Cricket is big business

Four months ago, when the Indian Premier League (IPL) idea took shape, there were a lot of doubts. Not many thought that the concept would take off. Strong votaries of test cricket were quite offended. They denounced the concept of slam-bang stuff that they said the Twenty 20 tournament was, and harked back to the golden age of five-day cricket. Even one-day tournaments were seen as leisurely!
The spectacle of cricketers being auctioned to different team owners, the mind boggling sums that they fetched, the differential pay given to the ‘icon’ players, the idea of archrivals in national teams playing alongside for different city teams – all these and more combined to provide a feeling of ‘commercialising the game’ and evoked reactions of shock and disgust.
Besides, there was always the fear of overkill. Wasn’t there already enough cricket being played everywhere? Would crowds come to the stadium at all? Would anyone want to watch this exciting and forceful stuff on TV continuously? And then critics simply upped the ante with the controversy over cheer leaders and their exposure.
The Cassandras may have to eat their words.
As things stand today, the IPL concept has redefined the game. It is not just about cricket any more. It is entertainment – pure and simple. Families that huddled together at 7.00 p.m. to watch interminable soap operas now have another option – a three-hour cricket match that has pulsating action from start to finish. And so do advertisers. In fact, marketing heads of different TV channels are wondering how to handle this new challenge to their viewership ratings. Last heard, even some film launches were being postponed – since there was little chance of crowds packing the theatres when the IPL show was on!
Rakesh Singh, Joint President (Marketing), India Cements Ltd, which owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise, shared some insights with BrandLine when we met him shortly after the first tournament ended last week.
Among the very first issues that they had to tackle was whether the concept of a ‘city team’ would take off? Would there be loyalty to a city team? And would the locals adopt outsiders (foreign players or even players from other States) as Chennai lads? And would there be the partisan support that forms the bedrock for such concepts to click? As Mr Singh puts it, the concept actually needed those emotions – of fanatical support for the local team and making the other team feel ‘unwelcome’!
Did that mean that they would be inhospitable? Mr Singh rushes to clarify that the city branding meant that there would be rabid support for the local team. Yes, it didn’t mean that we would be inhospitable to visiting teams. There won’t be any shortfall there, or off the field. But on the field, there was no place for neutrality! He likened it to an Indo-Pak cricket match where emotions always come to the forefront.
He explained how the concept of city branding took off, with a very interesting point on crowd behaviour. Apparently there were more people wearing respective city team colours in the crowds than was the case when even the national team played in one-day internationals. He revealed that Reebok, one of the manufacturers of team jerseys, found it difficult to sell even a couple of hundred national team jerseys. In contrast, the city team colour jerseys had to go for multiple manufacturing runs –as jerseys flew off the shelves faster than they could manufacture! But on occasion, it also set them up for clashes between rival team supporters in the stands – since they were now clearly identifiable!
He also mentioned that for matches in Chennai, there were at least 500 dealers of India Cements who were given tickets. For many of them, it was a matter of honour and prestige – and they wanted more. And when it came to supporting their team, it was no holds barred – some went to the extent of ‘fasting’ on match days. (With such kind of support, it is no wonder that the Chennai team reached the finals!)
Mr Singh says that India Cements has more than broken even with the very first instalment of IPL itself. Although internal estimates had given a time frame of two to three years for the concept to take off and start raking the bucks, the moolah has come in. Although the complete figures are not yet fully in as accounts are still being tallied, the initial estimates are that India Cements has spent about Rs 70 crore on this so far and raked in a little over that through gate collections, sponsorships and distributions from the central pool.
The one thing which they didn’t fully tap was the merchandising aspect. As he admits, “We underestimated the potential. But now we have seen what the market is like. We hope eventually to earn about 6 to 8 per cent of revenue through this channel.” This will in all probability mean using the brand for different products – anything from a pen to a mug to a bat and getting a share of that revenue.
The company is also contemplating follow-up activities, including starting a fan club and having a dedicated Web site for them.
Asked about the role of ‘brand ambassadors’ and ‘star ambassadors’, Mr Singh pointed out that both were very relevant for the concept. Speaking about the Chennai Super Kings ambassadors – cricketer K. Srikkanth and actor Vijay, he said both of them helped significantly.
The IPL show was like any other reality show and the only way to get people to move from other ‘soaps’ was to bring the stars to the stadium! So whether it was a Shah Rukh or Vijay or Dhoni or Srikkanth, the crowds trooped in to watch them as much as the game. To paraphrase the requirements for success, as defined by one of their consultants, IPL had to get both eyeballs on screen and bums on the seats. It succeeded in doing both.
And what about the competition from the rival - Indian Cricket League? Mr Singh thinks it will die a natural death. And that it should withdraw from the scene gracefully. Spoken like a winner.