Brands put spotlight on content play despite big ad splash on IPL 2020

As the Indian Premier League (IPL) came as a breath of fresh air amid the Covid pandemic, brands took no time in jumping onto the bandwagon and invested hundreds of crores on the cricket extravaganza. Along with the ad splash, many brands have devised content strategies to engage with the consumers, and build affinity and recall among them.

Pratik Gupta

Pratik Gupta, Co-Founder, Zoo Media and FoxyMoron, said, “For starters, all eyes are on IPL and as it is the only live entertainment platform available at this time, brands have to double down on ensuring they are able to capture the mind space of consumers. Consumers are in search of pre-match content, during match 'take' on, on-going events and post-match analysis. With the teams being closed in a locked-down space in the UAE, content is coming fast from the teams as well. So there is enough content doing the rounds for consumers to be engaged.”

The brands spending on IPL know the cost they are bearing. Therefore, they are trying their best to stand out in the clutter by being contextual, genuine in approach and relevant for their audience, keeping brand ethos in tandem with their communication strategy.

Shrenik Gandhi

Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-Founder, White Rivers Media, said, “Brands have to think beyond the routine. One size fits all doesn’t work. Hotstar offers various interest targeting and geographical targeting. Brands must aspire to do mass customisation, yet stay relevant nationally. Brands that will break the clutter will flourish. It’s IPL season, no one remembers 1s and 2s. Each communication must be like a powerplay 6.”

“I believe that content will play an integral role this season in helping brands differentiate their offerings in a cluttered advertising and marketing space,” added Chaitanya Ramalingegowda, Director and Co-founder of Wakefit.co.

Coming to the rescue of brands here are content marketing and branded content — the most credible form of engaging with the consumers.

Sharat Dhall

According to Sharat Dhall, COO, Policybazaar.com, influencer-led content around IPL campaigns brings authenticity and credibility to the table. He said, “IPL is the biggest extravaganza this season. Many brands that have been quiet for a prolonged lockdown period are using IPL as a central property to make some noise and to do so, social media influencers are becoming a core to the content marketing piece. They help brands to stay more connected and authentic with their audience. Influencers help bring in their set of audiences as well as help re-igniting conversation among the brand’s followers.”

Foxymoron’s Gupta said moment marketing and video content has been ruling the charts this IPL. “Lots of brands are going down this moment marketing route; with differentiated content types, fun wordplays and obviously the interaction between brands. The second screen has become an active space for consumers to see what people and brands are saying about match-ups, events and micro-moments that happen on the field. Pre, during and post-match analysis have a lot of video focus and a lot of brands are working in the space to make this content available to the consumer. From cricket-focussed websites, to even Virender Sehwag doing a morning update show in his own style for Facebook and Instagram, exclusivity seems to be the flavour of the season.”

Creating a marketing strategy for this year’s IPL is not a cakewalk as the game is being played without live audience and usual fanfare. Therefore, it is important for brands to be available across various possible touchpoints available to reach out to the consumers. They should try to be omnipresent across IPL conversations.

Ayush Rathod

Ayush Rathod, Group Solutions Manager, Schbang, said, “Being highly contextual to all the events taking place in IPL is going to be of utmost importance. Understanding what the audience wants to consume will need close attention — be it the candid side of players with some exclusive content, enhancing the IPL viewing experience of audiences, or making the consumers themselves a part of the game. Brands with access to exclusive behind-the-scene content from IPL, or are able to create content that feeds into a cricketing fan’s passion, will definitely have an upper hand here, leading to disproportionate traction and more eyeballs.”

Giving an analogy, Rathod explained, “Just like there are multiple stands in a stadium with the most coveted stands having the best view, the biggest task at hand during IPL for brands is to compete and be ‘The Stand’ from where the digital audience would want to experience IPL.”

Gandhi of White Rivers Media suggested that e-meet and greets, winning real money and digital community building are some of the interesting trends that have picked up this year in IPL. “Brands must look beyond the obvious and try to engage audience interestingly via the above too,” he said.

While brands are picking up these content marketing trends to grab the attention of consumers during the IPL season, it is very important for the brands to stick to their tonality and give something to the consumers that they would like to engage with.

Gupta of Zoo Media and FoxyMoron commented, “It could range from Zomato having funny takes on IPL and Dream11 having almost the whole Indian team playing gully cricket. It could be click-bait focussed article/native websites or sponsoring brands trying to stand out with the limited images given to them by the IPL teams, (given the lockdown). It's all fair game and it's proving to be a great sign for the forced movement of brands and the economy that needed a kick start in general.”

Chaitanya Ramalingegowda

On Wakefit’s content strategy around IPL, Ramalingegowda said, “Our IPL strategy has a strong focus on generating meaningful conversations, staying true to the brand's DNA of investing in rich and engaging content. In a series of IPL-themed videos, our popular character, Babloo Carpenter, is shown to visit customers immersed in IPL frenzy at their homes, where Babloo makes witty references about various teams in each video. The product insertion and benefits are interspersed seamlessly to create awareness about our home solutions range."

Schbang’s Rathod believes interactive content that makes the audience a part of the game or enables them to express their love for the game in a fun and competitive environment are being widely adopted by brands, in the form of filters, contests and games.

“Brands that are able to drive more FTUs and higher usage for their products in this engaging manner are doing a stellar job with their marketing efforts,” Rathod said.

Vishal Mehra, Business Head - North, 22feet Tribal Worldwide, added, “More and more brands are asking their customers to interact with them in different ways. UGC creates higher levels of engagement because it turns the mic back to the users who want to engage with the brand. It also helps other customers see the value of a brand, through the point of view of other customers. Zomato’s YouTube ads campaign is a glowing example.”

PhonePe is the co-presenting broadcast sponsor for the live broadcast of IPL for the second consecutive year. A spokesperson from PhonePe told BuzzInContent.com that content marketing is playing a key role in bringing cricket fever to life on the PhonePe app this IPL season. “We launched our brand campaign more than a month ago (August 18) with a series of messages around safety, trust and convenience to help our audiences understand the ease and security of digital payments. The key objective is to catalyse ‘progress’, for everyone through the theme, ‘Karte Ja. Badhte Ja’.”

The spokesperson said, “We will continue to build on the content offerings as we go deeper into the IPL season and tap into a much wider base of users who are digital-savvy but haven’t taken to digital payments yet. Alongside IPL on TV, we will utilise various social and digital platforms and the varied ad formats they offer to create a more holistic audience outreach.”

As the official partner with IPL, Unacademy launched a plethora of content-led activations. It has launched ‘Fan of the Match’, through which the brand provides an opportunity to their consumers to appear on TV and cheer for their favourite team. Ask the Expert is another interactive initiative where the fans can ask questions to IPL experts and commentary and have their questions answered on live TV. The fans are chosen from a social media contest run by Unacademy. They also have ‘Learn from the Best’ initiative, which explores various teachable moments from the cricket match (a textbook cover drive from Virat Kohli, Dhoni’s helicopter shot, etc.). These moments are discussed and explained on-screen by the commentators as part of Unacademy’s Learn from the Best. Unacademy is also running contests on social media with the hashtag #LetsCrackIt.

PhonePe platform ‘Switch Gully’ brings the live experience zone, often a vital part of any stadium experience for fans, to the fingertips of millions of cricket aficionados across India. PhonePe users are being treated to instant access to great content, exciting contests and amazing offers while enjoying their favourite sporting event from the safety of their homes.

“Being the co-presenting broadcast sponsor of IPL, Switch Gully is an attempt to make cricket fever come alive on the PhonePe app. It is a digital version of a live experience zone for cricket aficionados where they can get quick access to great content, exciting contests and amazing offers while enjoying their favourite sporting event,” said Sonika Chandra, Vice-President, Business Development at PhonePe.

While this is too soon to say which brand has impressed with content initiatives this IPL season, as Gupta of Foxymoron said it is like almost predicting who is going to win the IPL, sponsoring brands have forced competition to defend their share of voice. “The brands that have sponsored the IPL or IPL teams are the ones seeing volumes of content. The irony, however, is that brands sponsors have inadvertently kick-started the ad economy as competition also has to advertise to defend their share of voice and not lose too much mind space,” he said.