As India takes on Australia, brands are paying up to Rs 25 lakh for a 10-second advertisement slot on television to be associated with the country’s favourite sport.
If India wins, the rates for the limited last-minute ad slots for the Sunday finals against New Zealand are expected to jump further. The spot rates that broadcaster Star India has been able to command for the India-Australia tie match what it charged during the India-Pakistan game.
Spot rates are usually the price of last-minute ad purchases. It contrasts with sponsorships, which indicate well-thought out marketing spends by brands for an entire tournament.
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World Cup matches have seen TV Ratings of 12-13 and the semi-final clash is expected to certainly be in the higher teens. “There has been a big upside to clients advertising in the cricket World Cup 2015,’’ said Vanita Keswani, COO, Madison Media Sigma. She said, “It is not very often that clients experience double-digit TV ratings.’’
According to media planners, the spot rates for some of less competitive matches involving India were about Rs.4.50 lakh for a 10-second slot. For the T20 world cup last year, the rates started at Rs.3.75 lakh, and shot up by 15-20 per cent as India entered the final.
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Intricate ad rates
For this World Cup, Star India has offered multiple formats (including high-definition TV) and even local-language feeds. The structure of ad rates is, therefore, quite intricate.
This tournament has seen a mix of the traditional big league advertisers such as Bharti Airtel and Maruti and the new emerging brands such as Quickr and YepMe.
Kartik Sharma, Managing Director, Maxus-South Asia, a part of India’s largest media buying company GroupM, said 9-10 large advertisers entered the fray in the quarter-final stage. “Advertisers take decisions in consultation with agencies for a full-year plan. Today, cricket is an almost year-long phenomenon with an average of 180-200 days of cricket per year. ’’
Advertising rates are a subject of negotiation between media buyers and the broadcaster. “The jump in rates would not affect those who have taken it as a package. Usually Star would have slots to in take last minute spots where premiums can really shot,” said another media planner.