For corporates, getting their brands displayed on Yuvraj’s jersey could not have gotten cheaper. Sponsorship rates for the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League have dropped to ₹1 crore from ₹12-14 crore in the previous editions.
With rates dipping to such lows, many sponsors are queuing up to advertise on-ground rather than buying expensive TV air-time.
Vinit Karnik, National Director, Sports and Live Events, Group M, a media buying agency, said: “This is a peculiar year for the IPL, when most sponsorship deals are up for renewal. There have been on-ground deals at ₹1 crore this season; rates have never dipped so low in the previous seasons of the tournament.”
Group M handles clients such as PepsiCo, the title sponsor for IPL-7. Karnik added that 90 per cent of the ad slots remained open, but advertisers were trickling in.
Even as brands such as Panasonic and Muthoot Finance (Delhi Daredevils), Bajaj Allianz (Mumbai Indians), Matrix (back jersey of Kolkata Knight Riders) have not renewed their on-ground sponsorship deals, Videocon (Mumbai Indians), Idea (Delhi Daredevils) and Nokia (Kolkata Knight Riders) have decided to continue associating themselves with the property.
Broadcaster reaction“On-ground sales have also been hit due to the tournament shifting out of the country for the initial matches, where there is less scope for brand activation at the ground level,” said Rohit Gupta, President, Network Sales Licensing, Multi Screen Media, which owns SET Max, the official broadcaster of the IPL.
Given the low rates, a new set of premium apparel and retail advertisers — from Etihad Airways to Nivea Men — has jumped on board the IPL bandwagon, with on-ground sponsorships.
Arvind Lifestyle Brands has been part of on-ground sponsorships for the past five years, and has preferred to stay away from buying expensive airtime.
This IPL season, Arvind Brands has lined up its premium brands, such as Ed Hardy (trousers for Royal Challengers Bangalore) and US Polo (chest jersey of Kolkata Knight Riders), to gain visibility during the tournament.