With over 200 advertisers on IPL – digital, the AdEx focus has reached unprecedented heights, ensuring a diverse presence of brands with varying investment levels. The question arises: are these advertisers reaping the rewards of their digital ad campaigns? This season, the reach has skyrocketed on Connected TV and web platforms, resulting in promising returns on investment. What has helped massively is the transition to free streaming of the IPL.
It has proven to be a win-win situation for advertisers and viewers, with extended reach and accessibility.
In an interview with Storyboard18, Navin Lalchandani, SVP, Starcom India, delves into digital advertising during the IPL season and what it means for advertisers.
Excerpts:
What has been the focus of digital AdEx during this IPL season?
There are a total of 200 advertisers on IPL – digital, which indicates a significant amount of AdEx as the brands with lesser investments can also be present on IPL.
Are advertisers seeing a good return on investment from their digital ad campaigns during the IPL?
Reach is significantly high on CTV and the web as compared to last year as streaming is free to everyone. Higher the reach, the better the returns.
Have you seen a reduction in wastage of ad spend on digital platforms during the IPL?
Digital helps in sharp targeting and gives scale to brands which, in turn, reduces the wastage of reaching out to not-so-important markets, and brands with lesser investments can be present on IPL to target a few key markets.
Has the move towards free streaming of the IPL benefited both advertisers and viewers?
Free streaming has benefited the viewers, especially in metros and advertisers because it helped in reaching out to a larger set of audiences.
Do you believe that linear TV will remain as relevant in the coming years as it has been in the past for IPL viewership?
Linear TV will continue to grow in the coming years as reach is the highest and TV will continue to grow with data dark areas getting access to TV over a period.
Finally, where do you personally prefer to watch the IPL, on linear TV or through digital streaming platforms?
I enjoyed a balanced IPL viewing experience, switching between CTV and linear TV for the ultimate match-watching satisfaction.