Firms aren’t complaining, willingly forking over for joining a list of team sponsors.
With cricketers for the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament being auctioned at record prices, franchisees have raised their fee for team sponsors by 25-30 per cent, compared with the previous season.
The fourth edition of the IPL will run from April 8 to May 22, just six days after the World Cup concludes.
Hero Honda, former sponsors of the Delhi Daredevils team, have signed with the Mumbai Indians for a period of three years, for around Rs 18-20 crore each year, say industry sources. That would make it one of the biggest sponsorship deals in the IPL till date. Apart from the logo on the team jersey, Hero Honda will have significant brand exposure around the home ground, the Wankhede Stadium, along with in-stadium promotional rights. While it could not be confirned, those in the know say the sponsorship includes about Rs 2.5 crore to be paid to the star captain, Sachin Tendulkar.
Franchisees say the top four-five teams will be able to garner around Rs 55 crore each in various sponsorships, significantly higher than the Rs 35-40 crore the best teams were able to get last season. “The top four to five teams are in the highest demand — Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Pune and Kolkata. Our assesment is, if you take an average, the 10 teams would be able to get about Rs 45-50 crore each from sponsors, compared to around Rs 35-40 crore last year. So, you are seeing an increase in earnings of 25-30 per cent this year,” says a director of one of the new franchisees.
The view is echoed by others. “We are seeing 20-25 per cent increase in team sponsorships in this edition,” said Raghu Iyer, chief marketing officer for the Rajasthan Royals.
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What has made prices go high is the fact that companies and media planners now have a fair idea of the kind of rub-off one can get by associating with IPL teams. “The rates have gone up drastically as IPL has become an established annual sporting spectacle. In the past three years, the brand valuations and the brands associated with the event have gone up. This surge is in line with what IPL is delivering,” Hiren Pandit, managing partner, GroupM, told Business Standard.
So, for instance, the previous season’s winner, Chennai Super Kings, have signed sponsorship deals at rates 30-50 per cent higher than last year. Although most of their sponsors, including Aircel, have renewed their sponsorship at a higher price, the franchisee has also signed the Amrapali Group, a Noida-based real estate developer, as an associate sponsor for Rs 25 crore for a period of three years.
“When it comes to sponsorship deals and rates, advertisers will choose their associations on various factors like region, the performance, the fan base and star power of the team. Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are storng teams, compared to Kings XI and Deccan Chargers. Hence, these teams have commanded heavy premium ” said an official from a sports marketing agency.
Delhi Daredevils has signed the Muthoot Group as the main team sponsor for this season and Coca-Cola, Idea and Panasonic as associate sponsors. Kings XI Punjab has renewed four sponsors — Emirates, Reebok, USL and Wrigley. Rajasthan Royals have retained HDFC, TCS, Linc Pen and Paras Buildtech and will be finalising another four sponsors by the end of next week.
The two new teams, Kochi and Pune, are also seeking substantial sponsorship deals. Sahara Pune Warriors has managed to rope in Adidas as their apparel sponsor and is cashing in on the fact that it has on-form Yuvraj Singh as their captain. “Sahara has a strong team, plus the matches are going to be held in the D Y Patil stadium in Mumbai, as Pune is not ready. They are seen among the top four to five teams and are looking for a substantial premium for sponsorship,” said a sports marketing agency familiar with the negotiations.