MxMIndia

Tag: IPL

  • Given the clouds over the Indian Premier League, MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals to find out what brands can do in such a scenario

    Is negative publicity a positive for brands?

     

    By Meghna Sharma and Ananya Saha

     

    The Indian Premier League had more than its share of negative publicity this season. Did the brands associated with IPL get affected too? And is it possible for brands associated with an event to avoid negative publicity around the event? Or is any publicity good publicity? MxMIndia spoke to industry professionals to find out what brands can do in such a negative scenario.

     

    Harish Bijoor, Marketing & Brand strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc

    Brands are like human beings; they are born, they live, they thrive and then they die. In this entire life-cycle, if a brand has a slur cast onto it, this slur lasts as long or as short as the memory of the brand-audience. A controversy is both good and bad for the brand. It is good as it keeps the brand in public mindsets longer, it is bad because it is a canker that affects the image of the brand at large.

     

    Brands that are active, dynamic, have large mind-shares and market shares alike, cannot really stay away from controversy. The silver lining is the fact that public memory is proverbially short. Very short. Irreverent brands love all kinds of publicity. Possibly IPL is on the cusp of being an irreverent brand. All controversy is good for such brands.

     

    Vandana Das, President, DDB Mudra Group, Delhi

    I do not think that any brand associated with IPL got affected with the recent controversies. Brands have their own long-standing equity. Controversy is the pivot, but not necessarily everything in the periphery will get affected. What is important to note is that controversies are short-lived and brands have a longer life than a controversy. While one can say that IPL is in trouble, one cannot say that the brands are in trouble. It is not that the brands knowingly get into controversy. Brands do not have the control or have influence over such controversies. The brands tend to tide over it. At that particular moment, controversies seem big but brands tide over it.

     

    But this in no way means that any publicity is good publicity. At the end of the day, even short-lived negative publicity can affect a brand. And if a brand is not strong enough, it can even dilute its equity. Just like people, brands also need to avoid any negative publicity around them.

     

    Sachin Kapur, Chief Marketing Officer, Groupon India

    I particularly do not think that brands associated with IPL will get affected by negative publicity, primarily because it is not in the brand’s or brand manager’s hands. Yes, there are brands riding on the popularity of the event, the association is more to do with individual team or player. The overall interest in the IPL might go down, and while brands might have associated with the event to gain from it, it is still a long shot to say that it might have affect on the brands.

     

    Today, with active social media, even one negative blog post or tweet spreads like wildfire. It will reach your customer.

     

    There are times when there are situations, negative situations, surround a brand. These are times that challenges or reactions from the brand do not go down well with the consumer or audience. But no brand, whether six-sigma complaint or not, can stay down for long. The strategy of every brand should be to focus on customer.

     

    Amitabh Khona, Communication Consultant

    Today, crisis management is very important. Everyone knows about the Cadbury and Coke controversies, but have people stopped eating or drinking them? No. It depends on how a brand strikes back. For instance, Cadbury changed its packaging after worms were found in one batch. Also, another factor is the short memory of people. We will talk about something for a few days or months, but forget about all of it later and move on with our lives. Same can be said about IPL, although the recent events are all over the news channels and newspapers, people haven’t stopped watching the matches.

     

    Also, today where there are too many brands, one can say that any publicity is good publicity. No one will go out of business because of negative publicity or controversies. Such things keep happening and will continue to happen, everywhere in the world.

     

  • What's the IPL minus all the high drama? After all, it is just a glorified, modern day nautanki

    Anil Thakraney: No effect on Brand IPL

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    There is a lot of chatter going on over the impact of the latest scandal on the IPL’s brand value, and the possibility of advertisers ditching this ‘sinking ship’ next year. In response, let me first put up a daily life situation: Have you noticed how the chana vatana sellers suddenly land up when you are stuck at a traffic signal? In fact, they usually arrive when there’s a nasty traffic jam (somehow these chaps come to know of it!). Also, even as the bad jam leaves us in a foul mood, many of us do purchase the goodies from these boys.

     

    Why am I giving you this strange example? Because it’s the same story with branding and advertising. Think of the car passengers as audiences, the traffic jam as the mega event, and the chana sellers as the advertisers. The chana sellers will only go where the crowds are, regardless of the poor emotional connect between the traffic jam and the passengers. And the latter will buy from these guys because they (the hawkers) have nothing to do with the traffic jam. In much the same way, as long as the IPL continues to draw in the audiences, the advertisers will be there because the numbers is all that matters. Regardless of the scams that engulf the tournament. None of the zillion controversies have dented the IPL’s mass appeal in six years, nor will the latest one.

     

    And equally significantly, the viewers will not hold the IPL’s dirty deeds against the brands advertising their stuff during the tournament. This is because the junta isn’t stupid. Even the layman knows that Vodafone, Star Plus, Pepsi, Yes Bank, etc, have nothing to do with the spot fixing mischief by certain players, or the betting by bookies and some shady team owners. Therefore there’s no question of advertisers giving up on the IPL. As a case in point, news channels have been continuously running footage of Sreesanth and gang while they were busy spot fixing. As a result, the logo of the Rajasthan team sponsor printed in their jerseys, UltraTech Cement, keeps leaping out at you. Would that affect the sponsor’s image or their sales in any way? No chance!

     

    As for the IPL itself, as I mentioned in my previous post, this tamasha is here to stay. The format has won the hearts and minds of the Indian masses, and all the ugly controversies over the years don’t seem to have affected its popularity at all. Even if the BCCI, which is under pressure, finds a way to prevent spot fixing in next year’s edition (a very, very tough ask), IPL 7 will throw up its own set of fresh scandals, and it will be business as usual. In any case, what’s the IPL minus all the high drama? After all, it is just a glorified, modern day nautanki.

     

  • As Indian television's biggest annual reality show draws to a close, there are five pressing questions left unanswered. Let me try to deal with them

    Anil Thakraney: IPL 6 FAQs

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Okay, so as Indian television’s biggest annual reality show draws to a close, there are five pressing questions left unanswered. Let me try to deal with them.

     

    Does the IPL have a future following the fixing scandal? Will it shut down?

    There’s no way this tamasha is going to close shop, even if more skeletons tumble out of the stinking cupboard. Frankenstein BCCI has created a huge monster, and there’s no taming it now. The masses adore this monster because the IPL is fulltoo entertainment for the full family. It’s less about cricket and more about all the natak that goes around it. The TV ratings for this year have been good, and the stadia packed to the gills once again (the Delhi cricket ground was full house for the two play-offs despite the home team having been knocked out). And, Sreesanth & Co’s antics had zero effect on popularity. The IPL is here to stay. Period.

     

    Will we see a clean IPL season next year?

    Nope. T20 cricket is a fertile hunting ground for spot fixing, all it takes the bookies and their agents is a few dishonest players to co-operate. And this is particularly easy with the IPL because it’s teeming with players who have either been kicked out of the Indian team or aren’t talented enough to find a place in it. Also, India is a vastly corrupt nation, so to expect all our cricketers to be blessed with squeaky clean genes is being downright stupid. Some boys will sell their souls again, but I suspect they’ll behave more smartly than the three idiots: Sreesanth, Chandila and Chavan. Fixing will continue, the procedures will get refined.

     

    Can’t the tournament host, the BCCI, clamp down on fixing?

    Well, according to media reports, the BCCI boss’s darling ghar jamai is allegedly involved in the betting racket, haha. So to expect that organization to follow Gandhian principles is like expecting Phaneesh Murthy to practice celibacy for the rest of his life. It ain’t gonna happen. Therefore what I predict is hyperactive policing next year (match fixing seems to bother our cops more than rapes) and various sting operations by the maha excited media. And yet, the show will go on.

     

    Aren’t sponsors and advertisers furious over the various IPL scandals? Should they not put pressure by threatening to pull out next year?

    Well, ideally they should, but they won’t. That’s because the corporate suits aren’t out to make India a better place, that’s not in their mission statement. The advertisers are only and only interested in one thing: Eyeballs. As long as the IPL continues to draw in the audiences (which it will), the money will keep getting pumped in. In fact, secretly, some of the sponsors must be elated with all the scandals, they help keep the tournament buzzing on the news channels. That’s a much bigger bang for their buck.

     

    Will Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sachin Tendulkar announce his retirement this Sunday?

    No. He’ll be playing IPL 30 too. Am willing to, er, bet on it. 🙂

     

  • When the IPL begins, it takes centre stage and other programming has to hustle for eyeballs and ratings. What are channels doing to match the IPL's popularity and also stay ahead of one another?

    IPL vs Drama: Who will win this match?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    Since its inception, the cricket Indian Premiere League (IPL) has been in the news – sometimes in the best of ways but often for all the bad reasons, but this hasn’t made any difference to the cricket-crazy country. When the almost-two-month-long tournament starts, there is very little else that occupies top of mind for the Indian public.

     

    For television channels, it is an extra busy time. In addition to their own one-upmanship battles, they also have to step up programming to beat the IPL’s popularity.

     

    Most channels, especially English entertainment, try to woo audiences with special packages. For instance, Zee Studio started it early with its package – Powerplay 2.0, which aimed at its male TG through action movies and lasts till the end of the month. “Cricket being a religion in this country, the idea is not to counter IPL but to create a property that viewers can move on to post the matches,” says the channel spokesperson.

     

    Prashaant Bhatt

    According to the recent data, IPL has impacted ratings, especially that of GECs. And with around 10 days left of the extravaganza, what can or should a channel do to boost its ratings during the yearly event? “IPL is one of the biggest events on television. And it does have an impact on all entertainment channels but beyond a point, since because both have different sets of audiences, the impact varies,” says Prashaant Bhatt, Weekday Programming Head, Colors.

     

    The channel, however, says that their launches and highpoints are thought through months in advance, keeping in mind the audience viewing preferences and content requirements of the channel. “This year as well, we planned our strategy accordingly and now we have four of our shows in the top 10, which is a testament to the fact that we are going about it the right way with our plans. We reckon that there is a loyal audience for cricket just as GECs, and don’t see a huge overlap of the two. Moreover, if the content and concept of the show is strong, the audiences will continue to watch their favourite shows over IPL.”

     

    Having said that, one can easily see that most of them do make certain efforts to make sure that they don’t lose out viewers by showing either maha-episodes or blockbuster movies. Many GECs even wait till the event to finish before they can launch their shows. Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Indian Idol Junior and Dance India Dance are some.

     

    On the other hand, for youth entertainment channels like Comedy Centeral or MTV, UTV Bindaas, the IPL doesn’t matter as most show re-runs of their popular shows during that time slots. Indrajit Ray, Director, Content, DisneyUTV says, “Despite IPL, our channel’s ratings have grown. The genre usually doesn’t get affected by IPL because of the content it showcases. Youth will consume it irrespective of whether IPL is there or not.”

     

    And since cricket cuts through age, are children’s channels wary too? “April, May and June are very important months for the entire category thanks to the kids being on vacations. Over the years we have noticed that IPL has a minimal impact on the category with 5-10 percent deviation. Since it is summer vacation time, we at Nick have a content and marketing strategy that will ensure that kids stick continuously on the channel with the least amount of outage. We will put our best foot forward with our frontrunners Ninja Hattori, Motu Patlu, Keymon Ache and Pakdam Pakdai. Apart from the new shows/seasons there will also be a lot of interactivity through contests like ‘Party with Ninja’ to keep the kids engaged beyond TV,” says Mr Ray.

     

  • Sahara announces withdrawal of IPL franchise 'Pune Warriors' as also decision to not renew India team sponsorship

    IPL goes Be-Sahara. Group exits league, India team sponsorship not to be renewed

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sahara India has announced that it will not “keep” the IPL franchise of Pune Warriors due to differences with the BCCI. It has also served a notice to the BCCI asking the sports body to look for a new sponsor with effect from January 2014. “We will continue the national team’s sponsorship only up to December 2013, the expiry date of the present agreement,” a statement said.

     

    The following is the statement issued by Sahara, a copy of which is with MxMIndia:

     

    BCCI AS A SPORTS BODY SHOULD HAVE SPORTSMANSHIP SPIRIT

    In 2010 Sahara had bid 1700 crs. for IPL franchise on the basis of revenue calculation on 94 matches.  It was tricky on part of BCCI to put the number in Media as 94 matches for getting bigger amount.

     

    But we got 64 matches only. We and Kochi Team immediately protested and request BCCI to reduce the bid price proportionately for viable IPL proposition.  Nothing was heard.  We waited with confidence that such a sports body should have sportsmanship spirit. We continuously requested BCCI for Arbitration from June 2011. But BCCI is only concerned about money and not about the genuine interests of the franchisee

     

    Thus, we could not penetrate BCCI’s deaf ears and we announced our withdrawal in February 2012.

     

    – The BCCI approached us for a solution and requested us to not withdraw. After a series of discussions with the topmost BCCI officials including the BCCI President at Mumbai, a Joint Statement was issued by Sahara & BCCI in Feb 2012. The Joint Statement, amongst many other things, specifically mentioned the agreement to start Arbitration proceedings through immediate appointment of an Arbitrator.

    – Following up on the Joint Statement, Sahara suggested the name of a Retired Hon’ble Chief Justice of India on the 5th March 2012 to be appointed as the Arbitrator. There was no response from BCCI for four months and after repeated prodding, finally on the 9th of July Sahara’s advocates received a letter from BCCI rejecting the name proposed by Sahara without mentioning any reason and also without suggesting any alternatives.

    – After that, despite our repeated efforts to have the Arbitration initiated, we sent other suggestion of names which too were turned down and instead meaningless communication was created to stall finalization.

    – In the meanwhile, Sahara kept on paying the full Franchise Fee of Rs 170.20 crore annually, without prejudice to its rights and contentions, in the hope that this will be resolved soon. But unfortunately, it was not done.

    – Fed up with this stalemate our Hon’ble Chairman Saharasri ji had written to the BCCI president that the arbitration for downward revision of the fees has not progressed in 3 years time, hence, has requested for a proper meeting to personally discuss the way forward and explicitly said that if a downward revision is not possible then we would want to surrender the franchisee. This went a deaf ear.

    – After that a few days back in Delhi our Hon’ble Chairman Saharasri ji had again, this time requested in person to Hon’ble Shri Rajeev Shukla ji, that if BCCI cannot accept Arbitration, we then want to amicably exit IPL. Our Chairman in clear words was committed again by Hon’ble Shri Rajeev Shukla ji that BCCI shall comeback and till then Bank guarantee will not be touched, not be revoked since the expiry date of bank guarantee was 2nd May 2013.

    – But again we waited and no reply came.

    – Despite our legal person’s advise of exiting IPL at the start of the season itself, we still in utter sportsmanship spirit went ahead with the season, so that the IPL season does not get affected, safeguarding the larger interest of Cricket in India and the players. Had we followed the legal advise of withdrawing at the start of the IPL season, this would have resulted in putting tremendous pressure on BCCI for resolving the issue whereas BCCI has shown its un-sportsmanship and no consideration towards the sports which we have been supporting for more than a decade.

    – But our legal department was right.  Because our last match was on 19th May and on 20th May, BCCI representative was there in the Bank to revoke the Bank guarantee. We still tried to contact for amicable settlement, but could not get anybody on phone in time.  But our bank people informed that even at 8 in the evening the BCCI representative was still present in the Bank and threatened the bank that if money is not paid today to BCCI, tomorrow they shall enter court to black list Bank. One should ask BCCI why they did not approach bank for revocation of our bank guarantee from 2nd May to 19th May. That’s why these were so, so harsh on 20th May without talking to us and even then they had every right to invoke Bank Guarantee. What is this character of sports body to a company who does so much for sports.

    – It is important to state that Sahara has never, ever defaulted in any of its due payment in last 13 years of team sponsorship etc. We put on record that there is not a single rupee outstanding towards the sponsorship of Indian Cricket Team and BCCI is even secured by a bank guarantee against the sponsorship. Rather during ICC Champions Trophy 2002, Sahara had paid full sponsorship amount even without Sahara branding on the player’s Jersey. It is futile to talk all these to such a strong un-sportsman spirit sports body which lacks true commitment towards Sports and cricket.

    – Considering all the disgusted fact mentioned above now we would not keep the IPL franchisee even if the entire franchisee fee is waved off. It is firm and final decision of Sahara to withdraw from IPL.

    – We now request BCCI to not to approach us this time for any discussion as they have done in February 2012.

    – There is a very strong urge in us to withdraw from the Indian Cricket Team Sponsorship from today only. But, interest of the players will suffer if we do so. We share an excellent relationship with the players and will not want such dedicated and good human beings who serve the country so committed to get harmed financially due to unsporting attitude of BCCI. So we have given time to BCCI to get the new sponsorship in place from January 2014, as we will continue the national team’s sponsorship only up to December 2013 that’s the expiry date of the present agreement.

    – Sahara assures its players and stakeholders that their Fees and other rightfully due payments will be protected and under no circumstances will they suffer. Sahara also assures its sponsors and other supporters who have shown faith in us that their obligations have and will be fulfilled and there will be no compromise on their status or rights.

     

    Besides, we are in the process of building a Sports Foundation, which will operate on a hub and spoke model. Whereby there will be a Central National Sports Academy with numerous regional sports academies affiliated to it.

     

    These affiliated regional sports academies will be based in the areas where there is a proven natural pool of skill set and talent for a particular sport, like an academy in Bhiwani will specifically focus on boxing, the academy based in Ranchi will focus on Archery and Hockey while the one in Hyderabad will focus on Badminton and Tennis. Under this Foundation more than 200 talented upcoming prospective sportsmen will be supported and trained in the academies. Sahara will reach out to all the former international sports athletes who are running academies across India and support them.

     

  • I don't think a few rotten eggs will spoil the big IPL party, it will carry on as usual. Too many people make too much moolah from it, the show will simply go on. The IPL is used to surviving scandals

    Anil Thakraney: IPL: Show will go on

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    I write this post at 1pm on Thursday. The latest IPL scandal is still unfolding, and by the time you read this piece, we would have learnt a great deal more, and perhaps more skeletons would have tumbled out of the dirty closet. However, here are my thoughts as of now:

     

    S Sreesanth needs urgent medical help. I said this recently, and wish his family members had paid attention. I am sure they’d rather see this idiot on a shrink’s couch rather than in a police detention room. From what I have gathered so far, the Delhi cops have direct evidence against Sreesanth, which means his cricketing career is finally cooked. But here’s the pity: The man will be invited to take part in the next Bigg Boss season (they love hiring such losers), and therefore Sreesanth will continue to earn revenues from showbiz. Sad.

     

    As you’d expect, the media has gone into frenzy, and as always, there are unconfirmed reports being put out on air, and wild speculation indulged in. We can crib and complain as much as we want, our news channels will never mend their ways. Anyway, lots of easy meat ready for Arnab, Rajdeep and others, am sure they are sharpening their claws even as I write this.

     

    Many trigger happy tweeters and some ill informed TV reporters and anchors have been ranting against the latest ‘match fixing’ scandal in the IPL. Please be corrected; this isn’t match fixing, this is spot fixing, and that’s a different thing. For fixing a match, you will need to take the captain into confidence, and the Rajasthan Royals’ leader is a gentleman called Rahul Dravid. Over his dead body will the high-integrity Dravid allow anyone to cheat with the game.

     

    Regular readers of this blog would know that I have no love lost for the tamasha that is the IPL. Even if I was given a free VIP pass by Dr Mallya, with a guarantee that the RCB cheerleaders will dance on my lap throughout the match, I would refuse to go, and would instead watch Balika Vadhu at home. That’s because the IPL is everything but cricket. And yet, I humbly accept that there are millions who enjoy this ‘entertainment’, and therefore I support its existence. And I don’t think a few rotten eggs will spoil the big IPL party, it will carry on as usual. Too many people make too much moolah from it, the show will simply go on. The IPL is used to surviving scandals.

     

    And yes, looking forward to watching Sreesanth in Bigg Boss. Such is the world we now live in.

     

    ***

     

    PS: All journos must read this article carefully. It’s about how to use (and more importantly, not to use) Twitter during a national crisis. The way some people tweet without thinking, I shudder to imagine what might have happened if Twitter was popular during the 26/11 carnage.

     

    Link: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/04/boston_marathon_bombing_all_the_mistakes_journalists_make_during_a_crisis.html

     

  • I like his angst, his hard edged temperament. It is this hot attitude which will make him a superb leader in the coming years, even if it gets him into trouble now and then. So he must keep the fires burning

    Anil Thakraney: Kohli’s abuse = Good news for IPL

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Virat Kohli is an angry young man these days. He is furious with a section of the Wankhede crowd, because they booed him right through the IPL league match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. I will come to Kohli’s frustration presently, but let me start by saying that this incident should make the BCCI suits smile very widely.

     

    And that’s because, contrary to the views of many sceptics (myself included), it’s very clear that the IPL has managed to establish solid city-based loyalty. The Indian junta appears to have adopted the various teams as their own. Personally speaking, I still don’t feel any connect with the Mumbai Indians team (just as I feel no connect with Antilla), but I don’t matter out here. The hardcore IPL fans definitely do. It’s one thing to cheer for your team, it’s another to jeer for the rival team’s captain. The captain who happens to be a star player for India, the future of Indian cricket, but that didn’t seem to deter the crazed IPL fans. The mad passion for the Mumbai Indians team explains the insults heaped on Kohli. And this is superb news for the tournament organizers. No one doubted the popularity of the T20 format, what was always in question is the issue of team loyalty. Because many players from each team don’t belong to that particular city/region. One can safely say that has been achieved too. In short, the IPL can now officially be called a Super Duper Hit. Congratulations!

     

    As for young Kohli, I like his angst, his hard edged temperament. It is this hot attitude which will make him a superb leader in the coming years, even if it gets him into trouble now and then. So he must keep the fires burning. However, for the Wankhede incident, our man should have handled things a little more smartly. This is a trick the youngster needs to quickly learn, because there’s no glory in abusing cricket fans, however rowdy their behavior might be. Kohli should have blown air kisses in the direction of the jeering crowd. That would have immediately disarmed the louts, and would have made them run to a dark corner.

     

    Kohli ought to learn from his boss, Dr Mallya. Notice how the booze tycoon keeps beaming and shining at the stadia (when his team wins, that is) despite the Kingfisher Airline mess.

     

    ***

     

    PS: Have always loathed IDEA’s mind effing ‘Honey Bunny’ jingle. Well, this bunch of cool doods has composed a neat jingle of their own in honour of this rubbish. Now this I like, Sirji! Have fun.

     

     

     

  • Live commentary and match updates will be broadcast on All India Radio (AIR) in English and Hindi

    Times Internet partners AIR for live IPL commentary

    By A Correspondent

     

    Times Internet Limited (TIL) and AIR will broadcast live commentary of 33 select Pepsi IPL 2013 matches over AIR’s National Channel and FM Gold. Updates for all matches will be broadcast on AIR FM Rainbow Channel.

     

    The running commentary of the matches of Pepsi IPL 2013, including the Playoffs/Final, being played in India, will be broadcast alternately in Hindi and English on National Channel and FM Gold Network. The coverage area of National Channel includes Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Orissa, Pondicherry, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and parts of Assam, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The live commentary of all 33 identified matches will be broadcast over National Channel of AIR which is available all over India.

     

    Satyan Gajwani

    Speaking on the association, Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet, said, “We’re delighted to renew our association with AIR on Pepsi IPL. By partnering with All India Radio, Pepsi IPL 2013 will tap into a new set of cricket fan audiences across India, particularly beyond the metros.”

     

    “All India Radio, which has always been in the forefront of popularizing sports in India including cricket, is happy to bring live and exciting action from IPL to its listeners”, said LD Mandloi, Director General, All India Radio.

     

  • The findings of the pre-phase of Ormax Trac20, a syndicated research being conducted by media insights firm Ormax Media, suggest that the sponsors of the sixth edition of IPL are expected to benefit significantly from the tournament

    Pepsi, sponsors set to score with IPL 6: Ormax Trac20

    By A Correspondent

     

    The findings of the pre-phase of Ormax Trac20, a syndicated research being conducted by media insights firm Ormax Media, suggest that the sponsors of the sixth edition of IPL are expected to benefit significantly from the tournament. In particular, the title sponsors Pepsi seems to have the ball out of the park even before the tournament started.

     

    As per the findings, the average number of sponsors recalled at an unaided level per respondent stood at a healthy 3.2, more than double compared to previous years. Title sponsors Pepsi contributed significantly to this performance, with an unaided recall of 82% even before the tournament started. DLF, the title sponsors till last year, scored less than 50% on recall in the previous seasons of IPL!

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    Other sponsors with high unaided recall are Vodafone (37%) and franchise sponsors Nokia (32%). Commenting on the findings, Shailesh Kapoor – CEO, Ormax Media said: “This phase of the research was conducted in the fortnight leading upto the start of IPL 6. Such high recall levels are indicative of the strong association a brand like Pepsi has managed to build with the tournament, despite this being their first year of association. It is evident that the brand fit between Pepsi and the IPL has worked this year.”

     

    The Ormax Trac20 research is being conducted across 11 cities, in three phases, with a total sample size of 9,000: Pre-phase before the IPL started, mid-phase during the IPL and post-phase at the end of the tournament. The findings of the pre-phase have been released for the subscribers.

     

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  • Despite the underreported numbers, IPL is a brilliant mix of cricket and entertainment and has seen an excellent start, says Neeraj Vyas of SET Max

    Data reporting is complex as of now: Neeraj Vyas

    The start to the sixth edition of IPL couldn’t have been better. At 100 million, the week 1 numbers from the tournament has generally surpassed expectations. But the sentiment is not as cheerful for Neeraj Vyas, Business Head of SET Max. According to him, the viewership numbers could have been more than what was reported had the digitization exercise not been underway. Especially data being reported from LC1 towns, which is turning out to be problematic for broadcasters, according to Mr Vyas.

     

    Mr Vyas shares his viewership sentiments with Johnson Napier of MxMIndia, and what he expects from the tournament in the coming weeks.

     

    The opening week numbers for IPL 6 seem impressive. Has the outcome been along expected lines?

    We have reported 100 million viewers this year compared to 78 million in the first week last year. So in a way it is good. But given the fact that TAM’s reporting of numbers has undergone such a sea change since September 2012 when the DAS exercise kicked off…that is when a change was observed in the Universe size. That was also a time when the LC1 data started to be reported and the weightage again changing to 20-25 per cent of the total Universe…this suddenly resulted in ratings coming out of rural India out of nowhere. If you were to do an apple-to-apple comparison, all of this was not happening last year. Also when the IPL 6 started off was when the phase II of DAS was underway…so it’s a fairly complex data reporting environment right now where there could be a lot of abnormalities. I am not saying there are but there could be. So given all the flux in the market, the fact that we opened to these numbers goes to show that there is a massive appeal in the IPL and that through our efforts we have managed to get viewers to come and sample the property by large numbers again this year.

     

    But digitization in a sense has helped you to attain high viewership numbers, hasn’t it?

    Digitization has indeed helped; if you see the GRPs of SET Max it has jumped from 134 last week to 245 this week. We have virtually driven the growth with this property.

     

    Despite the rise in overall viewership, the average match ratings for the first week have remained steady compared to last year. Why haven’t the numbers seen a spike?

    As I said, the LC1 data from markets like MP, UP etc have an audience base of 0-50,000 which translates to very minute and small towns but these places will never give you high ratings because of the problems faced like power shortage for 7-8 hours etc…so television numbers for channels including GECs have only come down due to LC1. Also, the advertiser doesn’t buy a spot in the IPL to reach out to the LC1 audiences…so if you remove the LC1 audiences and compare it to what it was last year then there is a growth at an all-India level of 4.1 and in HSM markets at 4.5. So it’s a hugely successful story for us.

     

    Do you think you were able to achieve the 100-million mark primarily due to the marketing initiatives undertaken? Any other factors that helped propel you to get there?

    The marketing initiative has indeed worked well for us. The track is something that is being loved and imitated by audiences across age groups. It has helped lift the happiness factor among the masses and the marketing execution has only fuelled in it getting there.

     

    Does this feat prove wrong the notion that cricket is seeing a downfall in India in recent times?

    IPL is a brilliant mix of cricket and entertainment. The matches have been good so far and the intensity has been phenomenal. So the start has been excellent so far.

     

    With such a bumper start, what are your expectations from the rest of the tournament?

    It’s too early to predict. As I said, because of the DAS 2 issue there is always going to be a fluctuation in the numbers that get reported…some places digitization is happening in other places it is not..and we are talking about 38 cities here. Had it been any other year I could have given an estimate but that looks difficult right now with the DAS exercise underway.

     

  • A massive marketing campaign, a new fan dance move from Farah Khan, a bigger panel and lots of Extraaas… will IPL 2013 thrill again, asks MxMIndia

    IPL 6: In the mood for Extraaa

    The nine IPL team captains line up after signing the MCC Spirit of Cricket board at the Pepsi Indian Premier League opening ceremony held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on April 2. Copyright: BCCI. Photo by Ron Gaunt/SPORTZPICS

     

    By Johnson Napier

     

    The opening ceremony of one of today’s most popular and expensive sporting properties may have matched its impressive track record over the years. And the organisers could thank celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, rapper Pitbull et al who were joined in force by cricket legends as they steered their way into winning the hearts of the audiences. In fact, the viewership numbers being predicted from the opening ceremony this year is expected to exceed 55 million, a fact that is being reported extensively even across foreign media.

     

    There’s no doubting the effort that has been put in by the organisers and broadcast partner Set Max as the task facing them this year was winning back the audiences that had gone adrift over past few seasons. Apart from a string of new measures and a high-profile marketing campaign, the buzz that was created around IPL 6 was dubbed as being the loudest so far, or so is the claim. Much of the credit to that is being owed to ace choreographer Farah Khan who bought in an element of newness this year with some signature moves involving cricket.

     

    Highlighting the experience this year, Neeraj Vyas, Business Head, Max said, “Firstly, the sentiments have been very positive around the IPL. It follows India’s recent performance against Australia which has kind of boosted cricket sentiments in the country. The other thing about the IPL is that it is cricket of the highest quality and degree and is extremely competitive and edgy, but there is also a lot of entertainment value attached to it. For example, the IPL campaign that we did around IPL this year is very entertainment-led and had director-choreographer Farah Khan playing host. As you’ll observe she is advocating everyone to not just sit but to be a part of the game by dancing to three key moves commonly associated with cricket – fours, sixes and falling wickets.”

     

    In fact the campaign has been a huge hit on the online space where it has crossed the 2 million mark on YouTube. “So the whole scale around IPL is much bigger this year than last year. It definitely has managed to arouse enough hype and curiosity. In fact if you see our marketing budgets, we have invested 15 per cent more than last year. There has been a substantial effort that has gone behind the marketing campaign this year. The same can be reflected through the huge buzz and reach that can be sensed everywhere and across all platforms.”

     

    Not to be left behind in the production department, Set Max has gone the extra mile this year where its studio and expert panelists are concerned. Affirmed Mr Vyas, “We have a brand new set of Extraaa Innings this time around; it is a set that is bigger than any other set that you’ll see in recent times. And joining Gaurav Kapur and Samir Kochhar will be two new hosts, Karishma Kotak and Rochelle Maria Rao. The there’ll also be big names associated with cricket like Navjot Sidhu, Harsha Bhogle, Ajay Jadeja and Sunil Gavaskar. What we’ve also done is added new names to the roster like Kapil Dev and Rameez Raja. They’ll primarily be driving the show in Hindi. So it’s also the best line-up that we have where studio names are concerned.”

     

    Not wanting to stop at that the broadcasters sensed immense opportunity in reaching out to the masses beyond the metros and tier 2, 3 towns and who until now were denied their share of voice in the affair. The wishes of the many Indians who reside in far-off towns and rural belts will be realised as they can enjoy the matches in Hindi as well. Asserted Vyas, “Another new addition this year is the airing of content in Hindi. That was done to essentially reach out to interior pockets of India who are more comfortable with Hindi commentary. Also, if you saw our coverage last year we had upped our quotient of Hindi usage on XIDs. So there was a lot of Hindi banter that happened between the expert panellists which was a decision that was taken intentionally. And this year we have just expanded that by having a dedicated Hindi feed. So the idea was to reach more and more people.”

     

    Number-crunching affair

    It has been widely reported on how the IPL this year has heeded the demands of the marketers and have offered them advertising value worth a steal. According to estimates, the channel expects to earn close to Rs 900 crore overall this year and much of this will come from top clients like PepsiCo, which is the title sponsor for the tournament, having signed a deal in the range of Rs 50-60 crore. Set Max has also sealed associate sponsor deals with eight clients including Godrej, Havells, Panasonic, Karbonn Tabs, Usha International, Cadbury, Tata Docomo and Samsung Mobiles.

     

    Highlighting the response received from the clients this year, particularly new entrant PepsiCo, Mr Vyas said, “The response from the clients goes to show that IPL is still a massive brand and secondly, as I said earlier, it is the reflection around the positive buzz surrounding Indian cricket at the moment. So there has been an extremely positive sentiment from the viewers as well as the advertisers.”

     

    He added, “Client-wise if you ask me, the best thing to have happened is Pepsi’s association with IPL – who are the on-ground as well as on-air partners. Given their past history, they will naturally bring in their own flavour to the tournament. I know for a fact that they are planning some special campaigns that will begin during the IPL. In a sense, Pepsi probably understands cricket better than most other brands as they have been associated with the sport for around 15-20 years. So one can expect them to bring in their own creativity around cricket, which is always entertaining to say the least.”

     

    Confirming Mr Vyas’ sentiments, Vinit Karnik, Head of Sports and Live practice at GroupM ESP said through a statement, “We’ve been part of IPL since its inception and we strongly believe that IPL is India’s biggest and the most powerful marketing platform for brands to leverage the combined appeal of cricket and entertainment. This season has been a busy and fruitful season. We had the opportunity to work closely with the Sun Group’s Sunrisers and have enabled the new franchise get off to strong start with 10 on-ground official partnership/sponsorships including Make My Trip, 7UP, Garnier, Kingfisher, Live In Jeans, Manyavar, Sheltrex, RN Sports etc…. We also advised Vodafone backed by a comprehensive valuation exercise based on proprietary data and insights which helped them build a case to renew their on-ground associate sponsorship for another 5 years. Other high profile deals which we managed to facilitate this year included Bajaj Allianz and Mumbai Indians, Flying Machine and Royal Challengers Bangalore among others.” The total value of all the on-ground deals enabled and activated by GroupM ESP in IPL 6 is estimated at US $ 15 mn.

     

    On to another important number that’s watched closely by all, the ratings for IPL 6 is expected to outdo that put up by the previous season. According to statistics released by MEC-Meritus, average TV rating for the league stage is expected to go up from 3.8 last year to 3.9 – an increase of 2.6% (15+ years, Male/Female, SEC ABC). Also, MI (23%), Chennai (19%) and KKR (14%) are the most popular teams while support for Hyderabad has gone up by 200% (2% to 6%). Further, the study notes that Sachin Tendulkar (80), MS Dhoni (79), Yuvraj Singh (76), Virat Kohli (74) and Virender Sehwag (73) are the most popular Indian players in the League while Chris Gayle (60), Ricky Ponting (55), Brett Lee (51) and Kevin Pietersen (50) are the most popular foreign players.

     

    T Gangadhar

    T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC India, said, “Our study suggests that the IPL seems to have matured as a property. The study clearly establishes that ratings in the first phase (first 18 games) impact the fate of the entire league. With Pepsi activating their title sponsorship in a big way, the BCCI launching the IPL Fantasy League and India’s strong performance against Australia, the first stage of the league could get further momentum.”

     

    According to Mr Vyas, in terms of ratings expectations, “People need to realise that IPL is now a mature and a long tournament that last 76 games spanning 54 days. Nothing of this scale ever exists in the country. In fact about 30 per cent of the games are played in the afternoon…so despite all these ground realities it sustained an average rating of 3.5 last year, which according to me is nothing short of a miracle. If you look at GEC shows today, no one manages to retain audiences over such long periods. And this despite the fact that about 30 per cent of the matches are played in the afternoon. So we will be happy if we are able to retain the ratings at that level or even better it to around 4 or so.”

     

    Amin Lakhani

    Agreeing with Mr Vyas, Amin Lakhani, Principal Partner, Mindshare said, “I’ve always maintained from the start that where cricket and especially IPL is concerned, there has been a positive sentiment observed. It kind of picks up in terms of popularity and buzz closer to the start of the tournament. The thing about IPL is that it is now a time-tested property; only last year was an aberration. It has always been a winning property and will continue to do so. It is too early to write it off. And frankly, I am not even bothered about viewership as it a 76-match affair spread across 54 days…whatever ratings it has achieved has been brilliant so far. I can’t think any other property that has managed to do so in such a scale and manner. Where viewership is concerned, I feel even if it manages to hold at 4 or above would be a very good thing.”

     

     

    Mona Jain

    But feelings seem to be mixed for Mona Jain, CEO of Vivaki Exchange, who remarked, “I expect the ratings to display a similar trend to that of last year. Also, where the campaign is concerned I believe they should have started that much earlier on mediums like television, outdoor, radio etc. And the fact that IPL is an established property maybe that’s the reason the broadcaster maybe wanting to push the property closer to the start of the event. I guess more emphasis was paid on leveraging the event then trying to build it up.”

     

    While there may be a few naysayers who’ll be raising questions on the waning demand of the sport in India, SET MAX would want to prove them wrong by posting numbers a notch better than at least the previous season. One will have to wait and watch if King Khan managed to work his charm to at least get the inaugural event off to a flying start.