Energy drinks, fintech saw major brand uplift during IPL 2024; ‘Dual viewership’ rising

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, celebrating its 17th season, has yet again captured the attention of millions of fans worldwide and has further established itself as a marquee global sporting event. This season has not only engaged cricket enthusiasts but has also provided an unprecedented reach for brands, especially in newer categories to connect with a diverse set of audience, confirms leading market research firm Hansa Research through its annual syndicated study IPLomania 2024. The latest report brings to light findings on consumer insights, brand recall, and viewership patterns of the most coveted sporting entertainment event.

According to IPLomania 2024 study, the fantasy sports and online gaming app, Dream 11 emerged as the most recalled brand advertiser with an 81% recall rate followed by My11circle (63%) and Tata Neu (59%) respectively. Dream 11’s star-studded ad campaign and integrated marketing strategies have strengthened its popularity among the audiences. The high recall for Dream 11 can be attributed to their engaging advertising campaigns featuring prominent celebrities and cricketers, capturing audience attention effectively.

Commenting on this year’s insights, Praveen Nijhara, CEO, Hansa Research said, "From the surge in dual viewership to impressive brand recall rates and the uplift in new and traditional categories, the findings are novel and offer invaluable data for brands to strategize and maximize their advertising efforts."

An overarching trend that dominated the findings of the IPLomania 2024 study was the increased visibility of new product categories. Financial services saw an uplift in the key brand measures, particularly within new fintech categories such as payments, discount brokerage firms, and fintech awareness apps. Top performers in this category included payment brands like VISA, Mastercard, Rupay, which showed a growth of 20%.

The study also spotlighted the emergence of new-age beverage categories of energy drinks, with brands like Thumbs Up Charged, Sting, and Redbull leading the way with a year-on-year uplift of 12%. Furthermore, FMCG and fashion apparel brands witnessed a significant uplift in brand metrics, resulting in a 24% higher recall rate. Besides that, legacy brands like Tata Salt and Amul have also capitalized on the massive viewership of IPL to promote their products.

A better viewing experience was a key trend evident this year, as 70% of viewers preferred High Definition quality. ‘Dual viewership’, a trend since the last few seasons, continues its reign, with 59% of viewers preferring connected TV viewership. The mobile-tablet user ratio has prominently risen compared to other devices like laptops and TVs. Another interesting finding revealed that Smart TV viewership has been on the rise year on year.

The property in-stadia findings from Hansa Research's IPLomania 2024 report further revealed interesting insights into the effectiveness of in-stadia advertising. Brands on player jerseys remained highly visible, with 62.71% of respondents noticing them. Others such as on-ground ads and commentator backdrops, showed an uplift in the overall visibility. The report noted a significant uplift in advertisements for Qatar Airways and Gulf Oil on RCB and CSK respectively.