Have Indian brands really unlocked the true potential of sports?
According to psychologists like Shirley Wang, there are eight different motivations for people to love sports. Two stand out – sport is an avenue for emotional expression. Secondly, it provides a sense of belonging, a connection to a wider world. That explains why, for a fan, their team losing feels like a personal loss. The world of sport fully engages its audience and keeps them coming back for more.
For instance, with 2.5 billion followers worldwide, cricket seems to have bewitched its audience. In India, since the introduction of IPL in 2008, the viewership has increased from 100 million to a whopping 450 million. A no-brainer for any marketer, brands have hit the proverbial 'nail on the head'' by endorsing, sponsoring or partnering with IPL teams who have gotten them right where they want to be – in the eyes of their audience.
A recent report featured on Business Insider said that nine out of ten Indians watch cricket. Even though cricket has a massive fan base of 124 million, one cannot dismiss the impact of other sports.
Since its inception in 2014, the Pro Kabbadi League has quickly emerged as the second most-watched sport in India. It has 28 million viewers, and multiple brands like VIVO, Tata Motors, BYJUs, and more try to capture the audience's attention.
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The Tokyo Olympics 2020 too proved to be a fruitful one for Indian athletes such as Neeraj Chopra, who won India’s first-ever gold in javelin. Brands like TATA AIA Life were quick to jump on the opportunity to rope in Chopra as their brand ambassador.
Currently, countless brands eagerly endorse or partner with sports, athletes, and health and fitness centers. A befitting example of that would be CARS24 becoming the new Principal Sponsor of one of the franchisees of TATA IPL 2022 – Sunrisers Hyderabad, making it the first and only pre-owned car brand to do so. That has allowed the company to impart its ethos to IPL fans and establish its brand purpose.
Brands leveraging their value in digital era through sports
Recently, Guarana Antarctica, a prominent soda brand in Brazil, won a Cannes Lion - Silver for conceptualising a high-impact campaign by partnering with the National Women’s Soccer League. Their goal was simple: to pass a bill that fights for equal prize money in sports. The brand targeted the policymakers and the viewers of the biggest sporting event – the Olympics.
The campaign spread like wildfire, creating a massive impact and awareness for female football. It earned millions of impressions, resulting in ground-breaking impact, raising enough funds to cover the pay gap and bringing about a revolutionary change by getting Congress to approve the said bill. Guarana Antarctica left a tremendous impression on the world and brought about a change that fought for a greater cause.
Another great example of how strongly sport can influence a large community or business, can be seen in the popular ‘Coca-Cola & Cristiano Ronaldo’ situation in the Euro 2020 post-match conference. Ronaldo – one of the most decorated players in the world removing two bottles of Coca-Cola from his table created a monumental change, slashing the company’s market value by $4 billion overnight.
Sports creates ample opportunities for brands to spread their message to viewers. Their dedicated fan base has a large potential to shape the brand ethos and establish a larger narrative.
Being associated with sport enables brands to create a larger outreach for its audience and leverage their passion for the game. We have witnessed companies across the Auto, Entertainment, FMCG and tech industries, among others, using the power of sports and leaving an impact.