Thread by @KShriniwasRao

#Thread on #IPL franchise sponsorships.
Let's start with MI’s newest deal.

Bangalore-based fin-tech company ‘Slice’ – an app-based credit card challenger – has come on board as Mumbai Indians’ main jersey sponsor. Deal is being spoken of as highest in IPL's 15-yr history. (1/25)

Mumbai Indians have not shared the numbers in their press release but that’s not stopping the market from talking about it. The Slice deal is said to be close to Rs 100 cr for the next three years, which means Rs 30+ crore per IPL season, starting 2022. (2/25)

At the numbers I’m mentioning, the deal earns Mumbai Indians annual sponsorship revenues in excess of Rs 100 cr per season. And, further I’m told, there are bonus clauses in the sponsorship contract if the team wins. (3/25)

Chennai Super Kings are second. They’ve signed up with TVS as their main jersey sponsor for a deal that’s somewhere between Rs 70 and 75 crore in next three years. Last year, online apparel company Myntra had paid CSK around Rs 20 cr for a one-season deal. (4/25)

Royal Challengers Bangalore, with a deal of around Rs 55 cr (3 years) with Muthoot Group for main jersey, is the third in the list. Kolkata Knight Riders have an approx. Rs 45-plus cr deal with MPL. Sunrisers & Rajasthan Royals are selling in the market as we speak. (5/25)

These are the numbers being recorded after 14 years of IPL and the success a franchise has achieved on the field, the city they’re based out of, the brand they’ve gone on to become and the players who have represented these teams – have all added to these rising revenues. (6/25)

RCB, in fact, is a rarity. For a franchise that has consistently failed to grab the trophy year-after-year, them being third in the list is an immediate reflection of how valuable ‘Brand-Virat Kohli’ has been to the franchise. The city of Bangalore too adds to that charm. (7/25)

RCB is also a rarity given how they benefit massively from surrogate advertising & are uniquely positioned in this space. Diageo, company that owns RCB, is in business of liquor. You can’t advertise liquor in India. So, what’s the next best option? Wear a McDowell cap! : ) (8/25)

In 2008, when the IPL had just begun, top jersey sponsorships used to be in the range of Rs 12 to 14 cr. Franchise owners were paying their 10-year instalments to the BCCI and they simply bled money until things began to change post 2013-14. Things have come a long way. (9/25)

How did things begin to change? Spending in sport got higher, franchises built teams & sponsors wanted to engage with teams for brand activation. Companies invested because it got them access to players, access to tickets. The last 10 yrs also saw business of sport bloom. (10/25)

Market trends began to change too. E-commerce stepped in and consumer habits began to change. Gradually, OTT jumped in too. Sport remained the emotion it is, but corporate sentiments began to seep in too, as has been the global trend. (11/25)

Let’s look at these examples: If a company says West Bengal is the market they’re looking at for their business to expand, they’re bound to go all out to sponsor KKR. The attributes of a franchise are most important. Take Chennai for example. (12/25)

The brand, to a huge extent, revolves around MS Dhoni, their ‘Thala’. Such is the man’s popularity in the state and region that they worship him along the same lines as their quintessential movie stars – and mind it, that’s a very, very big deal! (13/25)

What revenues CSK generates after ‘Thala’ retires will be the franchise’s big challenge in IPL. In fact, numbers MSD generates is also a big reason why he’s not called it a day yet. What he delivers off the field is as big as what he’s delivered on it. (14/25)

While CSK has benefitted largely due to the region-based, fan-centric ecosystem, Mumbai Indians opted for a more pan-India, cosmopolitan approach in their initial years, also probably because of the city they’re based out. And they continue to do it. (15/25)

A global-cosmopolitan that Mumbai is, it not only caters to Maharashtrian sentiments that’s prevail strongly but because much of corporate India functions from the city, it has involuntarily catered to brand MI. The franchise is a white paper already in sports marketing. (16/25)

Remember, despite the popularity of the movie industries in Mumbai and Chennai, neither MI nor CSK have consciously stayed away from any of these ecosystems to build their popularity charts. Why? Because they’ve steadfastly looked at cricket alone as the benchmark. (17/25)

Close to 30% of the reason why these top franchises have managed to raise the stakes so high is because of the cricket they’ve played on the field, and the success they’ve achieved. Another 25% is because of the brand they’ve built. And none of this has been overnight. (18/25)

Rest is all result of fan engagement; cricketing sentiments in the city or in region-based markets they’ve dealt with for their businesses; popularity of players on and off the field; infrastructure available; etc. Some franchises still struggle on some of these fronts. (19/25)

In one of my previous threads on Shahrukh Khan, I had mentioned how the superstar once told me – eventually cricket alone will have to drive the franchise. That’s how things are playing out today. It was merely the man’s genius that he saw it back then. (20/25)

These are some core areas a franchise must look at if it is struggling on or off the field to make its mark. Cricketing success alone is a major driving force. Second to it is the kind fan-engagement a franchise is adhering to. A team has to make its fan feel invested. (21/25)

There’s a reason why Mumbai Indians are so successful, other than just the cricket they play and ecosystem they’ve built. How they’ve kept away from controversies, invested in home-grown players, team-bonding, stood for their players – all of this has served purpose. (22/25)

Are all franchises doing that? Lack of success on field, controversies off it, poor selections, lack of engagement with media – could be eating into the resources due to which teams haven’t been able to raise the bar. How a team approaches its season tells half the story. (23/25)

The two new franchises that have come in, have the benefit of hindsight. They will be in a position to learn from Day One what the other eight franchises began learning 15 years ago. If they don’t really get going from the beginning, they’ll only have themselves to blame. (24/25)

There's a reason why Lalit Modi wore nothing less than an Armani or a Gucci. Because, if IPL had to look larger than life, rich in the context it was being marketed, truly global -- the man selling it would have to look the part.
You be what you want your product to be. (25/25)