Covid bouncer sends IPL packing; brand value at risk of falling further

The brand value of the Indian Premier League (IPL) could take a knock for the second successive year, following suspension of the tournament on Tuesday. The cash-rich league, which began on April 9, was called off indefinitely by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after some players tested positive for Covid-19.
 
A Duff and Phelps report in March had said that the brand value of the IPL had fallen by 8.7 per cent in dollar terms and 3.6 per cent in rupee terms in calendar year 2020, after Covid-19 began in India. The tournament, held annually in April, was pushed to the second half of 2020 and held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), though viewership for the edition remained high.
 
This year, the picture has changed as the second Covid-19 wave has raged across the country. Brand experts say that 5-10 per cent could be shaved off the IPL’s brand value this year due to its suspension. “There will certainly be an impact on the brand value. The timing to me was incorrect. India hadn't completely exited the Covid-19 pandemic. To go ahead and organise the tournament in the country was ill-timed,” said N Chandramouli, chief executive officer (CEO) of brand insights firm TRA Research.
 
According to Santosh Desai, managing director and CEO, Future Brands, the impact could be short term. “Yes, there could be an impact on the brand value. No brand is infallible. However, it could recover in the long run,” he said.

 
Smartphone major Vivo had returned as the title sponsor of the IPL this year and the BCCI had managed to lock additional central sponsors in the nick of time for the 2021 edition. This included Unacademy, Cred and Upstox. Dream11, Paytm, Ceat and Tata Motors have been official partners of the IPL for some time now.
 
Broadcaster Star-Disney too had locked 18 sponsors on television and 14 on digital for the 2021 edition, including those from the edtech, fintech, gaming, durables, beverages and fast-moving consumer goods sectors. 
 
Sajal Gupta, vice-president, media buying, digital at Zenith, a national media agency, said that digital brands would be the big losers since a platform such as the IPL would not be available to advertise at least for now. “Brands such as Cred were using the IPL this year really well to build saliency. Their campaigns were also much-talked about on social media. The suspension will certainly hit digital brands, who’ve grown during the pandemic,” he said.
 
IPL chairman Brijesh Patel told Business Standard that the league would seek an alternate window to hold the tournament this year. "This is a temporary suspension. We will see when the next best wind­ow is available to hold the tournament. It will definitely not be held this month," Patel said.
 
India reported over 350,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday with fatalities at nearly 3,500. The IPL has been in turmoil after cricketers R Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson, Andrew Tye and Liam Livingstone decided to exit the tournament last week.
 
This week, Monday's ma­tch between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Chal­lengers Bangalore had to be postponed after two KKR pl­ayers tested positive. Wedn­esday's header between Chen­nai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals was also res­cheduled after CSK's bowling coach tested positive for Covid-19. Organising the IPL in the second half of the year may not be easy as India stares at a third wave of the pandemic, said media industry experts. Also, foreign players, who are a big draw at the IPL, may not want to return to India just yet. Anyway, the second half of the year looks busy for cricketers with important tournaments such as the World Test Championship final and the T20 World Cup lined up.