IMC Assignment: Critique: IPL Vs Cricket World Cup, Advertising Budgets
Submitted By: Shyam Shet. E2009045
Every Indian marketer worth his dollar is gearing up to be a part of what is being touted as the biggest cricketing season of all time. In a month from now, an estimated Rs 1,500 crore of combined advertising funds will be pumped into the ICC World Cup starting February 19 and then into the Indian Premier League-4 (IPL) beginning April 8. Industry experts say this 90-day chock-a-block cricket calendar will, arguably, be the largest media extravaganza ever in terms of both viewership and revenue. What is interesting is that despite the overdose of cricket ...view middle of the document...
Of the total TV advertising budget of Rs 10,000 crore, nearly 20% is expected to reserve for World cup & IPL. It could well cross 20% of the total TV spends.
What really marks a shift for a majority of advertisers & brands towards cricket is the attractive return on investment (ROI), Associated with cricket. This is precisely the reason why brands like Reebok, Maruti, Sony & Hero Honda, are parking 30-60%, of their overall ad budgets in getting cricket related sponsorships. Auto companies like Maruti Suzuki & Hero Honda, have large advertisements budgets allocated during the world cup & IPL.Their core target group is Male in the age group of 25-34 years, which have a heavy affinity towards cricket. Thus it is certainly worth spending the extra buck on advertisements during the World cup & IPL. According to data from aMAP, which records overnight viewership data, a record 73.6 million people tuned in to the India-England match. These figures certainly justify the big spending of all the corporates on advertisements during the world cup.
World Cup Vs IPL. Which is the better option?
The debate: World Cup Vs IPL, is itself debatable. Both the IPL & World cup, are expected to deliver a similar viewership at similar efficiency benchmarks. Hence the decision to invest in WC 2011 or IPL 2011, or both, will be based on the brand or advertiser’s marketing objective, and not viewership.
World cup 2011 & IPL have many interesting facts going for them. Some of the key features which make advertisements in World cup 2011 lucrative include:
* Given the rich form of the current Indian team, over the last 4 months, and the fact that they are the favourites to lift the coveted trophy, there is a heightened interest in WC, among the Indian masses. Besides in all probability this will be Sachin’s last world cup. Hence the entire country will be praying that he is able to cherish his dream of being part of WC winning squad.
* The current format of the world cup ensures that India will certainly qualify for the knockout stages. This is very encouraging for the advertisers, as people stand to lose interest once the home team is out. The last world cup in the Caribbean was a nightmare for all advertisers, as India failed to make it in the second round.
* Brands that predominantly target males and youth will associate with both the tournaments in some form as staying off-air is not an option for them during this season. Traditionally, large advertisers on cricket have already taken up sponsorships on both the tournaments or on WC 2011 as it comes at the start of the purchasing season for consumer durables, financial products and automobiles. But the brands with new initiatives and launches in FY2012 will pick up IPL 2011 as it will come under the fresh budgets for the year.
* WC is a mega cricket event involving national pride and passion as compared to other cricket events involving local teams or unknown clubs....
