Will sports boost festive ad spends despite no Cricket Men’s World Cup?

New Delhi: With the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup and bilateral series between India and Bangladesh, advertisers are set to ride on the opportunities the sporting events offer during festivities.

After a lull period of 15 days during Shradh, known as an inauspicious period across the country, brands across categories have begun their advertising blitzkrieg with the festival of Navratri. 

The 2023 festive season saw the Men’s World Cup adding in excess of Rs 2,500 crore to the overall festive ad spends.

Media and entertainment industry veterans told BestMediaInfo.com that the third quarter of the financial year is expected to be better than the previous year despite the absence of the Men’s World Cup.

“We witnessed less-than-adequate adspends in Q2 which extends hope for Q3 to do well. We are expecting double-digit growth this festive season irrespective of the events and platforms. The Men’s World Cup was a marquee property taking place every four years. Does it mean that brands increase their budgets dramatically every four years coinciding with the World Cup? The simple answer is “no”. The other sporting events are well-positioned to attract advertisers, albeit with a lower budget,” the industry veteran said.

Sports marketing will continue to play a key role in driving ad spends during this festive period.

“PKL coinciding with the festive season offers a prime opportunity for brands to tap into a broad audience. Furthermore, the rising interest in women’s cricket, particularly around the T20 Women’s World Cup, has enhanced the potential for leveraging the sporting arena as a lucrative avenue for brands,” the industry veteran added.

Neerav Tomar, Founder and MD of IOS Sports and Entertainment, said, “There are multiple events in the market that can turn out to be viable options for sports marketing during the next two quarters. The brands must also look at tapping into lesser-known markets like kabaddi to increase their value across a different kind of audience.”

“Sports persons who did well at the Olympics and Paralympics, like Manu Bhaker, Swapnil Kusale, and Sumit Antil, should be targeted outside the other marketable options for brands. With such top names, we do not expect a massive dip in the role of Sports Marketing during this year’s festive period,” he added.

Typically marketing around sporting events has accounted for about 15-18% of the total ad spends In a year, which in 2023 amounted to Rs 15,766 crore with cricket accounting for about 87% of this. 

According to Joshey John, Director and Sales Head at ITW Consulting, “We are likely to see a mix of advertising around sporting events, sponsorships and endorsement deals. It will not be as heavily skewed to sports as it was at the same time last year because the Men's ODI World Cup was on in Q3 2023/24. Even then, with India playing some high-profile series, the women's T20 World Cup, and full seasons of ISL and PKL commencing, we expect there to be significant spends on these in the festive period because they have a loyal and sticky audience which outnumbers most other content and programming.”

The recent Olympics and Paralympics have introduced Indian audiences to a new guard of sports stars and role models. Social media has been flooded with stories of athletes like Neeraj Chopra, Lakshya Sen, and Manu Bhaker. 

Jigar Rambhia – Sports Lead, Omnicom Media Group India, said, “This, coupled with India’s record-breaking 29 wins at the Paralympics this year, has paved the way for a fresh wave of emerging talent that is gaining prominence across various sports. This presents an exciting opportunity for brands to collaborate with these rising stars and align with their growing influence.”

Brands game this festive season

John of ITW Consulting said, “Brands looking for high visibility and reach are betting on ICC Women’s World Cup but for a brand looking at building brand awareness and affinity, India’s bilateral series could be a very good platform. With the introduction of WTC, there is a lot more interest in Test cricket which could augur well for brands as associating with these series gives them multiple options from on-ground advertising to on-air at a lower price point than compared to marquee events. India played 2 tests at home against Bangladesh and is set to play 3 tests against New Zealand and 5 tests against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. India’s tour to South Africa is another opportunity for brands as well because beyond ad spends they give brands an opportunity to create activations which could leverage their trade networks or even create unique engagement touch points with fans.”

“Brands would want full court coverage when it comes to avenues during the festive season quarter (Q3) and hence we would expect strong investment as compared to the previous quarter,” John said.

Rambhia of Omnicom Media Group India said, “Brands can capitalise on these events through strategic sports marketing. Additionally, with IPL scheduled outside this timeframe, its absence has no impact on brand visibility or campaigns.”

Keith Braganza, Lead Sports at TheSmallBigIdea, remarked, “The festive season can potentially be a period where sports marketing can see an upward trend, but the absence of marquee sporting events like the Men's World Cup and IPL could dictate a decrease in ad spends in Q2 and Q3, as compared to last year and prior quarters.”

“With fewer large cricket events in the festive period, sports marketing will likely continue to drive ad spends. I would like to highlight that brands might shift their attention and be more focused on local sports, digital platforms, and creative engagement techniques to adjust to the shifting environment,” Braganza added.

“Despite the lack of other cricket events, there are other top tournaments to look forward to like the Pro Kabaddi League as well as other non-cricket tournaments. Granted that the market might take a hit during this season, but the rise of many stars from the Olympics and the Paralympics is always a boost for sports marketing because then they tend to be the face of some major advertisements,” said Tomar of IOS Sports and entertainment.

When asked which other sports properties brands should consider investing in, Tomar said Pro Kabaddi League is the one that brands can consider for sure given that it is a sporting event that is indigenous to India. We also have the ISSF World Cup happening in India.

Abhoy Chattopadhyay, Co-Founder of Sportscomm, emphasised that brands are gradually recognising the potential in non-cricket sports. 

He highlighted the importance of diversifying investments, citing emerging sports like table tennis, shooting, and surfing—especially as surfing prepares to debut in the Asian Games 2025. This aligns with the increasing interest in leagues such as the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) and the Indian Super League (ISL), creating new avenues for brand engagement.

“While cricket currently commands about 90-95% of advertising spending, you can call it a positive shift from a previous 99% domination. This change indicates the promise that lies in other sports properties,” Chattopadhyay added. 

He cautioned that for this trend to continue, brands must ensure that endorsements translate into mass appreciation and conversions, a process that is still evolving.