Nothing connects the audiences all across the country like cricket. Unlike in soap or a music channel, where you can address only one segment of the audience, cricket offers a platform where you can address a larger segment of the audience. Large viewership translates into more advertising and better sales volumes. Between the World Cup which ended in March and the ongoing TVS Triseries, there was a six month lull. And now the cricket carnival's begun and there's as much action off the field as there is on it. Mileage and moolah drive a host of sponsors, companies and television channels which are battling it out for consumers' eyeballs and pockets.

The advertising spends go up during the cricket bonanza and are maximum during the ODI's in which India is playing. The below graph shows the jump in spends of categories like Lubricants, Soft drink Aerated, Two wheelers, Cars/Jeeps and Cellular phone Service for the Ind-Aus ODI on 26 October.

Advertisers are digging deep into their pockets to make sure they have a place on the pitch. Telecom giants Bharti Group as well as BSNL, Beverage majors Pepsi as well as Coca Cola, consumer electronics major LG, two wheeler majors like Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda Ltd and TVS Motors, Asian Paints, Pidilite, Castrol are some major advertisers putting in their money on the ODIs.

A significant trend that is seen here is the percentage of spends in the Ind-Aus Match. The TV ad spends are maximum in the second ODI between Ind-Aus followed by Aus-NZ ODI. The TV ad spends for the Ind-NZ match are lowest but that can be attributed to the factor that the match was abandoned half way due to rains.

There are some advertisers who decided to take the advertising plunge from the 2nd ODI between Ind-Aus.

Advertisers like Frito Lays, Bharat Petroleum, Britannia Industries Ltd., SbI Life Insurance and Kinetic Engineering Ltd got into major advertising activity from the 2nd ODI between Ind-Aus. This again proves that advertisers spend more on ODIs featuring Indian team rather than ODIs between other countries.

ADVERTISER	1st ODI (Ind-NZ)	2nd ODI (Ind-Aus)
FRITO LAYS	29	9
BHARAT PETROLEUM CORP LTD	24	12
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	35	14
SBI LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LTD	26	17
KINETIC ENGINEERING LIMITED	32	19

Advertisers like Frito Lays, Bharat Petroleum, Britannia Industries Ltd., SbI Life Insurance and Kinetic Engineering Ltd got into major advertising activity from the 2nd ODI between Ind-Aus. This again proves that advertisers spend more on ODIs featuring Indian team rather than ODIs between other countries.

 

Ind-NZ		Ind-Aus		Aus-NZ
BRAND	Rank	BRAND	Rank	BRAND	Rank
BSNL(BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LTD)	1	PEPSI	1	PEPSI	1
PEPSI	2	HERO HONDA SPLENDOR PLUS	2	FEVICOL	2
MARUTI SUZUKI WAGONR	3	BSNL(BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LTD)	3	BSNL(BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LTD)	3
AIRTEL CELLULAR PHONE SERVICE	4	FEVICOL	4	LAY'S SAIF N KAIF HOT & SWEET	4
HERO HONDA SPLENDOR PLUS	5	BAJAJ PULSAR DTS-I	5	CASTROL POWER1	5
FEVICOL	6	ADIDAS	6	BSNL CELLONE	6
LG FLATRON	7	BHARAT PETROLEUM MAK	7	GILLETTE SHAVING GEL	7
BP DIESEL ENGINE OIL	8	LG FLATRON	8	AIRTEL CELLULAR PHONE SERVICE	8
REVITAL	9	BSNL CELLONE	9	COCA COLA	9
ALPENLIEBE LOLLYPOP	10	COCA COLA	10	ASAHI INDIA SAFTY GLASS	10

 

Spends of brands like Pepsi, Hero Honda Splendor Plus, Bajaj Pulsar DTS_1, Adidas and Coca Cola increase which pushes them ahead in the top spending brand rankings. Coca Cola does not feature at all in the brand list for the 1st ODI between Ind-NZ. But there are brands like Lay's Saif N Kaif Hot n Sweet and Gillette Shaving Gel which are not in Top brands for Ind-Aus ODI but are present in top brands for the Aus-NZ ODI.

(An AdEx India analysis)