Just why is IPL such a rage?

By Anuka Roy

It was the summer of 2008, every sportslover (rather cricketlover) was introduced to the Indian Premium League (IPL). IPL was an instant rage. If Twitter was popular back then, IPL would have definitely been a trending topic for weeks or even months. The excitement around the fact that players of different countries would now be teammates was another high point for this tournament. However, IPL as a brand has courted many controversies and criticisms in the past few years. But, how has it fared in its nine year journey?

To answer this, Hansa Research released IPLomania,  a study on the nine seasons of the IPL which reveals interesting correlations between team loyalties and its impact on the recall value of the sponsoring brands.The study which started in 2008 (IPL – Season 1), completes nine years, covering 11550 F2F (face-to-face) CAPI (computer assisted personal interviewing) Interviews, panning 10 towns covering SEC ABC, hard-core IPL viewers, of age group 12+, this season, threw up some interesting data.

Talking to MxMIndia, V Sudarshan,Vice President of Hansa Research explained the idea behind the study, “Initially when we started doing the study around the beginning of IPL, that is 2008, we have been asked to do this study by a client of ours who owns a team too. And, they basically wanted to know the profile of their followers, how stringent those followers are and what is the affinity for their particular team versus competition. Basically, how are they fairing in IPL, so, it was team owner related. When we started doing this, other team owners said they would also be interested in something like this and that turned it in to a syndicate study. While doing that the advertisers started asking why not ask the same respondents about the recall value. The premise behind this is, everyone including owners and the advertisers spending money on sponsorship, they wanted to know what is the recall of their brands in the IPL, considering the fact that IPL is the Kumbh Mela of advertising.”

Some of the highlights are as follows:

:: Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) have more or less kept a consistent pool of players, giving their supporters ample time to identify themselves with the team. With a consistent core, their performances have been consistent and that has led to a consistent, loyal fan base.  In teams that are yet to settle their squad, marquee players play an important role in establishing a connection with the audience. Fans of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) swear by their captain David Warner, whereas Glenn Maxwell rouses the passion for fans of Kings XI Punjab(KXIP).

:: The study reveals a stark difference in the manner in which these sponsor brands are recalled by the audiences. Let us take an example of the ‘lead’ sponsors (whose logo appears on the jersey chest for each team). 8% of audience mentions the ‘lead’ sponsor on an average for any team, 27% of audience mentions ‘lead’ sponsor when it comes to the top 2 teams CSK and KKR and 2% of audience mentions ‘lead’ sponsor in case of KXIP and Delhi Daredevils(DD). In fact the brand recall for the CSK sponsor was as high as 42%.

:: Team loyalty also plays a huge role on the recall value for a brand. Teams that have managed to consistently garner a loyal fan base, also manage to repay their sponsors in terms of a better brand recall.

:: CSK and MI have emerged as the most consistent in garnering loyalties, and not just from their respective cities, so has KKR and RCB.

:: Amongst the latest entrants,Gujrat Lions (GL) is increasing the fan base with their performances, while Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) is struggling even with MS Dhoni at the helm.

So, how has IPL fared this year? “Viewership numbers are growing and so are the followers. Initially, a lot of traction happened in the urban markets, right now, a lot of viewership is also coming from the rural areas and smaller towns too,” Sudarshan added.

In conclusion, the study states, with a captive audience the IPL provides a tremendous opportunity for brands to be associated with the franchise, and more importantly recalled by their audience. The formula is to be consistent whether it comes to the squad or performance and strategic – like having a marquee player and giving him time to build a loyalty fan following.