IPL influences consumer actions in a big way: HI CRICKET Study

The study says that there is a deeper involvement with the game that is beyond pure ratings/viewership

Havas Sports and Entertainment, a sports and sponsorship specialised vertical from the Havas Media Group umbrella has partnered with YouGov, an international research and data analytics group, to launch HI-CRICKET, a proprietary study to understand the impact of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in influencing brand health metrics across categories. The study, led by the Havas Insight team, has respondents from key cities in India to get a deeper understanding of how platform such as IPL helps influence mind measures.

According to the study, 50% of the respondents watched all the matches last year and 70% said that they will definitely watch the game this year. Furthermore, viewers in the age-group of 31-44 years make for the most engaged group with the game, not only in terms of viewership but also in terms of social media chatter, participating in contests and creating their own fantasy leagues based on IPL players.

HI-CRICKET 2021 aims to help brands to further bolster their meaningful connect with consumers and will also identify the most meaningful campaigns during IPL this year.

The study also highlighted that viewers are multi-tasking while watching the game – from ordering food online, to playing their own fantasy leagues and engaging with match experts. There is a mix of both online and offline viewership for males, especially amongst 18-44-year olds. Older males and female audiences are skewed to watching the game on TV. As for the favourite team, two-thirds of IPL viewers consider champions Mumbai Indians to be the best performing team while about a fifth consider Chennai Super Kings the best performing team. Match innings and Powerplay are the key segments watched by almost two-thirds of viewers. It also stated that IPL influences consumer actions in a big way – from searching for a product/service after seeing an ad to downloading an app or buying a product.

While there is a lot of discussion on IPL performance and viewership, this unique study helps to not only understand consumers’ level of engagement with the game but also allows advertisers to track the impact of IPL 2021 on brand health metrics like awareness, consideration, familiarity and recommendation, Mohit Joshi, CEO, Havas Media Group India, said. “The research uses customised quantitative structured questionnaire and encompasses tier 1 and tier 2 cities. Designed to constantly monitor brand trends on key brand health indicators, along with Meaningful attributes, this study will help advertisers understand the overall impact of their association with IPL,” he added further.

“Sports assets have impacted the recall of brands globally. During the IPL season, YouGov will consistently reach out to people who watch IPL to set up the study. Using Havas’ Meaningful attributes, the customised HI-CRICKET study will help us understand what drives meaningfulness for brands and to what extent are campaigns able to drive perceptions for brands based on functional, personal and collective benefits,” Deepa Bhatia, general manager, India, YouGov, stated on the study.

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