India gets the Crown | Advantage Sports

Even as India retained no. 1 in the Test Cricket World Championship,


England felt a little snowed down by the weather and constuction in London and Cricket Australia battled the abnormal heat to give away shiny medals to men and women cricketers. and Atherton holds his treatise on the Ashes between England and Australia

IPL on Steroids | Advantage Sports

With so much going on, it’s a wonder I still need to say that. Sorry Shane Warne, the title is not directed at you.

Here’s the hotlist of suitors for IPL’s new teams going under the hammer in a month and our Delhi Darling and mint publisher’s mainstay hindustan times is the one being quoted with this piece of big time noose::

A. ADA Reliance, Anil Ambani is going to float another company. For the Ahmedabad team
B. Cyrus Poonawalla, a local Vaccine tycoon from the race horse city of Estreet and now the North Main street..let’s say his first preference is Pune (His organization is Serum Institute)
C. Sahara’s Su’brat’o Roy who also has the Team India’s Title sponsorship – let’s say then Kanpur would be next on the radar
D. Hero Honda group, which did not buy the Punjab Kings Xi have also denied direct interest in buying a team. Their current sponsorship of the Hockey World Cup has seen them getting a range of Olympic athletes and celebrities to promote Hockey on the mind again. However, Pawan Munjal is looking to get the team under a brand of his own. He has even been linked to a Dharamsala edition.

Whichever be the second city, the Ahmedabad team would definitely roll out in a months time and with a reserve price of $225 million or INR 1000 Crores would outstrip the Mumbai Indians 2007 price tag by a factor of 2. The reserve price itself is a build of 4.5 times over the $50 million for the 2007 edition. Season Five would again see two new teams being added, and there do not seem to be speculations in the final round from more Bollywood stars this time. Patriarchal Crowd sourcing from India’s armchair tribes?

Six Nations Rugby, competes with Cricket in the Commonwealth

Well, I guess someone knows how to play, but as CMO I want to understand what my brand will get from this game..Are there any stars I should know?

The 2010 ‘Marathon’ Calendar | Advantage sports

A Colts vs Vikings Superbowl

It’s a Colts vs Saints Superbowl. Both teams had a near perfect record in the league stage. However Saints in their first Superbowl have a Brilliant Drew Brees to start and one of two teams in the Championship with more than 400 Yards. He is also 1 TD and more and 5 Interceptions less than Peyton Manning

At $2.6 million per 30s spot, all available slots except 2-3 in the final quarter have been sold out. CBS is presenting the bowl, while Intel is hosting the post game show with a new campaign similar to the “Sponsors of Tomorrow” meme.

Roughly more than a 100 million people watch the Superbowl, and it is a marketing event to loof forward to. Pepsi withdrew from it citing a different way forward than the “punch in your face” Superbowl ads required to make an impression

IPL waiting in the wings

Mumbai Indian Shaun Pollock at a little golf

IPL of course has Coke and Vodafone taking the lead in marketers. The Vodafone Zoozoo campaign has taken most of the Top 10 spots in the current Livemint Synovate AdIndex analysis in Brand Recall and Reach. I am hoping the Bachchans with their Lux creme campaign will be there too..

A mini series between india and South Africa

With Dhoni and Sehwag shining in spots and Dravid and Tendulkar resting after a very long innings it is a good time for test marketing a couple of new campaigns.

and an Australian Open final without Nadal

At the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne

Australian Open did lose Qantas after 23 years, but KIA Motors has affirmed sponsorship till 2013. Their live radio feed is pretty useful too. Australian Stars go for as little as a $100K Dollars ( 1A$ ~ 1USD ), the highest being $450K for swimmer Graham Thorpe. The Aussie open gets 500K spectators and the KFC big bash less than 200K.



More than 200 million viewers watch F1 across 200 countries while the Cricket games in India easily reach 20-25 million. IPL is expected to reach a domestic audience of 45 million again with an equal number internationally. The F1 tour starts in March.

The Business of Sports Brands | IPL grows fangs

At this stage after the third season of IPL got underway with capped auctions, Media rights continued to take the limelight. At the start of the first edition of the sport, GEO Super in Pakistan and Willow TV in North America had bought media rights for the extravaganza internationally, SET paying $2 b for the 10 year contract. SET MAX has already made profit in the two editions past, and new Outdoor/theater rights were awarded to ESD and MSM bought some before for DTH. The Cola wars were played in the marketing theater, Coke on Air with TV Advertising and Pepsi on ground with MSM. Another word on the sponsorships gone by, Sony SET paid $2 billion while ESD pitched in with an additional $71 million.

IPL’s rising valuation

Some of us thought that given the brand valuation riding two cliffs already, the third valuation cliff will bring direct benefice to the Franchisees. Again however, the League has stepped in, making it a rather well-managed larger cake to share. Yes it’s Google You Tube and given the fracas regarding free feed available and the growing no. of broadband users in India, the Commonwealth and across the pond in US, it is time that IPLT20.com shared the traffic with someone like Google who can definitely manage. the total brand valuation of each team now should cross $300 million and the two teams included would have a value of $3 billion which the teams are directly partaking

Go-(ogle)-ing Online

Also we know from our marketing reviews that Online advertising has already been assigned a higher than 2-3 times of the 2007 budget in 2008 and 2009. For regular Cricket and IPL sponsors, that budget has now got a real value for money click at you tube. A streaming IPL telecast, stopped by 5 minutes over the live feed on TV has not cannibalized much in audience terms. Of the universe of 20 million Indian Households ( assuming a peak of 10% of our Market, for TRPs/GRPs/Planning) and another 5 million in other Cricket playing nations, very few would switch off the TV for watching it online. However another 5 million in the USA and maybe an equal number in the 100 odd ICC affiliates would now e able to access live IPL from work and home without resorting to educational and pleading campaigns to promote the game. The USA has obviously thought about Cricket T20 leagues domestically, and the same can be sold much better with a near live feed from the pilgrim’s home as it were.

Going Social

Given the short version’s quick knocks, it isn’t surprising everyone with its popularity on social avenues. Everyone IPL has a presence on Facebook and Twitter and we will monetize together with Facebook and Twitter as well as with the IPL teams

An IPL Brand value for your brand

That said, there were other inelegant reasons, that plagued IPL’s media presence.  Given the lesser budgets and the pressure to earn a tangible ROI, the first lot of advertisers would be a narrow set of new and committed brands. The Vodafone ZooZoos campaign took more than a year to come to IPL, Coke has designed a new campaign for the first time and Pepsi and Hero Honda were the other known brands in play earlier and would probably cross produce online ads as well. The smaller unknowns like Havells and Rajasthan Royals themselves have a unique opportunity to build something lasting, while teams would look to emulate the Royals in getting higher valuations and pawning off minor stakes in the team to build a reputation of positive brand valuation and a mean profit.

Two new teams right away

But enough of boring essays, the game deserves a quick repartee more than extremely long and broing writings and speeches right now. There would be many more chances to dice and slice the IPL’s universe of brands and media rights before we reach a stable set of teams, players and valuations.

The new teams would be more than willing to give a $300 million bid to get a team in IPL. I think the first ones were to be from Ahmedabad and probably Kanpur/Lucknow. Amar Singh would surely be around one of the teams in the latter case. The number of brand ambassadors and co-owners may be willing to lend a hand may not matter as there are only two teams this time around, with a purse that would easily reach $300 million for the franchise itself and only about $100 million from shared rights that Google would have paid coming in as defined revenues. It is a long term commitment and any serious brand missing the opportunity will not be able to come back in this short version of the game. Take out your chequebooks, gentlemen!

The few notes of caution

Some diplomacy would be hurt in each edition of the game with tangible and some larger intangible costs. NFL in its current form was worse off even after 80 years of the Sport and till the 60s. Here, the English, the Pakistani and the Aussies and the Boks would all feel like creating a turf to defend against this juggernaut. It would happen in some form or the other and has to be absorbed in the spirit of the game.

The other note of caution, the tangible returns of each such $1b in rights or $100 million in seasonal costs are not here yet. But they will come and projecting them should be very easy for the owners and the administrators. Also India is already bringing more than 85% of the money to the game of Cricket. The IPL is definitely tilting it into the nervous 90s. The new owners would need to back it with real commitment and the ability to hold themselves from wasting too much of it on the wrong thing. Enough Said.

Branding Cricketainment

Lalit Modi also declared new official entertainment partners in the new Viacom sensation “Colors’ doing it for Cricketainment. The deal would have easily fetched IPL franchisees $20m each if not another $100m. In fact, the price may be revised upward very soon

“Cricketainment has always been IPL’s nature. Today we add ‘Colors’, the number one entertainment channel, as our partner,” said IPL chief Lalit Modi to announce the three-year deal the Twenty20 league has entered into on behalf of its franchise teams.

“There will be pre-match and post-match fashion shows, rock star concerts and other events,” said Modi with Bollywood stars Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty, part owners of IPL teams Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals flanking him.

Modi said that the IPL was just a facilitator in the deal and all the money accruing from it would go to the franchise team owners.

The other partner following ESD in the poor brethren would be the on site ‘caterer’ or the food connoisseur who would be establishing standardised menus at all venues for Food and Drink. Probably coördinated color uniforms for the staff and some own sell out publicity . The new IPL Food and Beverage partner is “Red Partners” for just the current season ( One year) This deal would have come to $40 million or thereabouts, still adding INR 20 Crores of 200 million to each team’s kitty.

More profit

This year’s  gate revenue would likely also cross $40 million while, Sony is set to make a cool $1 billion from ad bookings. Franchisees receive $120 m from Sony

IPL Brand Valuations – New Age Marketing Paradigm | livemint.com

R P Singh - A stock , An IPL phenomenon

R P Singh - A stock , An IPL phenomenon

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
Owners: United Spirits Ltd
Team captain: Kevin Pietersen (first six matches), Anil Kumble (for the remaining)
Franchisee fee: $111.6 mn
Brand value: $14 mn
Brand score: 50%
Sponsorships/brand associations: Wrigley’s and mostly in-house brands such as Kingfisher
Income from central pool: 2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from team sponsorships: 2008: Not applicable, as all were in-house brands
2009: Rs10 crore
Total: 2008: Rs35 crore
2009: Rs86.5 crore
Restructuring shows results
From being a laggard in the first season to runner-up this year, Royal Challengers Bangalore was a spectacular success story in IPL 2. And if there was one star the team owed its success to, it was its flamboyant owner, liquor baron Vijay Mallya. After the team’s poor show in the first season, Mallya restructured his team and redefined its key result areas. His personal charisma added to the team’s brand appeal, says the MTI study.
“RCB had a lot of glamour associated with it as it had cheerleaders from the Washington Redskins as its own cheerleaders, and the glamour quotient was furthered by the presence of (actor) Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador,” it says. The study pegged the brand value of Mallya’s team at $14 million (around Rs66.08 crore), but this is sure to pick up after this year’s comeback.
The team has not had too many sponsors but the owners say that was a conscious strategy.
**********************
RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Owners: Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd
Team captain: Shane Warne
Franchisee fee: $67 mn
Brand value: $10 mn
Brand score: 47%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least nine; UltraTech Cement, Kingfisher, Royal Challenge, HDFC Standard Life, Puma, 7Up, TCS, Boost, Wrigley’s, fashion designer Kunal Rawal
Income from central pool:
2008:Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from sponsorships:
2008: Rs15 crore
2009: Rs100-110 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs50 crore
2009: Rs176.5-186.5 crore
Defending champions lose steam, gain ground in getting sponsorships
Rajasthan Royals surprised everyone when it stole the show in 2008. It was the least expensive team and its owners Jaipur IPL Cricket Pvt. Ltd did little to change the frugal image, with no marketing buzz and no celebrity endorser.
Winning the tournament in 2008 helped Rajasthan Royals attract bigger sponsors this year. The absence of star players, lesser-known owners and no brand ambassador last year combined to prevent it from creating a differentiated brand identity, but all that changed after the win. This year, the team’s glamour quotient went up when Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty, with partner Raj Kundra, bought a 12% stake for $16.8 million, pushing the team’s total valuation to $140 million, against the $67 million the team owners had spent to buy it.
All this helped the team attract new sponsors, nine against four last year. The MTI study pegged Rajasthan Royals’ brand value at $10 million (around Rs47.2 crore), the lowest among all teams. Things may be worse next year given the team’s lacklustre performance this time.
**********************
MUMBAI INDIANS
Owners: Reliance Industries Ltd
Team captain: Sachin Tendulkar
Franchisee fee: $111.9 mn
Brand value: $17 mn
Brand score: 51%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least 13, including MasterCard, Idea Cellular, Royal Stag, Kingfisher, Pepsi, Adidas, Zandu Balm, Red FM, Wrigley’s and Luminous Technology
Income from central pool:
2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from team sponsorships:
2008: Rs15 crore
2009: Rs80-90 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs50 crore
2009: Rs156.5-166.5 crore
An average showing, loyalty factor driven by icon Tendulkar
The most expensive team, Mumbai Indians, bought by Reliance Industries Ltd, had an average run in IPL, both in terms of performance and valuation. Stuck in the middle of the grid, Mumbai Indians was eliminated at the quarter-final stage in both seasons.
The team, however, managed to attract an impressive number of sponsors this year. The MTI study put its brand value at $17 million (around Rs80.24 crore), the fourth highest in the league.
Although Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan did lend himself to marketing initiatives through music videos and advertisements in 2008, it was icon player Sachin Tendulkar who really drove the loyalty factor for the team and brought in brands such as MasterCard, Pepsi and Adidas, among others.
The team’s biggest strength, according to the MTI study, was its huge fan following among cricket lovers.
**********************
KINGS XI PUNJAB
Owners: Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia and Mohit Burman
Team captain: Yuvraj Singh
Franchisee fee: $76 mn
Brand value: $15 mn
Brand score: 54%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least nine; Emirates, Gulf Oil, Reebok, Springbok International, Nimbooz, Netlinkblue, Royal Challenge, Dabur Glucose-D, Orbit
Income from central pool:
2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from team sponsorships:
2008: Rs15-18 crore
2009: Rs50-55 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs50-53 crore
2009: Rs126.5-129.5 crore
Zinta brought in advertisers; consistency won loyalty
More than its performance on the pitch, Mohali’s Kings XI Punjab is known for its perky co-owner, Bollywood actor Preity Zinta. The team’s performance in both seasons was average. Although the team made it to the semi-finals in 2008, this year it was eliminated at an earlier stage. The MTI report valued the team at $15 million (around Rs70.8 crore), fifth from the top in the list of franchisees.
“With consistent performance throughout the season, the team was able to attract consistent audience numbers and developed a loyal viewership,” the report says.
Zinta’s association with several brands as their ambassador helped the team get several sponsors and it is likely to have earned about Rs55 crore in sponsorships this year. Popular cricketers such as Brett Lee and Yuvraj Singh also upped the ante of the team.
**********************
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Owners: Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd
Team captain: Brendon McCullum
Franchisee fee: $75.09 mn
Brand value: $22 mn
Brand score: 52%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least 12; Nokia, Belmonte, Star Plus, Gitanjali Jewellers, Sprite, Boomer, Reebok, Bilt, Tag Heuer, PlanetM, Next
Income from central pool:
2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from sponsorships:
2008: Rs30 crore
2009: Rs90-100 crore
Total:
2008: Rs65 crore
2009: Rs166.5-176.5 crore
Brand value upped by Khan, likely to be most profitable this time too
It did not have a good run on the field last year and this year, Kolkata Knight Riders, or KKR, was the first team to be ousted from the IPL. Yet the team with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, or SRK, as its owner topped the league in terms of brand value.
The MTI study pegged the team’s brand value at $22 million (Rs103.84 crore), 16% more than the second highest team with a brand value of $19 million. “The Shah Rukh Khan brand and the in-stadium marketing strategies of the teams have influenced the team’s brand value, resulting in higher income from gate receipts, merchandising revenues and attracting new team sponsors,” says the study.
The team’s below-average performance on the ground notwithstanding, KKR had the maximum buzz mainly because of SRK’s personal charisma and partly because of team member Saurav Ganguly. This year, an anonymous blogger, Fakeiplplayer, who wrote about KKR’s “inside story”, also kept the brand name bustling. The result: It was reported to be the most profitable team last year, and is likely to have repeated the feat this time as well.
**********************
CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Owners: India Cements Ltd
Team captain: M.S. Dhoni
Franchisee fee: $91 mn
Brand value: $18 mn
Brand score: 53%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least 15; Aircel, Cloud 9, Nivaran 90, Reebok, 7Up, Band-Aid, Peter England, Nivea, Lays, Orbit, Boomer, Star Vijay, Hello, Big Bazaar, Coromandel King
Income from central pool:
2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from team sponsorships:
2008: Rs20 crore
2009: Rs100-110 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs55 crore
2009: Rs176.5-186.5 crore
Dhoni key in creating a strong brand
Last year’s runner-up and this year’s semi-finalist, Chennai Super Kings successfully delivered what its owners, India Cements Ltd, expected it to—creating brand awareness for the holding company. “IPL has given us a pan-India presence and strengthened our brand name in southern India,” Rakesh Singh, chief marketing officer of the team, had said earlier.
The brand, according to the MTI study, enjoyed a strong valuation at $18 million (around Rs85 crore), the third highest among the eight teams. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the captain and icon player, the brand benefited from his associations with brands such as Aircel, Reebok, Big Bazaar and 7Up.
“The purchase of M.S. Dhoni, under whose captaincy India won the world T20 championship, was the key factor in creating a large awareness, a stronger perception and gave great mileage for creating a strong brand for Chennai Super Kings,” says the study.
**********************
DELHI DAREDEVILS
Owners: GMR Holdings Pvt. Ltd
Team captain: Virender Sehwag
Franchisee fee: $84 mn
Brand value: $19 mn
Brand score: 55%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least 13; Hero Honda, Kingfisher, Royal Challenge, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Fever 104 FM, Orbit, IBN7, CNN IBN, Cricketnext.com, designer Karan Nasir, Buzzintown.com
Income from central pool:
2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from sponsorships:
2008: Rs15 crore
2009: Rs60 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs50 crore
2009: Rs136.5 crore
A balanced team, Sehwag’s popularity generated advertiser interest
The MTI study valued the Delhi Daredevils brand at $19 million (around Rs89.68 crore), the second highest among the eight teams. The reason: A strong squad, a popular brand ambassador (in 2008) and a well-known owner helped Delhi Daredevils create a good awareness and perception about the team, it says.

Even cricket experts hailed Delhi Daredevils as one of the most balanced teams on the field.
Owned by Bangalore-based infrastructure and construction group GMR Holdings Pvt. Ltd, the team established itself as a serious player with strong performances in both the first and second seasons of IPL.
The popularity of captain Virender Sehwag, along with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as the face of the team in 2008, helped it build a loyal fan base and generated interest among advertisers.
According to industry estimates, the team generated Rs15 crore in sponsorships in 2008, and this was likely to have increased to Rs60 crore this year, thanks to the deals signed with brands such as Coca-Cola, Fever 104 FM and Kingfisher Airlines.
**********************
DECCAN CHARGERS
Owners: Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd
Team captain: Adam Gilchrist
Franchisee fee: $107.01 mn
Current brand value: $11 mn
Current brand score: 44%
Sponsorships/brand associations: At least nine, including Odyssey, Puma, Kingfisher, McDowell’s, Big 92.7 FM, Boomer, Pepsi, Serendipity Tours
Income from central pool:
2008: Rs35 crore
2009: approx. Rs76.5 crore
Income from team sponsorships:
2008: Rs20 crore
2009: Rs50 crore
Total*:
2008: Rs55 crore
2009: Rs126.5 crore
Valuations remained low but win may change things
The team was, indeed, all charged up this year. Beating Royal Challengers by six runs in the final, the Deccan Chargers team not only scored in terms of popularity, but also made its team owners, Hyderabad-based media company, Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd richer by the Rs4.8 crore that it won in prize money.
The team’s valuation at $11 million (around Rs52 crore) was, however, not too impressive. The absence of a popular brand ambassador, lower awareness about its owners and fewer marketing and branding efforts prevented Deccan Chargers from building a popular brand, says the MTI study.
However, there was enough advertiser interest in the team this year, with the number of brand associations jumping from five to nine.
The team owners have been keen to sell a strategic stake in the team, but had not found any takers at the price they were quoting. This may now change.
* The total income does not include gate receipts, revenue from merchandising and prize money.

zyakaira notes: this being an official study, we will be using this to work on all things IPL here and at http://twitterone.mobi

All IPL brands have earned 150-200 crores in 2009 edition with 110 million viewers ratifying the IPL’s tag of 8200 crores ($1.3 bllion) for media rights. Now apart from their going public, i feel the potential is such that at least a couple of these franchises like the Daredevils will start earning closer to 300 crores from edition 3

via Brand valuation | How the teams fared

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