Wanted: 3 sponsors for IPL

WSG, BCCI's marketing partner, in talks with three companies to sign $200 million deal for ground sponsorship.

World Sport Group India (WSG), the sports marketing partner of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is in talks with three more sponsors, one each from the banking, petroleum and airlines industries to sign deals worth $200 million (about Rs 800 crore) for ground sponsorship of the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

These sponsors will have an opportunity to exclusively advertise their brands on the grounds for five years.

DLF, the title sponsor, has already signed a deal with BCCI and WSG for $50 million and co-sponsor Hero Honda has committed $22 million.

Venu Nair, president (South Asia), WSG, said, "We are in talks with three more brands to advertise on the ground. Ground signages provide continuous visibility to the sponsors throughout the match, unlike the short television commercials which come and go in a flash. We have a method whereby we can show exactly where and how the advertisers will get visibility for their brands."

According to an internal study done by WSG, an average cricket match gets a TRP (television rating point) of 5 to 6, while the IPL matches are expected to enjoy double the TRP, in the range of 7 to 10 every match.

The company would achieve such a high rating by having live entertainment shows before, after and throughout the matches, produced by each of the franchisees. These shows would include performance by Bollywood stars and artists.

"This would mean a perfect marriage of Bollywood and cricket, as both are the most popular form of entertainment in India," said Nair.

Unlike the earlier practice of allowing several sponsors in the same category to advertise on the cricket ground, these deals will allow the sponsors to have an exclusive presence in their business category. This would reduce the clutter of brands displayed on the ground.

A sponsor such as Hero Honda, for example, would be the only automobile company to advertise on the ground. These deals do not include the 30-second television commercials shown between the matches. Those would be sold by Sony Entertainment Television, which has won the rights to broadcast IPL.

WSG will also develop a special application for the mobile users. The users will be able to download this value-added service (VAS) on their mobile and get live updates on the matches. It has also developed a one-stop portal.

WSG won the marketing rights for IPL matches from BCCI by committing $1.026 billion spread over 10 years. WSG India is a part of the Singapore-based WSG, a global sports management, marketing and media company.