The 'Mobile' Indian Cricket Carnival

BCCI President Shashank Manohar

The annual Indian Cricket Fiesta aka the IPL now has a new sponsor in the form of Vivo Electronics Corp, the premium smartphone manufacturer from China. What had once started as the DLF IPL 8 summers ago has come a long way and will now be known as the Vivo IPL. From real estate to smartphones via soft drinks!

BCCI seem to be quite happy with this new association and that was evident from the words of Mr. Rajiv Shukla, the Chairman of IPL who was quoted saying, “We are delighted to have vivo joining us as the title sponsor for IPL for next two years.

“IPL will now be called ‘Vivo IPL.’ They are one of the most innovative smartphone brands in the world and I am sure they will bring fresh energy to IPL.”

Whether the new sponsors bring fresh energy to the tournament remains to be seen but what is more insteresting is the fact that a smartphone company, which entered the Indian market barely one year ago (December, 2014) has decided to invest such a huge sum of money in the IPL.

Right from its inception back in 2008, IPL has been more of a money minting machine than a blessing for the sport. The latest sponsorship deal merely confirms the fact!

Vivo has overtaken Samsung in the Chinese market in terms of market share by the end of the third quarter in 2015. It now boasts of an 8.1% market share and has become the fourth largest smartphone seller in the country, one place above Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker.

Having entered the Indian market in December 2014, Vivo has captured nearly 2% volume share of the market already. With the signing of this new deal, it is quite clear that the Chinese smartphone major is ready to ‘slog’ it out to establish the brand in India, probably the world largest market!

Studies indicate that by the end of this decade, India will have about 1.4 billion smartphone users and in a situation like this it is only natural that Vivo would like to foray into the Indian market.

In this case, Vivo authorities have very wisely chosen the most ‘celebrated’ sport of the nation and its most ‘exciting & young’ format as their tool for brand communication. This deal will indeed give ‘brand’ Vivo a firm footing in the minds of the target customers.

Over the years, cricket in India has always attracted advertisers to invest in various sponsorship deals. Given the nationwide acceptance that cricket and cricketers command, endorsements keep on flowing in numbers.

The benefits that the advertisers have reaped over the years by investing in cricket and criketers in the country is immense and so the big brands have always tried to have long term relationship with the BCCI.

So it would be foolish to assume that Vivo has entered into this deal for the betterment of the game, instead once again the IPL has been used as an instrument to mint money and garner new markets.

So even if the Cricket purists keep complaining about the 20 over format and its most popular tournament, to the business community, IPL will always remain a darling!