IPL advertising: Wafer-chips segment tops list of new category products; e-commerce firms continue domination

It can be termed as the ‘COVID-19 effect’ as none of the companies in the travel and tourism space or firms manufacturing fans and refrigerators are airing their products during the live broadcast of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on the Star network.

According to media research firm TAM, in the first 25 matches, wafer-chips was the top new category followed by pharma/healthcare (e-commerce), furniture items, noodles/pasta and shaving products.

Oppo continues to spend heavily and top the charts of advertisers, followed by Sporta Technologies and Vi.

In this year's broadcast, the number of advertisers and brands grew by 16 percent and 7 percent, respectively while 30 new categories have jumped on to the IPL brand-wagon.

Lloyd Mathias, business strategist and angel investor, feels there could be a small upward surge in advertising volumes as the tournament moves into the final stages.

“The momentum is likely to continue and there could be a surge in ad volumes,” he told Moneycontrol.

Among the product categories missing from this year’s broadcast are travel and tourism (e-commerce), fan, refrigerator, toothpaste and retail outlets.

Mathias feels the tournament being held in the September-November period is the reason why fan and refrigerator companies have stayed away while the COVID-19 impact has weighed heavily on the remaining categories.

“Traditionally, IPL takes place in peak summer months. That is the reason why they have stayed away this time. For travel and retail outlets, they have been badly hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. Regards to toothpaste, I think that category has been replaced by the online education players. The spend by wafers/chips brands can also be attributed to the fact that they want to capitalise on the fact that families are now watching the matches together. Their ad spending during the tournament makes sense,” he said.