Gabba win, economic revival, home soil play - why Ind-Eng series will be bumper for brands

India’s rocking performance against Australia in the recently concluded cricket series has further spurred viewer and advertiser interest in the game. As it is, cricket is a religion in India and any major tournament rarely fails to elicit huge traction with spectators. Now, the country is gearing up for the India-England series, the first such international cricket series to be played on home soil ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country.

The 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was played in the UAE amid strict COVID-19 protocols, showed how the pandemic and lockdown had failed to dampen the interest of viewers and advertisers. According to TAM AdEx report, tally of advertisers and brands grew by 7% and 3%, respectively, in IPL 13 compared to IPL 12. Thirty-seven new categories advertised during IPL 13 compared to IPL 12. During IPL 13 (53 days), ad volumes of the Sports genre spiked by more than 3x, compared to 53 days prior to IPL 13.

The India-England series will see a total of 4 Test matches, 3 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 5 T-20 matches being played. Expectations are high after India’s strong show against Australia, while England is gunning for a win to follow up on their recent home win.

With international cricket returning to India after a long hiatus, high viewership for the series is expected – both on television and on mobile. According to reliable sources, FMCG, E-commerce, Edutech brands and financial services brands have shown keen interest in the India-England series. Currently, there is no clarity on the ad rates for the series, but official broadcaster Star Sports will surely look for a strong presence of advertisers. Moreover, economic revival forecast across sectors is also expected to boost demand as the supply chain restrictions are now easing with easy availability of products.

Meanwhile, Star Sports has already released their campaign, #IndiaTaiyarHai, featuring Boman Irani as an avid Team India fan and general manager of the hotel where the England cricket team will be staying. In the film, Boman Irani playfully tries to hassle the England cricketers during their stay in the competitive spirit of the game.

Watch the ad film:

Paytm India v England Test Series - India Taiyar Hai!

It will be interesting to see what kind of advertiser response will be seen for the India-England series, especially coming on the back of strong brand presence at IPL 2020 and the India-Australia series. As per media reports, the strong pent-up demand and positive market sentiments are expected to shore up the ad revenues for Star Sports from this series. Already, Paytm has come onboard as title sponsor for the series.

It goes without saying that India’s victory Down Under has certainly fuelled the interest for cricket further. Commenting on the same, Ajit Gurnani, CCO, Zenith India, said, “I believe India’s historic “underdogs” series win Down Under has definitely created a lot more interest in Test cricket, which may lead to relatively higher demand for the 5-day format. The fact that both India and England may make it to the WTC makes this a precursor to the final clash in the English summer. Whether all this will lead to higher demand overall (and therefore investments) in the integrated cricket series will depend on the rate of economic recovery, comeback of consumption on key categories as well as timing. Some advertisers will be conserving budgets for the upcoming IPL 2021 season, likely to be played with 50% filled domestic stadia, which will also be a factor for how this series will fare.”

Sudu, Consultant and Value Investor, is confident that viewership for the India-England series will be good as it will be played on home soil. He added, “Interest will be buoyed as India is getting better with a young team and winning builds momentum for the game in terms of all aspects like sponsorship, increased viewership spikes possible, though every event is different. Sponsorship and FCT will see active participation in both linear and OTT platforms and there will be heightened interest as there is a reset post COVID-19 and a likelihood of good Budget this fiscal. Youth brands, Auto, Cola, Edutech brands, BFSI, etc., which use cricketers as brand ambassadors will see a huge spike in association to achieve traction and this will provide great returns on investment for brands.”