Behind the Razzle Dazzle

The Indian Premier League is in its third season, and looking at the euphoria it's creating across the country, I almost felt obliged to write something about it. As everybody with the slightest interest in the game of cricket knows, the first two seasons of the tournament were a massive success. The inaugural edition in India achieved blockbuster success thanks to the exciting nature of the twenty20 format and some brilliant marketing. The second edition in the Rainbow Nation was equally successful, if not more. Now, the IPL is back to India and if the commissioner of IPL, Mr Lalit Modi is to be believed, it is going to be bigger and better. 

It's been less than a week since the tournament started and already, the response has been absolutely overwhelming. The IPL tickets(touted as more important than an election or railway ticket) are selling like hot cakes. Costing more than what an average Indian earns in a day, they're not even the major source of revenue for the organisers. The highest revenue is generated from sponsorship rights(which have been given on a five year basis) and television rights, which have been given on a ten year basis. The sponsors have invested astronomical sums of money and just to give you an idea about the sort of money that's at stake, here are some statistics:

• Sony Entertainment Televsion, the official broadcaster, has paid a staggering Rs 8700 crores to BCCI
• DLF, which is the title sponsor, has paid Rs 200 crore
• Hero Honda, the associate sponsor, has paid nearly Rs 100 crore
• Pepsi, the official beverage partner, has paid Rs 50 crore
• Kingfisher, the umpires and travel partner, has paid Rs 106 crore

And you thought there is shortage of money in India! BCCI, which I'm sure is already the richest cricket board in the world, is going to pocket 20 % of the proceeds. The rest will be shared by the franchise owners, including the winning team. Apart, from the major sponsors that I've mentioned above, there are several other companies promoting their brand(s) through the IPL. The tournament is a fantastic platform for both big and small corporations to promote their brand. I had never heard of Karbonn Mobiles until I saw its ad in the IPL matches. Same with Micromax. The enormous audience base of the tournament gives these relatively new companies a chance to create a brand awareness, a key aspect of marketing. In fact, talking about marketing, I think IPL is a very good practical example of marketing and product placement. As a business and marketing student, I've observed the following marketing aspects of IPL:

• It is based on the twenty20 format, which makes it really popular and thus acts a major platform for product placement. 
• It is offers a whole lot of opportunities for advertising. Companies can choose from a variety of spots/areas to advertise their brand. If you watch the broadcast carefully, you'll realise that the advertisers don't miss a single spot. There is the on-ground advertising in the form of billboards, adboards, pitchmats, cheerleaders costumes, player costumes, Umpire costumes, sightscreen, scoreboard and so many others. One can see some sort of advertising or the other in every corner of the stadiums. I even saw an MRF blimp hovering over one of the grounds. Apart from that, there's on TV advertising, such as the basic between-over commercials, advertisements attached to various broadcast segments such as highlights, replays, Third Umpire decision, Hawk-eye, Super sixes, super fours, best catches and a million other things. It's just incredible. 
• There's the element of segmentation in the form of different ticket prices and advertising(on the basis of sex, income, etc)
• Media selection is another very important aspect of marketing and advertising and IPL because of its wide coverage offers a whole lot of options such as television, Newspapapers, magazines, Internet, Radio, tickets(yes even the tickets have ads on them!), and many more
• Because it is held in different locations across the country, it also offers good distribution and availability options. The venues are chosen strategically to ensure maximum supply of entertainment. 

Apart from what I've discussed above, there are a lot of other business lessons that can be learned from the IPL and its success story has prompted a lot b-schools in India to use it as a case study. Although the tournament is in its early stages, there's already been a huge buzz and everybody, both young and old, male or female, rich or poor, seem to be talking about it. Apart from the broadcasting channel itself, most news channels are full of IPL news. Even channels like MTV and V aren't leaving any stones unturned and are using IPL to boost their TRPs. One thing is clear, the magic of IPL is everywhere and whether you like it or hate it, you just can't ignore it.

Having said all that, a lot of people in the cricketing world continue to raise eyebrows. A lot of people feel that tournaments like these reduce the 'holy' sport of cricket to the status of a commodity. I think they're just being hypocritical. Ask any of them for an honest answer and they'll tell you that they love watching twenty20 cricket more than any other form of the game. I don't agree with those who say that test match cricket is 'real' cricket. Nobody has the right to decide what form of cricket is real and what is unreal. I think every sport must adapt and evolve with the changing times and changing demands. In today's fast life where husbands don't even have time to tell their wives that they love them, you just can't expect people to sit and watch a game for five days. We're living in an age of instant gratification and people like quick results. Tournaments such as IPL are ideal for today's world and should be promoted. Not only do they provide better entertainment but also induce investment, a key to economic development. Moreover, they provide a lot of employment opportunities to people. In fact, I think IPL benefits everybody. The audience get good entertainment from the cricket and the frills, the sponsors get publicity, the franchise owners get huge profits, its helps in the development of grounds and infrastructure, the BCCI gets a lot of money as well so I think everybody is happy. I don't understand what the fuss is about. So be happy, sit back and enjoy the fun!