Digital ad spends on IPL to go up by atleast 20 percent this year: Advertisers

New Delhi/Mumbai: Advertising spends on platforms like Facebook and Google's YouTube and other social media platforms for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) will go up by at least 20% this year as the tournament goes digital, advertisers and marketers said.

Spends will also go up because IPL coincides with the festive season this year, which anyway constitutes for a considerable share of any marketer's yearly budget. IPL 2020 kickstarts from September 19.

"IPL brings back a sense of normalcy just like how we have gradually phased out of a lockdown.. Brands have already put in motion their plans for the rest of the year working around the sensibilities of a consumer who is on the path of recovery. Festive season and the brands’ need to get back on their feet will result in spends being up by at least 20% for this year. They could even go up to about 35%,” said Harsh Shah, senior VP and business head, West at full service digital agency Dentsu Webchutney.

“This year, since it goes digital, it also democratizes the share of voice (SOV). Brands with conservative budgets can easily leverage this opportunity to reach out to the right audience at the right time. With no audience present on the ground, every screen is equivalent to that of a stadium," he added.

Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter did not respond to queries on how ad spends were faring on the platform.

Shantanu Sirohi, COO, Interactive Avenues an IPG Mediabrands company said that IPL provides a great opportunity for brands to be a part of the social chatter. “Many posts, comments and content generated by teams as well users goes viral during IPL.

The conversations get amplified and thus brands can latch on by partnering or spending money on these pieces for digital and be a part of the overall celebration,” he added.

Amit Tripathi, MD, IdeateLabs an independent full service digital marketing company said brands time the launch of their products and services around IPL and the event has seldom disappointed its brand partners.

"With Hotstar seeing an almost 300 million audience in IPL 2019, I believe that the event should be bigger this year. With the event happening in a different country this year, it is largely believed that the event engagement across brands and sports channels will witness a surge in engagement. Online engagement around the event should breach the previous benchmarks," he added.

Vivek Pande, VP, revenue strategy and analytics at Times Internet said some platforms have become too cluttered and brands will look for 'open spaces' on premium publishers who are doing innovative content, where they will have salience, rather than elbow into a herd.

"Category ad-spends are likely to see an increase as brands will aim to target customers in a bid to make them see beyond groceries, health and hygiene, which have been staple in the last 6-months. The IPL will also give fantasy games an opportunity to leverage on the sporting fervor, e-commerce players to drive impulse buying and auto manufacturers, to engage with prospective buyers," he added.

ET had reported in its edition dated September 3 that Star India could get more than Rs 2000 crore in advertising revenue from the 13th season of the IPL despite Covid 19. It has signed 5 co presenting sponsors and 13 associate sponsors including Facebook.

Akshay Popawala, co-founder of digital marketing agency Togglehead said television still leads the market share for advertisers but outdoor budgets are shifting to digital. “With Hotstar, IPL has become a much more accessible platform for advertisers now. With the number of sports tournaments going down in the last six months, larger viewership is also expected for IPL on digital. It would be a strong part of brands’ media plans,” he added.