IPL 6: Ad spends trickle in from FMCG players

TAM ratings released through SET Max for the first five days of the IPL 6 stand at an average of 3.9 (almost the same as last year).

FMCG majors such as HUL and P&G may be staying away from IPL 6 but other players in the same category are jumping on board. While beverage players might have a reason to use IPL to create visibility during summer, there are also non-beverage companies such as ITC, Marico, Godrej and recently even new advertisers such as Ruchi Soya who are targeting IPL this season.

Sandipan Ghosh, AVP Marketing, Consumer Brands Division, Ruchi Soya Industries, said, “This is the first time that the soya brand of Nutrela is being advertised on IPL. In these two months, the tournament will rule the roost in terms of TV ratings and we wanted to leverage it to establish the different usages of the Nutrela brand of soya chunks and granules through our latest campaign.” Nutrela is the flagship brand of Ruchi Soya Industries.

“IPL is also proving to be more cost effective this season and we have picked certain matches during the tournament to build visibility for the brand,” added Ghosh.

But media planners are not exactly enthused by IPL ratings this season. Gautam Kiyawat, CEO, Madison Media, says, “IPL ratings are almost the same as last year and maybe even a little down. Every client buys on the property based on the needs and brand objectives. Clients buy on IPL in the context of what else is available to buy during the season.” Madison Media has clients such as Ruchi Soya and Marico and has been buying airtime on IPL’s official broadcaster SET Max on their behalf.

In fact, there are companies who are on wait-and-watch mode before investing in IPL. For instance, powdered drink concentrate maker Rasna has assigned Rs 35 crore ad budget for the summer but is not jumping on the IPL bandwagon immediately. “We are waiting for ad rates to go down even further for the tournament. Last year, we had bought spots for the last few matches towards the end of the tournament. TV ratings are still not adequate compared to last year and we are still exploring the possibility of buying into the property,” said Piruz Khambatta, Chairman and Managing Director, Rasna.

Meanwhile, TAM ratings released through SET Max for the first five days of the IPL 6 stand at an average of 3.9 (almost the same as last year). Neeraj Vyas, Business Head, SET Max, said, “While there may be no novelty factor for IPL compared to its first season when ratings hovered around 4.5, it is still a complete entertainment package and a mature tournament today.” SET Max, the official broadcaster of IPL, has increased its advertising spends by 10 per cent this season (average spends are usually between Rs 18 crore and Rs 20 crore) with a new campaign by JWT featuring Farah Khan.