Relevant engagement at all possible touchpoints is crucial for IPL brand association

You need deep pockets if you want to create very high visibility in the IPL cricket tournament. But like in the past, there are some brands who tactically look at branding their product with multiple franchisees – be it on the gear, kit or jerseys. According to some industry reports, unlike a title sponsorship, which costs almost Rs 100 crore a year (Dream11 spent a reported Rs 222 crore for the one-year title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020), there are other deals that range from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore for brands to leverage IPL. Here again the rate differs depending on the team brands want to associate with. The favourite teams and winners of the previous IPL may command a premium price for branding.

Also read:  Dailyhunt hops on to IPL brandwagon as Associate Sponsor

Is it worth so much for brands to buy logo or branding space across several options available to display it? Well, the answer is yes as more than 10-plus brands are associated with each franchisee. Some of the brands are associated with multiple franchisees. Since the reach and impact of cricket and specifically IPL is wide, brands are keen to leverage the opportunity. With the pandemic wave still continuing and people now confined to their homes again, the viewership of IPL 2021 is expected to be very high.

Along with the cost factor, there are other factors that brands consider when they decide to associate with the tournament or the franchise teams, such as whether there is a right connect, is the association relevant for the brand, etc. This apart, with the COVID-19 restrictions in place, the on-ground connect is not available to brands, hence the engagement is mostly taking place on digital and social media. Thus, marketers need to think beyond just branding exercise to fully capitalise on the IPL association, as the tournament offers close to 60 days of unadulterated attention and non-stop excitement.

While branding on players’ jerseys is a preferred option for brands for visibility, the clutter on this prime property is increasing. Since brands are shelling out huge amounts for branding, they need to take a hard look at the ROI that they are getting. Once a company is associated with a particular franchise to get enough mileage, they will have to spend considerable amount of money on media and activation to promote the brand association. This is where most companies sometimes falter as they don’t exploit the association with a team to the maximum. Since buying spots over IPL is costly, so brands must smartly leverage their branding effort through some interesting engagement to reap the returns.

But brands that are associated with the franchise teams have their own point of view on associating with IPL franchises. We spoke to a few such brands to get their insight.

Commenting on the association with CSK Achint Setia, VP Marketing, Myntra, remarked, “Our association with some of the leading teams of T20 cricket, in terms of engagement on and off the platform, worked well for us last year. This season we have partnered with two of the most popular and stylish T20 teams in India viz. the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with Myntra being at the centre of the jersey, and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) as their Official Fashion Partner.”



He further said, “Relevant engagement at all possible touchpoints is crucial to us, for creating deep connections with users across the country. Cricket is a key touchpoint as it is arguably one of the most popular sports in India, and this association will help cement our position as ‘India’s Fashion Expert’ including among the regional audience. We aim to leverage both the teams’ strong fan following and style quotient through our campaigns to drive higher brand salience among our fashion-savvy consumers and sports enthusiasts.”

Speaking about their alliances, Chennai Super Kings CEO KS Viswanathan, said, “Fashion, lifestyle and sport are indelibly linked. I am glad Myntra has decided to scale up their partnership from last season and CSK is delighted to have the opportunity to access Myntra’s multi-million users in the country. As pioneers in India’s e-commerce play, Myntra makes for a perfect partner for CSK, a franchise whose history is about consistently achieving excellence. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding association.”

Myntra has made significant efforts to democratise fashion, cutting across the various regions of India, including audiences from CSK’s home state, Tamil Nadu. During the recent festive season, the company launched a range of ethnic wear brands such as Pothys, Nalli’s, Chennai Silks, Ramraj cotton among many others. The steps taken by the company to meet the cultural and fashion needs of the natives of the region have helped in building strong brand salience and strengthening customer relationships. The CSK Partnership will further push Myntra’s efforts as the leading fashion and lifestyle destination of India.

Bodycare Creations is one of the brands that has associated with Punjab Kings for IPL 2021. Elaborating on this association, Vandana Saxena, Corporate Communications Manager, Bodycare Creations, said, “We have associated with Punjab Kings primarily for brand exposure and recall. Being present on the helmet or the jersey brings in a lot of spillover coverage in the form of exposure on TV during the broadcast, which typically translates to boosting our   brand recall and brand association with the target population. We have chosen our association with Punjab Kings as Punjab is a good market for us, therefore, coming on board with them should give us more brand recognition. The bright spot here is that the IPL has huge viewership, so even a small exposure translates into a really large audience.”

Marketing
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment