It’s still a big draw

The Indian Premier League might be a huge jumble of brands and an expensive proposition for sponsors. But as the T20 cricket league continues into its sixth season, brands are still betting big on it and remain unfazed by the fact that its viewership dipped in the past. But has IPL become as big as the American Super Bowl?

Vinit Karnik, Head of Sports and Live Practice at Group M ESP which has facilitated on-ground sponsorship deals worth $15 million this season, says IPL remains the most sought after and high-impact marquee platform for brands in the country. Group M ESP worked closely with Sunrisers for its on-ground official sponsorships and also advised Vodafone’s renewal of its on-ground associate sponsorship with IPL, besides facilitating deals for Brand Allianz and Flying Machine with teams.

He says the on-ground sponsorships renewed saw an increase of at least about 50 per cent with some sponsors such as Pepsi paying an even higher amount for its sponsorship deal. While the increase in sponsorship rates is a function of supply and demand, there are various reasons why brands are still betting big on the T20 cricket league, he says. “For certain categories like the soft drinks or durables like fans, ACs and refrigerators it makes sense to associate as IPL is held during their peak selling season. Others like Vodafone want to continue their association not only for brand saliency but also because it helps them engage with their consumers,” he adds.

Why IPL?

After five seasons, with most central sponsorship deals up for renewal, IPL managed to get new sponsors. Pepsi picked up IPL’s title sponsorship for a higher sponsorship fee while Yes Bank and Star Plus came on as new sponsors, and Vodafone decided to renew its deal.

Anindya Datta, President and CMO, Yes Bank, says the bank’s association with IPL for five years will help it propel its pan India retail banking franchise and facilitate brand recognition. “Given the intensity over the two-month period, and the reach through in-stadia and TV broadcast and online visibility, its appeal across the geographic and demographic diversity, and its viewership and popularity being next to none, we decided to associate with the property,” he added. He believes that over the years IPL has followed the same growth trajectory as the Super Bowl in the US, with millions of fans watching it in stadia, on television, on social media, and a significant number of these viewers including NRIs from around the world.

Asked why Vodafone decided to renew its deal with IPL and whether it has become as big as the international leagues, Anuradha Aggarwal, Senior Vice-President –Brand Communication and Insights, Vodafone India says it offers brands the huge opportunity over two whole months to engage with its consumers.

“Yes, the game is of paramount importance, but that is more because strategically, there is a lot riding on the game. Today cricket, and IPL in particular, is a celebrity sport. It’s not just the players but the team owners also add a lot of equity to the game. So people watch the game for the sport, but also follow the sport for the entire buzz the stars create. After the budget/election, IPL is possibly the most followed media property,” she added.

Media planners say it has emerged as the only property that garners high viewership ratings like an average of 3.9-4 over a period of nearly two months.

T. Gangadhar, Managing Director of media buying firm MEC India, said comparisons between IPL and Super Bowl are inevitable. “While viewership fragmentation is a reality, IPL has managed to garner high viewership over a long period, “he said.

Gangadhar believes that despite the fact that advertising budgets are under pressure due to the current economic conditions, brands continue to associate with it. “Besides leveraging on the platform for a big launch or campaign, brands also sometimes continue to spend advertising money on IPL as they do not want competition to get on board and leverage on it.”

While IPL managed to rope in on-ground sponsors for higher revenues, SET MAX also managed to get more brands on board for broadcasting sponsorships. SET MAX first reduced prices to woo sponsors and is learnt to have raised its prices again for the leftover inventory.

Over-commercialised?

But brands have also been complaining about the fact that IPL is over-commercialised and there is a big brand clutter. Vodafone’s Aggarwal says the clutter is a constant in mainstream media and not unique to IPL.

“All advertisers know media properties have to cut through, which is why we are seeing more effort going into creating properties that integrate with the game, rather than conventional advertising. Vodafone SuperFan, Micromax Catch, Pepsi Dance Steps are all classic examples of cutting through,” she added.

Take, for instance, Usha International which has team sponsorship with Chennai Super Kings and also grabbed the associate sponsorship on SET MAX.

Richa Singh, Marketing Head –Fans and Lighting, Usha, says the fact that initial matches were watched by 100 million viewers in the first week compared to 79 million viewers in the last season is encouraging. Singh said April-May is key for the brand’s products and investing in IPL makes perfect sense.

Vijay Narayanan, Vice-President (Marketing) at Havells India, which has been a long-term sponsor on broadcast, says IPL helped raise visibility for the brand in the category which typically has low consumer involvement and observes its competition has also now latched on to it.

But there are several other brands, especially in the FMCG and automotive space, who have not spent much on IPL or have even quit it, preferring to invest in general entertainment channels or other cricket events that they believe give them better returns on investment. Hero Honda and Hyundai are cases in point.

Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer says the team has managed to garner higher revenues than in the previous seasons. For teams this season is significant as they are set to see higher revenues through the central sponsorship pool. “IPL is not yet the Super Bowl of India, but is growing in that direction. IPL is aspirational for brands, like the Super Bowl, and despite some brands getting out of IPL, there is no dearth of brands which want to spend big bucks on the tournament,” he adds.

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