The marketing industry has been developing and expanding continuously, largely due to improvements in digital technology. The Covid-19 pandemic has also contributed to this, forcing brands to be agile with their strategies and seek new development opportunities.
During the last two years, we have witnessed the magic of silver screens come to a standstill, while Over-The-Top platforms (OTT) have unfurled their wings. These platforms enable people to stream rich, diverse, and engaging content through their portable devices and TVs at home. With cost-efficient internet rates and an approach where something is offered to everyone, OTT platforms have become a trend that is here to stay.
One of the biggest events in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL), has become a hotspot for digital marketing in recent years. IPL digital marketing campaigns have become increasingly popular, with brands leveraging the tournament’s massive viewership to increase brand awareness and drive sales. IPL marketing has become a game-changer, with many brands opting to use the platform to reach their target audience in innovative ways.
The Indian OTT industry is expected to achieve a value of $12.5 billion by 2030, which reflects significant growth from $1.5 billion in 2021. As per Statista, the number of Netflix (an OTT platform itself) subscribers in the United States is projected to become 188 million by 2025.
The worldwide rise of OTT platforms has provided digital marketers with fantastic opportunities to reach and communicate with their prospective customers in several innovative ways. Digital marketing on OTT platforms involves creating marketing campaigns that are streamlined to make the most of the increasing viewership of top OTT platforms, such as during the IPL tournament.
With the IPL becoming a significant event for digital marketers, brands have started to allocate more resources and budgets towards creating campaigns that leverage the tournament’s popularity. IPL marketing has become a force to be reckoned with, with digital marketers vying to create the most innovative and engaging campaigns that can capture their target audience’s attention. As the popularity of OTT platforms continues to rise, the opportunities for digital marketers to create successful IPL digital marketing campaigns using OTT marketing strategy will only increase, further driving the growth of the digital marketing industry. The key to success in IPL digital marketing campaigns lies in creating an effective OTT marketing strategy that can reach the right audience, generate interest, and convert them into loyal customers.
When it comes to OTT marketing strategy, digital marketers need to understand their target audience’s preferences, interests, and behavior to create campaigns that resonate with them. Creating personalized campaigns that use advanced analytics and customer insights can help brands target their message effectively and drive higher engagement rates. Moreover, creating visually appealing and interactive campaigns that incorporate video, animations, and other multimedia elements can help brands create a lasting impression on their target audience.
To succeed in IPL digital marketing campaigns, brands need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations in OTT marketing strategy. Creating campaigns that leverage emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence can help brands create a unique and immersive experience for their target audience. By embracing new technologies and adopting an agile approach to digital marketing, brands can stay ahead of the curve and create campaigns that resonate with their target audience.
In conclusion, OTT marketing strategy has become a critical element in IPL digital marketing campaigns. With the increasing popularity of OTT platforms and the IPL tournament, brands have a unique opportunity to reach their target audience in innovative and engaging ways. By adopting an effective OTT marketing strategy, digital marketers can create campaigns that generate higher engagement rates, increase brand awareness, and drive sales.
Size of the OTT Advertising Market, and how much are businesses really spending?
According to MordorIntelligence, the global OTT industry, which was valued at USD 101.42 billion in 2020, is projected to reach USD 223.07 billion by 2026, representing a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 13.87 %.
When it comes to IPL digital marketing, the challenges and limitations of digital marketing on OTT platforms can be seen. Despite the growing popularity of these platforms, there are still issues that need to be addressed. For instance, IPL marketing on OTT platforms lacks a standardized approach, which makes it challenging for marketers to create campaigns that work across all platforms. Moreover, there is no effective mechanism in place to prevent ad fraud on OTT platforms, which can result in advertisers losing money due to fraudulent activity.
OTT marketing strategy for IPL digital marketing can make a massive difference in the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. With the help of OTT platforms, brands can reach a vast audience, even in areas where television is inaccessible. A well-crafted OTT marketing strategy can help marketers connect with IPL viewers on a personal level, creating a more meaningful relationship with their target audience.
Another issue with IPL digital marketing on OTT platforms is the difficulty in measuring user engagement and reaction. This is because OTT ads do not rely on metrics such as clicks, making it hard for marketers to know how well their campaigns are performing. However, marketers can leverage data analytics to measure user engagement and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.
Effective OTT marketing strategy for IPL digital marketing must focus on creating compelling and relevant content that resonates with the audience. It is also essential to understand the viewer’s preferences and create personalized marketing campaigns that are relevant to their interests. By using tools like programmatic advertising and targeted advertising, brands can create highly effective IPL marketing campaigns on OTT platforms.
Despite these challenges, IPL marketing on OTT platforms remains a promising advertising channel for brands to reach and engage with their target audiences. With the continued growth of these platforms and the IPL’s massive viewership, it is essential for marketers to stay up-to-date with the latest advertising trends and innovations to create successful campaigns on OTT platforms. By leveraging the power of OTT platforms and developing effective marketing strategies, brands can unlock the full potential of IPL digital marketing.
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How do brands use OTT to advertise?
Accurate Audience Targeting
People use their email accounts to log in to OTT platforms. Thus, marketers get valuable data associated with users like age, gender, region, and type of device. Brands make the best use of this data to create customised marketing campaigns. Consequently, they access the viewers with the highest potential, and launch tailored ads for better engagement, which are less expensive, and boost ROI.
Advanced Analytics
To evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing activities, marketers utilise analytics to track and measure data that is not available on traditional platforms, such as viewability, interactions, and delivery efficacy. This information assists marketers to understand what is working and helps them optimise future ads accordingly, to increase conversions.
Cross-Channel Marketing
Advertising via OTT channels is an innovative way to reach your customers/target audience. OTT platforms allow advertisers to distribute their material across all devices (e.g., computers, TVs, phones, and tablets) when viewers access the OTT platform, resulting in “second chance” business. For example, suppose a customer looks for but does not purchase a pair of headphones. In this case, cross-channel marketing can retarget this customer with headphone advertisements on an OTT platform, using the email address of the customer it is linked to.
Promotional Collaboration
Besides in-show content, digital marketers leverage OTT channels to reach consumers through unconventional promotional collaborations. These collaborations try to capitalise on the popularity of specific OTT series by developing parallel narratives that sync with the brand’s identity.
PepsiCo’s recent advertising agreements to capitalise on the hype around Netflix’s Spanish drama ‘Money Heist’ is one such instance. PepsiCo began selling limited-edition cans with photographs from the web series as well as a QR code directing the purchaser to an enrollment form for a virtual fan gathering.
How the IPL influenced digital marketing in India?
Since its beginning in 2008, the Indian Premier League has been portrayed as a marketing extravaganza by people in the biz. IPL digital marketing has become an integral part of the tournament, with brands utilising innovative approaches to attract an extensive base of viewers and prospective consumers. Moreover, the ideal timing (in the evenings, and during the summer holidays) of the mega event also contributes to making it a hub for marketers looking to launch their IPL marketing strategies.
The IPL has become a household name amongst people of all ages and socioeconomic classes. Cricket is extremely popular in India, not just as a sport, but also as a vital medium for expressing human emotions. However, while most people are counting the number of runs, balls, and overs on screen, the real numbers are being counted behind the scenes, where advertisers are utilising this four-hour show (2-month-long event) to deploy their IPL marketing strategies.
Every year, IPL matches are scheduled during the April and May months, when most students and college-going teenagers are on vacation. On weekends, when people are looking for something to watch with their families, there are usually two matches organised. The longer the duration of the matches, the more time will be available for IPL digital marketing advertisers to display their advertisements.
IPL digital marketing has created immense opportunities for brands to showcase their products and services during the tournament. With a viewership of over 462 million in 2020, the IPL has become the perfect platform for digital marketers to reach out to a vast and diverse audience. Brands have been investing heavily in creating engaging and innovative campaigns that can capture the audience’s attention during the tournament.
Moreover, IPL marketing has become an integral part of brands’ overall marketing strategies. With the rise of OTT platforms, digital marketers are increasingly leveraging the IPL’s popularity to launch their campaigns on these platforms. The IPL has become a melting pot for brands looking to connect with their target audience in innovative ways.
In conclusion, the IPL has opened up immense opportunities for IPL digital marketing and has become a force to be reckoned with in the world of digital marketing. With the tournament’s popularity expected to grow even further, IPL marketing will continue to be a hub for digital marketers looking to launch their campaigns and connect with their target audience in new and innovative ways.
How is IPL making money together with advertisers?
Currently, the IPL is the most-watched yearly mega sports event in the country and contributes significantly to the Indian economy. The IPL has been a game-changer for the advertising industry when it comes to ad income. The IPL’s official broadcaster, Star Sports, got digital rights to the tournament for the period from 2018 to 2022, for Rs. 16,347 crores. The IPL hosts T20 cricket matches, with each match including around 2300 seconds of commercial space. Typically, a sponsor buys a few seconds for each match and pays approximately Rs. 5 lakh for each second.
On the other hand, earning sales is not the only purpose of IPL marketing for brands. They launch products during a season and then continuously run their ads during the breaks between two overs or innings breaks. While Vivo was the title sponsor, the brand launched new smartphone models during the IPL. Now that the TATA group has bought the title sponsorship, the multinational conglomerate has utilised the event to launch its much-awaited super app ‘TATA NEU’, as well as promote ‘TATA Punch’, the SUV car.
Advertising brands put in a lot of effort and creativity into building a strong image of their products during the IPL, and this benefits them throughout the year. They run ads for their newly launched products repeatedly, to ensure that their viewers grow familiar with them.
OTT Advertising and its Pitfalls
When it comes to IPL digital marketing, the challenges and limitations of digital marketing on OTT platforms can be seen. Despite the growing popularity of these platforms, there are still issues that need to be addressed. For instance, IPL marketing on OTT platforms lacks a standardized approach, which makes it challenging for marketers to create campaigns that work across all platforms. Moreover, there is no effective mechanism in place to prevent ad fraud on OTT platforms, which can result in advertisers losing money due to fraudulent activity.
Another issue with IPL digital marketing on OTT platforms is the difficulty in measuring user engagement and reaction. This is because OTT ads do not rely on metrics such as clicks, making it hard for marketers to know how well their campaigns are performing. Additionally, while the IPL may provide a massive opportunity for marketers to reach a vast audience, the lack of established operating rules and norms for advertising on OTT platforms can make it challenging to create effective marketing campaigns that resonate with viewers.
Despite these challenges, IPL marketing on OTT platforms remains a promising advertising channel for brands to reach and engage with their target audiences. With the continued growth of these platforms and the IPL’s massive viewership, it is essential for marketers to stay up-to-date with the latest advertising trends and innovations to create successful campaigns on OTT platforms.
