IPL season is one of the biggest revenue drivers for advertising agencies and gives companies an opportunity to try innovative campaigns. Gear up for some edge-of-the-seat excitement in the Today IPL match between the fiercest rivals. Watch the epic clash LIVE only on iplcinema.com!
Television advertising during IPL provides immense reach and ROI potential for mass-market consumer brands. Consumers’ focus will remain undivided during this period and brands can capitalize on it by engaging viewers directly.
1. Manoranjan Ka Baap
At first glance, Indian Premier League (IPL) as a brand may appear to have gone from simple cricket tournament to an entertaining spectacle enjoyed by everyone. No longer just a sporting event, the IPL now represents a cultural phenomenon which grips entire countries for months at end. Much of this popularity can be credited to marketing initiatives launched by different brands and broadcasters to make IPL an iconic brand name.
IPL’s initial advertising campaign, known as ‘Manoranjan Ka Baap,’ provided an entertaining package featuring all the hallmarks of a Bollywood film – sentiment, glamour and even foreign locations (recall IPL-2 in South Africa). Furthermore, leading actors from Bollywood such as Amrish Puri and Pran were featured prominently. This advertising effort proved very successful in cementing IPL as a major entertainment event among viewers.
JioCinema and cricket icon MS Dhoni recently collaborated on a campaign that showcased the digital viewing experience of IPL. The goal was to excite consumers about watching it for free with fan-friendly features.
JioCinema, the digital streaming platform, has broken records in IPL coverage with 2023 IPL season generating over 1300 crore video views in five weeks – surpassing Hotstar’s previous best set during 2019 ICC World Cup semi-final game coverage. JioCinema leverages their large user base of Jio telecom network subscribers as well as immersive digital offerings including multilingual commentary, various camera angles including bird’s eye views and live stream on its mobile app to generate these impressive numbers.
2. ZooZoo
Vodafone ZooZoos have long been an integral part of their brand identity and were revived during IPL season 2 to promote My Vodafone App by Ogilvy & Mather. Reviving these adorable alien-like characters helped raise awareness about this app and generate excitement around it.
The campaign aims to promote the features and benefits of an app designed to help users manage their Vodafone account, pay bills and take advantage of exciting offers – as well as encourage customer download. In addition to demonstrating its features, the campaign shows customers just how user-friendly and straightforward its interface is; and features like My Vodafone Wallet where customers can keep an eye on their account status.
Utilizing ZooZoos as part of this campaign is an excellent idea as they are loved by everyone. Their huge social media following allows them to promote Vodafone in an entertaining and engaging manner, reaching a wider audience than other Vodafone ads – perfect for India’s massive cricket culture!
JioCinema has set a record number of concurrent viewers by offering free IPL streaming on JioCinema, shattering linear TV broadcasts previously only available through subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms such as Disney and Hotstar. This shift could prompt additional content spending on IPL by competing SVOD platforms to compete against JioCinema; though recovering their costs quickly might prove challenging.
3. Bharat Bandh
IPL is an enormous event where brands invest heavily in their advertising campaigns to reach an engaged and wide-reaching audience that remains glued to their television screens during every game of this tournament.
Vodafone’s ZooZoo campaign stood out during the first season of IPL with its adorable appeal and cutesiness; making audiences go “Awwwwww.” It drew much admiration due to its cutesy appeal; winning hearts with its adorable pug-like dog in earlier campaigns but wanting something different for this IPL season, Ogilvy & Mather were brought in to create something memorable that made people go “Awwww”. They created ZooZoo, featuring adorable white egg-headed creatures with white egg heads, toothy smiles that spoke gibberish for gibberish speakers; creating what became known as Ogilvy & Mather’s ZooZoo campaign that continued throughout many seasons of IPL action!, Get your essential dose of top stories, auto news, cricket coverage, destination features and money columns every morning with Pioneer EPaper. Stay informed!
Dream11’s 3 Idiots campaign caught everyone’s attention, combining cricket and Bollywood, two of India’s favorite pastimes, to make an impressionful statement about IPL uniting people from different parts of India who share an affinity for its sport.
As another IPL marketing strategy, targeting competitors’ TV ads on mobile can be an intriguing strategy to reach audiences that are exposed to them and convince them that yours are superior. A car brand used our real-time bidding technology during IPL to reach one-third of competitor TV audience on mobile; you can read about this innovative method here. Nutrition brands have had great success targeting users of their competitor products using real-time bidding on mobile. They were able to drive 80% video completion rates with their brand messaging in real-time!
4. India Ka Tyohaar
IPL’s appeal lies in its multidimensional nature; more than simply being a cricket tournament, it serves as a celebration of Indian culture and identity, from anthems written for it to cultural events that take place throughout. These associations help keep fans invested even if their favorite team or players may not be participating.
The India Ka Tyohaar campaign is another prime example. Aimed at breaking down barriers and making cricket accessible for all, this initiative features MS Dhoni and Suryakumar Yadav as IPL ambassadors – uniting people of various walks of life while encouraging audiences to watch matches together on digital platforms – which is a huge departure from traditional linear broadcasts! By engaging fans digitally through content that rivals them directly.
As much as IPL matches attract many viewers, they still lag behind TV viewership when it comes to time spent viewing screens. This may be attributed to factors such as muted data reach, higher costs of data and lower smartphone penetration compared to television sets. As the industry shifts away from linear to OTT viewing formats, marketers need to understand this audience and target them appropriately.
JioCinema’s IPL campaign this year was an unprecedented success with millions tuning in live to witness all of the action. JioCinema claims they set an international record with 25.3 million concurrent viewers on an OTT platform, surpassing Disney+Hotstar’s previous record of 14.7 million concurrent viewers – further evidence that digital viewing in India is on the rise over traditional linear TV viewing.
5. Oh Yes Abhi!
India boasts one of the highest smartphone penetration rates worldwide. Offering free access to premium content like an IPL match can be hugely beneficial; JioCinema claims it attracted 500-600 million digital viewers during this year’s tournament – far outstripping what traditional broadcasters and over-the-top (OTT) platforms like Hotstar managed.
JioCinema has made history with their first free IPL streaming on mass market streaming services in India. Through a campaign featuring MS Dhoni, they are trying to position themselves as an IPL digital alternative and the response has been positive on social media.
Young India is becoming more impatient by the day and wants things ‘now’ – and Pepsi’s latest campaign ‘Oh Yes Abhi’ captures this dynamic perfectly. Starring Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor and MS Dhoni who embody this generation – Oh Yes Abhi captures this spirit.
The campaign will incorporate radio activation, on-ground amplification and outdoor marketing techniques. These will enable the brand to maximize its association with IPL this summer while simultaneously creating an impactful presence in India via its new positioning strategy. Furthermore, this represents an evolution in its strategy from its more traditional functional approach – making an emotional connection with its consumers is more important now and hence such an exciting campaign was chosen as part of this shift.
