MUMBAI: With Dhoni‘s men being crowned World Champions, the cricket economy is set for an upward swing as India has a heavy calendar this year.
ODIs stand to benefit the most, with some experts forecasting ad rates on live telecast to be 20 per cent more than normal times for the succeeding two series.
“Advertisers will want to ride the current wave. This will be the reverse of what happened in 2007 when the cricket economy collapsed for a bit after India suffered an early exit. Advertisers now might devote more of their budget towards cricket,” says a sports marketing expert who did not want his name to be revealed.
In a cricket heavy year, India plays around 20 ODIs till January 2012.
The India tour of England on ESPN Star Sports is expected to get a lift due to the good timing. “The West Indies series (on Ten cricket) might not see that much of a gain as the timing is an issue. Once these get over, the monies spent thereafter will depend on India‘s performance. But for the next two to three series, advertisers will approach sports channels wanting to be a part of the momentum,” says a media buyer.
Interestingly, India will play both home and away series against West Indies and England.
While there is a series every month, there will be clients who advertise due to competitive pressure. “The good news is that so far we have not seen any signs of viewer fatigue. I don‘t see this being an issue unless India‘s performance dips sharply,” the media buyer adds.
Another media buyer notes that more advertisers might come into the sport over the next few months. “There will be a premium paid here and there. At the same time, it is not that clients will stop spending on other genres,” she says.
She notes that for brands involved with the World Cup, there has been a big rub off in terms of brand loyalty and perception.
“The performance has been spectacular. Companies in categories like telecom already do a lot around cricket. This will continue. In some cases, this could intensify,” she says.
One company that should benefit in a big way is Sony. It used Dhoni in its ads and also was a top advertiser on ESPN Star Sports.
Will Multi Screen Media (MSM), the IPL‘s official broadcaster, gain from the World Cup victory?
“There will be no impact as MSM has pre-sold the IPL. We expect the Champions Twenty20 League later this year not to benefit much from the World Cup as ratings have been low,” says a media buyer.
The ICC received applications for the design from across the world before awarding it to the international agency, FutureBrand, whose Australian arm was invited to produce the logo for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. It in turn commissioned graphic consultancy, the Jumbana Group/Balarinji, to create both Australian and New Zealand cultural motifs so as to reflect the two indigenous countries‘ cultural identities.
