Advertisers and restaurants and pubs have padded up for the India-Pakistan clash at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in New York on Sunday. The tournament, which has 20 teams competing for the trophy, started on a tepid note, but with the US team shocking Pakistan, interest is high and ad spots for the India-Pakistan match are commanding top dollar, say industry sources. Restaurants and pubs, all prepared with big screens, are also anticipating a surge in footfalls as the match starts at a convivial time of 8 pm.
Media planners said that inventory for the match was nearly sold out by Friday evening. According to sources ad spot rates for the India-Pakistan match have shot up to ₹40-50 lakh per ten seconds. A senior media executive said that ad spots for this particular match have been sold at 80-100 per cent premium over other India and knockout matches.
On May 30, Disney Star had said it had roped in 19 sponsors for the WC including Dream 11, Maruti, AMFI, Parle Products, BPCL, Haier, ICICI Bank, Jockey, KP Group (Kamala Pasand), Reliance Retail, Samsung India, Housing.com, Jaquar Group, Castrol, Kent RO, TVS Eurogrip, Macho Hint, McNroe and Vimal with a few more sponsors in the pipeline.
advertisers upbeat
Sandeep Goyal, Chairman, Rediffusion said, “The World Cup fever is still somewhat lukewarm amongst fans. But advertisers are still bullish and there has been strong interest for India matches especially the India-Pakistan match. “
Sarfaraz Ansari, Senior Vice-President, Mudramax, a media agency, said, “The World Cup has seen a tepid start with advertiser interest being largely focused on India matches so far. But, the India-Pakistan match has been commanding a hefty premium compared to even the other India matches and the inventory is almost sold out.”
Santosh N, Managing Partner, D&P Advisory added, “Viewership for the India-Pakistan match, which is a rarity nowadays, will be at its best. Unlike the IPL, there is only one broadcaster negotiating for TV and digital ad inventory, and will be able to charge higher ad spot rates amidst strong advertiser interest for this particular match.”
He said that since the T20 World Cup is following on the heels of IPL and ODI World Cup, it has impacted the kind of budgets allocated to the event by brands. But he stated that spots on India-Pak matches always command top dollar.
Meanwhile, restaurants are hoping to see a surge in footfalls. Rohit Aggarwal, Director, Lite Bite Foods, which owns brands such as Punjab Grill, Asia Seven and Zambar said the company expects to see 15-20 per cent rise in footfalls on Sunday. Divya Aggarwal, Chief Growth Officer, Impresario Entertainment and Hospitality Pvt Ltd, said several SOCIAL outlets are seeing booking enquiries ahead of the match day.