IPL is all about value creation for brands vs a pricing story for Disney Star: Ajit Varghese

Over the past year, our client conversations around IPL have shifted focus from pricing to value creation, be it through our platform, innovations, or contextual advertising, said Ajit Varghese, Head – Network Advertising Sales, Disney Star, in an interview with BestMediaInfo.com.

Offerings ranging from customised feeds and flexible packages to influencer marketing, AI-supported Brand Studio, branded content and Startup Power Play, Disney Star is upbeat about the rise in reach and revenue from IPL 2024.

While last year, there was a lot of buzz around TV vs Digital for IPL, Varghese emphasised that Disney Star has never debated on TV versus Digital as it sells all media.

He said, “We all saw how well our TV+Digital narrative worked wonders for us during the World Cup. TV has its own distinctive advantages of offering the best of brand building at an unmatched scale; it offers a family and community viewing experience. On the other hand, digital offers its own strengths, such as precise targeting and comprehensive measurement capabilities.”

Debunking the myth that advertising on TV for cricket is costly, Varghese said, “TV remains unrivalled in terms of its reach. Even when compared to user-generated content platforms, its cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is the lowest. TV consistently delivers exceptional ROI for brands. TV doesn't need to play catch-up. Its viewership continues to expand, with a significant portion stemming from Pay-TV households, which represent a valuable audience segment.”

Excerpts:

How confident do you find marketers about the strength of ‘Cricket on TV’?

Cricket on television continues to grow. Marketers are reassured that cricket on TV stands strong at an unmatched scale. IPL viewership on TV surged by 30% in 2023 across various audience segments, particularly demonstrating significant reach expansion in regions like UP and Bihar.  Additionally, the Pay-TV audience witnessed a notable 15-20% increase during both the IPL and the World Cup.

Advertisers witnessed impressive returns on investment (ROI), with 3-5X growth during IPL advertising across marketing funnels on TV in 2023. Beyond traditional advertising, brands are increasingly leveraging brand integrations within cricket programming on TV and implementing associative marketing strategies through branded content, customised solutions, brand integration, innovations and much more.

What is in store for advertisers this IPL season on TV?

Over the past year, our client conversations have shifted focus from pricing to value creation, be it through our platform, innovations, or contextual advertising. For instance, top brands want to convey their brand ethos or seek solutions that bolster their categories.

In the mid-tier segment, catering to brands with moderate marketing budgets, we've developed offerings ranging from Rs 5-25 crore. These entail extensive customisation, flexible packages, branded innovations, and integrations into non-live content, including influencer marketing. We have a panel of 100 people, which marketers can use to promote their brands, be it during the cricket telecast or take it beyond the network.

Additionally, we've launched 'Startup Power Play' tailored for emerging companies and startups, offering exclusive 60-second commercial slots during matches to showcase their brand narratives.

Please tell us more about Startup Power Play.

This offering helps startup brands to tell their brand stories, get noticed and create a difference in the marketplace in 60 seconds. Tailored to maximise impact and exclusivity, 'Startup Power Play' offers one startup per day the spotlight to showcase their brand or product story. We have collaborated with D2C Insider as an ecosystem partner to leverage access to the large community of Startups. D2C Insider is a community of curated founders and CXOs from the D2C ecosystem. We want to make sure that more and more startups can relook at cricket and participate in it.

What are your expectations from these initiatives?

Our primary objective is to create value for brands. We need to showcase that cricket delivers for brands on a large scale. The more we can prove cricket's effectiveness in terms of mental availability, consumer engagement, and marketplace metrics, the greater the brand participation we'll see. Ultimately, this will validate our investment in cricket as a strategic decision.

Filling inventories has rarely been an issue when it comes to IPL but expanding revenues in proportion to the bid is a nightmare for the rights holders. With revenue pressure rising each year to achieve break-even, you need to double your revenue. What are the strategies in place given that the audience, tournament, inventories and everything else remain the same?

We have been invested in IPL for over 20 years. So, there must be something that worked for the overall dominance of Disney Star Network. Our revenue and reach have only been growing from IPL. In the last 10 years, IPL 2023 was the best-performing IPL. Our efforts have been to make sure that there is more value creation for clients and that they get good ROI. We have been making it easier for more and more clients to advertise on cricket. I believe if our attempts are right, money will anyway follow.

I understand from your answers that getting more advertisers is possibly the only way out. But you have been trying since the beginning and it has witnessed standard growth. Is there any reason for you to expect a massive turnaround?

Since the start of the year, I've noticed a decrease in uncertainty and an increase in positive discussions among clients. There's a general sense of optimism, with stable markets and controlled inflation signalling a healthier environment for companies. In such conditions, we can expect increased investments, whether in capacity building or advertising to boost market share. This contrasts with the challenges faced in 2023 due to the impact of the Russian war and macroeconomic conditions. Overall, there are promising signs compared to the previous year, and both IPL and the World Cup 2020 are poised to benefit from this positive trend.

Last year was the first year of divided rights. It was TV vs digital. What does the picture look like in the second year?

The TV industry is monitored by a third party, and its data is readily accessible for marketers to assess independently. There has never been a debate from our side because Disney Star as a platform sells all media. We equally sell digital. We all saw how well our TV+Digital narrative worked wonders for us during World Cup. TV has its own distinctive advantages of offering the best of brand building at an unmatched scale, it offers a family and community viewing experience. On the other hand, digital offers its own strengths, such as precise targeting and comprehensive measurement capabilities.

Once upon a time, digital was catching up with TV. Is it TV’s turn to catch up with digital when it comes to ad rates with regards to ER?

Ratings went through the roof last year during IPL. Disney Star delivered a 32% jump in IPL ratings while its reach grew by 36%. What are your expectations in terms of ratings and reach this season? According to you, what factors will lead to the rise in ratings this time around?

We are anticipating higher reach figures compared to 2023. We project continued growth in IPL's TV audience thanks to our robust programming, extensive distribution, and deep understanding of audience engagement.

What changes have been brought into place in line with the learnings from last season?

We have created a ‘Brand Studio’, where advertisers can pick up any form of content from the live cricket and create a customised segment for the brand itself. This is now possible through integrating AI into our content, where each piece of content can be tagged. When we tag the content for a brand, it can automatically create a video and deliver it to the brand.

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