The Indian Premier League, which is more than a sporting festival for cricket fans is here, wherein, their emotions jump in and out at each snick and nick of the match. Being the most awaited cricket tournament, this can also be the reason for advertisers and app marketers to advertise better and where it matters. In fact, as per the industry report, 30% of netizens prefer watching IPL on mobile. This can be a great opportunity for brand owners to implement Strategies to Make a Difference in Brand Presence and ROAS during IPL as they can tap into the right audience at different geos, interested in watching the content associated with cricket tournaments.
To begin with the same, it is important to first understand the consumers’ behaviour which is like analysing the pitch before playing. Moreover, industry stats also say that 26% of youngsters (18-25YO), especially males are interested in IPL and want to watch all the matches. Hence, knowing ‘who’ your audience is and ‘what’ are their expectations from a brand can really help marketers in accelerating their sales with effective brand presence and recall value.
Here are some advertising tactics that can help app marketers to get brands to stand out in competitive marketplaces during IPL.
Advertise on Gaming Apps: With millions of cricket fans glued to their devices, app marketers can leverage advertising on RMGs and regular gaming apps to promote their app and drive quality results. In FY 2021, the value of RMG of India’s online gaming market stood at 49 billion INR which is expected to reach 60 billion INR by 2025. Moreover, the Indian Fantasy Gaming vertical especially Real Money Gaming is evolving and winning the hearts of online consumers in terms of games and sports since it enhances their gaming experience by matching the players of their interested communities. Therefore, advertising on gaming apps during IPL can be a boosting jab for marketers to make wiser spending with adequate returns as they can also detect fraudsters via AI, determining the players who cheat during gameplay.
OTT Advertising: Undoubtedly the rise of streaming video viewership via OTT is revolutionising digital advertising practices but during IPL, advertising on specific OTT platforms can make a difference in the brand’s presence. Since IPL is telecasted on JioCinema wherein, 30% of people would use this OTT platform on their mobile devices, can be an opportunity for marketers to advertise better and maintain track of the user retention and engagement rates with the showcased content. OTT enables brands to reach a broader audience at different inventories and during IPL, marketers can showcase the ads on verticals like News, Entertainment, Cricket etc. This can do wonders for them as users already agree to receive non-skippable and non-minimizable ads while signing up for ad-supported OTT services.
OEM Advertising: OEMs have already started making their mark and taking the industry by storm as their cost-effectiveness and easy availability have connected the tier II and tier III cities with the digital and tech-savvy world efficiently. This is why, it has contributed a lot in making India one of the largest smartphone markets in the world as it takes India’s digital audience to another level by showcasing the content of their needs and wants on the respective OEM inventories. During IPL, OEM Advertising can also make a difference in the brand presence and ROAS while helping marketers with on-device personalized app recommendations which can create more excitement and engagement.
Also, a new lucrative option is CTV which provides marketers with a multitude of advertising opportunities since it showcases the same content as OTT on a television screen which drives more engaging results while watching content and IPL matches. This supports different ad formats like banners, videos, rich media ads etc that immediately draw user attention towards a campaign and build an effective brand recall value.
Considering the people’s love for cricket, marketers can effectively smash sixes in their campaigns by implementing these strategies to drive more downloads and engagements for their apps. This can also help brands with a new universe of audiences who understand the brand better.
Written by: Sanjeev Bankira, Country Head – MENA and India
