Among them were Sakshi Keswani, Abhijeet Kain, Unnati Malharkar and Manav Chhabra, along with Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. They were flown to the venue by the broadcasters as part of a larger promotional initiative.
The thing is, Wimbledon associations have been the exclusive preserve of A-list celebrities. So why this motley crew? “Tennis is still a very inspirational sport in India,” says Amrita Bansal, assistant professor, Marketing, IMI. “The influencers made sure that more people know about it, there’s more awareness around Wimbledon. So, it got a bit of an extra push from them.”
Also, marketers are increasingly evaluating success through engagement rates (39%) and content quality (36%), moving away from traditional vanity metrics. The influencers enlisted by JioHotstar have oodles of all that. Lifestyle influencer Sakshi Keswani, who goes by the moniker Being Suku among her 2.1 million Instagram followers, raked up 2,50,000 likes for one of her early posts. The comments read like a roller coaster of curiosity and awe — the exact emotions any brand would like to recoup from its investments.
Influencers Amplify Wimbledon
But a larger question is, will these creator collaborations improve tennis viewership in the country? Or will it dent that of cricket? “Influencers can add noise and share of mind, but they won’t flip loyalty overnight,” says Sushant Sadamate, COO & Co-founder, Buzzlab. Adds Chirag Alawadhi, co-founder & CEO, Marketing Moves, “This isn’t a battle with cricket, it’s a breakthrough for other sports. We’re expanding attention, not shifting it.”
If one goes by the Ormax Sports Audience Report 2024, tennis doesn’t even figure among the Top 10 in terms of viewership. But Wimbledon as a property is seeing growing traction. Star Sports recorded a 40% rise in consumption, while JioHotstar saw a 35% increase in 2024, according to internal analytics and BARC findings. So on the back of strong affinity among urban, high-income audiences, JioStar is hoping to position Wimbledon as a key property for premium brands. “By collaborating with popular creators they made the tournament feel more fun and relatable for younger audiences. Campaigns like there are great for growing other sports,” says Charu Malhotra, co-founder & managing director, Primus Partners. Adds Rachna Bhola, vice-president, marketing, Prag India. “By blending tennis with aspirational travel, sports tourism, and storytelling, JioHotstar has transformed Wimbledon into an experience for Indian audiences.”