Ind-Eng series: Ad deals going at faster run rate

New Delhi: India’s stirring cricket Test win in Australia has whipped up advertiser interest for the upcoming series against England, including the longer version of the game. Ad rates are up about 15% over previous Test series and brands that had planned summer campaigns or commercials in the new financial year are advancing their plans.“Advertiser interest has accelerated and a lot of brands which typically don’t invest much in cricket-related advertising or Test cricket are also coming on board now. Many new deals are in the process of being signed, while a lot of them have already been sealed,” said Shashi Sinha, chief executive of IPG Mediabrands, which represents beverage maker Coca-Cola and ecommerce giant Amazon among others.Ad spots, sponsorship and package deals have been picked up mainly by categories such as FMCG, ecommerce, ed-tech, financial services and auto, said an executive directly involved with the developments. The series starts February 5 and features four Test matches, three One Day Internationals and five T20 matches. 80441523“Advertiser interest in cricket is a direct correlation of how the team performs on the field,” said Ashish Bhasin, chairman of Dentsu India, which buys media for Maruti, Mastercard and Microsoft. “The historic win in Australia has catalysed advertiser interest. Also, this is a home series and viewership for this series is expected to be much higher than other entertainment genres.”Large summer-centric advertisers such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are learnt to have planned fresh campaigns to coincide with the series. “We are in the process of finalising the advertising deal with the broadcaster,” said RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation, which runs Amul.Viewership Campaign Launched“We are surely going to advertise on the series given the high interest in cricket,” said Sodhi.Other advertisers that typically invest in shorter formats such as T20 are also picking up Test spots as part of a package deal. “We intend to split our ad spends between the India-England series and the IPL T20, which is scheduled for April-May. This is the first time we will advertise on Test cricket,” said an ed-tech firm’s marketing executive.The series comes a year after India last played on home soil. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) broadcast rights holder Star Sports has rolled out its #IndiaTaiyarHai campaign to fuel viewership. “The campaign amplifies the joy and anticipation of cricket fans, who’re looking forward to international cricket returning to India,” Sanjog Gupta, head, sports, Star India, said in a statement while launching the campaign last week.It will also likely coincide with the economic revival forecast across sectors, as demand picks up and pandemic-induced supply chain restrictions are fully eased. The RBI said late last week that the turnaround will exceed most forecasts, driving the economy toward a “glorious summer.”Companies that held back campaigns last year on account of the pandemic are ready to launch them and the India-England series is seen as the first big event of the year, industry executives said. They’re encouraged by the positive sentiment across sectors as well as the vaccine rollout.Social media agrees. English cricketer Ben Stokes tweeted: “See you soon India” on Saturday. The comment got more than 100,000 likes and 4,000 comments from Indian fans.

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