Introducing Inquisitorial by Indianaut, a long-form newsletter where we explain and analyze important stories stemming out of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem & economy. New articles every Saturday & Sunday.
Millennials posting pictures of dalgona coffee followed by mothers experimenting new delicacies in the kitchen followed by all members sitting in the drawing-room watching a new Netflix show or playing a game of Monopoly. Isn’t that how we all started our lockdown? However soon the reality of lockdown, curfews, and rising cases set in, and this lively routine got lost under this incorrigible pandemic.
Now the situation has changed once again, we have gone through different stages of grief and now on the final step, people are learning to accept and deal with the reality of the situation. While we aren’t at that stage where we can go to stadiums and watch matches, we have figured out a way to safely enjoy the IPL. Once again the whole family is coming together to have a good time only this time instead of Netflix it is IPL.
Cricket in India has turned into a powerhouse of emotions, fanfare, and money and has been an excellent platform for brands to communicate with customers. Who doesn't remember young Sachin coming out to bat in the Indian jersey with Wills branding, young Dhoni in a Sahara branded jersey and now Virat in Oppo or Star branded jersey. For years sponsors have fought to be associated with cricket teams and cricketing events. Fans still reminisce about Sachin’s brilliant bowling against South Africa in the last over of the 1993 Hero Cup.
Today cricket reaches more than a billion people globally. A 2020 report by GroupM’s ESP Properties says that in 2019 alone, the overall growth in sports sponsorship rose by 17%, taking the industry to a size of over INR 9000 crore. The same report mentions that cricket was at the forefront of the advertising sector, mostly due to the Indian Premier League (IPL) and ICC World cup media spends.
IPL’s Sponsorship Race
This season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has faced its fair share of hindrances. Due to the global pandemic, IPL got postponed from its due date in March at the eleventh hour and began from 19th September. This year’s season is being played in UAE inside closed stadiums without any spectators.
Another obstacle that came in the way was the title sponsor Vivo, a Chinese mobile company backed out due to an increasing anti-China sentiment in the country. Vivo was reportedly paying BCCI INR 440 crores for the season. However, as that deal turned sour, it paved a way for a new race amongst emerging startups to sponsor the event. Companies like Patanjali, BYJUS, and Unacademy bid for title sponsorship, and finally fantasy cricket app Dream 11 won the bid for INR 222 Crores for this year and apparently 2 subsequent years as well in case Vivo decides not to sponsor future editions of the event. Ironically, Dream 11 lists Chinese giant Tencent as one its investors.
However, more chaos ensued. Future Group also backed out due to falling revenue caused by the pandemic and now the final partnership score-card looks like this:
Fantasy sports platform Dream11 is Hotstar's co-presenting sponsor
Boost has come on board as the ‘co-powered by’ sponsor
The platform has managed to get 11 associate sponsors including Acko General Insurance, Maruti Suzuki, KhataBook, Flipkart, Swiggy, Ace23, HDFC Bank, Great Learning, MX Player, Kingfisher Calendar, and Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
Not just the central league, but individual franchises have also been able to attract lucrative startup sponsorships this year. Mobile Premier League (MPL) became the ‘official sponsor’ for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), associating themselves with Shah Rukh Khan and Virat Kohli, respectively. Others including MakeMyTrip, Myntra, boAt, Paytm Insider, Fancode, etc. have associated with teams helping them earn INR 10 crore to INR 15 crore in sponsorships.
This clearly shows that Indian startups jumped at the opportunity left by legacy advertisers.
Dalal Street Out, Startups In
Startups have truly started hitting creative sixers when it comes to utilizing their advertising slots. CRED kickstarted the journey of making this year’s IPL more rewarding for its users and viewers with a host of activities that included launching new rewards on their platform and releasing their first ad campaign - ‘CRED: Not Everyone Gets It’ - featuring the likes of Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.
Business has been booming for CRED since then, with Shailendra J Singh from Sequoia Capital tweeting that CRED was up 6-7 times in terms of daily sign-ups after the launch of their IPL campaign.
This was followed by KhataBook with 3 unique ads which also featured former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni in a never seen before avatar to communicate the unique features of the $300 million startup.
Here is Ved Prakash Yadav, VP-Growth & Marketing at KhataBook, on why associating with digital mediums showcasing sports is a no-brainer:
“Disney+ Hotstar consolidates the overall reach and brings everyone online for a game of cricket, at the same time. This way, it makes more sense for brands to associate themselves with a cricketing extravaganza like the Dream11 IPL, for instance. Sports on OTT helps acquire users and build a brand on digital.
Some brands have already seen great success with sports marketing on OTT as a part of their marketing strategy. Swiggy, for instance, enabled viewers to directly order their favourite meals during the IPL through the Disney+ Hotstar app. Coca-Cola celebrated key moments with the user through a native high visibility experience, again during IPL 2019. Fans are sure to remember these innovations; they either brought them convenience or joy.”
OTT platforms like Netflix, Hotstar have seen a tremendous amount of growth in the past few months. But IPL’s pull has truly surged Disney+ Hotstar in this race. Disney+ Hotstar recorded 6 million installs in the first 5 days of IPL. Disney+Hotstar also launched a new and innovative in-stadium experience for all fans. The streaming giant has updated its ‘Watch N Play’ feature to include new features like ‘duets’ and ‘hotspots’. The ‘Hotshots’ feature allows fans to share selfies during the game, while the ‘Duets’ feature allows them to post small videos of themselves recreating favourite moments from the match and from cricketing history. The best of these will get featured on Star Sports.
Cricket has always had a special place in the heart of every Indian, acting as a unifying force across people from different ages, genders, and income groups. This gives brands an option to tap their ideal target audience to promote their product through various eye-catching advertisements. With a dearth of platforms where companies can reach out to the masses with such vigour, these marketing tactics surely do feel like an investment, with IPL having an edge over other entertainment shows such that the event can create more buzz in a span of 5 days which other entertainment shows cannot in a time span of 6 months. The approaching festive season is another one of the main reasons that startups are enticed to spend extravagantly on marketing. Tapping onto the pent-up demand caused by the initial lockdown can help improve revenues in these hard times.
Gautam Marwah is the founder of Indianaut, a platform showcasing and strengthening India's next best analytical and creative minds.
Special Thanks to Bhavya Gupta for research.