IPL opens a new world of opportunities

THE AD line says' It's back. "And one can say it's back with a bang. More appropriately, Ensuring there's more bang for the buck this time round

for brands who want to ride on one of the biggest sporting properties on the planet. With theatrical rights and the Google / Youtube deal in the bag, industry estimates peg back for IPL 3 to touch Rs 700 crore, a 50% jump in revenues this year from season two held in South Africa last year.

Even as the decibel reaches a crescendo, media agencies are hard at work to ensures that there's adequate return on the investments made on IPL. The media planners now have the experience of two editions in their bag and one of key lessons learned is that plain vanilla branding does not work in a more crowded environment, even if it's the title sponsorship. The key here is multi-media amplification, using more than one medium to get better associations.

"It all depends on how one smartly used the association. Use multiple opportunity and integrate the efforts for Disproportionate returns. After all it's a serious investment so how are we prepared to maximize the investment, is the question we ask customers, "says Prasanth Kumar, head of trading, Group Ditto for Mr. Sandeep Lakhina, COO - South Asia, Starcom Worldwide who says with budgets ranging from Rs 5 crore to Rs 40 crore, brands have to be clear of intent of their association with IPL.

"Associations depends on the objective, it could be launching a new brand in the market or an existing brand looking to increase brand awareness. So depending on the intent, if one works out or spot buys on-air sponsorships or in-stadia works best, "states Lakhina.

Most media planners agree that this edition has opened up new vistas of association for brands who were attempting about riding on IPL, either due to costs or skepticism about the end result. For the theatrical rights, industry estimates put the associate sponsorship at Rs 3 crore in theaters. Compare that to Rs 25 crore for associate sponsorships in them ainstream.

In the online space, media agencies are waiting to see how Google / Youtube will customized communication. On Youtube, it is understood that there will be spots as well as the skin (the remaining portion of the web page) which will be customized for IPL and offered to brands. "It's still wait and watch for these two mediums as one has to see how content will evolve and be packaged," says Kumar of Group M.

Another space generating interest is separate rights to IPL sold by Colors channel for what is called IPL entertainment. While Colors has started floating the market, media agencies say clients are cautious about jumping in immediately.

"If it starts delivering the ratings, then the channel will be able to decide on the rates," says a senior media planner from a media agency. He however adds that the deal is a good opportunity for Colors Considering the fact that IPL is a long term property. "It's like Jackie Chan movies which show the humorous moments of the movie at the end. There's always an audience for that, "he states.