Branding the Gentlemens Game!!!

Advertisement in Cricket, the opportunity is right here, right now

Prepared By : Ansuman Samal, Faculty, School Of Hotel Management Guided By : Ms. Barnishikha Das, Dean (I/C), School Of Hotel Management Siksha O Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa

Prepared By: Ansuman Samal, School of Hotel Management, SOA University, BBSR

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Introduction: The Origins

rom the beginning of the human civilization, the process of communication or what we say delivering ones understandings to another person seems to be very vital in every stage and every age. From the days in the caves to this modern day ultrasonic jet age, it is the one by virtue of which the man has proved its mettle against the time and against all other creatures. From this very concept of sending or spreading the understandings from one to another the concept of advertisement has taken birth.

And to advertise or simply spreading the news or views about a product or service in this hypercompetitive market place is very important to survive and thrive for modern day marketers. And to rip on this, now-a-days marketers have started to exploit every opportunity as they are starting to attach their brand names with various products, services and events. Branding which is known as giving a unique name, sign or term to ones product so that it will acquire a specific position on the minds of the consumers and differentiate the product of various companies. In this article we are trying to focus on the same branding effect on the new kingpin in the world of entertainment, the game of cricket! The game of cricket which is otherwise known as the Gentlemens game has been evolved in the southern England in late 1500s has become the new mantra of entertainment today. From the 5 days long test matches to 50 overs a side one day matches to the newest avatar, the Twenty 20 format, the game of cricket has certainly come a very long way. And in tune to that, the branding process in cricket has also evolved in a dramatic manner over the years. Details of Branding: If not long, only we can go back to some 20 to 25 years back, we can see the very classic and very cleanly image of cricket. With scenic arenas, large spans of green grasses, clean wickets, clean stadiums, unbranded equipments like bats, wickets, boundary ropes, perimeter boards, spotless white clothes, basic score boards, simple presentation ceremoniesetc. In addition to that the players, be at a national or International level were also involved in very few endorsements. But the advent of liberalization and the growth of television viewership have given a huge popularity boost to the game. With the birth of cable and satellite television came a deluge of programming options for Indian advertisers. Cricket stood alone, as a means to cut through barriers of age, gender, geography, language and socio economic class classifications. It is today a medium by itself; one which accounts for approximately 15-20% of total television advertising in a given year. Graphically, if we need to show the increase of brands advertised on the television, we can come to know the truth behind the above statement.
10914 7875 6830 3906 3973 4496 4774 8041 8706 7673 12351

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2007

Total No of Brands Advertised on TV over the years

SOURCE : TAM

Prepared By: Ansuman Samal, School of Hotel Management, SOA University, BBSR

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254 179 106 123 96 699 2 15 22 20 78 248 1022 1392 1900 2690 3229

4211

75

102

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2007 % increase in No. Of Sports

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2007 Total No of Brands Advertised on TV over the years

SOURCE : TAM

Cricket, the Opportunity: Cricket has allowed marketers to effectively combine the power of television and the potential of the sport. And the result is that today, astronomical sums of monies are being pumped in to garner a slice of this highly lucrative pie. We can give a simple example, In the World cup cricket; only 6 more teams have participated in the 2003 World Cup than in 1983 edition but the sponsorship fees for the 2003 World Cup was almost 10 times more than that of 1983. Key issues in todays context: So seeing this big opportunities, the marketers need to disregard the old ways of advertising and bang out to mega advertising efforts both on ground and on television which will help them to stand out and get noticed. Whether the brand is relevant to the spot it is getting advertised or not, it has added value to the whole game; both on ground as well as on television resulting in involvement and consumer appreciation. We can say here that, pockets do get deeper when it comes to cricket. For the simple reason that we cant afford to miss out it on cricket. Innovative ways of advertising in Cricket: Over the years from amongst the various options, the innovations that stood out are weather reports, 3D logo mats, boundary ropes, players as well as umpires apparels, action replay bugs and third umpires decision where the marketers have associated their brands brilliantly and in such a way that we just cant imagine todays cricket without those tags/brands associated with them. The options before marketers today: Today, the game of cricket does present a surfeit of options, across different avenues to get associated with it. We can generally classify them into 4 broad groups. They are : 1. Advertisements on Television:- The Options The options that are available before the marketers for advertising on television can be described as follows. Ad Spots Brands advertised in between the overs, wickets, drinks breaks, special programs related to cricket before & after the match etc. Replay Bug Brands associated with action replay during the match. 3rd umpire decisions The time when the decision of the 3rd umpire gets pending. Scrollers L shaped scrollers where the brands are getting advertised. Pop ups / tickers - Sudden pop ups on the TV screen where brands are getting advertised.

Prepared By: Ansuman Samal, School of Hotel Management, SOA University, BBSR

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Sponsored Programs Like the pre & post match programs like post cards, interviews, 4th umpire, extra innings etc. Other ancillary programs Like the special selection of various items during the match like master blaster, safe hands, super 4s and 6s, shot of the day, save of the day, catch of the day, moment of the day, turning point of the match, pitch report, weather report, partnerships, reaction time of the batsmen and fielder, speed gun which shows the bowling speeds ball by ball, ball tracking which shows the position of the ball, prediction for the day, wagon wheel of the team as well as batsmen showing the shots, score cards, milestones, run rate, various contests etc. 2. On ground advertisements:- The Options The options that are available before the marketers for advertising on the cricket ground can be described as follows. Perimeter boards The bill boards around the boundary where various brands get advertised. Sight Screen The big blank screen in front and back of the main batting pitch where various brands get advertised. 3D Logo mats Logos made on grass near the pitch where various brands get advertised. Wickets Various brands that get advertised on the wickets. Boundary ropes Various brands that get advertised on the rope laying in the boundary. Level 1 & 2 banner Banners on the stadium poles where various brands get advertised Score boards Basic and electronic score boards where various brands get advertised. Drinks trolley vehicles that carry drinks in to the field during breaks where various brands get advertised. 3rd Umpire Lights Board where the lights of the 3rd umpire flashes where various brands get advertised. Presentation stage The boards surrounding the presentation stage where the brands get advertised. 3. Advertisements involving Teams and players:- The Options The options that are available before the marketers for advertising involving the teams and players can be described as follows. Team Sponsors The main and associate sponsor of the team whose logo gets reflected on the apparels. KIT The brands that get advertised on the KIT of the players / teams. BATS The brands that find their way on to the bats of the players. Umpires Apparel The sponsors name that get advertised on the umpires apparel. Players dog-out The place near boundary where the players sit during the T20 matches where various brands get advertised. 4. Advertisements associated with various events : The options The options that are available before the marketers for advertising involving the teams and players can be described as follows. Title Sponsor The main brand which takes the rights of the event and the cup. Associate Sponsor Other brands that take the rights of being associated as second in line sponsors of the events.

Prepared By: Ansuman Samal, School of Hotel Management, SOA University, BBSR

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Conclusion: The Opportunity to milk the cow It is a very high time for the modern day marketers to exploit new ventures associated with the game and spend on them so that they themselves can earn fruitful returns. Some of the innovative ways to do this is 1. To conduct market research amongst the audiences to find out salience of various brands that gets advertised on TV, on ground and with players. 2. To evaluate the spends done by the brand factories and measure the recall amongst the viewers to find out the fact that what we have spent and how much we are getting noticed? 3. To evaluate the spots / key areas where by we can do advertising there and enhance the recall amongst the audiences. 4. To measure the execution cut through (ECT) for ad recalls as diagnostic to measure which ad is getting recalled by maximum people and why which will provide its efficiency. 5. To measure the recall of various brands in different medias, i.e. commercials, features and signages etc. 6. Special analysis of signages where by we can find the appropriate place to advertise our brands so that it can get noticed by the maximum audiences for maximum time so that we can maximize our returns 7. We also can do cross media analysis to find out the differences in recall and spend in all thre formats say test, ODIs and T20 matches 8. To analyze the fact that with special connection to cricket how the brand is delivering and without the special connection with cricket how it is behaving. The market research technique that we can use here is DAR (Day After Recall) where by we can take interviews of those person who have watched the match on TV the day before for atleast one hour. At last we can say that the game of Cricket, which is not any longer a mere sports today, but has become a kind of religion needs more money to be pumped in for the betterment of the infrastructure, format of the game as well as for the players and the investing companies. Therefore more and more research work should be done to find out the most efficient way of spending ones money to get maximum mileage. Therefore todays business advertising mantra should be By virtue of advertisement, we need to turn not only peoples heart but also their heads and pockets References 1. 2. TAM website : www.tamindia.com Marketing Management by Phlip Kotler

By- Ansuman Samal Lecturer, School of Hotel Management Siksha O Anusandhan University Bhubaneswar

Prepared By: Ansuman Samal, School of Hotel Management, SOA University, BBSR

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