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Will brand presence dip with India’s exit from T20 World Cup?

We could keep debating why India didn’t perform the way we wanted them to at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, but India’s early exit from the tournament has left fans heartbroken. In a country like India, cricket has always been an embodiment of collective pride. In 2007, when India made a shock exit in the first round of the ICC 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean, the viewership dropped by 90% and the shock waves were also felt in brand presence after India’s early exit.

 

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In the 2021 tournament, India’s very first outing against arch rivals Pakistan left fans in deep shock after the tame way in which the Men in Blue surrendered. The loss to New Zealand by a margin of eight wickets added to the woes of the cricketer and Indian fans.

This is the first time that India is not playing in the semi-finals of an ICC event in the last nine years, which had caused a lot of disappointment to the viewers, investors, advertisers, and the broadcaster. Social media has been rife with Indian’s giving vent to their frustration over the Indian team’s performance and the collective heartbreak of the cricket crazy nation.

Adgully spoke to some industry experts to understand the ramifications for brands and advertisers after India’s exit from the tournament.

Naresh Gupta, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Bang In The Middle, didn’t think much will change for brands. “Yes, the broadcasters will feel the pinch, they lost two potential matches featuring India, but beyond that it won’t matter. Even from a fan perspective, the disappointment will be short lived. With the New Zealand tour on anvil, cricket will be soon back in fashion,” he opined.

On the other hand, Vanita Keswani, CEO, Madison Media Sigma, felt that India’s exit from the World Cup might dampen the overall spirit of advertisers in line with consumer sentiment. “But smart advertisers do understand that cricket works best as a long term strategy,” she added.

According to Avilash Chakraborty, Associate Vice President, Strategy, Carat India, “While at the onset it may look like a downer for brands who have invested already, however, I personally feel that the momentum of the tournament will not diminish drastically. One, because the T20 Cricket World Cup will remain to be the best language agnostic (live) content during the festive. Two, for the love of the game itself and not letting away the opportunity to see the best teams of the world playing.”

Adding further, Chakraborty said, “However, there lies an opportunity in every adversity. Something I’d really love to see now is how brands are being agile to create contextual conversations through moment marketing around this exit. ‘Collective Compassion’ in Sports plays a huge role in creating tactically purposeful communication and now is a good time to dial up this messaging strategy specifically for brands whose core DNA revolves around positivity, endurance, determination, grit and perseverance. It will be interesting to see micro-moment communication from such brands and witness some creative & emotionally provocative messaging that revolves around the ethos of purpose, failure. ‘We all fall to rise again’ – something that is real, resonates well with consumers at large and establishes the deep purpose of a brand.”

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