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Tag: IPL

  • Multi Screen Media eyes strong ad rev growth from IPL

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media‘s (MSM) strategy of reducing ad rates for the sixth edition of the IPL appears to be paying off. It has already roped in nine sponsors and is looking for two more. For its wrap around show ‘Extraaa Innings‘, it has also got in seven sponsors compared to six last year.

    MSM president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta said, “We reduced our rates by 10 per cent. This has helped old clients return and we have also got new companies on board. We have managed to get into new conversations. In a slowdown economy, advertisers want minimum risk. We are looking for a revenue increase of at least 25-30 per cent. So far we have sold around 70 per cent and there are still three more weeks to go for the tournament to start. The plan is to hold back 15-20 per cent and sell it at a higher rate once the event starts.”

    The co-presenting sponsors are Pepsi and Vodafone. The seven associate sponsors are Tata Photon, Samsung Mobile, Panasonic, Havells, Usha Appliances, Karbonn Tablets and Godrej.

    “We are looking for two more associate sponsors since there is a healthy demand. We are happy that our strategy has resulted in Samsung and Godrej coming back. Panasonic and Usha Appliances have come on board for the first time.”

    As far as â€?Extraaa Innings‘ is concerned, MSM has got Amul, eBay, Titan, Nivea, Renault, V Guard and Nestle as sponsors for the IPL. It has sold packages like fall of wickets which has been taken by Luminous, and action replay which has been taken by ACC and Amity. There are also several spot buyers with whom MSM has done deals with including Coca-Cola, Parle Agro, Marico, Nikon, Sony India, Berger Paints, ibibo.com and Airtel.

    “The IPL‘s reach has seen a steady growth. If you look at other recent series like India versus Pakistan, it disappointed with the ratings being much less than what was expected by the industry. With Six having a Hindi feed, IPL advertisers will get even more reach. Our marketing campaign has started. Pepsi is also doing a lot of activation. The BCCI is marketing the property. All of this is creating a lot of buzz in the market. The opening ceremony in Kolkata should set the tone for the event,” Gupta said.

    Vivaki Exchange CEO Mona Jain said that MSM should make Rs. 1.5 billion extra this year as their inventory would get sold out. “I expect the IPL to garner around Rs 8.5 billion this year compared to Rs 7 billion last time. A lot of youth and male focussed brands have come on board. What is seen is that Hindi GECs and Hindi news channels lose share during the event. Males watch those genres less when the IPL is on. So clients try to make up for that. Nobody is splurging. It is just that some companies feel that the IPL is a necessary platform to be on. Others who have less marketing outlay are more conservative. Brand visibility is the main reason to be on the IPL. Companies will use the IPL as a platform to launch new products. For a company like Pepsi, this isthe period where their product is consumed heavily.”

    Gupta, however, expects MSM to rake in around Rs 10 billion this year.

    LodestarUN CEO Shashi Sinha said that it is not just the rate reduction that has seen clients come on board. “The environment is also different. There is no World Cup this time around unlike 2011. Also companies have put their marketing plans in place. The channel will do well.”

  • Garnier Men renews deal with Rajasthan Royals for IPL

    MUMBAI: Garnier Men, which deals with skincare for men, announced its partnership with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals as their official grooming partner at IPL this season.

    The Pink city’s cricket warlords, both Indian and International, will be using personal skin care and grooming products from Garnier Men. Garnier Men understands the grooming needs of men on the field and offers a range of effective, high-quality products that are extremely relevant to them.

    Continuing their association for a second year in a row, Garnier Men along with the Rajasthan Royals plans to increase their engagement with consumers in Jaipur through online and on-ground activations closer to the IPL 2013. Fans of the Rajasthan Royals team will have some great opportunities to meet the cricketers in person and get fantastic grooming tips from Garnier Men at the same time.

    L‘Oréal India director, consumer products division Satyaki Ghosh said, “We are proud to be associated with IPL – one of India’s most loved and followed sport properties. Garnier and IPL share synergies as both of them have been pioneers in their own space. In the second year of its partnership, with our robust marketing and digital outreach, we aim to reach out to the cricket crazy audience in India in general and Rajasthan in particular.”

    Garnier GM Nathalie Gerschtein said, “This is the second time that we have associated Garnier Men with the Rajasthan Royals as their official grooming partner as we understand the importance and significance of skin care that these top class players require while playing cricket in various parts of the country in extreme weather conditions. We believe that our easy to use product range is the most apt package to take care of the players’ grooming needs on and off the field.”

    Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer said, “2013 will mark Rajasthan Royals’ second year of partnering with a widely recognized and leading brand Garnier Men. We thank them for their support as our official grooming partner. We look forward to creating ever growing value for the brand this year as well.”

    Cricketers are always on the move and weather conditions keep changing from time to time. Be it Jaipur or Chennai, the cricketers need to pay special attention to their skin and body care needs, due to the extreme weather conditions in our country. The constant exposure to heat, sun, dust, dirt and pollution causes several issues like skin tanning, oily skin, dark spots, body sweat and odor.

    Garnier Men offers an extensive product range of face washes, moisturizers and deodorants that is the perfect solution for the above problems. Garnier Men caters to the players’ grooming needs, thus leaving them feeling fresh all day long.

  • Ormax Media introduces IPL research to measure ad impact

    Mumbai: Media insights firm Ormax Media will be conducting a syndicated research to measure the impact of sponsorship and advertising on the brand partners of IPL 6.

    The research called ‘Ormax Trac20’ will be conducted across 9,000 respondents in three phases – pre-IPL, during the IPL and post-IPL – for the sixth edition of the tournament this year.

    ‘Ormax Trac20’ will track the advertising recall and effectiveness for IPL 6 advertisers who subscribe to the research. This will be done through a series of parameters, such as ad recall, ad likeability, innovations sponsorship recall and brand imagery impact.

    The study will measure key perceptions of IPL, such as team loyalty and viewing behaviour. Additionally, early subscribers will be allowed to add customised question to the track to suit their specific requirements.

    Ormax Media CEO Shailesh Kapoor said, “Ormax Trac20 is by far the biggest IPL research India has ever seen. It can be used by brands to measure the effectiveness of their association with IPL 6 at various levels, allowing them to take business decisions to optimize their high investments in IPL, both during the course of IPL 6 as well as for future seasons. The research is relevant for all advertiser types, be it ground sponsors, television sponsors or spot-buy driven advertisers.”

    The research will be conducted in the nine home markets for the franchisees, namely Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Chandigarh and Jaipur.

  • Valvoline Cummins renews partnership with Royals for 2nd year

    MUMBAI: Valvoline Cummins has extended its association with Rajasthan Royals for season 6 of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The extension will see the company continuing as Associate Sponsor for the second consecutive year, sporting its logo on the Non- Leading Arm of the players.

    Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer said, “Since last year’s association, Valvoline has been a very valuable partner of Rajasthan Royals. We are delighted to be extending our association with the brand and look forward to helping them create ever-growing value and achieve the best possible exposure through the partnership.”

    Valvoline Cummins CEO Sandeep Kalia said, “Valvoline takes great pride in partnering with excellent sporting teams across the globe. Our relationship with the brand during the last season has been very rewarding. We are excited to extend our partnership with such a strong and dedicated team as Rajasthan Royals.”

  • Ad inventory for India-Australia series sold out

    MUMBAI: India‘s poor performance on the home soil notwithstanding, the ad inventory for the India-Australia Test series has completely been sold out.

    Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the series, has roped in 12 sponsors for the series that includes two-wheeler automobile major Hero MotoCorp as joint-presenting sponsor.

    Tata Teleservices and Havells are the other two joint-presenting sponsors while Maruti Suzuki, Nokia, JK Cement, Max India, Panasonic India, Bharti Axa, Samsung Camera, Perfetti and Karbonn Tablet are the associate sponsors.

    Hero which was the official on-ground sponsor of Indian Premier League (IPL) and ICC events, had decided not to renew deals for these two properties. The company had also pulled out of its sponsorship of iconic IPL team Mumbai Indians.

    Star Sports spokesperson said, “ We are completely sold out for the India Australia Test series. In fact, over the last 2-3 days we have said no to multiple clients who were keen to leverage the forthcoming test series because we don’t have any inventory left with us.”

    Platinum Media CEO Basabdutta Chowdhury said that the ad rates for the series fall in the range of Rs 55,000-65,000. Joint-presenting sponsors are paying Rs 40 million each while the associate sponsors are forking out Rs 30 million.

    “The rates for a England, Australia or a South Africa are on par while there is a premium attached to an India-Pakistan series,” she said.

    The first Test will be played in Chennai from 22-26 February, second at Hyderabad from 2-6 March, third at Mohali from 14-18 March and the last will be played at Delhi on 22-26 March.

  • MSM ups the ante for promoting IPL

    MUMBAI: With just a month and a half left for cricket’s biggest extravaganza to begin, Max, the official broadcaster of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has embarked on an extensive marketing campaign that is aimed at improving viewer stickiness and increasing the engagement level.

    The theme of the marketing campaign is ‘Sirf Dekhneka Nahi’ which calls upon viewers to celebrate every boundary hit or fall of wicket like they would do in a stadium.

    While executives at Multi Screen Media refused to talk about the extent of marketing spends, sources say the broadcaster has earmarked Rs 220-250 million for the pan-India marketing campaign.

    The marketing spends have gone up by 20-25 per cent over last year, the source added.

    Almost 60 per cent of the marketing budget will be devoted towards television and print, while the remaining 40 per cent will go towards mediums like radio, outdoor, digital and on-ground activations.

    The broadcaster is also evaluating whether or not to advertise during the India-Australia Test series which will air on Star Cricket.

    With dance being the key feature of the campaign, the broadcaster has roped in ace choreographer Farah Khan who would feature in a series of television commercials.

    The campaign drawn from the insight that cricket is not just a game but a passion will see Farah asking viewers to support their favourite team by grooving to the signature IPL tune composed by the music director duo of Vishal and Shekhar.

    MSM COO NP Singh said that the idea behind the campaign is to raise the engagement level around the IPL by engaging cricket fans through various touch-points like television, radio, print, digital and outdoor.

    “It became a passive viewing habit, so we wanted to increase the level of participation among the viewers. Therefore the campaign theme ‘Sirf Dekhneka Nahi‘. The same theme will be used across all our marketing campaign whether it is print, outdoor or digital,” said Singh.

    According to him, dance has a universal appeal and will help the broadcaster in breaking through the barriers of age and language.

    “Dance has a universal appeal and it cuts across all age groups and demographics. The idea is to make IPL successful through this campaign by engaging viewers,” he added.

    The marketing budget for the IPL has gone up vis-?-vis last year. However, Singh refused to talk about it.

    “Like every year, we will pull out all stops to promote the IPL. We will use all our network channels to push the marketing campaign. This time our network is much bigger than last year,” Singh asserted.

    Max’s creative agency JWT has created a series of three short films, three dance instruction videos and one big grand film featuring the choreographer.

    The three short films will showcase women, working professionals and families celebrating the IPL together with Farah Khan teaching them the signature dance steps. These campaign films will lead to the grand film which will highlight how IPL binds cricket with dance and celebration.

    Singh feels that the IPL ratings are still holding strong at an average of 3.5 TVR compared to an all-time high of 5.51 TVR that it achieved in 2010 when the tournament returned to India.

    “My belief is that the IPL ratings have stabilised at a strong 3.5 TVR level, despite the fact that the number of matches have gone up. My feeling is that the ratings this year will be better than last year. The marketing campaign that we have launched will help us attract viewers to watch the IPL,” he averred.

    IPL’s format coupled with the presence of a galaxy of cricket stars both Indian and foreign is what will deliver ratings for IPL, believes Singh.

    MSM EVP and Business Head of Max Neeraj Vyas revealed that the broadcaster will go for large-scale activations on digital medium. The strategy is to go viral as the campaign lends itself to the digital medium.

    “While television will be the main stay of the campaign, we will also have activations on mobile and internet as song and dance lends itself to this medium. For example we will ask users to upload videos as to how they will celebrate when a boundary is hit or a wicket falls,” he says.

    MSM SVP and marketing & communications head of Max Gaurav Seth said the thought behind the campaign is to make viewers excited about the IPL which would lead to greater stickiness.

    “The message is not to just sit at home and watch it passively. What we are saying is like you celebrate in the stadium when a boundary is hit, why not do that at home,” Seth elaborated.

    Seth said that the brief given to the agency was to create a campaign that reflects India’s passion for the game. He also feels that unlike cricket IPL is more of a family phenomenon and therefore the campaigns are designed in a manner that it appeals to each member of the family.

    “The campaign is designed in such a way that it showcases IPL as the ultimate sports and entertainment property in India. Tell me one property that delivers that so much value to advertisers and viewers,” Seth maintained.

    For the record, MSM has roped in three sponsors for season 6 of IPL. Vodafone and Pepsi have come on board as co-presenting sponsors, while Tata DoCoMo is going to be an associate sponsor. MSM is looking at two co-presenting and eight associate sponsors.

    The IPL this year will be simulcast on Max, which has been the home of IPL for the last year five years, and sports entertainment channel Six. The IPL will be available on a High Definition (HD) feed in English and a Standard Definition feed in Hindi on Six and a SD feed on Max.

    Featuring nine teams and 76 games, the IPL will be held from 3 April to 26 May.

  • Mumbai Indians gets McCann on creative roster

    MUMBAI: Nita Ambani’s IPL franchise Mumbai Indians has decided to rope in IPG’s McCann Erickson on the creative agency roster.

    WPP’s Ogilvy and Mather was servicing the account.

    A source close to the development revealed that both the agencies will work on different aspects of the campaign. According to the source, O&M will be handling the CSR part of Mumbai Indians’ campaign while McCann will focus on the engagement part.

    It has also been learnt the IPL franchise plans to have more agencies on the roster this year in order to have a more efficient campaign. Red Digital has been the team‘s digital agency for the past two years.

  • Multi Screen Media firms up three sponsors for IPL 6.0

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) has already roped in three sponsors for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). It has been learnt that Vodafone and Pepsi have come on board as co-presenting sponsors, while Tata DoCoMo is going to be an associate sponsor.

    While not talking about specific deals, MSM president revenue, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta said that the broadcaster is looking at selling out its entire ad inventory for the IPL this year, unlike the previous edition where it held on to ad rates to let go a small portion of its commercial airtime. “We have rationalised our rates by 10 per cent. While last year we had sold out 85 per cent, this time we want to sell out everything. Our revenue will not be affected.”

    MSM is looking at two co-presenting and seven to eight associate sponsors. “Sponsors will take up around 60 per cent of the ad inventory. For ‘Extraaa Innings‘ we will have seven sponsors,” Gupta added.

    Vivaki Exchange CEO Mona Jain believes the IPL ratings have stabilised. “They are not zooming but neither are they falling dramatically. The rationalisation of rates makes the IPL more affordable. I don’t think that the recent poor performance of the national Indian team will have a negative effect on the IPL‘s viewership. The IPL is a different ballgame where you have city based loyalties,” she says.

    In terms of companies likely to come on board, Jain points out to consumer electronics companies and telecom. Auto is also expected to come on board, though that sector has been facing a tough time. “They may come in at lower outlays, but I still expect them to participate. The economic slowdown could have an effect in terms of the outlays that different companies are willing to commit. It is, however, too early to talk about that possible impact,” she points out.

  • HIL ropes in Airtel as associate sponsor

    MUMBAI: Telecommunications major Bharti Airtel has become the associate sponsor of Hockey India League (HIL), the franchise-based hockey league formed on the lines of cash-rich IPL.

    Airtel, which is heavily invested in sports, has for the first time associated with Hockey. The telecom brand is the title sponsor of domestic and international cricket matches played in India. Apart from Cricket, Airtel is also the title sponsor of Indian Grand Prix.

    HIL chairman Dr. Narinder Batra said, “We welcome Bharti Airtel for joining Hero Hockey India League and being part of this historical event. Their association will boost Indian hockey and will take the sport to a new level.”

    Hero MotoCorp is the title sponsor of HIL.

    In the inaugural season of the Hero Hockey India League, Jaypee Punjab Warriors will face Delhi Waveriders on 14 January at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

  • Bridgestone’s marketing spend to stay flat at Rs 300 mn in 2013

    MUMBAI: Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone‘s marketing and advertising spend in India will stay flat at Rs 300 million in India.

    Television will get Rs 125 million out of this, Bridgestone India GM PSR Sales and Marketing Vaibhav Saraf told Indiantelevision.com.

    In line with the tyre brand‘s large spend on out of home media, Bridgestone will allocate around Rs 70 million on billboards and 30 million on below-the-line activities.

    Bridgestone is also in a three-year sponsorship deal with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians, which ends in 2014. The yearly spend of the brand on Mumbai Indians is around Rs 60 million.

    “The remaining amount (Rs 15 million) will be spent on digital and other online campaigns,” Saraf said.

    Bridgestone recently awarded its media planning and buying duties to Mindshare following a multi-agency pitch.