Sports is one of the prime sources of entertainment for viewers.
But what’s more surprising is the fact that how sports can create a huge market for branding & promotions!
Did you know that in 2019, IPL or Indian Premier League have spent over Rs. 577 crores just on advertising?! Insane right?
Now just imagine at what mammoth amount of the promotions of Super Bowl or NFL or NBL will begin!
With every year passing by, sports & sports enthusiasts are becoming a wonderland for marketers. So we thought why not pitch two national-level sporting brands against one another, in this round of Battle of the Brands”?
We have IPL Vs NFL this time. The two most celebrated national sports events in the two most prominent democracies of the world!
Backstory
IPL
Indian Premier League started in 2008 by BCCI. It is a pro-level cricket league played in India, in Twenty20 format during March & April of each year.
Lalit Modi, then the BCCI Vice President was said to be the mastermind behind IPL.
The 8 teams were named after eight cities- Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Rajkot, Hyderabad.
With each passing season, IPL became the most-attended cricket league in the world & 2014 it was ranked sixth by average attendance among all sports events.
NFL
National Football League is comparatively much older. Found in 1920, it is the grandparent of national leagues.
The league has 32 teams divided equally between National Football Conference (NFL) & American Football Conference (AFC).
Throughout the years NFL became a steady diet for Americans with pre-seasons, regular seasons, the playoffs & the king of it all the Super Bowl!
Marketing Strokes
IPL
IPL defined a new set of paradigms to do business in the Indian International market. The craze for cricket in the country made IPL a celebrated event with Bollywood, political, business tycoons joining the mega grandeur.
IPL has corporatized cricket in a unique way. It has added a new dimension of marketing and branding to the sport in India.
One of the biggest USP of IPL is that the teams are run by Bollywood celebrities or renowned business houses.
From Shah Rukh Khan to Sachin Tendulkar, Ambanis, Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, Karan Paul everybody has a share in their respective teams.
Other than that the event is attended by every star of the tinsel town- Hrithik Roshan, Amitabh Bacchan, Abhishek Bachhan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Ranveer Singh you name it & they are in attendance.
The advertising campaigns are huge in IPL.
IPL has teamed up with major brands like Amazon, Vodafone, Parle, Jio, Cadbury, Vivo & others.
The Vodafone Zoo Zoo is one of the famous and oldest advertisement campaigns on the IPL theme.
The Cadbury “Subh Arambh” was another unique commercial for IPL.
The particular advertisement was made for the Indian festival and for those who have initiated something new in their life.
Other than TVCs, IPL also opted for Online marketing. One of the primary strategies of IPL was the tie-up with Google for live streaming of IPL matches through Youtube, a million dollar deal worked wonders for both parties.
IPL also tied up with PVR cinemas, for live screening of IPL matches in theatres.
NFL
NFL with its unique marketing throughout the years has built a timeless brand identity for themselves.
One of the NFL’s biggest successes that can be used in any strategy is consistent content distribution across multiple platforms.
The NFL positions themselves as the “premier sports and entertainment brand that brings people together socially and emotionally like no other.”
Their branding can be found all through social media, stories about their fans, social initiatives & so on. All build up their brand identity.
NFL creates magnanimous partnerships with brands. In 2018, it partnered with Nike for 8 years!
The brand has some iconic sponsors like Pizza Hut, Anheuser-Busch, and Gatorade.
It often works with small influencers or local businesses to promote their brand through giveaways, events & activities.
And the commercials!
Especially for the Super Bowls. From the iconic Cindy Crawford’s Pepsi 1992 commercial to Parisian Love by Google in 2010, Super Bowl gave us some unique ads of all time.
The most impactful in recent years? The “We Accept” ad campaign by Airbnb in 2017 Super Bowl Commercial.
NFL has a strong loyal community. These are not just customers by passionate loyal fans for whom the NFL is a part of their life.
In 2017, the NFL gave away 500 Super Bowl tickets to its most dedicated football fans. NFL believes in staying connected with its fans through giveaways, campaigns & promotions.
Growth & Revenue
IPL
According to Wikipedia, IPL as a whole is valued around $4.16 Billion US dollars in 2016 & in 2018 the number grew to $6.13 Billion.
The title sponsors pay around 200 crores to secure the rights for 5 years in IPL.
IPL teams are bought through a bidding system. Each player gets paid a hefty amount to be in the team.
For instance, Mumbai Indians were worth $112.9 million!
In 2018, IPL had registered a total reach of 302.8 million viewers of age above 2 years in the all India market for both urban and rural homes across 10 channels.
In 2019, IPL offered a prize money of $7.2 million dollars with the winning team netting 2.9 million.
According to Hindustan Times, in 2018, each team was predicted to have earned a profit of at least Rs. 75 crores from a single season.
Some teams could have generated as much as Rs 100-125 crore in profit.
NFL
NFL is like an empire.
According to Star, the revenues rose from $231 million in 2008 to $302 million in 2010.
As of 2019, each team receives $255 million annually from the league’s television contract!
According to Touchdown Wire, NFL disbursed $ 8.78 billion in revenue to its club from the money it made it last year.
It is estimated that around 2027, the revenues will rise to $ 25 billion!
Well…there goes some numbers that will take time to settle in!
It is unbelievable how massive these industries are. In the meantime, if you want some more mind-boggling studies about marketing strategies opted by different brands, read here!
And which are your favorite sports? Comment down below!
And if you have any ideas regarding our blogs or any suggestions feel free to contact us here!
Disclaimer: All the above information is not to defame or promote any particular brand. This is just for reading purpose & do not have any unethical intention.
