With the festival of colours, Holi, just around the corner and the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting today, there is no better occasion for brands to reconnect with their existing customers and build a potential pipeline of new ones.

With the months-long cricketing action set to begin today, a host of brands, including startups, are set to leverage their partnerships with the tournament to the fullest.

While the IPL 2023 saw the number of startups partnering with teams decline to 19 from 29 in 2022, owing to a harsh funding winter and profitability concerns, the startup participation in this year’s cricket jamboree is breaking all records.

This is also being seen as a sign of an improving funding environment in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. To be sure, with startups ramping up marketing spending, the number of startups partnering with IPL teams this year has increased 68% year-on-year to 32.

With the number of sponsors, especially startups, touching a new high, here’s Inc42’s deep dive into Indian startups’ bid to cash in on the cricketing fervour this year.

Startups Secure Key Sponsorship Deals This Year

With the IPL garnering big viewership numbers on both TV broadcast as well as OTT streaming, startups seem to be choosing the advertising medium based on their target audience.

While Dream11 will be co-presenting the mega event on Start Sports, which is the official TV broadcaster for the IPL, streaming platform JioCinema has roped in startups like CRED, Upstox, and Rapido as associate sponsors.

In terms of teams, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru seem to be startups’ favourites. Both teams have partnered with at least 10 startups each this year.

Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants, Kolkata Knight Riders, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad have tied up with four startups each, while Chennai Super Kings has received the lowest startup interest with only two partnerships.

No GST Blues For Dream11 & My11Circle?

The IPL has traditionally been the biggest event every year for fantasy gaming startups, however, the imposition of 28% GST on real-money gaming has hit real-money gaming startups in the sector hard. Consequently, only three such startups are participating in the T20 league this year.

Interestingly, amid this, gaming unicorn Dream11 has upped its bet on the league this year by partnering with eight teams – Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals – in various capacities.

Besides, Dream11-backed Rario and Dream Sports’ subsidiary FanCode have also inked several partnerships. While FanCode’s logo will be seen on the clothes of five IPL teams, Rario is backing Royal Challengers Bengaluru this year. This takes the total sponsorships from the Dream11 camp to 14.

Meanwhile, Dream11’s competitor My11Circle outbid it to become the official partner for the IPL for the next five years. The new fantasy sports official partner was announced yesterday by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the IPL governing council on March 20. The Games 24×7 subsidiary is also a sponsor of Lucknow Super Giants.

Moving on, Vision11 is sponsoring Chennai Super Kings in the event this year. With this, the Surat-based startup has marked its maiden partnership.

Meanwhile, haunted by the GST nightmare, startups like Mobile Premier League, MyFab11, Ballebaazi won’t be making an appearance in the league this year.

Bira, boAt, FanCraze Lay Low

Last year’s co-leader FanCode slipped to the second spot in terms of number of partnerships with IPL teams this year. However, it has retained last year’s partnership numbers. The OTT platform is sponsoring six teams – Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Sunrisers Hyderabad – this year.

Alcoholic beverages startup Bira 91 has marked a 40% decrease in its sponsorships this year to three. Similarly, NFT startup FanCraze has also reduced its team partnerships from last year’s four to only backing Delhi Capitals as their official sponsor this year.

On the other hand, boAt, which markets itself heavily during the matches in the T20 league, has partnered with only Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru this year. It has been gradually reducing its investment in the IPL over the last few years. Last year, it teamed up with just three teams, compared to the four teams it partnered in 2022 and six teams in 2021.

D2C Brands Steal The Limelight

Broadly, sponsorship trends are being dominated by brands........

© Inc42