This was meant to be such a fantastic year for sports – and its sponsors. But, with the Tokyo Olympic Games and the European football championship being postponed at least a year, and practically all major sports going on long breaks during the coronavirus outbreak, many businesses that touch the sports industry are still licking their wounds.
Now, after we’ve seen plenty of leagues resume play and even finishing off seasons, everything is set for one of the biggest events still not played-out to take center stage – the Indian Premier League cricket, and their main sponsor and fantasy cricket operator, Dream11.
This is such a major sporting event that despite the many challenges brands faced this year, plenty of them are in a race to make sure they associate themselves with the IPL.
It’s not hard to imagine why. Consumers need escapism these days and sports are the perfect remedy. Also, as the pandemic continues to drag along – top brands want to be associated with something positive for a change.
And, as we wrote here recently, sports sponsorships are a very active field right now.
And so, we can totally understand why the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has decided to expand its official partners in the Indian Premier League from three to five.
Sports sponsorships are still a fantastic way to build your brand and show consumers you stand behind and share the same values as they are.
One brand that was in the bid is India’s largest teaching app, Unacademy. The EdTech company has “100 percent Indian investment and is already part of the official sponsor line-up of IPL.”
Other brands in the race for the next IPL title sponsor include Patanjali, Byju, Paytm & Dream 11, and even Amazon.
Meanwhile, Cred, a financial startup, announced that it is now an official partner for IPL.
One interesting angle here is that many of these companies are aiming at younger demographics than your usual major sponsors.
“As much as cricket is about discipline and strategy, it’s also a rewarding experience for players and viewers,” said Kunal Shah, Founder and CEO of Cred.
“By making credit card bill payments equally delightful, we are incentivizing every credit cardholder watching the matches to make digital payments, clear debt, and improve their credit scores.”
The official Twitter handle of Team India Tweeted the post below and stated elsewhere that more people will begin to take notice of the brand, due to this partnership:
BCCI announces CRED as Official Partner for IPL #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/4tKH4jOhTn
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 1, 2020
This is a very smart move for the startup as live sports promise brands the kind of direct connection to consumers that other sponsorships don’t offer. People are not only highly engaged during the match but also need to be watching them live.
Perhaps that’s why Cred will offer a variety of exciting promotion to customers that are connected to the games’ live action. For instance, if a customer pays credit card bills during the Power Play overs, a user can win a 100% cashback.
The power of the live action also explains the desire of brands to advertise on-air with broadcaster Star India, BCCI Central Sponsorships, IPL Team Sponsorships, or as advertisers on IPL Live Streaming feed on Disney+ Hotstar.
We’ve seen in the past how sports sponsorships are adjusting to the NN, where DoorDash and Heineken made the right move at the right time in various deals and partnerships.
According to InsideSport, the total number of advertisers on IPL 2020 will easily cross 200 in numbers.
Here you can read all about how we analyzed Dream11’s basic CRM tactics and what score we gave them.
