- Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Brands that are going for airtime during the mega tournament are Coca-Cola Co., Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay and Unilever Plc’s India unit Hindustan Unilever Ltd., among others.
By: Shubham Ghosh
WHEN the planet’s most populous nation hosts the World Cup of cricket, a game that sparks extreme passion in south Asia and beyond, how can business minds stay far behind?
According to a Bloomberg report, companies from across the globe are spending millions of dollars to ensure their visibility during the marquee event in India between October 5 and November 19.
The month-and-half-long tenure guarantees sponsors a sustained viewership in millions from across the world. While the cricketers playing the matches target the game’s highest trophy, the companies are going after the consumers in a country of 1.4 billion people, Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at India’s Bank of Baroda, told Bloomberg.
Brands are expected to spend about Rs 2,000 crore in advertisement spots on streaming platforms during the matches in the World Cup, Jehil Thakkar, a partner at Deloitte India, told the news outlet. A 10-second advertising slot during the games can be as expensive as Rs 30 lakh (£29,702), which is 40 per cent more compared to the previous World Cup played four years ago, he added.
Cricket, the most popular sport in India, attracts over $1.5 billion (£1.23 billion) in sponsorship and media spend a year, research from Jefferies said.
“Cricket has less fanfare globally as compared to other sports like soccer,” Sabnavis was quoted as saying by Bloomberg, He added, “but the kind of frenzy you witness in India around cricket is not present elsewhere.”
While the brands that are going for airtime during the World Cup include names such as Coca-Cola Co., Alphabet Inc.’s Google Pay and Unilever Plc’s India unit Hindustan Unilever Ltd., the International Cricket Council’s official partners includes the likes of Saudi Aramco, Emirates and Nissan Motor Co.
“The Cricket World Cup is the biggest sporting event of the year for fans across the country,” Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode, the ICC’s official retail partner in India for the event, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
“No other sports tournament captures the hearts and minds of Indian fans like a World Cup. That’s why you see brands and companies making a beeline to be associated with the tournament.”
Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, told BQ Prime that after the results of two preceding tournaments this year — the Indian Premier League and Asia Cup — it is clear that the game is a big reach builder in India.
India’s No.1 automaker has been associated with the World Cup on both television and over-the-top platforms.
