Much like the Super Bowl—considered the most watched television property in the US with estimated advertising revenues of $186.3 million (Rs922 crore today) in 2008—season 2 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is being seen as a great platform to promote brands and launch new products.
The prospect of access to a viewership of at least two billion people has sent advertising agencies into overdrive as they strive to complete campaigns that will be launched in time for the mega cricket event, starting on 18 April in South Africa.
The list of brands launching new campaigns during IPL is not restricted to primary sponsors such as DLF, Vodafone, Hero Honda and Citibank. It also includes brands such as Wrigley’s Orbit chewing gum, Cinthol soap, Nivea skin care, Adidas, Sprite, Cadbury’sDairy Milk chocolate, Castrol engine oil, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular, Hyundai Motor, General Motors, Parle’s 20:20 biscuits, Max New York Life Insurance, among others, that are looking to ride on the popularity of this event.
“We saw it as an opportunity that had come at the right time,” said Himanshu Khanna, director (marketing) at Wrigley India Pvt. Ltd. The firm’s new campaign for Orbit chewing gum, featuring brand ambassador Deepika Padukone, was ready for launch a few weeks ago, but it decided to flag it off during IPL. “At the end of the day it’s really about eyeballs, and if I have a great platform that can deliver those eyeballs, I would rather launch my campaign on that.”
Khanna explains that the strategy for most brands remains the same—to pick media properties with high viewership to get maximum visibility and brand recall.
For example, in the 1980s, brands would launch new products and campaigns during the screening of mythological serials such as Ramayan and Mahabharat, which enjoyed unprecedented viewership. “You could be sure that the whole country was watching,” said Khanna. In recent years, mega media properties such as Kaun Banega Crorepati, on Star Plus, have attracted a host of new brand campaigns and product launches.
Season 1 of IPL had also attracted some new campaigns for brands such as Havell’s and Vodafone. The Godrej group of companies primarily used the inaugural season of IPL to announce their new brand identity to the world.
Source – livemint.com