By A Correspondent
With the playoffs set to happen and the tournament hotting up what with the crucial Kolkata-Mumbai match this evening (May 9), this report from GroupM agency Wavemaker that has analyzed the social media conversations that happened around IPL Season 11 from April 7 to May 4 makes for interesting reading.The analysis has been done by Wavemaker Mesh, the agency’s marketing command centre
Here are key highlights of the report are as follows:
:: With CSK and Rajasthan Royals back in the game, the popularity and excitement is off the roof. Last year we witnessed 6.2 million social buzz for the entire 2017 season. This year we are only half way through and have already clocked almost 10 million social buzz, surpassing 2017 by 4 million already. This is extraordinary growth in buzz and popularity and we estimate the social buzz to reach 17 million by the end of the tournament, almost 3X of 2017.
:: After a two-year hiatus, Chennai Super Kings make their come back with a bang, emerging as the buzziest team this IPL season followed by Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Last year’s favourite Kolkata Knight Riders slips to 4th
:: Amongst players, S. Dhoni continues to be the most talked about. Last year, Dhoni had 0.5 million social buzz around him by end of season. This year his popularity has already grown many folds with him garnering almost 1.08 million mentions. Dhoni and CSK complement each other well and fans can’t stop chanting #whistlepodu & #yellove every time they mention both.
:: Fans from Delhi city contribute to maximum chatter this IPL season (37%) followed by Tamil Nadu (18%) and Maharashtra (11%).
:: Though Vodafone is not the official sponsor this IPL season (breaking a 10-year-old partnership), it still manages to emerge as the buzziest brand on social media this IPL season so far, followed by official sponsor Vivo and competition brand Jio.
:: Vodafone’s ZooZoos campaign continues to be popular and the most awaited campaign amongst fans. Vodafone also emerges as the most watched ad on digital this year– Unofficial Sponsors of Fans, followed by Coca Cola – Share a Coke and Tata Motors’ series of videos promoting Nexon this year.