Brand frenzy grows around IPL Season 10

As the country prepares for the 10th edition of Indian Premier League 2017 from April 5 onwards, several brands across diverse sectors have joined hands with the tournament and participating teams. In its 10 years, IPL has emerged as a strong marketing and advertising platform for brands, with quite a few new launches and several activations rolled out during the tournament season. 

While Vivo has exciting campaigns lined up which are in line with the IPL celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Parle is investing the highest they ever have in this year’s tournament and is creating new communications to reach the mass. Kenstar has lined up new product launches during the IPL season and has launched an advertising campaign with Rohit Sharma, who will be a part of the brand’s campaigns and promotions throughout the tournament. 

The League in its 10th year has also roped in various associate sponsors like Kenstar, Yamaha Motors, Yes Bank, TVS Tyres and wire-maker Polycab that have come on board for the first time. 

Some brands, such as Vodafone, have been associated with IPL since its inception in 2008. According to Siddharth Banerjee, EVP – Marketing, Vodafone India, “IPL is one of the biggest sporting platforms in India designed to appeal to a wide section of consumers across the country. Our partnership with IPL has helped Vodafone connect with cross-segments of television viewers and cricket lovers in India. In fact, the unique format of this tournament led to the birth of one of our favourite and most loved iconic mascots – the Zoozoos.” 

After the exit of Pepsi, Chinese mobile giant Vivo had stepped in as the title sponsor of the League last year. Vivo is also one of the co-presenting sponsors on Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), which holds the broadcast media rights for IPL. Vivek Zhang, CMO, Vivo India, said that IPL has occupied a spot in the heart and mind of every Indian and is a great platform for brands to amplify brand engagement with their customers. 

He believes that their association with IPL last year has proven to be extremely helpful for the brand in gaining more customer engagement and a much higher brand recall. He is looking forward to a power-packed second innings with IPL and added, “With our progress firmly embedded in the Indian market, we look forward to strengthen Vivo as a brand that resonates with the young minds of the country. This year, we expect to consolidate our brand image through IPL, and will have even better brand outreach and engagement with India as a whole.” 

Parle Products, an associate sponsor for IPL 10, has been associated with the tournament on and off over the years. Mayank Shah, Category Head, Parle Products, remarked, “IPL is a good investment for brands since it is pan India and gives an opportunity to reach all the pockets of the nation and create greater brand visibility.” 

HDFC Life has been closely associated with the League since 2009. The brand’s focus back then was on the youth redefining their self-respect through conviction and perseverance. Though the insurer isn’t associated with IPL in its 10th year, Sanjay Tripathy, Senior Executive Vice president, Head - Marketing, Analytics, Digital & E-Commerce at HDFC Life, said that they’ve had a fruitful partnership over the years. 

Last summer, India faced its worst water crisis, with official data revealing that 91 key reservoirs around the country were at a mere 25 per cent capacity. Petitioners in Maharashtra moved court demanding that the series be rescheduled so as to avoid wastage of water in the already drought-stricken state. Amidst this, HDFC Life’s campaign with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 was a tactical one and generated a fair amount of buzz on digital/ social and on-ground. Tripathy admitted that their campaign objectives in 2016 were slightly hampered due to multiple reasons like the lean patch of Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 9 as well as the home matches getting shifted out of Maharashtra due to the then on-going water crisis. 

Quite a few brands had also joined hands with the various IPL franchise teams. Mumbai Indians is one of the teams that has been very active in their campaigns. Among the brands associating with Mumbai Indians this year are Usha International and Kenstar. 

Usha International has taken forward its on-going association with Mumbai Indians team for the 4th consecutive year as Official Partner. Over the course of IPL 2017, Usha International will engage the consumers, including Mumbai Indians fans, by the means of enticing activities and campaigns. Usha promotes an active lifestyle through its association with numerous sporting initiatives like Ultimate Frisbee, Football, Ladies Amateur and Junior Golf, and Cricket for deaf. 

Kenstar has joined hands with Mumbai Indians franchise as the official partner. Speaking on the association, Rajiv Kenue, COO, Kenstar, said, “We are delighted to team up with Mumbai Indians for the Indian Premiere League Season 10, which is one of the biggest sporting platforms in India currently. With its format, it appeals to a larger section of consumers across the country. With this association, we aim to connect with a larger section of the society.” 

IPL 10 kicks off on April 5, 2017 and will see a total of 60 matches being played over a span of 47 days involving eight teams across various stadiums in India. SPN has been running its campaign around IPL 10 which focuses on cricket fans of all hues who have made the tournament a grand success over the 10 years – ‘10 saal aapke naam’.