Source: Watblog.com
Guest Post By Sahil Shah (Cross Posted from Socialtrakr)
The Indian Premiere League right from its existence since 2008 has managed to attract eye balls. From cricket to entertainment the hoopla has been all over the country. Every new edition of the IPL is bigger and better than the former. Needless to say, recently two new teams (Pune and Kochi) were added to the bandwagon for IPL’s season 4 at a combined rate of $703 million. Year on year IPL has been growing by leaps and bounds with a newer and a better version coming up every time.
One year ago mashable posted a story on The IPL Fan Club which is now a passé if you think IPL is just about the fan club. There is so much to add to what IPL was doing then and what is being done now, even on Social Media. Back then the fan club clearly didn’t achieve the expected numbers due to filters and now with the onset of Social Media the numbers here are pretty impressive.
IPL Social Media Pie
With Social Media considered as one of the important propositions to address to the Target Audience online, the IPL’s brand value which is doubled since 2009 is being leveraged by it. Here is a take on the main networks IPL is present and performing on:
Viewers became Users on Youtube:
Viewers on TV now have the power to be users (who can express their views via comments) on Youtube. The big news was that first time a league was going LIVE Streaming on Youtube. Considering the amount of influence youtube as a Social Media Platform holds, the future looks promising. About 2 months since the official announcement and 10 days in the tournament, the youtube channel has already got more than 16 million channel views with a whopping list of 54,900 subscribers and 21772 comments (this is why I say users and not only viewers). This clearly states the importance social media holds in today’s lives. I don’t see any surprise if more and more LIVE stream deals happen with youtube in the future too.
One Big Fish captures another:
Facebook has got its own share of the Social Media pie as the most influential Social Network in the world with more than 400 million users. Over here I leave it up to you to decide which one is which Big Fish. The official presence on facebook combing all IPL pages is 4,62,647 fans which is remarkable without any sort of promotion online or offline.
Interestingly there is an anti-IPL page on facebook which has more than 25,000 fans. The most surprising thing about it is that the page was made recently before 2 months. So imagine the amount of Reputation Management IPL needs which is an interesting deal considering the future as the audience (at least some) are already bored of it.
The twitter bird is here to stay
Besides IPL’s official account that has some 9000+ dedicated followers, there are a lot of influencers on twitter that are turning it around for the League. From Shahrukh Khan to Preity Zinta, Cricketing Figures like Shane Warne and Lalit Modi, and obviously the teams on twitter are doing their bit promoting the IPL. The aggregated numbers in terms of followers IPL has over twitter is 4,79,236 (almost half of it is SRK’s fan base). Considering the amount of people getting on to twitter, this platform is the next big thing for live updates
Don’t be surprised
The Social Network that is far bigger than facebook in terms of the reach it has in India, has outdone the latter in the number of people in the communities. With regards to conversations, there is a dire need of fans to interact on Orkut. The now fading platform with too many users switching to facebook, is just for the numbers game (if anyone is interested). Interestingly the numbers are more than facebook and twitter but the conversations are not even half of them.
Google Buzz, Linkedin, Digg and all that jazz
Your browser may not support display of this image. The just-in social network of Google is growing on its own with 1714 followers already. Besides what Buzz has to offer, a lot of opportunities are lying open for the league on this platform. Above and beyond Lalit Modi’s Profile on linkedin, I suppose there is nothing more IPL can do on linkedin. Digg, delicious and other social bookmarking networks have played their part with the expected number of link sharing over the web.
To Sum it up, Youtube as a video sharing platform has been explored completely. They actually took it to the next level via LIVE airing which wasn’t thought of by anyone before and now will become a trend in the future. However Facebook and Twitter – by far the best influential networks on Social Media in India (Orkut losing its sheen) haven’t been explored to core. A fan Page on Facebook can be made more interesting with endless possibilities to explore. Twitter with its LIVE updates via Tweets can garner a loyal audience (full of influencers) and leverage from them as well. Mind you, both these networks can become great resources for a healthy two way communication which is evidently impossible anywhere else. I hope they understand the importance these two networks hold and explore it like they have for Youtube. Maybe we could expect some Social Media Fireworks in the next season of the Indian Premiere League.
Showing posts with label Indian Premier League (IPL). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Premier League (IPL). Show all posts
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
New teams, more matches, more ad-revenues - has IPL reached its peak?
Source: exchange4media.com
The addition of two new teams – Pune and Kochi, which cost more than $600 million – has taken the Indian Premier League (IPL) valuation to new heights and also reiterated advertisers’ confidence in the property.
However there is also a school of thought that is wary about the rise in ad rates and wonder whether there would come a time when brands won’t be able to afford this Rs 18,000-crore IPL property.
With the addition of these two new teams, IPL Season 4 is expected to see over 90 matches. The worry is how much is too much? Will it reduce viewership or create further clutter? Already, out of the eight IPL franchises, probably only two of them have turned profitable in the last three years, some of these existing franchises expect to turn profitable in the next one or two years.
There is another school of thought that believes that IPL has already reached its peak and it may have to completely revamp itself in the next two years in order to retain its viewership and garner new audience.
exchange4media spoke to media planners to find out their views on whether IPL has reached its peak and whether it will only go down from here on.
According to Rajneesh Chaturvedi, National Director, MEC Access, “I believe the recently added Pune and Kochi teams only signify that IPL is here to stay and that that it reiterates the confidence among the investors. With the increase of two new teams, the number of matches will increase, sponsorship rates will increase and hence, the total advertising revenue is bound to increase.”
On a slightly different take, R Venkata Subramanian, VP, Lintas Media Group, observed, “The bidding for the new teams only reiterates the huge potential and brand value of IPL as a property. However, not many IPL franchises have achieved breakeven, which I think will take at least two years for them to see profits and the new players, on the other hand, will only take more time to get profitable. I believe IPL has already reached its peak and can possibly sustain such ratings for two years at the most. With 90-plus matches, I don’t think it can sustain the pressure year-on-year. Hence, it will have to revamp everything to retain viewership and even get new ones.”
Narendra Kumar Alambara, GM and Office Head of Starcom Worldwide, Chennai, noted, “IPL is still in its third year and expectations are still high, hence we cannot say with certainty that this is how far it can get. Today, we have 10 teams, a few years down the line there might be more teams. The fact, however, is that IPL is still evolving. With two more teams coming in, the number of matches will go up, the opportunity to advertise will also be more, the cost of advertising during IPL will be high and hence, I don’t know how many brands will be able to afford IPL in the long run.”
The addition of two new teams – Pune and Kochi, which cost more than $600 million – has taken the Indian Premier League (IPL) valuation to new heights and also reiterated advertisers’ confidence in the property.
However there is also a school of thought that is wary about the rise in ad rates and wonder whether there would come a time when brands won’t be able to afford this Rs 18,000-crore IPL property.
With the addition of these two new teams, IPL Season 4 is expected to see over 90 matches. The worry is how much is too much? Will it reduce viewership or create further clutter? Already, out of the eight IPL franchises, probably only two of them have turned profitable in the last three years, some of these existing franchises expect to turn profitable in the next one or two years.
There is another school of thought that believes that IPL has already reached its peak and it may have to completely revamp itself in the next two years in order to retain its viewership and garner new audience.
exchange4media spoke to media planners to find out their views on whether IPL has reached its peak and whether it will only go down from here on.
According to Rajneesh Chaturvedi, National Director, MEC Access, “I believe the recently added Pune and Kochi teams only signify that IPL is here to stay and that that it reiterates the confidence among the investors. With the increase of two new teams, the number of matches will increase, sponsorship rates will increase and hence, the total advertising revenue is bound to increase.”
On a slightly different take, R Venkata Subramanian, VP, Lintas Media Group, observed, “The bidding for the new teams only reiterates the huge potential and brand value of IPL as a property. However, not many IPL franchises have achieved breakeven, which I think will take at least two years for them to see profits and the new players, on the other hand, will only take more time to get profitable. I believe IPL has already reached its peak and can possibly sustain such ratings for two years at the most. With 90-plus matches, I don’t think it can sustain the pressure year-on-year. Hence, it will have to revamp everything to retain viewership and even get new ones.”
Narendra Kumar Alambara, GM and Office Head of Starcom Worldwide, Chennai, noted, “IPL is still in its third year and expectations are still high, hence we cannot say with certainty that this is how far it can get. Today, we have 10 teams, a few years down the line there might be more teams. The fact, however, is that IPL is still evolving. With two more teams coming in, the number of matches will go up, the opportunity to advertise will also be more, the cost of advertising during IPL will be high and hence, I don’t know how many brands will be able to afford IPL in the long run.”
We need an X-factor: Ganguly
Source: Yahoo.com
Tue, Mar 23 04:00 PM
Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) After a promising start in the third edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders have again lost their way. With three losses on the trot, captain Sourav Ganguly is in search of an 'X-factor' that will bring their campaign back on track.
Knight Riders beat defending champions Deccan Chargers and runners up Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first two matches, but then slumped to defeats against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
'We are getting close but we are losing the matches. We have the team but we need an X factor going for us. Hopefully, we can turn it around in the next match,' Ganguly said after Knight Riders lost to Mumbai Indians by seven wickets Monday.
Tendulkar led the Mumbai Indians charge with an unbeaten 71 to surpass the Knight Riders total of 155 with nine balls to spare.
'I thought we were 10 runs short, but it was a fighting total. We started well but took our foot off the accelerator. It was not easy to get the spinners early on that wicket but we gave away too many runs upfront in the first six overs,' Ganguly said.
Ganguly made 31 and took two good catches. His second catch at short-extra cover was a stunner as he jumped in the air and grabbed the ball one-handed to get rid of Saurabh Tiwary.
'It is the requirement of the game (fielding). I am putting a bit of an effort,' Ganguly said.
The Knight Riders skipper said he and Chris Gayle will be opening the batting.
'Gayle and I will keep opening. And Owais (Shah) is a good middle order player,' he said.
Mumbai Indians skipper Tendulkar lauded the bowlers for their performance.
'Bravo, McLaren, Zaheer, Malinga, Harbhajan, all bowled well and were ably supported by the fielders.'
He was all praise for Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan.
'Shikhar batted well, the first over set the tone. From the other end, I started getting a few boundaries. We managed to put pressure on them early on, and it was then a matter of staying there till the end.'
Tue, Mar 23 04:00 PM
Mumbai, March 23 (IANS) After a promising start in the third edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Kolkata Knight Riders have again lost their way. With three losses on the trot, captain Sourav Ganguly is in search of an 'X-factor' that will bring their campaign back on track.
Knight Riders beat defending champions Deccan Chargers and runners up Royal Challengers Bangalore in their first two matches, but then slumped to defeats against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
'We are getting close but we are losing the matches. We have the team but we need an X factor going for us. Hopefully, we can turn it around in the next match,' Ganguly said after Knight Riders lost to Mumbai Indians by seven wickets Monday.
Tendulkar led the Mumbai Indians charge with an unbeaten 71 to surpass the Knight Riders total of 155 with nine balls to spare.
'I thought we were 10 runs short, but it was a fighting total. We started well but took our foot off the accelerator. It was not easy to get the spinners early on that wicket but we gave away too many runs upfront in the first six overs,' Ganguly said.
Ganguly made 31 and took two good catches. His second catch at short-extra cover was a stunner as he jumped in the air and grabbed the ball one-handed to get rid of Saurabh Tiwary.
'It is the requirement of the game (fielding). I am putting a bit of an effort,' Ganguly said.
The Knight Riders skipper said he and Chris Gayle will be opening the batting.
'Gayle and I will keep opening. And Owais (Shah) is a good middle order player,' he said.
Mumbai Indians skipper Tendulkar lauded the bowlers for their performance.
'Bravo, McLaren, Zaheer, Malinga, Harbhajan, all bowled well and were ably supported by the fielders.'
He was all praise for Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan.
'Shikhar batted well, the first over set the tone. From the other end, I started getting a few boundaries. We managed to put pressure on them early on, and it was then a matter of staying there till the end.'
Dalai Lama to see IPL match in Dharamsala
Source: Yahoo.com
Tue, Mar 23 08:18 PM
Dharamsala, March 23 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama would witness one of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches here, a statement said Tuesday.
'The office of the Dalai Lama has confirmed that His Holiness has accepted the invitation from the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association. He has been invited as a special guest at the IPL match on April 18,' a post on the website of the Tibetan government-in-exile said.
The Nobel laureate, 74, would witness the match between King's XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings at the International Cricket Stadium.
HPCA is hosting two IPL matches in Dharamsala, some 250 km from the state capital, April 16 and 18 - the first time IPL matches have been allotted to the state.
The April 16 match - between King's XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers - would be day and night, while the April 18 one would be played during the day.
Tue, Mar 23 08:18 PM
Dharamsala, March 23 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama would witness one of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches here, a statement said Tuesday.
'The office of the Dalai Lama has confirmed that His Holiness has accepted the invitation from the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association. He has been invited as a special guest at the IPL match on April 18,' a post on the website of the Tibetan government-in-exile said.
The Nobel laureate, 74, would witness the match between King's XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings at the International Cricket Stadium.
HPCA is hosting two IPL matches in Dharamsala, some 250 km from the state capital, April 16 and 18 - the first time IPL matches have been allotted to the state.
The April 16 match - between King's XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers - would be day and night, while the April 18 one would be played during the day.
Punjab may levy entertainment tax on Kings XI
Source: Yahoo.com
Wed, Mar 24
The Punjab government may charge entertainment tax from the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to be played at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali.
About a week ago, the Excise and Taxation department had issued a notice to the Kings XI Punjab, which inquired about the ticket sales at PCA stadium.
The notice questioned that why entertainment tax should not be charged from the team for hosting IPL matches, as it was a commercial venture and the team management was earning money — five matches will be played in Mohali during the tournament.
"A notice was issued to Kings XI Punjab. They have replied that they should be exempted from entertainment tax, as no tax was charged in the last two IPL tournaments," Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner A Venu Parshad told Newsline. "We have referred the matter to the state government, which will decide weather to charge the tax or not."
Sources said if the government decided to charge the tax, the team management would have to pay 25 per cent from ticket sales.
At present, only the Delhi government charges entertainment tax on IPL matches — the Maharastra government recently backed off from charging the tax.
A few days ago the state Cabinet had reduced the entertainment tax from 125 per cent to 25 per cent in the state.
Sources said so far the government did not charge a single penny from Kings XI Punjab, as the Punjab Cricket Association was exempted from entertainment tax.
But the argument in support of charging the tax is that the PCA stadium has been hired for IPL tournament. Thus, technically, PCA is not hosting the matches.
The Kings XI Punjab, meanwhile, have not given money to the Punjab Police for the security they provided for IPL matches.
"We took up this matter in the past but did not get any money. We will again take up this issue and calculate the security bill they need to pay," G P S Bhullar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Mohali, said.
Security stepped up around PCA
In view of the recent arrest of three suspected militants of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), security has been stepped up around PCA stadium for Wednesday's match. A DSP with adequate personnel has been deputed to move along with the players, whose routes to and from the stadium would be heavily guarded. Besides, around 300 cops have been added to the 1,583 personnel, who guarded the stadium in the previous match, a senior police officer said. Also, separate routes have been earmarked for the shuttle bus service and new signboards have been fixed to guide spectators. On Wednesday, eight buses will start service from Dussehra Ground in Phase VIII and LIC site in Sector 49 from 5 pm onwards.
Wed, Mar 24
The Punjab government may charge entertainment tax from the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches to be played at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium in Mohali.
About a week ago, the Excise and Taxation department had issued a notice to the Kings XI Punjab, which inquired about the ticket sales at PCA stadium.
The notice questioned that why entertainment tax should not be charged from the team for hosting IPL matches, as it was a commercial venture and the team management was earning money — five matches will be played in Mohali during the tournament.
"A notice was issued to Kings XI Punjab. They have replied that they should be exempted from entertainment tax, as no tax was charged in the last two IPL tournaments," Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner A Venu Parshad told Newsline. "We have referred the matter to the state government, which will decide weather to charge the tax or not."
Sources said if the government decided to charge the tax, the team management would have to pay 25 per cent from ticket sales.
At present, only the Delhi government charges entertainment tax on IPL matches — the Maharastra government recently backed off from charging the tax.
A few days ago the state Cabinet had reduced the entertainment tax from 125 per cent to 25 per cent in the state.
Sources said so far the government did not charge a single penny from Kings XI Punjab, as the Punjab Cricket Association was exempted from entertainment tax.
But the argument in support of charging the tax is that the PCA stadium has been hired for IPL tournament. Thus, technically, PCA is not hosting the matches.
The Kings XI Punjab, meanwhile, have not given money to the Punjab Police for the security they provided for IPL matches.
"We took up this matter in the past but did not get any money. We will again take up this issue and calculate the security bill they need to pay," G P S Bhullar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Mohali, said.
Security stepped up around PCA
In view of the recent arrest of three suspected militants of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), security has been stepped up around PCA stadium for Wednesday's match. A DSP with adequate personnel has been deputed to move along with the players, whose routes to and from the stadium would be heavily guarded. Besides, around 300 cops have been added to the 1,583 personnel, who guarded the stadium in the previous match, a senior police officer said. Also, separate routes have been earmarked for the shuttle bus service and new signboards have been fixed to guide spectators. On Wednesday, eight buses will start service from Dussehra Ground in Phase VIII and LIC site in Sector 49 from 5 pm onwards.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
FM stations bet big on IPL3; ad revenues estimated to increase over 10 pc
23rd March, 2010
Source: exchange4media.com
Like the last two years, this year too several IPL franchises have roped in radio partners to reach out to their audience. The ad revenues of FM radio partners are expected to see a jump of about 15 per cent this year.
Apart from on-air campaigns, most of these FM stations are working on on-ground activities to promote the teams they have associated with. In fact, a whole spectrum of marketing and advertising opportunities has opened up with this home coming season of IPL.
exchange4media speaks to a few industry players to get their view on IPL as a property and the advertising opportunities it provides.
What they do:
My FM will continue with its last year’s on-air campaign, titled ‘Full On… IPL Deewangi… Phir Se!’. As part of the campaign, this year the FM station has featured properties such as live score updates, post match discussions called ‘Cricket Critic’, scorecards on team standings and an IPL campaign anthem. My FM also has on-air contests like ‘Toss Ka Boss’ and ‘Man of the Match’, which are slated to create a high level of engagement with listeners and at the same time help generate enough advertising opportunities.
Big FM creates a special IPL spike every year. This property covers all the happenings of the IPL season, team updates, match updates, contests to win tickets, watch screenings, win merchandise, on-ground opportunities, and so on. This year, the theme is ‘Masala Cricket’, that is, spicing up the IPL hype on the Big FM network. Besides this, Big FM also has cricket experts like former Indian player Arun Lal on air providing his views on each match.
Big FM has created official partnerships with Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers and have also created holistic activities around these, including ‘meet n greets’ with the players, team on air, contests to win tickets to the matches, live shows from the stadium, official merchandise, screenings, etc. All of these provide great opportunities for advertisers to latch on to.
Meanwhile, Radio City has created an on-air property that involves contests where tickets to the IPL matches are given out, ball-by-ball updates and an interesting character around cricket, who gives his take on IPL every day. This apart, with an aim to keep the fervour of game alive, some cities will be conducting a live cricket match between the RJs and listeners.
Even Radio Misty, which has its presence in Siliguri and Gangtok, has a lot of on-air and ground campaigns for companies. This is said to have generated good advertising revenue for the FM station. Every day, a quiz contest is held where RJs ask questions to the listeners and then distribute CDs of Shah Rukh Khan’s movies to the winners. On-ground activities are being carried out in colleges and schools. A mobile van is out on the streets and holding quiz contests on IPL and distributing gifts to the winners on the spot.
Another interesting initiative is from Radio Mirchi and MAX, the official broadcaster of DLF IPL, which aims to help its listeners triumph over any kind of inconveniences that keep them from reaching home to watch the match. This will only be on the first few match days with a variety of services. Radio Mirchi would also order pizzas for the listener. Mirchi listeners can also win free shopping vouchers/movie tickets. Radio Mirchi RJs would also speak to the listener’s boss if he does not let him leave early. This apart, Mirchi will send an extra TV set to facilitate enjoying the IPL in one’s own space.
IPL as a property:
According to Anand Chakravarthy, Senior Vice President - Marketing, Big FM, “IPL is a great opportunity for radio stations to engage with their listeners. Good radio stations are always aligned to the biggest consumer vibe at any point of time. Since IPL is the big vibe currently, we will use it to create exciting programming and marketing platforms for our stations. On the business front, advertisers are also looking for every possible opportunity to leverage during the IPL season. Therefore, an exciting radio property with on-air and on-ground also attracts high revenues. Overall it’s a win-win situation for both the IPL franchise, which gets a large amount of ‘free promotion’ on radio stations, and radio stations, which use IPL to engage with audiences.”
Ashit Kukian, COO and President – Ad Sales, Radio City, observed, “Lots of brands are using IPL for their promotion through brand associations, team associations and contests. Radio is an important medium to communicate and reach out to a larger audience. Keeping with the success of IPL, most participating brands have earmarked budgets for the property.”
Harrish M Bhatia, COO, My FM (Dainik Bhaskar), said, “IPL is an extremely important property for radio since cricket is hugely popular. My FM has been associated with IPL from day one. This year’s activities are at an even larger scale since IPL has gained so much popularity. My FM once again brings back all the excitement of this cricketing season to the airwaves.”
Nishant Mittal, CEO, Radio Misty, too, agreed that IPL was a very good radio property and said, “This format of game has got huge following in these three years and has also captured the attention of youths. Radio being a people medium, there is a lot of opportunity. This will be a major property for radio in coming years.”
Impact on advertising revenues:
Kukian of Radio City explained, “I believe the overall advertising revenues will definitely see an increase of 10-15 per cent on radio. Radio City will surely match the industry average and seeing the progress the brand has made in this space, we might even cross the benchmark.”
My FM’s Bhatia noted, “The third season of IPL is also seeing various teams roping in radio for team promotions, tickets and merchandise sales, etc, which will help in increasing the revenues over the last year in our markets.”
Mittal of Radio Misty said, “IPL is a great season for radio. Major FMCG, telecom and soft drinks companies have planned major events around IPL. This has given us good revenue as well. Local ads have gone up during these activities on-air and we are hoping to get better responses ahead.”
IPL has certainly opened up various opportunities for FM stations, especially advertising opportunities, wherein local advertisers and new brands can explore radio as a medium to reach out to larger audience and in a cost efficient manner.
Source: exchange4media.com
Like the last two years, this year too several IPL franchises have roped in radio partners to reach out to their audience. The ad revenues of FM radio partners are expected to see a jump of about 15 per cent this year.
Apart from on-air campaigns, most of these FM stations are working on on-ground activities to promote the teams they have associated with. In fact, a whole spectrum of marketing and advertising opportunities has opened up with this home coming season of IPL.
exchange4media speaks to a few industry players to get their view on IPL as a property and the advertising opportunities it provides.
What they do:
My FM will continue with its last year’s on-air campaign, titled ‘Full On… IPL Deewangi… Phir Se!’. As part of the campaign, this year the FM station has featured properties such as live score updates, post match discussions called ‘Cricket Critic’, scorecards on team standings and an IPL campaign anthem. My FM also has on-air contests like ‘Toss Ka Boss’ and ‘Man of the Match’, which are slated to create a high level of engagement with listeners and at the same time help generate enough advertising opportunities.
Big FM creates a special IPL spike every year. This property covers all the happenings of the IPL season, team updates, match updates, contests to win tickets, watch screenings, win merchandise, on-ground opportunities, and so on. This year, the theme is ‘Masala Cricket’, that is, spicing up the IPL hype on the Big FM network. Besides this, Big FM also has cricket experts like former Indian player Arun Lal on air providing his views on each match.
Big FM has created official partnerships with Kings XI Punjab and Deccan Chargers and have also created holistic activities around these, including ‘meet n greets’ with the players, team on air, contests to win tickets to the matches, live shows from the stadium, official merchandise, screenings, etc. All of these provide great opportunities for advertisers to latch on to.
Meanwhile, Radio City has created an on-air property that involves contests where tickets to the IPL matches are given out, ball-by-ball updates and an interesting character around cricket, who gives his take on IPL every day. This apart, with an aim to keep the fervour of game alive, some cities will be conducting a live cricket match between the RJs and listeners.
Even Radio Misty, which has its presence in Siliguri and Gangtok, has a lot of on-air and ground campaigns for companies. This is said to have generated good advertising revenue for the FM station. Every day, a quiz contest is held where RJs ask questions to the listeners and then distribute CDs of Shah Rukh Khan’s movies to the winners. On-ground activities are being carried out in colleges and schools. A mobile van is out on the streets and holding quiz contests on IPL and distributing gifts to the winners on the spot.
Another interesting initiative is from Radio Mirchi and MAX, the official broadcaster of DLF IPL, which aims to help its listeners triumph over any kind of inconveniences that keep them from reaching home to watch the match. This will only be on the first few match days with a variety of services. Radio Mirchi would also order pizzas for the listener. Mirchi listeners can also win free shopping vouchers/movie tickets. Radio Mirchi RJs would also speak to the listener’s boss if he does not let him leave early. This apart, Mirchi will send an extra TV set to facilitate enjoying the IPL in one’s own space.
IPL as a property:
According to Anand Chakravarthy, Senior Vice President - Marketing, Big FM, “IPL is a great opportunity for radio stations to engage with their listeners. Good radio stations are always aligned to the biggest consumer vibe at any point of time. Since IPL is the big vibe currently, we will use it to create exciting programming and marketing platforms for our stations. On the business front, advertisers are also looking for every possible opportunity to leverage during the IPL season. Therefore, an exciting radio property with on-air and on-ground also attracts high revenues. Overall it’s a win-win situation for both the IPL franchise, which gets a large amount of ‘free promotion’ on radio stations, and radio stations, which use IPL to engage with audiences.”
Ashit Kukian, COO and President – Ad Sales, Radio City, observed, “Lots of brands are using IPL for their promotion through brand associations, team associations and contests. Radio is an important medium to communicate and reach out to a larger audience. Keeping with the success of IPL, most participating brands have earmarked budgets for the property.”
Harrish M Bhatia, COO, My FM (Dainik Bhaskar), said, “IPL is an extremely important property for radio since cricket is hugely popular. My FM has been associated with IPL from day one. This year’s activities are at an even larger scale since IPL has gained so much popularity. My FM once again brings back all the excitement of this cricketing season to the airwaves.”
Nishant Mittal, CEO, Radio Misty, too, agreed that IPL was a very good radio property and said, “This format of game has got huge following in these three years and has also captured the attention of youths. Radio being a people medium, there is a lot of opportunity. This will be a major property for radio in coming years.”
Impact on advertising revenues:
Kukian of Radio City explained, “I believe the overall advertising revenues will definitely see an increase of 10-15 per cent on radio. Radio City will surely match the industry average and seeing the progress the brand has made in this space, we might even cross the benchmark.”
My FM’s Bhatia noted, “The third season of IPL is also seeing various teams roping in radio for team promotions, tickets and merchandise sales, etc, which will help in increasing the revenues over the last year in our markets.”
Mittal of Radio Misty said, “IPL is a great season for radio. Major FMCG, telecom and soft drinks companies have planned major events around IPL. This has given us good revenue as well. Local ads have gone up during these activities on-air and we are hoping to get better responses ahead.”
IPL has certainly opened up various opportunities for FM stations, especially advertising opportunities, wherein local advertisers and new brands can explore radio as a medium to reach out to larger audience and in a cost efficient manner.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
IPL-3 all set to roll
Source: Rediff.com
It's that time of the year again when cricket fans simply go berserk. And those managing it are busy celebrating their best harvest season.
Yes, it's IPL time folks!
And, on this occasion, they say, they are back home (after a detour to South Africa last year).
When Kolkata Knight Riders take on defending champions Deccan Chargers in the opener on Friday, it will mark the start of the third season of the cricket extravaganza, 45 days of 'cricketainment' so to speak.
The opening ceremony, as usual, will be a grand affair. We Indians have a fetish to try to impress and this season won't be any different -- the performers ranging from international icons like Lionel Ritchie and UB40 to our very own Deepika Padukone.
IPL III will be aking to IPL II in most aspects, with the addition of a few new players and four more centers - Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala and Nagpur - to the existing roster.
The other notable feature will be the introduction of the two-and-a-half minute strategic breaks, which may or may not benefit the teams, but, surely, the organisers.
There are no clear favourites going into the third season and that perhaps is the only redeeming feature of this cricket festival.
So, all's set for the first ball to be bowled at the D Y Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.
It's that time of the year again when cricket fans simply go berserk. And those managing it are busy celebrating their best harvest season.
Yes, it's IPL time folks!
And, on this occasion, they say, they are back home (after a detour to South Africa last year).
When Kolkata Knight Riders take on defending champions Deccan Chargers in the opener on Friday, it will mark the start of the third season of the cricket extravaganza, 45 days of 'cricketainment' so to speak.
The opening ceremony, as usual, will be a grand affair. We Indians have a fetish to try to impress and this season won't be any different -- the performers ranging from international icons like Lionel Ritchie and UB40 to our very own Deepika Padukone.
IPL III will be aking to IPL II in most aspects, with the addition of a few new players and four more centers - Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Dharamsala and Nagpur - to the existing roster.
The other notable feature will be the introduction of the two-and-a-half minute strategic breaks, which may or may not benefit the teams, but, surely, the organisers.
There are no clear favourites going into the third season and that perhaps is the only redeeming feature of this cricket festival.
So, all's set for the first ball to be bowled at the D Y Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
IPL cricketers to don eco-friendly attires
Taken from: Hindustantimes.com
Not only does the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) promise to be one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas in the country, it plans to keep the show small in its carbon footprint too.
And doing its bit to help the organisers achieve their goal is the famed hosiery industry of Ludhiana — otherwise notorious for its pollution record — with ‘green kits’.
Contracts have been received to produce the eco-friendly sportswear to be worn by IPL team owners like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, the Ambanis, their players and the lakhs of fans expected to buy them as souvenirs.
Carbon footprint is the measure of the ‘environment-killer’ carbon dioxide (CO2) released in any activity by way of energy consumed to produce goods or carry out any work.
And the specially designed “carbon neutraliser” clothing cuts down on the vital count at every stage of production — from raw materials to packaging. The result: from the average 6-8 kg CO2 released in the environment per garment, it will be as low as 3.5 –4.5 kg per ‘dri-fit garment’ being produced.
Different units have contracts to produce 16 lakh such kits.
Arun Dhand, owner of Ankita Impex, producing for Reebok, says: “We imported special raw materials, including polyester, which is sourced from recycling. Its carbon credentials have been scientifically established.”
Reebok is supplying to Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers, Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. Another global brand, Adidas, has given the contract to two other city-based firms — Knitwell Apparels and Ankita Impex’s sister concern run by Dhand’s son Anuj — to provide the kits to Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils.
But a small carbon footprint is not the only quality of the green kits. These are also 16 per cent lighter than the previous year’s kits, and designed to keep the wearer drier, cooler and, thus, more comfortable. The fabric carries the sweat to its outer surface much quicker, thus facilitating fast evaporation. Then there are ‘ventilation zones’ — essentially, laser-cut holes — that enhance ‘breathability’ of the garment.
As this is the second time the local units are fabricating sportswear for the IPL, workers at the factories have their loyalties too. For Jugraj, it is Royal Challengers. “It was a proud moment when I saw team owner Vijay Mallaya wearing the shirt tailored by me. This time, I’ve asked to be again put on the unit stitching for Royal Challengers,” he says.
Sanjay has been inscribing ‘best of luck’ on every carton containing kits for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s daredevils.
Not only does the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) promise to be one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas in the country, it plans to keep the show small in its carbon footprint too.
And doing its bit to help the organisers achieve their goal is the famed hosiery industry of Ludhiana — otherwise notorious for its pollution record — with ‘green kits’.
Contracts have been received to produce the eco-friendly sportswear to be worn by IPL team owners like Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, the Ambanis, their players and the lakhs of fans expected to buy them as souvenirs.
Carbon footprint is the measure of the ‘environment-killer’ carbon dioxide (CO2) released in any activity by way of energy consumed to produce goods or carry out any work.
And the specially designed “carbon neutraliser” clothing cuts down on the vital count at every stage of production — from raw materials to packaging. The result: from the average 6-8 kg CO2 released in the environment per garment, it will be as low as 3.5 –4.5 kg per ‘dri-fit garment’ being produced.
Different units have contracts to produce 16 lakh such kits.
Arun Dhand, owner of Ankita Impex, producing for Reebok, says: “We imported special raw materials, including polyester, which is sourced from recycling. Its carbon credentials have been scientifically established.”
Reebok is supplying to Kolkata Knight Riders, Royal Challengers, Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. Another global brand, Adidas, has given the contract to two other city-based firms — Knitwell Apparels and Ankita Impex’s sister concern run by Dhand’s son Anuj — to provide the kits to Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils.
But a small carbon footprint is not the only quality of the green kits. These are also 16 per cent lighter than the previous year’s kits, and designed to keep the wearer drier, cooler and, thus, more comfortable. The fabric carries the sweat to its outer surface much quicker, thus facilitating fast evaporation. Then there are ‘ventilation zones’ — essentially, laser-cut holes — that enhance ‘breathability’ of the garment.
As this is the second time the local units are fabricating sportswear for the IPL, workers at the factories have their loyalties too. For Jugraj, it is Royal Challengers. “It was a proud moment when I saw team owner Vijay Mallaya wearing the shirt tailored by me. This time, I’ve asked to be again put on the unit stitching for Royal Challengers,” he says.
Sanjay has been inscribing ‘best of luck’ on every carton containing kits for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s daredevils.
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