22 June 2024 | By - Sudha Mariappan

The Power of Cricket in India:

Since the earliest stages of the 1970s, cricket has been in people's hearts. In fact, it’s a burning passion for people all over India that unites millions across diverse cultures and regions. No matter where you are from, whether it be in urban areas or remote villages, cricket has an uncanny ability to captivate audiences and create deep emotional connections.

The popularity of the sport in India is no joke. You could see stadium filled people cheering loudly to their favorite players, wearing their jerseys, and chanting their names in the hopes of the players winning.

Millions watch cricket matches on television or smartphones to show love for the sport and their players.

But have you ever noticed the advertisements running in the middle of the match?

It can be annoying to witness those interrupting advertisements, but here’s why they’re useful for the brands who are showcasing their ads.

The world cup 2024 just passed and let’s analyze some hidden strategies that the brands use to advertise smartly to get more customers and engagement from them.

Engaging Cricket Fans through advertising:

Source: The Media Ant

When it comes to modern marketing, social media is the lord of all tools that connect with cricket fans.

Since people love to discuss, they will chime in during the live tweets by brands during matches. This includes quizzes and polls on different social media platforms as well, as it brings out the awareness and curiosity to answer them. By posting instant replays of key moments of the live matches, fans can relive the moment again.

The way brands immediately get to social media for business at the right time allows them to respond to fan's emotions and preferences, creating an interactive environment that keeps the enthusiastic audience involved.

Sharing highlights of the match and behind the scene footage creates a feeling of excitement among the fans. This way, they’re connected and engaged throughout the duration of the match.
Brands can act on time, and when the live match is happening, they can appeal to the audience with their timely hashtags on social media related to significant events such as an incredible catch and a record setting performance.

The audience will eagerly engage with the brand as it is now associated with the world cup, resulting in increased awareness and shareable content.

Sponsorship Opportunities:

As far as brand visibility is concerned, it is more than enough for them to print their brand names on the jerseys of cricket players to sponsor cricket teams and events.

If the brand’s name is on the jerseys of the players, the audience would definitely associate the competitive spirit of the sport with the brand. Meaning, the audience will involuntarily support the brand and engage with it.

Sponsorship deals range from jersey branding to stadium advertising. Such deals bring high visibility and are associated with the biggest moments in the sport.

It means that the brand gets brand awareness, and sometimes it even gains credibility with an association of its brand with the outreach of the sport and its prestige.

Sponsorship options go beyond advertising displays and can include digital and sometimes even experimental things. For example, they can sponsor a fan zone at the stadium or virtually arrange a meet and greet with the players to drive some really memorable experiences that stay with the fans.

Strategies for Effective Engagement:

There are some key strategies through which brands can engage with cricket fans on the best possible level:

Personalized Content: Brands can reach out with content to specific demographics of cricket lovers, which can improve engagement.

Diversified people have different cultures, so according to them, brands will have to modify their messaging to the preferences of their target audiences.

This could be in terms of regional language content, cultural references at a local level, or even celebrations of iconic cricket moments that strike a chord deep within the hearts of the fans.

Interactive Campaigns: Engaging with fans can be best done through interactive campaigns, which bring out the feeling of participation among them.

Mini contests, polls, and other challenges at the World Cup can indeed lead to some degree of excitement or involvement.

For example, brands create prediction games that let people guess the outcome of any match and can offer prizes for all correct predictions. That will not only keep fans engaged but also increase brand visibility as participants share their involvement on social media.

Influencer Collaborations: Brands partnerships with famous cricket influencers or former players help extend a brand's reach to higher levels and build their credibility.

Influencers connect with their fans in a very personal way, which helps brands to create more campaigns by trusting influencers. Being close to the fans makes their opinion matter, which makes their promotions more effective.

These might include collaborations like co-branded content and product placement on stadiums. Those collaborations all provide an authentic connection with the cricket audience.

Immersive experiences: Brands that give fans unforgettable memories of the World Cup by conducting live viewing events, virtual reality experiences, or interactive fan zones improve a great deal of fan engagement while enjoying the matches.

Using data and analytics, brands gain an understanding of fan behavior and preferences. That way, they will be able to effectively connect their campaigns to the right target audience.

Analysis in relation to social media interactions, fan feedback, and engagement metrics might also be helpful in understanding what resonates with the audience.

This data driven approach helps set appropriate goals for marketing in line with fan expectations and improves the overall effectiveness of campaigns.

Also Read: How to Sell Your Services to Millenial: To the Most Experienced Age Group of People.

Examples of Successful Brand Engagement:

Star Sports: The T20 World Cup 2024 began on June 2 with a total of 55 matches spanning around 29 days. The Star Sports broadcasted heavy highlights featuring iconic cricketers with the campaign named “The Grand stage”.

Source: medianewsfor4

Dream11: Dream11 took cricket fans' capacity to a greater level by creating a major sports fantasy platform where they allowed fans to bet on their favorite player. Along with the brand name printed on players’ jerseys and various other campaigns, in 2024 they stood out with one advertisement.

They created a successful campaign where a mother’s unconditional love and nurturing towards their children was shown in an emotional way, which touched the hearts of millions of fans, citing the campaign as #DreamBig.

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