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Tag: Vinit Karnik

  • GroupM ESP Sporting Nation Report 2023 reports a steady y-o-y growth in 2022

    India sports grows 49% to 14kcr

     

     

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM ESP launched the 10th edition of the Sporting Nation Report 2023 on sports sponsorship in India on Wednesday. The Indian sports industry witnessed a significant growth curve in 2022, with spends crossing over INR 14,000 crore.

     

    Sporting Nation 2023 highlights the growth of sports sponsorship in India, with spends on-ground, team, and franchise rising by INR 3021 Cr, a 105% growth from 2021, making the total sponsorship spends INR 5907 Cr. The overall increase in spends was due to the rise in the number of IPL matches, the addition of two new IPL teams, the ICC T20 World Cup, Asia Cup, FIFA World Cup, and the return of emerging sports events and tournaments like PKL, marquee marathons, Maharashtra Open, and Commonwealth Games 2022. Indian women athletes and women cricketers saw a phenomenal rise, with the Indian women’s cricketers making a name for themselves on the international stage.

     

    The report highlights key aspects of how brands are expected to approach spending on sporting events differently with the rise of OTT, and the sports industry is one of the better-performing sectors in the economy with a 14% CAGR. Two big international racing events, Formula E & Moto GP, are to be held in India for the first time in 2023. The renewal of IPL Sponsorships post the 2023 season, BCCI Home Series Title ad Central Sponsorship along with team India sponsorship, BCCI Home Series Media Rights, and the inaugural season of WPL in March 2023 will be the tipping point for Indian cricket. Overall, the rise of Indian cricket, the performance of Indian athletes and the number of emerging sports leagues have all contributed to India becoming a sporting nation in the last ten years.

     

    The report reveals that cricket continues to dominate the Indian sports sponsorship landscape, contributing to 85% of the sponsorship spends, while emerging sports like football, kabaddi and marathon have seen a massive upsurge in the sponsorship spends, contributing to the remaining 15%.

     

    The growth of cricket sponsorship can be attributed to several reasons, including the Indian cricket team playing almost the double number of matches, as compared to 2021. The Indian Premier League (IPL) contributed the major revenue by adding two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, and a full house of central sponsorship.

     

    Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia:  “The Indian sports ecosystem is experiencing a revolutionary transformation, with athletes becoming influential role models for the youth and sports sponsorships gathering immense momentum. In this scenario, brands hold tremendous potential to tap into the passion and loyalty of Indian sports fans. Despite facing unprecedented pandemic challenges, the exceptional performance of the sports industry in 2022 reflects its resilience and unwavering commitment. As we move forward, technology will play an increasingly pivotal role in content management and fan engagement, while opening new and exciting opportunities in sports. Live sports will continue to be highly coveted as monetizable properties, making it a promising sector for investment.”

     

    Commenting on the report’s findings, Vinit Karnik, Head – Sports, Esports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia, said: “The Sporting Nation report illuminates the explosive growth of sports sponsorship in India, a testament to the nation’s fervent passion for sports and the industry’s enormous potential for brands. With the rise of new sports and leagues alongside the unparalleled popularity of cricket, brands have unprecedented opportunities to connect with fans through sports. The report also highlights the burgeoning trend of sports celebrity endorsement, with cricketing stars blazing the trail. Brands can leverage these insights to tap into the power of sports sponsorship and accomplish their marketing goals with unmatched effectiveness.”

     

    According to the Sporting Nation Report, the sports celebrity endorsement market in India has seen significant growth, with a 20% increase with total value of INR 729 Crore. Out of the 505 brand endorsement deals, 85% of the total brand endorsement value has come from cricketers. The top athletes in sports celebrity brand endorsement include Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Neeraj Chopra, and PV Sindhu. Cricketers’ endorsement has grown by 18%, with Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma endorsing over 30 brands each, and adding new brands in 2022. Other cricketers such as Hardik Pandya, Jaspreet Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Surya Kumar Yadav are also scoring big in the endorsement space. Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu continue to be leading the non-cricketing athletes leading the endorsement deals.

     

    The report also notes that apart from cricket leagues, the successful hosting of several other tournaments like Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi, the Commonwealth Games, Prime Volleyball League, and Ultimate KhoKho, along with the return of marathons and the Women’s Indian Open Golf tournament also helped in building a diverse sports content portfolio in the country bringing in more eyeballs and creating multiple opportunities.

     

  • 2021 got our Sporting Nation back to a billion-dollar scale with a 62% growth over 2020

    Sports Industry spends surpassed INR 9500 CR in 2021: GroupM ESP’s Sporting Nation Report 2022

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports and sports division of GroupM India, has released the sports sponsorship report for India 2021. The size of the Indian sports industry spends is estimated to have surpassed INR 9500 Cr in 2021. The 9th edition of Sporting Nation in The Making, GroupM ESP’s sports report takes into consideration the sponsorship spends, player endorsements and media spends on sports properties.

     

    With INR 6018 Cr, Sports Adex surpassed 2019 levels in both TV and digital. Cricket yet again, remains the most popular sport, accounting for 94% of the sports AdEx. The media spends on cricket in 2021 was higher (INR 5657 Cr) than the overall media spends of 2019 (INR 5232 Cr). The spending on sports celebrity endorsement grew by 11% year-on-year in 2021. A total of 444 brand endorsement deals have happened in 2021, with cricketers accounting for 318 endorsement deals and 87% of total brand endorsement value. The Olympic Year of 2021 increased Emerging Sports Athletes’ endorsements by 79%, accounting for 13% of the overall brand endorsement value.

     

    Prasanth Kumar
    Prasanth Kumar

    Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia: “2021 was a year of a major comeback for the sports industry. Not only in sports but we saw growth in sponsorships, endorsements, and media expenses in 2021. This year will also be a good re-start point for brands to invest in sports properties since sports will see a rise and will in-turn deliver ROI to brands. Apart from this, we even saw esports gaining significant traction and there was a major rise in the number of gamers in the country. Properties like PKL, ISL, etc. are also seeing a major rise in followers which goes to show that India is heavily invested in overall sports from an interest and inquisitiveness standpoint. As for cricket, we are seeing a growing interest by Foreign private equity giants investing in Indian cricket which is proving that Cricket will continue seeing a huge surge in India and with 2021 getting cricket back on track, we are seeing 2022 racing ahead, aiming to cross INR 10,000 Cr mark.”

     

    Vinit Karnik

    Added Vinit Karnik, Head – Sports, Entertainment and Esports, GroupM South Asia: “India as a Sporting Nation has finally arrived, overcoming all barriers brought in by the pandemic. Cricket being the hero of India, contributed 88% of the sports spends. IPL and T20 WC boosted the sports AdEx growth. We also saw emerging sports contributing 12% on the overall sports  spends. The media spends in 2021 were the biggest contributors, who accounted for almost two-thirds of all sports industry spending. While sports celebrity endorsement was on the rise in 2021, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Neeraj Chopra and PV Sindhu are the top athletes in the sports celebrity brand endorsement space. 2022 will be an exciting year with the Asian Games, FIFA World Cup, Premier Badminton League, and many more properties coming up, and the fans are in for a treat. The sports arena is an exciting drive ahead from the fanbase lens and the business lens too and we have a host of opportunities in the Indian sports industry.”

     

  • Mobile Gaming saw accelerated growth in consumer engagement as per the GroupM ESP Sporting Nation Report 2021

    Cricket nets 87% share of Indian Sports Sponsorship

     

    By Our Staff

     

    GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports and sports division of GroupM India has released the sports sponsorship report for India 2020. The size of the Indian sports industry in 2020 is estimated at Rs 5894 crore. This report takes into consideration – sponsorship spends, celebrity endorsement and media spends on sports properties.

     

    The biggest share here goes to media, where advertisement spends on TV, Digital and Print media contributed to Rs 3657 Crore, which accounts for 62% of the total spends. Sponsorship Spends included On-Ground Sponsorships, Team Sponsorships and Franchise Fee, and this took up 28% of the industry pie, which translates to an amount of Rs 1673 Crore. An interesting shift that gained momentum in 2020 was the athlete endorsement which grew 5% over 2019, against the run of play in a year ravaged by the pandemic.

     

    During the period of inactivity in sports, there was a significant step jump in the level of social media influencer activity among popular athletes. Here again, cricketers ruled the roost, with a 92% share of the pie. Of the 377 endorsement deals that happened last year, 275 involved cricket players. 2020 also saw female athletes pulling in brands and the continued success of these stars is proof of the fact that our champions are loved, and we are proud of them. As the sporting nations wait eagerly in anticipation, the stocks are highly in favour of endorsements from our athletes.

     

    The lockdown had also catalysed the growth in certain sectors. The absence of live sports along with a sub-optimal supply of fresh OTT content led to the shift towards gaming; the month of April 2020 saw an 11% increase in users per week along with a significant jump in average time spent per gamer. This led to a sudden boom in e-sports in 2020, with communities getting built and multiplayer activities gaining ground. Over the last three years, there has been a doubling in the gamer base as well as viewership numbers in the time.

     

    Despite Covid-19 threat and multiple risks, India’s foremost sporting league, the Indian Premier League (IPL) got underway in UAE in September much to the delight of fans, players, franchisees, sponsors, and rights holders. The success of the IPL was a great demonstration of the qualities of brinkmanship and improvisation, just what the doctor ordered to lift the spirits of a nation in which cricket is followed with religious fervour. Even as the absence of a fair share of events has rendered year-on-year comparisons irrelevant, two things are extremely heartening. First, the overall levels of business seen in the industry in 2020, and then, the high running momentum as we exit the year and move on to 2021.In November, the Indian Super League (ISL) got underway in three venues in Goa with strict protocols and adherence to bio-bubble considerations. This was the first major sports event to be held in India after the pandemic; giving ample demonstration of our ability to pull off an event of this magnitude under such circumstances.

     

    Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO – GroupM South Asia: “With the lockdown being enforced and subsequent stoppage of play on the field, the void was stark with no visibility on how the anti-Covid efforts would pan out. And even without any activities, our sports heroes stayed close to us. They came closer by actively engaging with their followers on social media and the spontaneity of this online content flow and with the open arms that we welcomed it, is the demonstration of the power of sports in our country. Speedy responses and improvisations are on the go where what the situation demanded and among the many things the Covid-19 situation taught us marketers, was the need to be adaptable as the tide turns fast around us.”

     

    Added Vinit Karnik, Head – Sports, Esports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia: “Many sports properties were either cancelled or postponed and even sponsorship and media spends were impacted. But it is commendable how the sporting ecosystem reacted to this crisis taking into consideration the very fact that sports were back sooner than expected. Even in the face of an adverse context, the stakeholders came together to provide the spark the industry needed. The IPL and ISL are an exemplary demonstration of India’s preparedness to host major sporting events under such taxing circumstances. With many sporting events lined up in 2021, fans might have to make choices between certain events in terms of what, when and how much to watch, leading to a rise in demand for subscription viewing in live sports. 2020 looks like that proverbial backward step we take before a giant leap, like the one we are expected to take in 2021, as part of the making of the sporting nation.

     

  • In their new roles, Karthik & Vinit will report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia

    @GroupM: Vinit Karnik is Head – Sports, Esports & Ent – S Asia & Karthik Nagarajan is Head of Branded Content

    By Our Staff

    GroupM India has announced the promotions of Vinit Karnik and Karthik Nagarajan. Karnik, the Business Head of GroupM’s Entertainment & Sports practice (ESP), will take over the new role of  Head – Sports, Esports and Entertainment, GroupM South Asia and Karthik Nagarajan, Chief Content Officer for Wavemaker India, will take on additional responsibility at GroupM in the new role of Head of Branded Content, GroupM India.

    Said Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia said, “Disruption and evolution go hand-in-hand and it also brought in opportunities in the content, sports and entertainment space and it is consistently redefining the market place. Over the years, we have been building these spaces by shaping great solutions for our clients. While we will continue to build on advertising technologies that will add speed and scale, we are equally committed to enhance our creative process and enable larger solutions in the content space. We are fortunate to witness leadership grow within as they bring in experience, adaptivity and inventiveness for being fit for the future. These leadership appointments signify our commitment to the journey and I am confident in both Vinit and Karthik’s abilities and together we look forward to creating great solutions and opportunities for our clients as well as our partners.”

     

    Added Karnik: “The new-age consumers have a better understanding of advertising and this can be seen by their ongoing interactions with brands and readiness for participation.  The demand for higher personalization shows that. Data indicates that delivering high-quality personalized content is what sets successful brands apart from their competitors. Today a brand has various means to reach out to its audience be it via sports, social media, eSports, influencers etc. Hence by strengthening our offerings and by bringing together creative optimization and data, we want to ensure that the brands get to reach their consumers with content, which is highly personalized, effective and relevant for them.”

     

    Karthik spent a significant part of his early career in consulting, as a practice head for Frost & Sullivan in the United States. Before joining GroupM in 2011, Karthik set up Nielsen’s online division and was also the India Country Head for NM Incite, the joint venture between Nielsen and McKinsey for social media consulting in India. He set up the social media practice for GroupM India, which also included its foray into advocacy. Karthik also evangelised the data agenda for GroupM by building its social analytics practice, products like Radar and the command centre offering. In 2015, Karthik conceived and launched Brew, which became the premier content up-front event for not just GroupM but the industry as well.

     

    Said Nagarajan: “Content is a cultural intervention for a brand and the need to be authentic has never been more critical. Hence the journey of an idea today is seeped in data-led audience truths as much as it is in creativity. From an era when brands rode the trend waves, we are well and truly in a phase where brands author their sub-cultures. This is what makes it an extraordinary time to be in this industry. I am looking forward to taking on this additional responsibility at GroupM, at a time when the lines between content and commerce are blurring”.

     

    In their new roles, Karthik & Vinit will report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia.

     

     

  • Even though the pandemic has seen a direct impact on the sports sponsorship market, IPL continues to carve a niche for itself in India while also keeping its fans engaged, notes ESP Properties

    IPL team sponsorship crosses 500 cr mark this year: GroupM ESP

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESP Properties, the entertainment and sports division of GroupM, has cited that the IPL 2020 sponsorship crossed the Rs 500 cr mark this season. Even though the pandemic has seen a direct impact on the sports sponsorship market, IPL continues to carve a niche for itself in India while also keeping its fans engaged, notes a communique, adding: “The current position at which IPL stands is quite strong considering how the pandemic has taken a toll in India. This year ESP properties, being at the forefront, helped multiple brands in different categories close deals for IPL, some of them include; Paytm, Colgate, Myntra, Lifebuoy, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Clear Shampoo, Acko Insurance, MPL, Center Fruit and Tata Tea – Chakra Gold amongst others. IPL 2020 has showcased that it is pandemic-proof with the number of brands coming on board for sponsorship. “

    Said Vinit Karnik, Business Head, GroupM ESP Properties: “Sport is a universal language that connects everyone. While Cricket in the country returned with IPL – India welcomed it with a tremendous fervour despite the games being delayed and in a ‘no-live audience’ scenario. GroupM played a pivotal role in closing central and team sponsorships deals this year which goes to show that in a pandemic like this, brands have leveraged IPL to communicate their brand stories in the best way possible. With the heartfelt connection that our country has with the IPL phenomena, the fans made sure that they loyally and virtually welcome the games making sure that COVID-19 does not impact their vibe.”

  • GroupM’s ESP Properties releases ‘Business of Indian Sports Playbook’

    Opportunity Knocks for Sports in India

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Vinit Karnik

    GroupM’s ESP Properties released its ‘Business of Indian Sports Playbook’ in the backdrop of Covid-19. The playbook is a guide for multiple stakeholders like broadcasters, fans, sponsors, right holders, and the government, who play a vital part in the sporting ecosystem.

     

    It notes that the sports sponsorship industry in India has been growing at a CAGR of 12.8 per cent over the last 10 years, with the overall sports sponsorship market in India crossing the mark of Rs 9,000 crore for the first time, highlighted the GroupM ESP report on the business of Indian Sports in the wake of the crisis.

     

    Further, it states that mobile gaming will be the biggest gainer in the post Covid-19 era, with 20 per cent increase in the monthly active users during the lockdown in India, with daily average session going up to 45 minutes and frequency of these sessions increasing to 5-7 per day.

     

    The report also states that the situation is an opportunity for sports in India. India is a sporting nation in the making with the sector showing strong growth in the last 6-7 years. At a world level, everything is a standstill. It therefore needs to focus on athletes and performance of sports and have a strong vision for 2024 and 2028 Olympics. Keeping the fans engaged is an important KPI for a rightsholder and  broadcaster.

     

    Government partnerships in the sports realm are the need of the hour, it states. Government and sponsors have worked together as Public-Private-Partnerships.

     

    Talent needs to make full use of the lockdown to enhance relationships with fans via social media. Live talent interaction on social media has caught the eyes of a large fanbase since the fans need to see some action happening between the talent instead of no-action. Gaming & virtual sports should definitely be in the consideration set for active fan engagement, it noted.

     

    Here’s the executive summary:

     

    Business of Indian Sports COVID-19 Outlook Context – Sports sponsorship industry in India has been growing at a healthy CAGR of 12.8% over the last 10 years, with overall Sports Sponsorship market in India crossing the mark of INR 9,000 Crore for the first time

    1. 2020 was a year of Tokyo Olympics, T20 World Cup, Euro 2020 along with major tournaments like Vivo IPL. With most of the sports tournament either cancelled or indefinitely postponed, YOY growth / estimation for year 2020 pre COVID-19 will not hold true.

     

    – While there are many speculations around Sports to be conducted for TV audience only with no fans or limited fans in the stadium, anything is a possibility at this point in time. But from an audience appetite standpoint, fans are hungry and waiting for live sports.

     

    – Sports is a universal language that connects people regardless of their origin, background, religious beliefs, economic position. Sports brings us together. Once the dust around COVID-19 settles down, sports will play a pivotal role in helping fans deal with the emotional stress, post-pandemic trauma and give people at large reasons to look forward to.

     

    – This situation is also an opportunity for sports in India. India is a sporting nation in the making with the sector showing strong growth in the last 6-7 years. At a world level, everything is a stand still. We need to focus on our athletes and performance of sports and have a strong vision for 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

     

    – Mobile gaming will be the biggest gainers in the post COVID-19 era. We’ve already seen 20% increase in the monthly active users during the lockdown in India, with daily average session going up from 30 min. to 45 min. and frequency of these sessions increasing to 5-7 per day as against 3 sessions per day during pre COVID-19. Internationally, we’ve also witnessed rightsholders toying with gaming and virtual sports as a concept to keep athletes and fans engaged in the lockdown times (for example: UAE Tour launching cycling event namely ‘UAE Tour Mubadala Ramadan Virtual Challenge’ on virtual cycling platform Zwift). We see more of these pushing the envelope of virtual and real-world merger.

     

    – In a parallel world, esports has been trying to emulate traditional sports for some time now to reach a larger and more mainstream audience. It had already become a billion-dollar industry pre-COVID pandemic with tournaments witnessing arenas filled with screaming fans and sponsors increasingly injecting monies in the ecosystem globally. With the lockdown in place and millions forced to stay at home; esports has shifted to online format filling up the void for many of the LIVE sports’ hungry fans worldwide.

     

    Further breaking the playbook down, here are the key takeaways:

     

    I. The post COVID-19 time is expected to define “new normalcy” which in turn will have a telling effect on all aspects of business including sports

     

    II. Keeping the fans engaged is an important KPI for a rightsholder & broadcaster. The lockdown times could be a perfect opportunity for both to make heroes off their fans

     

    III. Broadcasters should toy around with various non-live sport-ainment formats as the fan acceptability quotient is high right now. Innovative content formats need to be thought of between the talent and broadcaster to make the most out of a fan’s interest in some sporting action.

     

    IV. Government partnerships in sports realm is the need of the hour. Government & sponsors have worked together beautifully as Public-Private-Partnerships. Post COVID-19 time will call for many such initiatives

     

    V. Talent needs to make full use of the lockdown to enhance relationships with fans via social media. Live talent interaction on social media has caught the eyes of a large fanbase since the fans need to see some action happening between the talent instead of no-action. Gaming and virtual sports should definitely be in the consideration set for active fan engagement during current times taking a cue from how cricket world cup winner Ben Stokes engaged with his fans through F1 esports Vietnam Grand Prix.

     

     

  • On-ground sponsorship grew by 25 per cent for the first time, crossing INR 2000 crore mark

    Indian sports sponsorship crosses Rs 9000 crore benchmark, notes GroupM’s ESP Properties

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESP Properties, the entertainment and sports division of GroupM India, released the 2020 report on sports sponsorship in India. Overall growth in sports sponsorship at a healthy 17 per cent where the sports sponsorship Industry crossed the INR 9000 crore mark in 2019.

     

    The 2019 was the year for cricket and dominated the sports advertising sector unanimously. IPL and ICC World Cup gave a push in both, on-ground sponsorship and media spends. On-ground sponsorship grew by 25 per cent, for the first time, crossing INR 2000 crore mark. Overall industry upsurge was INR 1347 crore of which INR 800 crore was contributed by media spends alone growing at 18 per cent.

     

    Said Vinit Karnik – Business Head, ESP Properties: “Indian sports industry is on an upward trajectory breaking new grounds year-on-year. While cricket proved its dominance in 2019, overall the last 5 years the industry has doubled its size. If we look further, we can see a strong CAGR of 12.8 per cent in the business of sports over the last 10 years, making it one of the strong pillars of the Indian economy. With the sports industry growing at 17 per cent in 2019, the momentum on sports with added thrust from the government provides a holistic opportunity for the sector. Initiatives like Khelo India and Fit India movement are drivers towards making India a truly sporting nation.”

     

    Added Prasanth Kumar, CEO of GroupM South Asia: “Over the last decade, we have witnessed the growth of sports leagues and their gaining popularity across the country. The sports industry has been growing and has witnessed a significant upward shift in the overall ad spends. The passion and excitement that’s involved in this platform have only strengthened. We see more and diverse audience indulging with this platform. Many innovations and leverage of assets in this space are powerful opportunities. As we are unfolding another decade, we see this space to be providing powerful thrust for greater brand stories.”

     

    The non-cricketing space was dominated by women athletes. Badminton queen P V Sindhu was the leading non-cricketing athlete in 2019 in terms of brand endorsements. While Sindhu added four brands to her portfolio, the most notable one among them was her tie-up with VISA that made her the first Indian athlete to endorse the financial services brand.

     

     

  • Earlier this month, BCCI invited online bids for the title sponsorship rights for the BCCI organised domestic and international cricket matches

    Wavemaker, ESP Properties help Paytm bag BCCI title sponsorship

    By A Correspondent

     

    Wavemaker and ESP Properties, GroupM’s sports and entertainment marketing agency, have facilitated the renewal of the partnership between Paytm and BCCI for the title sponsorship rights for BCCI’s International and Domestic cricket matches at home from September 1, 2019 to March 31, 2023. Paytm first bagged the title sponsorship rights in 2015.

     

    Earlier this month, BCCI invited online bids for the title sponsorship rights for the BCCI organised domestic and international cricket matches. BCCI confirmed that Paytm will be the title sponsor of all domestic series/events organised, managed and administered by BCCI and played in India, between 1st September 2019 and 31st March 2023.

     

    Said Jaskaran Singh Kapany, Head- Marketing, Paytm: “We decided very early in our journey to partner with India cricket. Over the last few years, our association with the sport has given us a huge platform to be visible in front of half a billion Indian cricket fans. This has helped the brand immensely at various levels to build long term salience & stature. Paytm is a brand for the masses and continuing as the Title Sponsor of Cricket in India will help us bolster Paytm’s leadership position in the minds of millions of consumers, on the back of the most popular sport in the country.”

     

    Said Kartik Sharma, CEO, Wavemaker – South Asia: “Partnering with ESP properties to help Paytm win BCCI title sponsorship rights for the second time in a row is a huge feat for all of us. It is our constant endeavour to offer best platforms to all our partners and help them grow along the journey.”

     

    Added Vinit Karnik, Business Head, ESP Properties, GroupM India: “Paytm over the last four years has demonstrated its faith and commitment towards Indian Cricket. They understand & appreciate the potential of the game very well. Paytm and BCCI continuing their existing relationship will be huge win for both. The following that cricket gets in the sub-continent is at times more than any other sporting event across the planet and Paytm can continue to benefit from this. Earlier this year in ESP’s annual trends report we predicted that cricket would dominate the media and mind measure in 2019 and with such start to the new cricketing season we believe that this will only grow and improve over the next few months and years to come.”

     

     

  • While 85% of Sports AdEx is on TV, digital grew by 44% driven by OTT platforms, according to the : GroupM ESP Properties report

    India’s Sports Sponsorship grew 12% in 2018

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESP Properties, the entertainment and sports division of GroupM, released the 2019 report on sports sponsorship in India. According to the report, overall, sports sponsorship saw a healthy growth of 12% in 2018. Sports advertising grew to Rs 7762 crores.

     

    Cricket has gained the ground as IPL hit a maximum. While an overall level of the growth of on-ground sponsorship was 20%, cricket witnessed a momentous upsurge of 34% with IPL Central Sponsorship contributed to revenue of more than INR 600+ Cr ($88+ Mn) in 2018. IPL franchise fee, amounting to approximately INR 291 Cr ($43Mn), ceased to be valid in 2018 rendering a year-on-year comparison irrelevant in that area, netting off this difference, contributing to the 12% growth.

     

    Vinit Karnik

    Said Vinit Karnik – Business Head, ESP Properties: “2018 was a spectacular year for the business of sports and 2019 will be another power-packed year. There will be a significant rise in sports leagues and tournaments since IPL has inspired other sports leagues such as PKL, ISL, and PBL. From the IPL team sponsorship seeing a growth of 20% or for the first time ever to Kabaddi registering a growth of 31%, factors like these have given sports sponsorship a boost. With IPL now and ICC Cricket World Cup coming up we also expect sports celebrities to be the talk of the town, monopolizing consumer attention and advertising money.”

     

    The IPL Team Sponsorship tally had a better year, touching INR 300 Cr ($44Mn) for the first time ever saw a growth of a significant 20%. IPL also plays the star act on TV as digital moves up the ladder. 85% of all ad expenditures in sports happened on TV in 2018. Digital grew at 44% as it was triggered by Hotstar and Sony Liv and platforms which continued to drive adoption and carved a niche for itself.

     

    Emerging sports too saw positive growth signals. ISL (Indian Super League) over the years had grown into a strong property with a calendar spread over six months. Kabbadi had a good year in 2018, registering a growth of 31% over the previous year in on-ground sponsorship. This was further backed by Odisha government announcing a five-year deal with Hockey India for junior and senior- men and women teams. Year also saw Tata Motors become the principal sponsor of Indian wrestling in the non-cricket team sponsorship.

     

    Also, big money continues to chase the king of chases as cricket widens the lead over the rest of the sports. 2018 saw a 22% growth in Athlete Brand Endorsement Value. Of the INR 482 Cr ($71Mn) spent by brands on sports stars acquisitions, 81% was accounted just by India’s most popular sport. Two cricketers alone, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, pulled in 66% of all athlete endorsement monies spent by Indian brands last year. Though Virat Kohli leads from the front touching an endorsement value of approximately INR 200 Cr. Pusarla Sindhu had a momentous 2018 both on and off the court.

     

    La Liga signed a three-year exclusive agreement with Facebook to show all 380 matches to users in India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. With huge digital groundswell behind viewership trends, digital media should grow disproportionately in the future as a wider viewer base will attract more ad revenue.

     

    Based on the events across various leagues, tournaments, sponsorships, and non-sponsorships, 2019 looks like a good year for Cricket and emerging sports, which will give rise to bottomless engagement with brands and sporting fans in India.

     

     

  • GroupM’s ESP Properties has unveiled its annual trends for sports and entertainment for 2019

    Sports & Entertainment Spend Trends for 2019

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    ESP Properties has released its Top Sports and Entertainment Trends for 2019. Said Vinit Karnik, Business Head. ESP Properties India: “2019, will be a year for sports and entertainment. With Cricket on our minds for more than half the year, brands would want to revolve their game around the sport and the athletes. While e-sports is also becoming big, it has come a long way, and it is only expected to get bigger. With almost 20 per cent of share of spend expected in digital, adspends in sports and entertainment marketing is expected to grow and evolve.”

     

    Cricket to dominate media and mind measures in 2019:

    Cricket is in full swing in H1 2019 with Team India moving bases from Australia to New Zealand post the ODI series and following it up with hosting Australia in February to play ODIs & T20s. Then comes Vivo IPL and ICC Cricket World Cup. 2019 will break all records of cricket consumption on TV and Digital.

     

    Embrace the athlete, embrace their stories:

    One of the biggest marketing trends of this year is storytelling and the study expects talent to unlock maximum value in 2019. Sporting landscape, led by cricket, will see the true value of talent beyond the top cricketers being unlocked. Audiences not only want to be taken on a journey, but they also want to connect with brands. Brands which can use athlete and their storytelling power will garner massive interest from fans and advertisers owing to mass media exposure via TV and one-to-one engagement through social communities, rediscovering their true value. Federations and leagues will carefully evaluate talent contracts in terms of talent usage rights for self, sponsor activation and scope of the engagement. With social media becoming the primary engagement platform, the right balance between personal and public imagery will be most talked and debated in 2019.

     

    Definition of ‘sellable’ content to be rejigged by newer monetisation models:

    Experimental content is facing challenges to release in large scale formats like cinemas. With newer digital platform and content taking centrestage, storytelling will be redefined with a lot of experimentation and fresh feel. This trend is expected to continue with many more such content prices seeing a ray of hope to see the light of day.

     

    Broadcasting platforms to lean on data-driven insights and player access to engage and build fans:

    While traditional broadcast passed on gold standards of content from linear to non-linear platforms, best practices in consumer engagement will move from non-linear to linear platforms. With professional sporting ecosystem in India being over a decade old, advertisers have started looking at ‘sponsorship’ as a one-stop solution to media exposure and talent access.

     

    Mobile Gaming to take centrestage in the competitive CPU dominant Professional E-Sports World:

    Globally, professional e-sport competitions are primarily held on a computer and consoles and mobiles take a backseat. In India, we’re witnessing a different trend where tournaments being held on the mobile, courtesy – PUBG on mobile with DAU of approx 10mn+ which is more than any other game in the world across any platform is already giving gamers in India almost half the prize money of an E-Sports League India and this is only going to further grow. There will be so many more mobile E-Sport tournaments which will be seen in the coming future.

     

     

  • India is the fastest ad market in the world, notes GroupM’s TYNY report

    GroupM forecasts 14% adspends growth

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    GroupM, the media investment group of WPP, announced its advertising expenditure (AdEx) forecasts for India for the year 2019.  As per the ‘This Year, Next Year’ (TYNY) 2019 report, India tops the list as the fastest growing major ad market in the world. TYNY forecasts India’s advertising investment to reach an estimated Rs. 80,678 crores this year. This represents strong estimated growth of 14%, for the calendar year 2019 (approx 2x of the GDP growth).

     

    India will be the third highest contributor to the incremental ad spends, only behind China and USA and the tenth fastest growing country with respect to ad spends across the globe.

     

    The Cricket World Cup and Elections in 2019 are expected to boost adspends. FMCG, Auto, Retail, e-commerce, Tech/Telecom are expected to contribute to 2/3rd of the AdEx. According to GroupM, the special events of the year (World Cup Cricket and Elections) will add around 3 per cent to the 11 per cent organic growth forecast for the year.

     

    Speaking on the TYNY 2019 report, Sam Singh, CEO – GroupM South Asia said: “While we are estimating the global advertising expenditure to grow at 3.6%, India would be witnessing the fastest growth at 14% and reach an estimated Rs.80,578 crores. This would be approximately 2x of the estimated GDP growth in India. This also makes India the third largest adex growth to the worldwide ad spends. We expect sustained and stable media investment growth across categories in India”

     

    This year 37% of incremental ad pends will go towards digital advertising including mobile. The scale at which we are witnessing this digital transformation, GroupM estimates the Digital Adex to continue to grow by 30% in 2019 to Rs. 16,038 crores.

     

    Added Prasanth Kumar, Chief Operating Officer – GroupM South Asia: “Indian adspends CAGR between 2014-2018 is at 13% and 2019 expected to witness a higher growth. India is unique among key markets and will witness growth in all media segments and not just digital. Offline media is poised to continue to grow and will contribute to being around 80% of ad spends in 2019.”

     

    Television will continue to grow at a steady pace. This year, the growth rate for TV is estimated to be 15%.

     

    Print is estimated to grow by 2.2% and the share of print to all media is expected to be at 23%. While it is expected for both English and regional languages to grow, regional will see slightly higher growth. Vernacular will continue to thrive on both TV and print.

     

    This year radio is expected to grow at 15% which is higher than the last couple of years. Cinema will grow at 25% in 2019, as 2018 saw more titles winning audience at the box office. In 2019 GroupM expects cinema to shift from title-based advertising to continued advertising through the year. Lower tax on cinema tickets is expected to drive more footfalls to theatres.

     

    GroupM also presented some of the biggest trends that will shape the media Industry in India in 2019. The trends presented were around emerging technology, data, content creation and distribution put the consumer at the center and underline the theme of digital driving the change across all formats of media. The trends touched upon the TRAI tariff order implementation as well its potential impact of increasing original programming and investments on content across broadcaster networks.

     

    Said Tushar Vyas, President Growth and Transformation – GroupM South Asia: “With the surge of technology, better insights and relevant engagement across different platforms, we are expecting marketers to build superior consumer connections for brands. 2019 will witness a faster growth in digital and we are expecting digital to be at 20% media mix. As we are witnessing one in every three Indians digitally connected, we can expect the convergence of data, digital and content to deliver seamless and powerful solutions to brands as well as constantly adding inventive practices into the market.”  ESP Properties head Vinit Karnik also spoke on the occasion.

     

    TYNY 2019 Media Handout

  • The annual GroupM ESP Properties-SportzPower report forecasts ‘Achche Din’ for the sports sponsorship biz

    Indian sports sponsorship grew 14% in 2017

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Indian sports sponsorships grew by 14% in 2017 surpassing the USD 1 billion  mark for the first time as per the 2018 report on sports sponsorship released by ESP Properties, the entertainment and sports arm of GroupM and Sportz Power. Media investments contributed to the largest portion of the pie (55% of overall spends), followed by ground sponsorships. Sports advertising rose to Rs. 7,300 crore, a substantial leap from Rs 6,400 crore in the previous year.

     

    The year 2017 was a milestone year in sportssponsorship, asthe US billion-dollar mark was crossed for the first time. As per GroupM’s This Year, Next Year advertising investment forecast, Indian advertising expenditure in 2017 was Rs. 61,263 crore, and this report estimates 12% contribution to the overall adspends are from sports sponsorship alone.

     

    Sponsorship of non-cricketing sports grew in 2017. India’s second biggest sport by participation and attendance, football grew by a considerable 64%. India hosted its first ever FIFA U-17 World Cup that became the most attended in the history of the event. Attendance for this Football World Cup was a record 1,347,133, surpassing China’s 1985 audience of 1,230,976.

     

    Since last year, ISL is a 10-team, 18+ week showcase, up from eight teams and 10 weeks in the last season. ISL sponsorship has grown by 22% from the previous year. The gap between PKL and IPL TV ratings is narrowing – PKL delivered 1.5 TVR with 312 million reach and IPL delivered 2.7 TVR with 411 million. Football has a tremendous reach in West Bengal, the North East, Kerala and Goa, similarly PKL delivers well in Patna, UP, Jaipur and Hyderabad among others. 2017 also saw the birth of five new franchise-based leagues – UTT, SBL, SFL, Cue Slam and P1 Power Boating.

     

    Brands are bullish about investing in emerging sports; 25% increase in franchise fees came from developments in other sports, as Cricket remained unchanged. Thirty-six new franchises were added across all new and existing leagues. While demonetisation and GST hit overall ad expenditure in 2017, the sports sector has been able to ride the storm with a steady and positive trajectory. All major sporting leagues managed to bring on board sponsors at a 100% or more incremental value for the title sponsorship. Specifically, the IPL has emerged as one of the top five most valuable global sports properties in the world.

     

    Vinit Karnik

    Said Vinit Karnik- Business Head, ESP Properties: “2017 was truly the ‘big’ year for the business of sports. With Pro Kabaddi League emerging as the second-most popular league in India after the Indian Premier League, and the India edition of U-17 Football World Cup creating history in terms of audience attendance, has given sports sponsorship enjoyed a bull run. As popularity of sports grows in India, sports stars also expand their brand endorsement portfolios. Virat Kohli led brand endorsements with 19 brands and 150+ crore in value, while PV Sindhu leads the non-cricket endorsement space with 11 brands and 30+ crore in value.”

     

    Thomas Abraham

    Added Thomas Abraham, Co-Founder, Sportz Power: “With the 2017 momentum and the economy also looking up and set to grow at 7.3% in 2018-19, sports is looking at an even bigger year. As the industry anticipates clarity on the structure of Club Football in India, among the new leagues on the horizon, Volleyball seems the most promising. In the media firmament, while new revenue benchmarks are expected from Television, it will be traction in the Digital arena that provides real pointers to where the industry is going over the next few years.” Based onmedia events across various leagues and tournaments, 2018 looks like a good year for cricket and other sports, which will give rise to deeper engagement with brands and sporting fans in India.

    Sporting Nation In The Making – V