The hidden value of Non India cricket sponsorships Sponsorship deals in cricket in India has come of age with increasing brands looking to leverage the game’s mammoth popularity in the country. Such is the belief vested in its potential that they do not even shy away from shelling out a premium for it. The usual attraction behind the move is the visibility and viewership, often considered almost to be a guarantee, they would gain due to the Indian Cricket Team’s popularity. However, in the process, they often overlook sponsorship opportunities in Non-India cricketing events, primarily owing to the preconception that it would not fetch enough eyeballs in India. Doing so, they miss out on the fact that investing in Non-India cricket earns them more exposure per rupee or dollar spent or at least equivalent to what a brand would earn through India cricket in India, without a huge outlay. To connect the dots, let us compare the per unit cost a brand has to pay for earning one TVR (Television Rating Point – the standard measurement for TV exposure) for an Indian and Non-India T20 international, in India:
The greater takeaway for a brand is the visibility it attains during the event. Examples from the past substantiate it, as visible below:-
- Royal Stag signed up as a sponsor for the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka 2015. The association fetched it a total air-time visibility of 3610 seconds which was equivalent to media worth ₹90.25 lakhs (based on TVR and equivalent ad rates), amounting to more than 300% return on investment.
- Hero signed up as the title sponsor for Sri Lanka v West Indies, 2015, held in Sri Lanka. The deal led to the brand’s visibility on air for 11008 seconds which was equivalent to media worth ₹8.25 crores, which brought returns worth more than eight times the investment.
Source: ITW Research Changing tracks The last year saw Oxigen Wallet adopt a different strategy when it comes to being associated with cricket eschewing the usual title sponsor route. Oxigen sponsored the opposing team during their tour of India – first, the South Africa’s T20 Team and signed up as the team sponsor for the Blackcaps (for ICC WT20 & their tour of India due later this year). Oxigen built its communication for the South Africa v India series around the ‘Play the Hosts’ campaign which reminded Indian fans to play gracious hosts to the visiting Proteas while also asking them to download the Oxigen Wallet App. Both on and off field (activations etc.) initiatives under the campaign brought Oxigen high dividends for the sponsorship buck and they will look to apply the same model as the Blackcaps visit India donning the Oxigen logo on their jerseys later this year. Oxigen’s Moneyball-like strategy (unlocking the value of an undervalued asset) has demonstrated that contrary to popular belief, stepping out of your comfort zone can fetch better results than moving just by force of habit, when it comes to inking sponsorship deals.
The greater takeaway for a brand is the visibility it attains during the event. Examples from the past substantiate it, as visible below:-
- Royal Stag signed up as a sponsor for the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka 2015. The association fetched it total air-time visibility of 3610 seconds which was equivalent to media worth ₹90.25 lakhs (based on TVR and equivalent ad rates), amounting to more than 300% return on investment.
- Hero signed up as the title sponsor for Sri Lanka v West Indies, 2015, held in Sri Lanka. The deal led to the brand’s visibility on the air for 11008 seconds which was equivalent to media worth ₹8.25 crores, which brought returns worth more than eight times the investment.
Source: ITW Research Changing tracks The last year saw Oxigen Wallet adopt a different strategy when it comes to being associated with cricket eschewing the usual title sponsor route. Oxygen sponsored the opposing team during their tour of India – first, South Africa’s T20 Team and signed up as the team sponsor for the Blackcaps (for ICC WT20 & their tour of India due later this year). Oxygen built its communication for the South Africa v India series around the ‘Play the Hosts’ campaign which reminded Indian fans to play gracious hosts to the visiting Proteas while also asking them to download the Oxygen Wallet App. Both on and off-field (activations etc.) initiatives under the campaign brought Oxygen high dividends for the sponsorship buck and they will look to apply the same model as the Blackcaps visit India donning the Oxygen logo on their jerseys later this year. Oxigen’s Moneyball-like strategy (unlocking the value of an undervalued asset) has demonstrated that contrary to popular belief, stepping out of your comfort zone can fetch better results than moving just by force of habit when it comes to inking sponsorship deals.