What kind of ROI do brands get from IPL

Last year, 10-second ad spots for the Indian Premier League (IPL) were being sold at Rs 8 lakh, which are now hovering at Rs 12 lakh.

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The stated reason: IPL is going to get at least 20% more eyeballs than any other genres. According to BARC India, viewership engagement on TV already is 15% more than the pre-Covid levels.

What does IPL deliver for brands?

Last year, the brands that advertised during IPL on Star network made significant gains in terms of direct increase in several metrics.

For example, PhonePe saw a 115% increase in the number of transactions. MG Hector saw 20,000 bookings during the tournament. Voltas saw 47% increase in its revenue and Urban Clap (now Urban Company) saw a 3X increase in service orders.

In terms of reach, IPL gets three times more viewership and reach than both Big Boss and Kaun Banega Crorepati. According to Star India, IPL sponsors reach at least 400 million plus households.

Star India’s revenue from IPL 2019 was less than Rs 2,000 crore. The broadcaster had won the five-year (2018-2022) TV and digital rights for the tournament at an astronomically high price of Rs 16,000 crore.

To ensure that the tournament has enough hype, the broadcaster itself rolls out a 360-degree ad campaign across mediums. The tournament will be played in the UAE this year between September 19 and November 10.

In terms of TVR, the tournament is growing every year. It has seen a 44% growth in TVR in 2019, over 2017. In terms of reaching out to women, it remains the biggest platform.

On an average, Star India gets three to four brands as co-sponsors and another 10 brands or so as associate sponsors.

Last year, major IPL associate sponsors included Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, Swiggy, Big Bazaar, Cadbury Dairy Milk, MRF, Polycab Wires, Vimal Pan Masala, Make My Trip, Voltas, MRF, Byju’s, Polycab Wires and Cable, Mobile Premier League (MPL) and Samsung QLED. PhonePe, Coca Cola, Oppo and Vivo were all IPL’s co-presenting partners.

What advertisers think about IPL

Advertisers are expected to aggressively spend on the IPL, which is being held during the festive season this year. The tournament is normally held in the summer months. The event is even more awaited this year given the lack of exciting content in the past two months. Brands are piggybacking on advertising during IPL, hoping it will kick-start the consumer spending and consumption cycle that came to standstill because of Covid-19 and lockdowns that followed.

A leading media planner said Star India is likely to clock somewhere between Rs 1,500 crore and Rs 1,700 crore as ad revenue during the IPL season.

With IPL being played during the festive season, Star India is likely to eat into the share of other broadcasters as most brands would want their money to ride on IPL, the first big-ticket tournament to be played since March.

The content-deprived audience is most likely to be glued to their TV sets and the tournament may even break all viewership records, experts said.

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