Learn 10 Things as a Digital Marketer from IPL Cricket

IPL has now become an event of glamour and money. Yes, you are reading it right, we are talking about the Indian Premier League and it has come a long way since 2008, its first edition. Though from the beginning, this swashbuckling tournament has been surrounded by the top celebrities and corporate bosses of the country and poured in so much money that it has been successful in luring the best players of this gentleman’s game.

As the tournament leaped forward, its marketing strategy has been in line with modern technology. And as we all know that the king of marketing is undeniably digital marketing, digital marketers have a lot of points to learn from this marketing behemoth on how to grow and maintain such a large and mixed audience base. In this article, we are going to discuss IPL’s digital marketing tactics and how you can implement them in your digital marketing goal.

1) IPL’s perfect timing

As we notice that IPL’s each and every step is a marketing stunt. From its player auction to the glamorous inauguration ceremony, and the months of April and May, when no other major tournament takes place around the world, citizens cultivate their holiday moods students are relieved of their exam burdens. So, the timing of this mega event is perfect to engage the audience from all walks of life and with what they like.

Cricket is almost worshipped as a sporting God in India; any kind of cricketing event is watched and enjoyed with immense excitement. So, the IPL marketing strategists have chosen this time of the year. As a digital marketer, you need to study and understand what would be the perfect time for organizing a digital campaign. Any campaign targeting children would require a schedule when they are devoid of their exam burdens. So, in this field, perfect timing is a matter of significance.

2) Multiple brands joining hands

IPL is the powerhouse of all the leading brands. Almost all the teams are owned by big corporate houses and rich celebrities. So, in order to highlight it on a larger scale, big brands like HP, Nokia, Berger Paints, Asian Paints, Blue Star,  Crompton, Dollar, Ceat Tyres, Domino’s, Ford, Haier, Luminous, Pidilite, Sleep Well, Vanessa, etc are associated on a long-term basis. In a nutshell, 34 brands have participated in Vivo IPL 2018, and as a clear indication, we can assume that more big names are standing in a queue to be associated with this money-spinning machine.

So, this strategy has added more color to this tournament as people are enjoying while watching that their favorite game and players are directly associated with the brands they use.

Therefore, whenever you are getting associated with bigger names in the industry, your brand credibility increases and helps in driving your audience towards sales and conversions.

3) Great use of influencer marketing

The effect of influencer marketing cannot be denied in IPL’s mega-success. You might have noticed that almost all the teams are engaged in promoting Reliance Jio through different advertisements. Equivalently, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma is highlighting the CEAT brand. And more or less every player is engaged in some of the other influencer marketing campaigns.

Therefore, a digital marketer can learn how to use the influencer marketing techniques at the right time and at the right place so that the people will start following and engaging with your brand.

4) Behind the scenes live coverage

If you ever peep into the social media pages of IPL teams, you will notice live coverage of their behind the scene stories. Take the case of Kolkata Night Riders (KKR), they stream most of their activities through Facebook live, whether it is a stadium action or a hotel room fun. The followers get excited about seeing their favorite team and players on and off the field.

Also posting real-time images and eye-catching creative make the followers think and talk about the brand all the time. So as a digital marketer you have to capitalize on the fact that your audience is really fond of real-time photographs and videos.

5) Excellent Timing of the match

It is indeed very crucial to organize something according to the convenience of your audience if you want them to do something. And the live examples are IPL matches. All the matches held at 4 pm and at 8 pm so that it becomes convenient for all the audience either to be present at the venue, tune into their television, or stream through the internet. The timing is so convenient that by 8 pm all the professionals pack their office bags and people rarely have any outside compulsion.

Therefore it is quite necessary to think about the convenience of your audience. An odd time like 2 pm won’t drive your audience towards the stadium or television. As a digital marketer, you must analyze what should be the perfect time for your audience.  IPL is doing that almost perfectly.

6) Involvement of big movie stars

Of course, IPL is the symbol of glamour and entertainment. This is because most of the team owners are either owned or marketed by film stars. The owner of KKR is Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla. Similarly, Preity Zinta has a big stake in Kings Xi Punjab. Delhi Daredevils is promoted by Akshay Kumar and so on.

People do love to be engaged with such things where all the glamor walk the same road. So when you are adjoining your brand with some film stars, the popularity will soar quickly because people love seeing these stars with the brands they are fond of.

7) Proficient use of social media

Social media is playing a crucial role in all the IPL teams’ marketing strategy.  Almost all the teams have their own Twitter handle, Facebook page, Instagram page, and even YouTube channels in order to grow and maintain their presence all over the digital world. And they are uploading live pictures, videos, scores and also publish interesting blogs.in relation to their target audience.

What is more is that all the teams have their own website where they keep updating and informing about their fixtures, events, campaigns, and schedules. As an example, we can take the official site of the RCB’s where they have their schedules, blogs, merchandise, etc. The site also has an option for live chat.

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8) Trending hashtags on Twitter

The game of cricket and especially IPL is so popular that people keep talking about it all the time. The big sports sites like Cricbuzz and NDTV, they consciously keep posting about the players, their analysis, report of the pitch before the matches and the hashtags continue to trend on Twitter. Then as well, those who have connected with the IPL teams, trend their hashtags on Twitter. Let’s take the case of Nokia, the hashtag of #Nokia7Plus has trended on several occasions on Twitter.

So by studying this strategy, you must learn how to create a buzz about a particular event that you are going to formulate.

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9) Interacting with people

It is very important to have a connection with your audience. If you are not attaching with them and just marketing your product then it is of little use. And in this case, you must learn the tactics from the IPL teams, their way of engaging with their audience. The teams generally upload their content, mostly videos in multi-languages such as Hindi, Bengali, English, Marathi, Kannada, and Tamil.

That is because the teams and their home grounds are situated in different regions of the country. So if a KKR fan is listening to a commentary or the anchor is conversing in Bengali with the fans, then they will certainly connect with the team. So, analyze and learn the tricks that will help the audience connect with your brand more quickly.

10) Organizing various contests

Paytm usually run a contest to predict and win on a regular basis. All you have to do is to predict the winner, your right guess will earn you a cashback. Similarly, Vivo also runs a contest of winning free tickets by engaging thousands of users. So after involving 34 brands in IPL, every player is either directly or indirectly connected to some contests.

Being a digital marketer you must learn that organizing effective campaigns will not only engage the audience but will also help you in generating quality leads.

IPL is presently a great platform where a digital marketer can learn a lot of strategies. It is true that the tournament has grown to amass event and watched across several countries, and every time, the players get associated with this glamorous event come up with something unique to spread it more among the cricket frenzy crowds. So while you are diving into IPL the next time, make sure that you keep a close tab on their marketing tactics. It is truly an appropriate event for digital marketers to watch on.

Hence, if you are an aspirant in the field of Digital Marketing. and want to be an expert, feel free to contact or visit Internet Marketing School, and we will take care of the rest.