Dream11 has a new campaign that marries cricket and Bollywood. With this campaign the fantasy sport company also onboards Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi as brand ambassadors. Storyboard18 talks to Vikrant Mudaliar, Chief Marketing Officer, Dream Sports about the ‘Three Idiots’ reunion, free streaming of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Jio Cinema, evolution of the brand and more.
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Tell us a bit about your new campaign Sab Khelenge. What is all about?
IPL season is a crucial time for us, as it garners the most user traction and engagement among our fantasy sports user base. In the past, Dream11 has had several successful campaigns during the IPL, and this year we’re ready with a brand new one. Every year, we strive to surpass our previous efforts and elevate the campaign’s impact.
There is a lot of excitement in the market about the new reach that JioCinema as a platform will provide thanks to its free streaming. Hopefully, this will benefit the overall sports viewership ecosystem.
This year, we’re taking a unique approach by combining cricketers and Bollywood celebrities in our advertising. It’s not a secret that cricket and Bollywood are two of the most prominent cultural phenomena in the country, and we’re tapping into this trend to expand our reach and attract new users. Along with our cricketers, the campaign will feature Bollywood stars Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi.
The campaign aims to showcase the fun and banter that happens when cricketers meet Bollywood superstars and how Dream11 is the perfect platform for fans to indulge in their passion for cricket. Our campaign’s theme is centered around inclusivity and welcoming new fans, highlighting that cricket is a universal sport and Dream11 is an enabler for fans to join in on the excitement.
Could you also shed some light on how you plan to use these stars for your campaigns? Will their usage be limited to just the IPL season, or do you have plans to leverage them for other Dream11 campaigns as well?
Dream11 has a portfolio of almost 20-25 cricketers that we use in our advertising campaigns throughout the year. However, during the IPL season, the scale and decibel levels of our campaigns are much higher, and we use multiple creatives across different mediums. This year, we’re using Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, and Sharman Joshi in our IPL campaign, and we’re hoping for its success.
While we’re open to the possibility of working with them in future campaigns, currently, our focus is on launching the IPL campaign and gauging its response. Once that’s done, we’ll evaluate our plans for the rest of the year accordingly.
What are your expectations from IPL 2023? Given that this year, we have free streaming on JioCinema, how does it help brands in amplifying visibility?
Dream11 has a very symbiotic relationship with cricket and sports in general. As the leading fantasy sports brand in the country, we help turn passive sports fans into active ones. We have several touchpoints and associations with IPL, including being an official partner with BCCI for IPL and powering the official fantasy league for the BCCI. We’ve also partnered with six to seven IPL teams, and then we run several campaigns around the league like our recent one. We expect that this will probably be one of the biggest IPLs that we’ve seen. The Women’s Premier League added to the momentum and the excitement level of it all.
As for free streaming on JioCinema, we believe that it will help expand the viewership for the tournament. We will likely partner with both platforms, as anything that helps us get incremental reach and engage with existing users is a good choice for us. There is a lot of excitement in the market about the new reach that JioCinema as a platform will provide thanks to its free streaming. Hopefully, this will benefit the overall sports viewership ecosystem.
The gaming industry in India has reached an inflection point in terms of growth potential. There are enough data points indicating that the industry could be worth close to $20 billion by 2030, up from the current $3-4 billion.
You’ve come a long way since you started. Tell us a little about the evolution of the brand and where you are headed?
Dream11 has indeed come a long way since its inception. With over 160 million users, it is not only India’s but also the world’s largest fantasy sports platform. Five to six years ago, this user base was just a fraction of what it is today, and every year, we have seen significant growth, not just in terms of the number of users but also actively engaged users across 12-13 different sports, in addition to cricket.
The product and user experience of Dream11 have evolved over the years and are far more sophisticated and engaging for users. There is growing awareness about how fantasy sports can add an additional layer of excitement and engagement to sports, turning passive sports fans into active sports fans. This has gained significant traction across the nation and is no longer just an urban phenomenon. The user base has spread across tier two, tier three, and tier four towns, making it a well-penetrated brand.
Dream11’s association with sports leagues and event organizers has been mutually beneficial. Our engagement with fans has had an indirect impact on increasing viewership and engagement for these tournaments. Moving forward, Dream11 will continue to focus on providing an engaging and exciting experience for users and expand its reach across more sports and towns.
Help us understand your perspective on content, and how do marketers such as yourself leverage content to amplify reach and engagement with your target audience?
From the early days of content creation, with the traditional 32-second TV commercials, to now; content and branded content have evolved into various shapes and forms. While there is still a role for TV commercials, they have been modified and repurposed for digital platforms. Social media has played a significant role in the rise of bite-sized content that engages with brands on different platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We have also transitioned from static digital advertising to video-based advertising, which accounts for 50-70 percent of our digital advertising.
Customizing content to suit digital audiences is crucial, and duration is key. Personalizing content for television, performance advertising, and branded content for social media requires significant effort to achieve optimal engagement. Content does not just mean advertising or brand content, but also the content we have on our products or apps. For example, our app features live scores, commentary, stats, and a leaderboard. If someone were to use our app today compared to four years ago, they would notice the richness of content and engagement.
We believe in marrying product content with brand content to provide more personalized and customized content. Advertising content has evolved in recent years, and we anticipate further personalization and customization in the future.
We aim to expand fantasy sports adoption beyond cricket, which has naturally been the driver of fantasy sports. We will explore other sports such as football, kabaddi, volleyball, and more to see how they can gain traction as well.
Lastly, what is your outlook for 2023 in the robust gaming space that we have in India at the moment? What are the top three focus areas for Dream11 this fiscal?
Industry reports suggest that the gaming industry in India has reached an inflection point in terms of growth potential. There are enough data points indicating that the industry could be worth close to $20 billion by 2030, up from the current $3-4 billion. It’s great to see that different sub-segments within gaming, such as fantasy sports, web three gaming, mid-core gaming, mobile gaming, console gaming, and eSports are evolving. Dream11 operates in fantasy sports, and while we might have a role to play in other sub-segments, we are optimistic about the overall gaming ecosystem.
Our priorities are to continue to attract and engage with users. We currently have over 160 million users on our platform, and we would like to stretch that number by attracting new audiences to fantasy sports, especially relevant to our current campaign. Our focus is also on enhancing user experience through cutting-edge product features and continuous innovations. Additionally, we aim to expand fantasy sports adoption beyond cricket, which has naturally been the driver of fantasy sports. We will explore other sports such as football, kabaddi, volleyball, and more to see how they can gain traction as well.