The most glamorous event of the year has now started and everyone is excited about it. Yes, I am here talking about the Indian Premier League (IPL). This is the most awaited tournament for the cricketing fans where the cricketers from all over the world come together to celebrate cricket. There is no pressure on the players and everyone is just there to enjoy each day. In order to make people keep talking about the tournament, they are rigorously making use of marketing techniques. This helps to keep up the momentum and engage more fans and viewers. IPL digital marketing is something that every marketer must analyze it and learn something from it.
If you look at the way IPL marketing tactics are being done, there is a lot to take and learn from it. The way every team of IPL is marketing itself along with its players, it is really impacting the audience on a different level altogether. So being a digital marketer, there are numerous marketing techniques that you can learn from IPL. In this blog, I will be talking about few IPL marketing strategies that you can deploy to your strategies.
1. IPL itself is a marketing stunt
According to me, the way IPL’s each and everything takes place, be it players auction, be it inauguration ceremony, etc everything is a marketing strategy. April and May is that time of the month when there are no major cricketing tournaments and also people are in a holiday mode. The children are completely free of their exam burden. So this is the perfect time to engage the audience with what they like.
In India, cricket is like a God to people. Be it any kind of cricket tournament, people will watch it with enthusiasm. So when it comes to IPL, they have selected that perfect time to conduct the tournament. So being a digital marketer, you must understand that at what time you should do a certain thing. If you are into arranging children camps and you are keeping those camps in February and March. Then there will be no response to it even if you prefer digital marketing medium. So it is really important to understand when to conduct the events.
2. Big brands joining hands
IPL is a conglomerate of all the big brands from all the industries. The teams are owned by big players. So in order to create more buzz about it, big brands like Nokia, HP, Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Blue Star, Ceat Tyres, Crompton, Dollar, Domino’s, Ford, Haier, Luminous, Pidilite, Sleep Well, Vanessa etc are associated. There are total 34 brands that are participating in Vivo IPL 2018.
So this step has added a more extravaganza to the tournament. People are now more excited as they are happy to see the players getting associated with the brands that they are using.
So basically, when you get associated with big players of any sector then the credibility of your brand increases and people start looking at it and think of purchasing it.
3. Influencer marketing of a higher level
With this tournament comes a higher level of influencer marketing. The whole team of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is marketing the products of HP. Similarly, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is marketing the CEAT brand. Similarly, every player is engaged in some or the other influencer marketing stunt.
So with this, a digital marketer can learn how to use the influencer marketing techniques at the right time and at the right place so that the people will start following your brand.
4. Behind the scenes live videos and images
If you look at the Facebook page of each IPL team, you will find live coverage of their behind the scenes stories. If we look at the team of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), then the team has a Facebook live whenever they are off to the stadium from the match and when they are coming to the hotel after the match. People like to see such things that what players do before and after the match.
Also posting real-time pictures, attractive creatives make the audience think about the brand all the time. So being a digital marketer you have to understand that the audience is really fond of real-time photographs and videos.
5. Timing of the match
It is very important, if you want something your audience should do, then it should take place according to their convenience. And IPL matches are a perfect example of that. The match timings are kept in the evening at 4 pm and at 8 pm so that it becomes convenient for everyone to go in the stadium or at least watch the match on television and on the internet. This is the perfect timing as by evening everyone has already wrapped up their office work, so they can easily watch the live match.
You have to look at the convenience of the audience. If you are keeping a match at 2 pm, then nobody is going to watch it. being a digital marketer you must understand what is the perfect time to engage the audience. And IPL is perfectly doing it.
6. Involvement of film stars
Of course, IPL tournaments are glamorous. This is because many of the team are either owned or marketed by film starts. KKR is owned by Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. Similarly, Kings XI Punjab is owned by Preity Zinta. The marketing od Delhi Daredevils is done by Akshay Kumar. Abhishek Bacchan is a Mumbai Indian Supporter.
All of these Bollywood stars have joined hands with the cricketing stars, so definitely IPL is considered as a star-studded event. People love to watch such things where all the glamor comes together. These film stars actually come to the stadium to watch the match and support their teams. So the audience is able to see them really which makes them excited.
So when you are connecting your brand with some film star then it is going to gain more popularity quickly because people love seeing these stars with the brands that they are using.
7. Extensive use of social media
Social media is playing an important role in the marketing of every IPL team. All the teams have a Facebook page, Instagram page, Twitter handle in order to maintain their presence all over the digital world. And they are posting real-time pictures, live videos, live scores, blogs etc on it.
To top it all each team is having a website of their where they are maintaining all the records, blogs, and fixtures. If we take a look at RCB’s website then they have their blogs, merchandise, schedules and more on their website. The website also has an option of live chat.
8. Trending hashtags on Twitter
The IPL event is so popular that everyone talks about it. The media players like cricbuzz and NDTV, they continuously keep talking about the players, analysis, cricket pitch etc before that match and the hashtag starts trending on Twitter. Similarly, those who have collaborated with the IPL teams, they trend their hashtag on Twitter. In case of Nokia, the hashtag of #Nokia7Plus is currently trending on Twitter.
So in this way, you must know how to create a buzz about a particular event that you are going to organize.
9. Connecting with the people
It is very crucial to connect with the audience. If you are not connecting with them and simply selling your product then it is of no use. So in this case, you must learn the trick from theIPL teams the way they are connecting with their audience. The teams are currently posting their content, especially videos in Hindi, English, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil and Kannada.
This is because the teams belong to different regions of the country. So if a KKR fan is getting a commentary or the anchor is speaking in Bengali with the fans, then they ought to connect with the team. So try the tactics that will help the audience connect with your brand more quickly.
10. Organizing various contests
Paytm is currently running a contest of predict and win on a daily basis. All you have to do is predict the winning team, if you are right you get a cashback. Vivo is also running a contest of win free tickets for the match contest. So as there are 34 brands involved in IPL, every player is conducting some or the other contests.
So being a digital marketer, you must know that running attractive campaigns will not only engage the customers but it will also help you in getting a good number of leads.
IPL is currently the best platform through which a digital marketer can learn a lot of things. Though the tournament has always been a big hit, every time, the players associated with IPL come up with something creative to make it more popular among the people. They tray various tricks which are appreciated by the fans every time. So while you are watching this season of IPL, enjoy and take lessons at the same time. We, the marketers, can learn a lot from such kind of events. All the best!
