WPL shatters sponsorship stereotypes: Diverse brands drive 10 percent team revenue growth in the women's cricket league

Girls are buying their own diamonds and their own vehicles and thus the days of men dominating the sports marketing landscape are long gone. The Women's Premier League (WPL) is a testament to this shift, attracting brands beyond traditional women's categories like fashion and kitchenware. As per experts, overall top line of teams sponsorship has seen upto 10 percent increment in the second season of WPL.

“The likes of audio wearables, banking, fintech, insurance, two wheelers, electronic vehicles and FMCG have all found a way to associate with WPL. Brands showed strong interest in the league, seeking both jersey sponsorships and content integration opportunities. These positive conversations have generated promising leads, and we're confident they will convert to successful partnerships,” said Karan Yadav, Chief Commercial Officer JSW Sports.

CarLelo, Tata Punch EV and JBL are some examples.

“The teams have seen anywhere between 5-8 percent growth in sponsorship revenues which is a good number for a league in its second season,” said an insider who did not wish to be named.

What is interesting is that WPL has also created inroads for brands that were hesitant about the Indian Premier League. These include popular brands in the beauty and jewellery category.

“Brands that didn’t find a loyal target audience in IPL are looking at WPL,” Yadav added.

Mia by Tanishq for instance. Mia by Tanishq, has partnered with Royal Challengers

Bangalore’s first all-women team as their principal sponsor.

Talking about how the partnership aligns with the brand sentiment, Mia’s business head Shyamala Ramanan, “All the women players are trailblazers and each one of them is independent, a dreamer, an achiever, and self-expressive - they espouse everything that a Mia woman is. According to Rajesh Menon, Head and Vice President of RCB, the partnership is a fit with the franchise’s vision of scaling marketing programs with the help of like minded partners.

Mia however is not the isolated example. There are others too. UP Warriorz, owned by Capri Sports, announced a partnership with Katrina Kaif’s Kay Beauty.

Overall, experts predict the Women's Premier League (WPL) could generate up to Rs 125 crore in sponsorship revenue for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its five teams.

WPL is attracting not only new sponsors but also encouraging existing ones to extend their partnerships. Galaxy Basmati, Dream 11, Kajaria Ceramics, Vega Beauty, Puma, and Himalaya Face Care are some of them.