Havas Sports and Entertainment, which functions under Havas Media Group, in association with YouGov has launched Hi-CRICKET, a proprietary study to understand the impact of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in influencing brand health metrics across categories.

The study, led by the Havas Insight team, has respondents from key cities in India to get a deeper understanding of how a larger-than-life platform such as IPL helps influence mind measures. HI-CRICKET will also answer the role of premium media buys in impacting brand health, one of the most critical questions raised by advertisers today.

The respondents will be interviewed over five phases from 1 April 2021 to 1 June 2021 during IPL 2021. Each phase will track the impact of the game on brand health and capture shifts along with attributes that drive Meaningfulness as the league progresses. 

Keeping in line with Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands philosophy, HI-CRICKET 2021 will help brands to further bolster their meaningful connect with consumers and will also identify the most meaningful campaigns during IPL this year. Havas’ Meaningful Brands framework constitutes of benefits brands offer across Functional (What does the product or service deliver?), Personal (How brands improve people's lives?) and Collective parameters (What’s their role in society?). Previous studies had suggested that all these benefits collectively drove brand performance. 

Havas Media Group India CEO Mohit Joshi said that HI-CRICKET will help advertisers understand the overall impact of their association with IPL. 

"This study will help advertisers understand the overall impact of their association with IPL. HI-CRICKET is the first initiative by Havas Insights and Havas Sports and Entertainment; we also intend to take the partnership into other sporting domains such as the Olympics, Hockey, Football, and Kabaddi," said Joshi. 

YouGov India general manager Deepa Bhatia said, "Sports assets have impacted the recall of brands globally. YouGov panel constitutes data of 2 lakh active panel respondents who have participated in various surveys. During the IPL season, YouGov will consistently reach out to people who watch IPL to set up the study. Using Havas’ Meaningful attributes, the customized HI-CRICKET study will help us understand what drives meaningfulness for brands and to what extent are campaigns able to drive perceptions for brands based on functional, personal, and collective benefits."