Why Tata Group is going for IPL branding?
Tata Group's debut into the Indian Premier League comes at a time when the 100-year-old company is increasing its digital footprint. So, is the googly meant to startle the young crowd? We find out
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Pat Cummins of Kolkata Knight Riders hits a six during match 15 of the Indian Premier League 2021 between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai (File photo: PTI)
Tata Group has replaced Chinese phone-maker Vivo as the title sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest sports property in India. Tata Group will be the IPL’s title sponsor for this year and the next, and will pay the BCCI Rs 670 crore for the sponsorship rights.
For the IPL, the deal could be seen as a face-saver. After clashes between the Indian and Chinese armies in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in 2020, the BCCI had received a lot of backlash for having a Chinese company as the title sponsor.
This meant that Vivo pulled out of its sponsorship deal for the 2020 season, making way for homegrown Indian startup Dream11. And while Vivo returned as title sponsor for the 2021 season, there were reports about the Chinese company wanting to get out of the deal and transfer its sponsorship rights.
“This is indeed a momentous occasion for the BCCI IPL as the Tata Group is the epitome of global Indian enterprise with an over 100 year old legacy and operations in more than 100 countries across six continents,” says BCCI Secretary Jay Shah.
Vivo will pay the BCCI around Rs 454 crore for the termination of its contract. But what does a well-known enterprise such as Tata Group, with a loyal customer base, stand to gain from being the title sponsor of the IPL?
The sponsorship deal comes just as Tata is inching towards the launch of its ‘super app’ TataNeu.
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The app will consolidate all of Tata’s consumer-facing businesses, from online grocery (BigBasket), online pharmacy (1Mg), ecommerce (TataCLiQ), consumer electronics (Croma), fashion retail (Westside) and more.
Presumably, the app will also allow users to book hotel rooms in Tata owned hotel chains such as Taj and Vivanta, while one could also book flight tickets in Air India. There will also be an option for digital and bill payments. The app is currently being tested amongst Tata Group employees, and is expected to be launched around March this year, just around the time of IPL 2022 that will commence in April.
At 400 billion total viewing minutes for IPL 2020 and 10 billion for the first match of IPL 2021, the T20 cricket league is easily the most attractive sports property for advertisers and sponsors.
And it’s had considerable success in increasing brand recall for sponsors.
IPL 2020 title sponsor Dream11 crossed 100 million users during the tournament, experiencing a 44.4% surge in traffic during the final match compared to 2019.
MPL (sponsor of IPL teams KKR and RCB) began in 2020 with 40 million users, but ended with 70 million. In fact, even companies far removed from sports, such as menstrual hygiene startup Niine (principal sponsor for Rajasthan Royals) increased monthly sales from Rs 14 crore to Rs 20 crore following IPL 2020.
The surge in cryptocurrency adoption in India happened as exchanges such as CoinDCX and CoinSwitch Kuber became IPL 2021 sponsors.
“What we have observed is that across brands, personal and collective perceptions have improved with the onset of the IPL. Personal parameters like value for money and convenience, and collective perceptions of trust and respect saw the highest increase across brands,” says Sanchita Roy, Head – Strategy, Havas Media Group India.
As Tata gears up to challenge ecommerce behemoths Amazon and Reliance, an association with a high-impact broadcast property such as the IPL will provide it the much-needed boost for the launch of its super app.
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First Published: Jan 13 2022 | 8:15 AM IST
