In 9 matches, we reached 220 million people, which is a huge number in terms of eyeballs. Our brand benefits from understatement, and we are now far ahead of the competition. Our analytics figures are right on par. We hadn’t planned for this. The response has been overwhelming.
Throughout 2022, there has been talk about bilaterals losing out to the growing league calendar and annual ICC world events. However, in the Indian market, there is always a new advertising segment, a new sponsor looking to capitalize on cricket’s reach.
Before accepting the BCCI sponsorship, our brand had suffered as a result of the embargo imposed on us. While we were working with the regulator, we were also concerned with doing something to restore the brand’s rightful position. That’s when the opportunity with cricket came up, Sahni said.
Look, IPL is the main attraction. But it’s been 8 weeks, and it’s a mess. IPL title sponsorship is also more expensive, he added. As a result, I believe bilaterals still have a lot of value. The other benefit of being a global brand is that we get eyeballs from all over the world because the Indian diaspora follows cricket.\
The BCCI has already unveiled a comprehensive bilateral plan for the next four years, for which media rights will soon be available for purchase. With the appeal of reaching out to Tier 2 cities, the digital payments giant says it is open to extending their bilateral title rights deal, which expires in March 2023.
IPL FOR WOMEN
While the opportunity to collaborate with the IPL will not be available until 2024, Mastercard is also interested in women’s cricket.Although the men’s team always gets the most attention, the bilaterals also include the women’s team, he explained. It’s a very powerful opportunity for us, he said. The upcoming women’s IPL title rights will be an intriguing option as well. We have no idea what kind of dollar we are looking at. But it is very much in line with what we want to do.
ICC is also something we could look into. Next year, India will host a World Cup. They are equally eager to become more involved on the women’s side. We have fundamentally made the decision to be active in cricket, and the initial response appears to indicate that this will be a long-term commitment.
MS Dhoni is one of their brand ambassadors, and the MNC is considering marketing collaboration during the upcoming matches.
