After two years of low-key celebrations, consumers are looking forward to celebrating the festive season like pre-Covid times. With malls and markets operating in full swing, shoppers are eager to start their festive shopping and celebrate Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Navaratri, Durga Puja, Diwali, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve with the same fanfare forever associated with these festivals, and brands couldn’t be happier.
As per a recent market study, advertisers have allocated a big chunk of their advertising budget to target eager buyers. Digital video consumption (OTT platforms) has grown manifolds over the past few years, and advertisers are also parking bigger chunks of their budgets on digital video marketing.
This year, a massive lineup of cricket coincides with the approaching festivities handing brands a golden ticket to target avid viewers with their marketing messaging. Starting 27th Aug to 11th Sept 2022 are thirteen T20 Asia Cup matches, with the most anticipated match of the season being the India Pakistan face-off with the possibility of three gripping clashes expected to grab eyeballs like never before. So, it’s not surprising that the viewership for the forthcoming Asia Cup is expected to be at its peak, making these series a lucrative investment for advertisers.
Right after the Asia Cup, we have the Australia and South Africa tour of India followed by the highly anticipated T20 World Cup with 47 matches from 16th Oct to 13th Nov 2022.
The features for Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup on Disney+ Hotstar are getting sold out already, and the rest of the inventory is selling fast.
According to Disney+ Hotstar’s Brand Lift studies, having a multi-tournament presence helps brands associating with different sports properties see a 3X growth in key metrics such as ad awareness, message association and purchase intent.* And this year’s cricket lineup will enable brands to make the most of their campaigns during the festive season with a continuous presence strategy.
Over a hundred advertisers are expected to be active across these tournaments, with Disney+ Hotstar providing access to the most premium, urban audiences on live sports. Advertisers also have custom targeting options across multiple unique and creative ad formats for maximum engagement and visibility amongst relative target groups.
Brands have no dearth of choices to play their ads, be it mid and pre-rolls, features such as Super 6s and 4s, fall of wickets, the man of the match, etc., leverage the LIVE squeeze-ups such as team and opening batsmen walking in, custom squeeze ups for captains/players on screen, extras, 3rd umpire decision, specific overs, etc.
That’s not all. Brands can create customized branded moments for gripping in-match moments and more. For large-scale visibility, they can leverage billboards, branded pages, and splash screens. Brands can also integrate into the social feed with branded emojis, hotshots and video duets. While all these choices are available for a LIVE game, there is also VOD (Video On Demand) content for Super 6s, Super 4s, as well as content exclusively created for brands which is hosted by our in-house anchors to drive brand associations and maximize impact.
Sports advertising has evolved drastically, and to garner deeper engagement, brands are looking at innovative ways to connect with their audience via sports marketing. Online streaming is now a focus more than ever, and brands have made it a part of their marketing mix. It’s here that Disney+ Hotstar’s CreativeWorks team assist brands in creating bespoke content to narrate their brand stories coherently and create a special bond with their viewers.
With the race to the Asia Cup heating up, advertisers who still haven’t booked their ad spots must act fast before all the inventory gets sold out.
*Source: D+H BLS Studies | Series included in study are IND vs SA 2021-22, IND vs SL, 2022 and IND vs WI, 2022
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