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United Breweries is increasing its marketing spend at least 10 per cent for the 6thedition of Indian Premier League (IPL) which kicks off on April 3.
“It is India’s single biggest reality show and we have found a right platform to promote our Kingfisher brand,” UB’s Senior Vice-President, Marketing, Samar S Sheikhawat, said.
He said this time campaigns will increase the involvement of the consumers, who will be able to interact with the players more often than they did before. UB’s Kingfisher has sponsored six teams this time — Royal Challengers, Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and The Sunrisers Hyderabad.
He said the company invests about 16 per cent of its ad spend in IPL. The tournament takes place during the peak season for beer. As Kingfisher beer already has a huge brand recall apart from being a market leader, it may seem that it is no longer necessary to promote the brand, Sheikhawat said. “Theoretically, if we stop promoting the brand for the next five years, the decline in brand recall will start showing immediately after that,” he pointed out.
The Kingfisher beer brand has been valued at Rs 200 crore and has over 50 per cent share in the market. It has been growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent. Indians consume about 270 million cases (12 bottles of 650 ml each) per year of beer while China consumes about 5,000 million cases per year.
The UB official said that while the brand promotions have increased, IPL has not been able to capture the loyalty of the fans as the English Premier League did. “There have been too many changes in the team formation with players moving from one team to another quite frequently.”
UB plans to put up about 200 hoardings across the country to promote Kingfisher mineral water. It will also hold contests during the IPL season. One such contest, Kingfisher Bowl Out will see the winner bowl one over to his favourite player and if he is able to take his wicket, he will bag prize money of Rs 1 lakh. In another contest, the winner will be able to DJ along with another cricketer at a restaurant or a pub.
UB will shoot a new campaign for TV and radio and there will be a bigger emphasis on digital media as well.
giriprakash.k@thehindu.co.in
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