Ipl Marketing
In its sixth season, the IPL has sustained its viewership incredibly well. What it has not been able to achieve are consistent full houses at all stadiums. A perfect example would be the Hyderabad stadium, which had empty stands. It is here that the IPL can learn from different city-based sports leagues in the USA and UK.
The marketing strategies used by these leagues cannot be used by the IPL because of the obvious differences, but there are a few good initiatives that can help improve the brand. In the case of NFL and NBA, the lack of international games works in their favour.
Since the audience does not support the national team every month, it is easier for them to support the home side and look at every other side as rivals. For cricket, this is not plausible given that, for 10 months in a year, an Indian viewer supports the 15 players who play for India. To suddenly ask them to support a city side and consider another
Indian player a rival is a tough ask. This is where the marketing of the IPL teams has faltered slightly in previous years.
Cricket is a religion in India and most of the spectators who thronged the IPL in its first two seasons came to watch the cricket first and then support their home side, if they felt like doing so. If the franchises had used
'cricket' as a brand and aggressively promoted the stadium experience, they could have achieved better results. A Deccan Chargers game with Mumbai Indians should have had publicity that featured Sachin Tendulkar. Once the spectators were in the stadium, the strategy should have then shifted to converting them into loyal fans of the home city. Cricket is still the big draw for a lot of
Indians and fans also support other teams that feature their favourite players.
The ticket structure also needs some innovation. The ideal way to increase the fan base is to have repeat audience who come regularly to the game. Like the NFL, selling season tickets is a way of increasing the fan base. A prepaid, discounted
The marketing strategies used by these leagues cannot be used by the IPL because of the obvious differences, but there are a few good initiatives that can help improve the brand. In the case of NFL and NBA, the lack of international games works in their favour.
Since the audience does not support the national team every month, it is easier for them to support the home side and look at every other side as rivals. For cricket, this is not plausible given that, for 10 months in a year, an Indian viewer supports the 15 players who play for India. To suddenly ask them to support a city side and consider another
Indian player a rival is a tough ask. This is where the marketing of the IPL teams has faltered slightly in previous years.
Cricket is a religion in India and most of the spectators who thronged the IPL in its first two seasons came to watch the cricket first and then support their home side, if they felt like doing so. If the franchises had used
'cricket' as a brand and aggressively promoted the stadium experience, they could have achieved better results. A Deccan Chargers game with Mumbai Indians should have had publicity that featured Sachin Tendulkar. Once the spectators were in the stadium, the strategy should have then shifted to converting them into loyal fans of the home city. Cricket is still the big draw for a lot of
Indians and fans also support other teams that feature their favourite players.
The ticket structure also needs some innovation. The ideal way to increase the fan base is to have repeat audience who come regularly to the game. Like the NFL, selling season tickets is a way of increasing the fan base. A prepaid, discounted