Impact of Ipl
“IPL’s Cricketainment is a marketing and branding case study” MTI
MTI’s Delhi based Shanker Bhattacharyya shares MTI’s strategic thoughts, analysis and learnings from the IPL Q: Is IPL a brand success, a media success or both? How do you describe IPL? Convergence of Cricket, and entertainment, one can describe this as cricket tournament, an entertainment event or a media spectacle! “Cricketainment” perhaps? The lines get blurred at times. If we are to go back few years, the idea was mooted for the first time in 2002. It was none other than Mr. Lalit Modi, scion of the KK BIRLA business family and empire who had a fixation and an inspiration of holding a cricket tournament in India. Inspiration came from the NBA league in US and also to some extent the club football leagues in the European continent. Here both the tournaments and the clubs are also a brand “property”, complete with media rights, merchandizing rights, sponsors, advertisers and a die-hard fan base worldwide. Until now, this has existed in the developed markets or countries (first world countries if you please). IPL is the first such an attempt to build a sports brand franchisee /property in South East Asia, based on one of the most popular sports in the region. To me, this creation is what Malcolm Gladwell calls the “tipping point” in the annals of cricket history worldwide. The effect of this will be felt throughout the cricketing world. It will inspire and create spin offs of similar products/brands, attract sponsors and advertisers, and on the whole it will change the economic contours of cricket and hopefully other sports as well. Is IPL a brand success? Or should we be more specific and determine whether this episode of the IPL is a success? Let’s examine this a little more closely. Any brand, by definition, should have an uncluttered, unique and relevant value proposition to its customers. In addition, it should be attuned to the culture in which it exists and a strong emotional connection with
MTI’s Delhi based Shanker Bhattacharyya shares MTI’s strategic thoughts, analysis and learnings from the IPL Q: Is IPL a brand success, a media success or both? How do you describe IPL? Convergence of Cricket, and entertainment, one can describe this as cricket tournament, an entertainment event or a media spectacle! “Cricketainment” perhaps? The lines get blurred at times. If we are to go back few years, the idea was mooted for the first time in 2002. It was none other than Mr. Lalit Modi, scion of the KK BIRLA business family and empire who had a fixation and an inspiration of holding a cricket tournament in India. Inspiration came from the NBA league in US and also to some extent the club football leagues in the European continent. Here both the tournaments and the clubs are also a brand “property”, complete with media rights, merchandizing rights, sponsors, advertisers and a die-hard fan base worldwide. Until now, this has existed in the developed markets or countries (first world countries if you please). IPL is the first such an attempt to build a sports brand franchisee /property in South East Asia, based on one of the most popular sports in the region. To me, this creation is what Malcolm Gladwell calls the “tipping point” in the annals of cricket history worldwide. The effect of this will be felt throughout the cricketing world. It will inspire and create spin offs of similar products/brands, attract sponsors and advertisers, and on the whole it will change the economic contours of cricket and hopefully other sports as well. Is IPL a brand success? Or should we be more specific and determine whether this episode of the IPL is a success? Let’s examine this a little more closely. Any brand, by definition, should have an uncluttered, unique and relevant value proposition to its customers. In addition, it should be attuned to the culture in which it exists and a strong emotional connection with