 "IPL promotion frenzy begins")
The event will be broadcast on MAX, Sony Six and Sony Six HD. Last weekend, the broadcaster released the first two TV commercials to introduce the concept.
This year’s campaign has the tagline ‘Come on. Bulawa Aaya Hai’. On the campaign, Vaishali Sharma, vice-president (marketing and communications), MAX, says, “The whole idea is to communicate the fact that the pull of IPL is irresistible for viewers. The excitement around the tournament is highlighted in the commercials and moving ahead, viewers will see more twists in the communication we send out. The IPL has a larger-than-life aura round it and our promotional strategy signifies that.”
She added since the goal was to keep the viewer at the heart of the campaign, no celebrity would anchor the campaign this year. “We feel the use of visual and auditory mnemonics is a pivotal part of the campaign.”
Apart from a robust television campaign, which will see MSM buy ad spots across genres and channels, the ‘Bulawa’ campaign will see activity on the digital front, too. The exercise started with the word ‘Bulawa’ trending on Twitter last week; this will be extended to banner ads, application launches and videos.
As the tournament draws near, the broadcaster will begin a spate of on-ground activities in 13-17 cities, including metros, mini-metros, tier-I and LC1 territories (with populations less that 100,000). The activities will aim at boosting TV viewership and generating excitement regarding the IPL. This year, marketing spends have risen 15-17 per cent compared to last year, say sources at MSM.
On the ad sales front, the broadcaster has been able to finalise deals with six sponsors and plans to sign three more by the end of the week. “We shall be able to share the details about the sponsors in a week or so. Apart from the usual categories that invest in IPL, this year, we have seen a couple of new and interesting partnerships,” says Rohit Gupta, chief sales officer, MSM.
While it is early to start selling ad spot inventory, MSM aims to offload as much inventory as possible before the tournament begins. This does not include the inventory for the last four matches (about 20 per cent of the total available ad air time). This year, the average rate for a 10-second spot will be Rs 4.75-5 lakh. Typically, 10-second spots for the last four matches are sold at up to Rs 15 lakh, Gupta says. The event is expected to fetch Rs 900-925 crore for the broadcaster, compared to about Rs 850 crore last year. While ad rates have seen a jump of 15-17 per cent, this has been offset by the fall in the number of matches, owing to the exit of the Pune Warriors franchise.
Starsports.com to launch high-decibel campaign
IPL’s official digital media licensee, STAR India, will launch a full-fledged campaign for the tournament, set to be streamed live on the multi-sports online platform starsports.com. It will be available real-time (paid model) and with a five-minute delay (free model). Excepted to go live from the end of March, the campaign draws from the perception today’s youth are multi-taskers. Aimed at the age bracket of 20-26, the campaign’s primary message will be ‘now, the tournament will be available on the go’.