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Tag: IPL

  • Kingfisher is ‘Good Times’ partner of six IPL teams

    MUMBAI: United Breweries-owned Kingfisher has become the ‘Good Times‘ partner of six IPL teams – Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.

    Taking advantage of the summer and cricket season, Kingfisher will be initiating a 360 degree marketing approach across TV, OOH, digital, merchandising, in stadia, on ground, player interactions, packaging and consumer and trade contests.

    Through the ‘Beer Premium League‘ the brand is looking at creating a fun filled experience while screening live matches in pubs and bars. For every pint of Beer ordered, consumers win themselves points, at the end of the match the table with the most number of points get gratified with match tickets and more Kingfisher beer.

    UBL SVP-marketing Samar Singh Shekhawat said, “Kingfisher is synonymous with sport, which is our biggest marketing activation. The association with India‘s most loved game – cricket, is natural. The West Indies cricket team singing the legendary Oo la lala le o jingle, today has 23 players across six different teams embodying the Good Times with Kingfisher.”

    Consumers buying Kingfisher beer also stand a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to watch a match near their home town. The brand will be giving this opportunity to over 5000 consumers across the country.

  • IPL 5 ratings soften, 16 matches notch up 3.65 TVR

    IPL 5 ratings soften, 16 matches notch up 3.65 TVR

    MUMBAI: The ratings for the fifth season of the Indian Premier League have failed to improve after a softer opening, while it has started eating into the Hindi general entertainment genre.

    The first 16 matches of the IPL have registered an average TVR of 3.65 compared to a 4 TVR in the last season of the tourney.

    As per data from TAM Sports, the cumulative reach of the matches (C&S, 4+, All India) have dropped to 123 million viewers, from 127 million last time.

    The first seven matches of the current IPL season had delivered an average rating of 3.76 TVR which was lower than the 4.63 TVR that it had notched up last year.

    Multi Screen Media (MSM) president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta declined to comment on whether the channel would manage to achieve growth this year. In the fourth edition of the IPL, MSM had posted an advertising revenue of Rs 9 billion.
    For the record, the broadcaster has only six sponsors on board with Vodafone and Idea 3G smart phone as co-presenting sponsors and Cadbury‘s Dairy Milk, Havells, Pepsi and Tata Photon as associate sponsors.

    GroupM CEO South Asia Vikram Sakhuja says that re-calibration of rates is needed. “The IPL is still a very good property and it is maturing. The first week‘s data was around 10-11 per cent less than last year. The second week‘s ratings are almost similar to what was managed last year.

    Overall, so far the ratings are six to seven per cent lower. I think that the event could manage a similar performance to last year with a possible positive or negative difference of four to five per cent. Even with properties like ‘KBC‘ you see a bit of a drop from one season to the next. What you hope for is that the ratings at least hold steady.”

    He notes that one good thing about this edition of the IPL is that there have been more close encounters compared to last year. “Both of yesterday‘s matches went down to the wire. That should help viewership.”

    More micro-marketing efforts are needed at this stage of the event. “This means building anticipation for daily clashes and better marketing of day to day matches is needed. This effort needs to come from everybody including the broadcaster and franchises,” Sakhuja says.

    Commune Sports and Entertainment MD Jamie Stewart continues to stay bullish on the IPL. “Although the ratings have dropped, I think the IPL is still a valuable property. Even at the current level, the rating is decent.”

    Stewart believes the franchises should not have upset the applecart by revamping their teams as that leads to dilution in fan loyalty. “I think the change in teams last year was complete madness as many of the franchises had to start building their fan base right from the scratch,” he adds.

    Also Read:

    IPL knocks out 51 Hindi GEC GRPs

    Weak IPL5 ratings cause for concern

  • IPL knocks out 51 Hindi GEC GRPs

    IPL knocks out 51 Hindi GEC GRPs

    MUMBAI: The IPL fever is gripping viewers of Hindi general entertainment channels. The GECs collectively lost 51 GRPs (gross rating points) in the week ended 14 April, indicating that the weakened T20 league is still having a lot of steam left.

    As per TAM data for the Hindi speaking markets (C&S, 4+), during the second week of IPL the top four GECs shed 47 GRPs, with Zee TV leading the pack with a loss of 19 GRPs.

    In fact, Zee TV and Colors fell below the 200 GRP mark after a long time.

    The order of the GECs, however, remained unchanged. Star Plus continued to lead the lot despite losing 9 GRPs. The channel closed the week with 262 GRPs, down from 271 in the previous week.

    Sony Entertainment Television (Set) and Zee TV, which came strikingly close last week, saw the gap widening as Set lost 6 GRPs while Zee TV lost 19.

    Set ended the week with 205 GRPs in the kitty, while Zee slumped to 192 GRPs. Colors at fourth place lost 13 GRPs to clock 190 GRPs in the week under review.

    Sab, the second GEC from the Sony stable, lost 3 GRPs to end the week with 122 GRPs (from last week 125).

    Star India‘s second channel Life OK was the only channel which saw a gain of 5 GRPs. The channel closed the week with 85 GRPs.

    Imagine TV, which ceased operations on 12 April and started running repeats, registered 57 GRPs, down from 64 in the previous week.

    Sahara One remained at the bottom of the heap with 46 GRPs.

    Also Read:

    IPL 5 ratings soften, 16 matches notch up 3.65 TVR

  • ‘We are looking at 20% revenue growth this year’ : India Cements joint president marketing Rakesh Singh

    ‘We are looking at 20% revenue growth this year’ : India Cements joint president marketing Rakesh Singh

     

    IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings has been slowly and steadily building its brand over the past four years on the back of its iconic captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The sustained efforts of the last four years are beginning to show result as the franchise looks at a 15-20 per cent revenue growth this year.

     

    By retaining its key players, the franchise has managed to build a loyal fan base not just in Tamil Nadu but also among the Tamil diaspora. The two time IPL champions is leaving no stone unturned as far as engaging with fans is concerned and is stepping up efforts on the merchandising front to grow this revenue stream.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Javed Farooqui,India Cements joint president marketing Rakesh Singh shares the franchises journey so far and the growth path ahead.

     

    Excerpts:

    Isn‘t Chennai Super Kings targeting a revenue of Rs 1.7 billion this year? What is the break-up?
    We did Rs 1.40 billion last year and are looking at a 15-20 per cent increase this time. It’s difficult to give a break-up for the simple reason that a major chunk of revenue comes from the central pool. There are components in our revenue pool – one is central pool which to my mind was Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million) plus last year; then there are our sponsors and gate collections.

    Have you reached operational break even?
    In the first IPL edition, we broke even. We lost money in the second season (due to shift to South Africa). While we made marginal profits in the third IPL, we widened that in the fourth edition.

    How has IPL season 5 been for CSK?
    The IPL season has been good for us. Our total number of sponsors have gone up. Aircel is our main sponsor. Gulf Oil is our principal sponsor and then we have Life Ok and Washington Apples as new sponsors. We also have Amrapali Group, Hercules, and Usha International as sponsors.

     

    While our revenue continues to grow at a steady pace, what we are also trying to do is step up the merchandising efforts. We plan to grow merchandising by positioning it as a lifestyle brand so that fans not only buy CSK T-shirts during the IPL season but also wear them during the non-IPL season.

    How did the deal with a Hindi GEC like Life Ok happen with a team franchise from the South?
    There is a study done by one agency which says that 46 per cent of the fans support Chennai Super Kings andMumbai Indians. Now if that is the case, anybody who wants to take full advantage of the IPL needs to come to one of us. For somebody who wants make a Hindi GEC popular, it is a nice way of riding on the popularity of Chennai Super Kings. Another thing is that while we are the most popular team in Tamil Nadu, in most other cities we turn out to be the second most popular after the home franchise. I think that is because of the kind of team that we have with four Indian players – MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin.
    ‘We had made Rs 1.4 billion last year with revenue from central pool contributing over Rs 600 million. We have got new sponsors in Life Ok and Washington Apples‘

    The IPL has seen a lot of sponsor switches. How did CSK manage to retain its sponsors?
    We believe in consistency and that is the reason we don’t believe in changing our players. We don’t change our management and we don’t believe in changing sponsors. That has clicked because that does not confuse the fans. We treat our sponsors well and we give them a value for their money for at the end of the day sponsors look at RoI.

    There are reports that title sponsor DLF is not sure of continuing its IPL sponsorship?
    I don’t know about that but what I would like to say is that when the BCCI terminated the Nimbus contract, everybody was saying that the BCCI won’t get Rs 31.25 crore (Rs 312.5 million) per match. But ultimately the rights were sold for a much higher price. I think it has become a favourite time pass for everybody to talk ill of the only sporting brand that India has today.

    So are the team loyalties settling down?
    I think so. If you see the matches where Mumbai or Chennai are involved, the viewership will be high due to team loyalties. That is also the case globally where matches involving Man-U or Chelsea will have higher viewership as compared to other smaller teams. In the first three IPLs, most of the matches were 8 pm matches and the number of teams were less. But now we have more teams and the number of matches have gone up.

    What do you think is CSK’s USP?
    Our USP is that we always focus on cricket, unlike other teams who are focussed on glamour and parties. Not to say that these things don’t work but IPL at the end of the day is a cricket tournament. We have a disciplined team; so whether its on-field or off-field, our team carries a certain character. We have a very strong fan following in Tamil Nadu and Chennai in particular. As per one survey report, 96 per cent of Chennaites support Chennai Super Kings, which is the highest for any franchise in their home city. Mumbai Indians come second with 86 per cent fan support.

    How did you engage with fans?
    Besides youngsters between 15-24 age groups who form our vital fan base, we believe that we have also get a lot of support from families. If you look at our merchandise, there is a lot of emphasis on women and children – it’s not just the typical male cricket fan. A lot of families come to watch our matches in the stadium. To reach out to our fan base, we have also tied-up with Radio Indigo besides The Hindu and Dina Thanthi. Our media tie-ups is a cash plus barter deal. But the barter part is helping us a lot on activation. That is something that was missing last year. What it has done is bring down our marketing cost.

     

    We also launched a new video ‘Wave your hands” which has got one lakh views within no time that it was uploaded on YouTube. We launched this campaign sometime in the first week of April, and by the third week we already have one lakh views on YouTube. Earlier we had done “Whistle podu” which was also a big hit. Every fan wants to do something to support his or her team, so that way we are channelising their energy into doing something to support the team.

    How is licensing and merchandising doing?
    We have been giving merchandising a big push since last year, but it takes time. For example, we got almost Rs 4 crores (Rs 40 million) through merchandise sales last year but what comes to us is only 10-15 per cent after excluding the costs. What we are seeing is that it is a good platform to engage with fans. But in terms to revenue contribution, it is only about five to seven per cent. But internationally this percentage is 60 per cent and that is what our goal is: how to grow this stream. This year we have opened an exclusive in the Chennai airport where you get all kinds of stuff. We have also partnered UniverCell for distribution of merchandise in North America and Europe.

     

    In terms of licensing, for the first time we have partnered with Café Coffee Day to make it a hub for Chennai Super Kings fans. Similarly Park Sheraton has converted their lounge into a CSK Bar. So we want to see how these deals work and whether we can make it a yearlong thing. We are working on a fixed fee basis wherein licensees can use our name and do certain things. This year we aim to double our licensing and merchandising revenue.

    How has been the response been to ticketing? There were lots of empty seats during your home matches?
    There are three stands in the stadium which, due to certain clearances issues, the state government has not allowed us to use. On the rest of the stadium, we are overselling. Till we get the clearance, we won’t be able to sell tickets for those stands.
  • Bittoo Boss fails to take command of the box office

    Bittoo Boss fails to take command of the box office

    MUMBAI: Bittoo Boss gets a poor response at the box office, collecting a meagre Rs 15 million in its opening weekend.

    The second Friday release, Chhodo Kal Ki Baatein, fared worse earning a negligible amount.

    Housefull 2 did very well in its first week to collect Rs 658 million and continued to swell during its second weekend, adding another Rs 197 million to take its 10-day total to Rs 855 million.

    Though the collections are affected to a certain degree due to the IPL, especially at centres where the home team plays, they are compensated on other days. Being the only entertaining fare to watch during the initial stages of the IPL has worked to the film’s advantage.

    Agent Vinod‘s collections fizzled out as the film managed to take home a mere Rs 2 million in its third week, netting Rs 435.5 million so far.

    Kahaani can be termed a super hit, considering its cost and the fact that the film continues to do well even as the star cast films have faded by week two. The film has gone on the collect Rs 13.5 million in its fifth week, totaling Rs 584.5 million.

    Paan Singh Tomar collected Rs 1.5 million in its fifth week, taking its total to Rs 168 million.

  • Rajasthan Royals signs Essel Marketing as merchandise partner

    Rajasthan Royals signs Essel Marketing as merchandise partner

    MUMBAI: IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals has announced the signing of Essel Marketing & Promotions as the team’s official merchandise partner for the fifth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    The Mumbai-based strategic marketing company will be responsible for producing a range of high quality fan cheering equipment / licensed products that will be sold at cricket stadia and through retail channels across Rajasthan.

    The company will have the exclusive rights to source innovative promotional products from around the globe for the team.

    Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer said, “The merchandising business plays a big role from a business point of view and also because it helps us connect with our fans. The business has been doing well all over India and especially in our home state of Rajasthan. We are glad to be associated with Essel and are trust this partnership will be a mutually beneficial one.”

    Essel Marketing and Promotions GM sales, marketing Bhavin Thakkar said, “We’re thrilled to be associated with Rajasthan Royals as official merchandising partner and look forward to driving this business and producing fan cheering merchandise during the upcoming IPL season. We are sure true Rajasthan Royals fans will be delighted to buy and own licensed merchandise.”

  • Bollywood takes IPL head on

    Bollywood takes IPL head on

    MUMBAI: Bollywood is refusing to take evasive action from the mighty attack of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Having learnt the hard way with films falling right, left and centre in the last four seasons of the IPL, Bollywood has decided to take the most popular and extensive annual cricketing event head on by releasing 24 films.

    Of the 24, ten are big-ticket films from banners like Viacom 18, Reliance Motion Pictures, Yash Raj Films, UTV Spot Boy, Nadiadwala Grandsons and Ram Gopal Varma’s RGV Films.

    The first film released on 5 April is Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull 2. This is to be followed by Kumar Mangat and Viacom 18’s Bittoo Boss (13 April), Life Ki Toh Lag Gayi and John Abraham’s Vicky Donor (20 April), Venus Records and Tapes’ Priyadarshan-directed Tezz (27 April), Mukesh Bhatt’s Jannat 2 (4 May), BVG Films, DAR Motion Pictures and Reliance Entertainment’s Karisma Kapur-starrer Dangerous Ishq (11 May) and Ram Gopal Varma’s Department, YRF’s Ishaqzaade and UTV Spotboy and Anurag Kashyap’s Love Suv Te Chicken Khurana (all on 18 May).


    Opines UTV Motion Pictures CEO Siddharth Roy Kapoor, “The IPL has now become a regular part of the annual calendar and producers and distributors have realised that movie releases and cricket can co-exist since audiences watching cricket don’t stop going to cinema. Hence, we are seeing many big-ticket releases during the IPL. The general opinion is that if a film is good, it will run despite the IPL happening concurrently.”

    Last year the only big-ticket films to release during the IPL were Dum Maro Dum and Thank You. Incidentally, both proved duds at the box office while a string of smaller productions like Shor In The City, Chalo Dilli, I Am, Love Ka The End, Ragini MMS, Stanley Ka Dabba and Pyar Ka Punchnama managed to find a release window during the IPL.

    Industry officials expect the first quarter of this fiscal to be better in terms of revenue than the previous year due to a stronger lineup of films.

    Explains producer Mukesh Bhatt, “The IPL has lost its shine. Now we are confident to take it head on. After lying low for four years in
    a row, Bollywood has decided to release many ‘A’ ticket films. Both cricket and films are a religion in India. People who are aficionados of cricket will see the IPL while those who love films will definitely go to see a film. All said and done, our revenue during the IPL tournament is poised for a big jump.”

    Will not the IPL harm his upcoming film Jannat 2? “When IPL came for the first time, we were not afraid to release our film Jannat, then why should we be afraid this time? We are sure that our film will captivate the audience. We will storm the theatres, whatever be the match. Jannat 2 will prove to be a match-winning venture,” he says.


    Exhibitors are also unanimous with the view that the IPL can‘t scare away big movies from releasing. Says Cinemax India CEO Sunil Punjabi, “April to June has traditionally been the best movie months till IPL hit us. This is the period that is large on entertainment time since kids and teens have holidays. Last year we saw a shift in cinema consumption trends. This year too, it is going to be the same. This shift in consumption is showing signs of the movie market maturing to take on any challenge.”

    So will IPL matches be screened in multiplexes? “The screening rights of IPL are being held back by the BCCI. Hence, like last year, there won‘t be screenings in multiplexes unless the rights are released,” avers Punjabi.

    It is not just Bollywood but also foreign films like James Cameron‘s Titanic (3D), Men in Black-3 and The Avengers that are opening up their release pipeline during the IPL.

    “Bollywood has realised that it can‘t stay shut for 45 days in a year without the release of big movies. They will have to bat along with the IPL and prove that they can score even in a tough wicket. That is why we are seeing more number of big releases this year,” says a media analyst.

    Film producers, however, are weary of releasing their big-ticket movies during crunch matches. Which is why Yash Raj Films has decided to release Ishaqzaade, a story about love brewing in a small town burning with hatred, on 11 May and not a week later as was originally planned.

    “With Ferrari ki Sawaari moving to a later date and the IPL crunch matches kicking in from 18 May, this shift will give Ishaqzaade a better window for release,” YRF says. Vidhu Vinod Chopra‘s Ferrari Ki Sawaari was to release on 11 May but has been delayed.

    “These kind of shuffles and strategies will take place, but the bigger truth is that Bollywood has woken up to the challenge,” says the head of a film production company who did not want his name to be revealed.

    Also Read:

    Weak IPL5 ratings cause for concern

  • Weak IPL5 ratings cause for concern

    Weak IPL5 ratings cause for concern

    MUMBAI: After a spell of success for three consecutive years, the Indian Premier League is getting a harsh reality check. While Max, the official broadcaster, has found it tough to sell to advertisers at last year‘s rates, the initial ratings are a matter of concern for the long-term growth of the property.

    The average rating for the first six matches of the fifth edition of the IPL has hit an all-time low, scoring weaker than last year‘s which had taken place immediately after a long-drawn World Cup at home that India went on to win. TAM data shows that the average rating stood at 3.76 TVR, a big drop from the 4.63 TVR that the event garnered last year. The third edition of the event had done even better with average rating of 4.99 TVR.

    Making matters worse for Max is the fact that the overall reach too has seen a 10 per cent drop to 90 million from 101 million last year. If the ratings continue their downward spiral, it will have huge implications for Max in particular as it had to make do with unsold inventory and lesser sponsors for this season. The channel had made Rs 9 billion in revenues from last season‘s IPL in spite of average viewership for the tournament falling even as the overall reach increased.

    The drop in ratings will certainly put pressure on Max. As it has sold just 65-70 per cent of its commercial time.However, MSM president network sales, licensing and telephony Rohit Gupta says that it is still early for an analysis. “We need to give it another week. We are doing deals.”

    Industry experts point out that the main reasons for the drop in ratings are Team India‘s disastrous performance in England and Australia followed by lackluster showing in the four nation Asia Cup with the win over Pakistan being the only talking point coupled with one-sided matches in the IPL.

    The mood in the market is that while there were no sky high expectations from the IPL this year, in the same breath it wasn‘t expected to do this bad.

    Percept Jt MD Shailendra Singh reasons that the positioning of the IPL as a “youth” league has gone for a toss what with retired players Adam Gilchrist and Rahul Dravid taking centrestage.

    “The IPL has become a veteran league with so many retired players playing in the tournament. The franchises should have promoted the youth faces. The whole purpose of the IPL will be defeated if the youth is not given due recognition,” he avers.

    GroupM ESP managing partner Hiren Pandit does not agree that the IPL has lost its youth value. He believes that the lack of competitiveness is driving away interest. The Indian team‘s pathetic form also contributed to the low interest.

    Pandit, though, cautions against writing off the IPL as the data is just for the first six matches. “I think it‘s too early to comment, let‘s wait for some more matches. But, yes, the ratings have gone down due to lack of good performance from players and the Indian team‘s performance in the recent tours,” he says.

    He is also hopeful that a couple of good performances will lift the mood among fans. A case in point is last year‘s IPL when Chris Gayle took the IPL by storm with his ruthless knocks. Gayle, who remained unsold during the auction, was taken as a replacement player by Royal Challengers Bangalore, which turned out to be a game changer.

    Singh feels that the franchises should do more activity round the year to engage fans and the emphasis should be on the sport rather than entertainment. He is quick to add that the right dosage of entertainment is also needed.

    Maxus and Motivator South Asia MD Ajit Varghese says though the drop in ratings is a concern, advertisers at the same time will get a value out of their marketing investment‘s since a rating of 3.76 is not that bad either. He also contends that advertisers who have taken on-air sponsorship this year will gain more as the number of advertisers is less which will result in less clutter.

    “We never had high expectations from the IPL this season as ratings have taken a hit due to Indian team‘s (bad) performance. However the drop in ratings remain a concern,” Varghese adds. “Different advertisers have different objectives to get on to the IPL bandwagon. Some might want to use it to launch products, while others do it for impact. Some also might do it to strengthen their leadership position.”

    A sports marketing expert feels that one reason for lower ratings is a lack of close match endings. “Glamour also is important as the IPL has always been sold as an entertainment property. The fact that ‘Houseful‘ did well at the box office shows that people are not interrupting their schedule to watch matches,” the executive says.

    Pandit, however, has a contrarian view. “I don‘t think that (glamour) it will do any wonders for the IPL because at the end of the day it is about the sport, which in itself is an entertainment proposition.”

  • Reebok launches IPL merchandise

    Reebok launches IPL merchandise

    MUMBAI: Reebok, which is the official apparel sponsor of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challenger Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, has launched merchandise as well as accessories for the teams such as caps and wristbands.

    The merchandise available for the three teams include Fangear Polos, CSK No.7 Polo and CSK Champ Polo in addition to team jerseys and the team premium jerseys.

    In the RCB, KKR and CSK collection, the Fangear polo has the team badge on the upper left side of the shirt and a Reebok symbol on the right, with the pellets being gold in the RCB and KKR collection respectively. The premium jersey available for all the three teams are the jerseys worn by the team players themselves. The premium jerseys are available for boys as well.

    Reebok has churned out two special CSK Polos. For Dhoni, Reebok has created a special CSK No.7 Polo in navy and white which sports Dhoni’s jersey number. Along with this, Reebok has made a ‘Triple Champion Polo’ in red and black with the number ‘3’ on the upper left side to commemorate the winning streak of CSK. This Polo was specially made keeping in mind that Chennai Super Kings have won the IPL series twice and the Champions League once.

  • Percept kick-starts marcom unit with IPL report

    Percept kick-starts marcom unit with IPL report

    MUMBAI: Percept Limited, India‘s leading entertainment, media and communications company, has launched a new unit, Percept Media Lab, which will delve into analytics, forecasts and future trends and concepts in the marcom space.

    The new unit will be led by Allied Media CEO Shripad Kulkarni.

    The first report to churn from the lab is “Comprehensive Statistical Viewership Analysis of IPL 5”, which forecasts IPL TV viewership using approach of analytics, advanced statistics and audience research.

    The next initiative of Percept Media Lab is a M3 project. At the heart of M3 is a big 20000 sample size consumer study, which will explore the path to purchase or P2P for 10 product categories in the context of marcom challenges and strategies.

    This study will measure the importance of key drivers for each of the categories and perception of top brands on each of those. The high point of this study will be the unique M3 model in collaboration with Pointlogic, a world Leader in marcom planning and analytics that combines cutting-edge research, advanced mathematical modeling, and flexible software tools to deliver optimum message and media touch point combination for maximising market share.