IPL 2020: Of COVID conundrum, brand sentiments & why industry experts are gung-ho

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a brave decision to hold the 2020 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) amid the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the world. Due to the pandemic, the T20 tournament has already been pushed back from its original schedule of March-May to the September-November period. And in a major dampener for cricket fans in India, IPL 2020 is being held outside the country – the United Arab Emirates, to be precise – for the third time in its history.

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Moreover, title sponsor Vivo has withdrawn from the tournament for this year due to the backlash following Chinese troops’ incursions at the LAC. Dream11 has stepped in as the title sponsor this year.

Now a fresh challenge has erupted, with several members of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) contingent testing COVID-19 positive. Among those infected are two players. All the COVID-19 members, along with the entire contigent, have been placed on a 14-day mandated quarantine, thus missing valuable practice time. Along with this, CSK’s Suresh Raina has withdrawn from the tournament this year in a sudden decision citing personal reasons. If media reports are to be believed, Raina was disturbed over his uncle’s murder during a robbery and a tiff with CSK captain MS Dhoni over a room with a view (balcony).

All the IPL teams have reached Dubai. But with COVID-19 striking the tournament, there is some uncertainty hovering over the tournament now. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly’s comment to the media, where he sincerely hoped that everything would “go on just fine” and that the IPL would be conducted well, doesn’t instil too much of confidence.

To top it all, the schedule of IPL 2020 is yet to be announced. The opening match was to be held between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, but that seems doubtful now as the latter team is struck by the pandemic. The IPL franchise teams have also complained about not getting adequate communication from the BCCI and IPL organisers regarding the current situation, COVID protocols, commuting between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

There is still no word about whether spectators will be allowed in the stadiums where the matches will be played.

The money angle

The money stakes on IPL are huge; as per industry reports, in 2019, the spends on IPL were around Rs 2,000 crore. The first half of the year has been a washout due to the pandemic and multiple lockdowns across the country. Overall marketer and consumer sentiments have been down, with only grocery and essentials seeing demand. Brand spending had also come down considerably.

One bright spot is that since IPL coincides with the festive season in India, brands will be seeing the tournament as a double bonanza, in that they can leverage Indians’ craze for cricket as well as the festive fervour, where industry experts are envisioning consumer demand and spending to pick up, thus setting the wheels of economy in motion.

It’s festive season, but tyohaar element is missing

More than the brand spends, what makes IPL the phenomenon that it is are the crazy, passionate, colourful cricket fans. Since its inception, IPL has been positioned as ‘India Ka Tyohaar’, bringing in the celebratory spirit and a carnival-like atmosphere.

All that will be missing in the 2020 edition – at least in the stadiums. There won’t be any on-ground engagements, no meet-and-greet with the cricketers, it’s doubtful whether there would be much merchandising opportunities. Of course, fans will be parked right in front of their TV sets and other screens during the matches. Viewership might even touch all-time high levels, since IPL 2020 is the first live sports event from India ever since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Moreover, despite the festive season, most people are expected to remain at home and not socialise or shop much (except online shopping), even as India continues to see very high numbers of new COVID-19 infections on a daily basis.

Adgully spoke to some leading names in the industry to find out the brand sentiment for IPL this year, tapping into the positive spirit of the festive season, high viewership numbers expected and much more.

Will brands go the whole hog?

Shashi Sinha, CEO – India, IPG Mediabrands:

“Live sports are being shown all around the world. When UEFA started the Champions League, the ratings have been far higher. Whether it is the US or Europe, people were so bored watching regular stuff that live sports ratings just went up. We’re pretty gung-ho that the ratings will be much higher because people are working from home, match timings are better, so there are many reasons that it will be far better than previous years.

Star India is doing visibly well. In the next 4-5 days, I’m sure Star will announce whatever sponsors they’ve got. A lot of my clients are showing interest and are on the verge of signing. I would say interest in sponsorships and spot buying is better than my expectations, considering that they started selling early in August. Whether they would go back to fully what it was in March, only time will tell, but brands are responding to it. Even brands who don’t expect to advertise during this period have agreed to advertise. We are entering festive season and brands want to convert the negativity into positivity for their brand.”

Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO Media & OOH, Madison Media:

“Restrictions notwithstanding, I expect the pent up demand for Live Cricket and allure of IPL to bring unprecedented TV ratings. I am less bullish on Hotstar this year since their distribution tie-ups don’t seem to have fructified thus far and so, mass online reach will be much less than last year.”

Dr Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogaé Media:

Without doubt, this is going to be an IPL with very high viewership. Most people are still working from home, that is, if they are. Schools and colleges are still shut. So, the tournament will get eyeballs for sure. For brands, there is the proximity of the festive season that is the biggest opportunity and the only window for ‘catch-up’ on lost sales so far this year. So, brands will do their best to maximise the IPL aperture.

As far as excitement of IPL is concerned, we have gotten used to many ‘new normal’ realities. Fan will adjust to this too. All it requires is good camera work. Show more cricket and player antics. Most viewers wouldn’t even realise that the stands are empty!”

Brand Guru Jagdeep Kapoor, Founder Chairman and MD, Samsika Marketing Consultants:

“IPL is not at a new venue. Earlier also the major excitement and fun was at the same venue – at home! The television screen is the arena. It does not matter if IPL is in India or South Africa or the UAE, the excitement and fun and enjoyment will be as high. In these COVID times, the playing ground does not matter, because even if it was in India, spectators would not be allowed on the ground. But the spectacle would be enjoyed on the screen, whether television, laptop, tablet or mobile screen. Hence, brands should go the whole hog and hog brand awareness and brand recall.”

Lloyd Mathias, Business & Brand Strategist and former Asia-Pacific Marketing Head of HP:

“The 13th edition of IPL being played across the three venues of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the UAE from September 19 to November 10 to empty stands will obviously not be the same for the fans as the previous editions played across more than 15 venues in India. However, with Indian TV audiences being starved of live sports for most of this year, watching the IPL live will be welcomed wholeheartedly. So, there is bound to be a spike in TV viewership of the IPL.”

Charu Sharma, a leading Sports Commentator:

“IPL will elicit good response as we don’t have too much competition on television or any other viewing platforms. So, the truth is that 99-99.9% of the people who watch the major sporting event don’t do so at the ground, but they do so at home or whatever they are watching elsewhere and that would not change. In fact, it will only increase because people are generally working from home or are not as busy, sadly, as they were all these years because of the special circumstances.

In terms of viewership and interest, it will certainly elicit a lot, perhaps even more than normal. Typically, during every season of IPL, you may have noticed there is a sort of warming up period like a diesel engine, the first few matches are not as heavily watched and then we may see one spectacular knock or something visually very attractive to talk about and we see interest come flooding back. I expect the interest to build up in the first week and stay steady till the end of the tournament and peak towards the end.”

IPL & the festival season – Double bonanza for brands

Shashi Sinha, CEO – India, IPG Mediabrands:

“There are two ways of looking at it, and the truth lies in between. People are coming out of COVID and we are entering the festive season, so a lot of brands are going to ensure that they get traction. For consumers, buying during festivals is a habit that is not forgotten and spends that happen during the April-May-June period will be pumped in the festive season.

At the same time, we are not fully back to normal; there is still a softness in the market compared to earlier years. Whether that will affect the IPL or other genres, only time will tell. I think it will be a little bit of both. My hunch is that IPL will still be able to pull in a lot of money.

The overall sentiment is still not at pre-COVID levels and whether that money comes to IPL or other genres is immaterial, but it will come. So, that’s the larger point. The money would have all come to GECs, but now IPL will get a lot of money. Brands may want to do stuff for Diwali, but they are not back to full capacity, so they may do 20 per cent less advertising compared to last Diwali. Brands don’t decide IPL Vs GECs, they look at the season and decide what to do. They may spend 20-25 per cent less than last year and put that money on IPL or GECs, depending on their TG, expectations and audience. Male-oriented companies may put their money on IPL, while female-oriented companies might choose GECs. The decision on where to put the money will be taken taking into consideration these factors.”

Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO Media & OOH, Madison Media:

“The fact that IPL is happening in the festive season is an added reason for brands who are looking to grow, and in some cases kickstart their businesses. They now have an excellent platform on which to do so. IPL, however, will largely remain a big boys’ game given the outlays involved.”

Dr Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Mogaé Media:

“The coinciding of IPL and the festive season is actually good. With single TV homes still the norm, IPL can theoretically deliver all audiences that a brand wants. Supplementing a bit on GEC will make for a complete media plan for most brands. Female viewership of IPL is very high too. So, IPL is a perfectly timed event for brands.”

Brand Guru Jagdeep Kapoor, Founder Chairman and MD, Samsika Marketing Consultants:

“The overlap of IPL and the festival season, in my opinion, is a boon as the mood would be festive. As far as consumer spending is concerned, it will grow, since for almost five months there has been consumer savings with hardly any spendings. Similarly, brands have hardly spent. Now is the time to invest in brand building. Finally, after so many months of a restricted lifestyle, the IPL would be a perfect opportunity to unleash and spend time and money and bring enjoyment into lives of consumers and vibrancy in brands.”

Lloyd Mathias, Business & Brand Strategist and former Asia-Pacific Marketing Head of HP:

“Businesses and brands will use their involvement with the IPL to drive up sentiment and get consumers to resume their purchasing. This year’s IPL timing, that leads up to the festive season, is another good reason for brands to go the whole hog and maximise their involvement. In fact, the timing will work for brands, as most of them were understandably silent through the early stage of the pandemic, given the lockdown. Now they can come out and utilise the advertising budgets, unleash their marketing muscle to beat the gloomy sentiment. I think most brands will go all out and spend to drive the consumers back.”

Charu Sharma, a leading Sports Commentator:

“I strongly feel that brands will be keen to be part of IPL, but at what cost? There are very few advertising options available for brands of this magnitude and attention, especially brands that are certainly subdued in terms of business, but they also need some kind of visibility. There will be lots of brands that are very keen join the IPL bandwagon because it is highly visible, maybe more visible on television this year. When it comes to pricing, brands will try to negotiate very hard as dates were announced late and also there is very little time available for planning their budgets at a short notice for a major cricketing event like IPL.

The festive season in many ways is about visibility and also about attractive discounts, therefore for heaven’s sake for the next 15-20 days come out and buy now, and those schemes can also be run through the IPL. If any other brands are advertising on television or elsewhere, they can certainly advertise with the same message through the IPL that they would have otherwise done on newspaper or other media, because where else do you go?”