The I.P.L. was

well marketed

By – M. Siddharth Raman (WPM 14 SID)

Introduction

Cricket in India treads the thin line between being a sport and classifying as a religion. The players

are hardly considered as sportsmen but are viewed as demi gods themselves. They enjoy a cult status

and fans fall one step short of worshipping them.

Cricket has been around for a long time since the days 5 day test matches were played. However, the

IPL has been a game changer and has helped in bringing in a new class of audience. The I.P.L. was

primarily started by B.C.C.I. as a counteractive measure to the Indian Cricket League (I.C.L.), a

rogue tournament started in private without the backing of B.C.C.I. What started as a counteractive

measure gradually evolved into one of the biggest entertainment of India, today. Everyone from

corporates to cine celebrities are a part of the I.P.L. Bandwagon. Cricketers chose to skip national

tournaments to make sure they are fit for the I.P.L.

Let us take a look into what makes the I.P.L. so special.

Entertainment Guaranteed

A product has to continuously innovate to make sure that stays alive. Stagnancy would gradually

lead to its demise. This was the risk that was facing cricket the world over. Test matches were a 5

day affair and in this fast paced world, people did not have the time or the patience to go through the

grind of waiting for 5 days to produce a result. Even O.D.I.’s were becoming a day long affair and

people could no longer spend that kind of time.

I.P.L. crashed this into a 4 hour experiential journey which could accommodate people from any

demographic. The young were allured by the glam & glitz and the old could sit through it as the

whole drama ended in 4 hours. It was equated to a cinemas viewing experience at a much elevated

level.

Matches were conducted from evening, a respite from the hot sun for an Indian viewer. The timing

also ensured that kids could catch it up post school and the working class needed to take only a few

hours from office to watch a match. Even women, who had never watched a match before started

coming to the stadiums as these matches morphed into a family outing.

Further, the concept of Indian owners buying foreign players ignited a subconscious sense of

patriotism with ego boosting. India had announced itself in the cricketing sporting arena.

Generation of customer brand equity

Brand equity building would require a positive association to a brand from a customer. He must be

able to relate to positive instances of using that brand for him to invest in it. The concept of

introducing home teams and basing 50% of the matches in home towns ensured that the fans could

relate to the teams. Competitiveness and regional chauvinism fuelled the gradual building of a brand.

The adrenaline rush of viewing close and high scoring matches, glamorous cheerleaders, colorful

packaging and vibrant music made sure that most of the fans left the stadium after experiencing a

positive emotion. The need for experiencing this positive emotion recurrently ensured that repeat

audience made it financially beneficial for the franchises.

Further, the sight of small town lads playing alongside top national and international cricketers

indirectly infused the positive emotion that dreaming big and achieving success was very much

possible.

To top it, advertising revenues were very high as even the TV viewers were wary of changing

channels during the break lest they missed out on the excitement and action.

Flooding the medium

I.P.L. virtually occupies every nook and corner of communication space during its tenure. From

social networking mediums like YouTube, twitter, face book etc. to screening in movie halls, it was

everywhere. Online ticketing and creation of fan club portals with special offers and schemes

ensured that everyone had access to it in some form or other.

Sponsorships and partnership deals flooded every franchise. It seemed that everyone wanted to be

associated with this new kid on the block. Corporates benefitted by being associated as the brand

recall factor was visibly high on association with an I.P.L. team. Sales picked up and profits soared

for some of them. Added to this, cine stars as owners created that heady mix of ‘X’ factors that was

necessary to make sure that everyone knew what I.P.L. was.

Thus, in establishing all of the above, the IPL had ticked all the boxes against the 4 P’s:

• Product - Compressed duration, maximum fun

• Promotion - All mediums of communication utilized to reach out to the consumer

• Pricing - Ranging from free for the TV viewer to premium for VIP’s

• Place - Ubiquitous by relaying in all possible modes apart from stadiums.

The Experience

Pine and Gilmore in their article on experience economy suggest that businesses must strive to

provide experiences that gradually become the product themselves rather the material commodities

that are being marketed now. Businesses that have become mature in providing this experience

gradually command a premium for providing this experience as an value add ove

commodity.

Experiences are inherently different from products owing to the fact that each one has a different

experience as a response to a situation unlike in a product where it is perceived almost unilaterally.

is a psychological thing and I.P.L. tapped this to the hilt. It was packaged as a fun and exciting form

of entertainment. All the ranges of O.S.L. leve

different reason. Some wanted the team to win, some came for the electric atmosp

for the glamour and glitz, and however, all came for the experience of it.

To make sure that no one missed out on this huge party, the tickets were also available from Rs.500/

to Rs.15,000/-. The ones who could not go to the stadium enjoye

cost at their homes by catching it up on T.V. It became a facilitator for socializing and enhanced its

reputation manifold.

The above diagram represents the 4 quadrants of experience as designed by Pine and Gilmore.

Pine and Gilmore in their article on experience economy suggest that businesses must strive to

eriences that gradually become the product themselves rather the material commodities

that are being marketed now. Businesses that have become mature in providing this experience

gradually command a premium for providing this experience as an value add ove

Experiences are inherently different from products owing to the fact that each one has a different

experience as a response to a situation unlike in a product where it is perceived almost unilaterally.

and I.P.L. tapped this to the hilt. It was packaged as a fun and exciting form

of entertainment. All the ranges of O.S.L. levels were covered and ever viewer

different reason. Some wanted the team to win, some came for the electric atmosp

for the glamour and glitz, and however, all came for the experience of it.

To make sure that no one missed out on this huge party, the tickets were also available from Rs.500/

The ones who could not go to the stadium enjoyed it with family and friends free of

cost at their homes by catching it up on T.V. It became a facilitator for socializing and enhanced its

The above diagram represents the 4 quadrants of experience as designed by Pine and Gilmore.

Pine and Gilmore in their article on experience economy suggest that businesses must strive to

eriences that gradually become the product themselves rather the material commodities

that are being marketed now. Businesses that have become mature in providing this experience

gradually command a premium for providing this experience as an value add over and above the

Experiences are inherently different from products owing to the fact that each one has a different

experience as a response to a situation unlike in a product where it is perceived almost unilaterally. It

and I.P.L. tapped this to the hilt. It was packaged as a fun and exciting form

watched it for a

different reason. Some wanted the team to win, some came for the electric atmosphere, some came

To make sure that no one missed out on this huge party, the tickets were also available from Rs.500/-

d it with family and friends free of

cost at their homes by catching it up on T.V. It became a facilitator for socializing and enhanced its

The above diagram represents the 4 quadrants of experience as designed by Pine and Gilmore.

I.P.L. was close to the sweet spot as it involved a high degree of immersion as well as active

participation. Right from loud music to food stalls, spydercams tofireworks I.P.L. made sure that all

the 5 senses were engaged in some form or the other. These experiences made it so popular that fans

did not hesitate to spend money on merchandise. Approval from peer group and social conformance

attitudes further fuelled these purchases.

As John Deightonand J Hoch, elaborate in their article on managing customer experiences, the

sequence of moving to integration from encoding, by hypothesizing and being exposed to, I.P.L. has

made this transition look easy that what it may seem.

Conclusion

Even with all the negative publicity owing to match fixing, late night parties, injuries resulting in

poor performance for the national side, I.P.L. has weathered all storms to ensure that each edition is

bigger than the previous.

The imagee below shows the recent bran valuation of various teams in the I.P.L.

All this would not be possible purely based on the product. This evidently shows that marketing had

a huge role to play in making this a grand success and we can authoritatively say that I.P.L. is one of

the most well marketed products in recent times even on a global scale.