Mumbai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most followed domestic leagues in the world within its home market.
According to data from YouGov Global Fan Profiles, two-thirds of urban Indians describe the IPL as one of their top interests or say that they are somewhat interested in it (67 per cent). For reference, this is markedly higher than the share of fans of the Premier League in the UK (30 per cent), NFL fans in the US (39 per cent) or the La Liga in Spain (50 per cent).
Given India’s newly acquired status as the world’s most populated country, this automatically makes the IPL one of the most followed leagues globally even without having to consider its overseas popularity. That means the event is a hotspot for sponsorships by brands operating in the Indian market. Ahead of the 2023 season, we take a quick look at the brands that made a splash in Ad Awareness scores among IPL fans during the 2022 edition.
YouGov BrandIndex Ad Awareness scores refer to the percentage of people who say they have seen an advert for a particular brand in the prior two weeks.
Among the select IPL 2022 sponsors we examine in this piece, Swiggy made the biggest upticks in Ad Awareness during the course of the IPL (26 Mar to 29 May 2022) compared to the period immediately preceding the event (20 Jan to 25 Mar 2022). Average Ad Awareness score for Swiggy rose 4.5 points to 59.3 among IPL fans during the IPL.
Local automotive stalwart Maruti Suzuki saw a 4.3-point uptick in scores, while ecommerce giant Flipkart enjoyed a 4.2-point boost.
Swiggy’s campaign, which asked fans who they will watch the matches with, seemed to get fans talking. The popular food and grocery delivery brand received a three-point uptick in WOM Exposure scores, from 47.6 to 50.6. WOM Exposure reflects the share of people who have spoken about a brand with their friends and family.
Simultaneously, Consideration scores for the brand rose by nearly three points, from 45.1 to 48. Given the competitive nature of the duopolistic food delivery market in India, which Swiggy dominates alongside Zomato, any uptick in Consideration scores is noteworthy.
