The opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) garnered 4.15 million impressions — that’s television’s way of counting the number of people who watched — on Sony Max. While this may not have been the most popular show ever — BARC India, the agency that measured viewers doesn’t have historical data — it would have to be among the most watched. Interestingly, viewers are also glued to digital platforms. Star India’s online video streaming platform, HotStar, which has the digital rights for the T20 tournament, is expecting to reach as many as 100 million viewers this season. Said IPG Mediabrands’ GM Dhruv Jha, “ That teams and brands are investing heavily in the digital platform is proof that IPL has high digital currency.”
Indeed, despite courting controversy, IPL continues to attract a growing number of sponsors and advertisers. As reported earlier by FE, Sony, the official broadcaster of the two-month-long extravaganza, had sold out 90% of its inventory weeks before the event commenced on April 9.
Vivo, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that has bagged the title sponsorship rights for the next two seasons of IPL, is estimated to spend R200 crore on the marketing campaign.
Jerome Chen, DGM, Vivo India, believes that being a young brand in India, the association with IPL as title sponsor will bring it to the forefront of consumers. “We have spent close to 50% from our annual budget on our ATL and BTL marketing campaigns this Vivo IPL season,” Chen told FE.
Pepsi may have bowed out as title sponsor before its five-year contract ended in 2017 but many new brands are in. The ninth edition of IPL has seen a number of new brands vouching for the teams and buying air space despite two popular teams — Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals — being suspended for two years for betting activities by its key officials in 2013.
Freecharge, for instance, has paid Rs 14-20 crore to be the on-ground partner. As for the teams, the sponsorship rights range from Rs 1 crore to Rs 20 crore, depending on the logo spot on the jersey and other rights such as player imagery, merchandise options, etc.
The two new teams — Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions — as well as a series of cricketing tournaments (India versus Sri Lanka series, India versus Australia series, World Cup T20, etc) have kept the momentum going. Both new entrants have clinched lucrative sponsorship deals with each of them roping in close to 10 sponsors.
With the Pune franchise boasting of a star studded line-up, including the likes of MS Dhoni, Faf du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane, Kevin Pietersen, etc, the franchise has emerged as a strong IPL title contender and has managed to bag sponsors within the `2-16 crore range. The Gujarat franchise, owned by smartphone manufacturer Intex, has also bagged a number of high-value sponsorships ranging from Rs 1.5-15 crore.
On why brands even after eight seasons see IPL as a catchment event, Onspon.com’s vice-president, business development, Faraaz Peerbhai said, “The low event density in the non-sporting space — with barely a few high-voltage movie releases or other music events — implies that sponsorship in IPL is more effective.” He added, “The advent of early summers have also led to buoyancy in consumption categories such as FMCG and air-conditioners, thereby leading to pre-allocation of marketing budgets, especially for categories such as drinks, consumer durables, etc.” Air-conditioner brands such as Daikin, Lloyd and Sansui have also partnered with teams of Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, respectively.
