IPL 2010, TVR grew by 12%: MEC Study

The IPL phenomenon has caught on like forest fire. This year's edition of the IPL enjoyed more viewership; the reasons for that can be many ' IPL returning to India or better performances by teams. MEC ' one of the world's leading media agency networks ' has come out with a comprehensive study about the IPL 3.

According to the study, two-third of the consumers said they watched more of IPL in Season 3. IPL coming back to India was the biggest reason to watch more, followed by better performance of teams. More of celebrity coverage, better performance of home teams and closer competition compared to previous years were observed as other key reasons.

Women believed that they did not miss out on their favourite shows. So shows like Bandini or Choti Bahu or whatever did not lose their focus group of audience because of IPL. Men, on the other hand thought they spent more time watching television than they normally would, owing to IPL. Almost 58 percent of men said that they spent more time watching IPL in comparison to only 35 percent women who felt the same. Interestingly, as high as 52 percent women believed that they spent more time watching IPL as well as other shows.

Because the IPL 3 enjoyed more viewership than IPL 2, the overall average TVR grew by 12 percent vis-à-vis Season 2 but was five percent lower than IPL Season 1. The ratings of the semi final match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers and the final were the highest in this season. An overall average of 5.4 TVR was recorded in the IPL 3 as against 4.8 and 5.7 for season 1 and 2 respectively.

The ratings for the semi final and the final match mentioned above were the highest of all three seasons. The semi final (MI vs RC) enjoyed a TVR of 8.3 while the final match had a TVR of 12.4. The ratings for the final matches of season one and two stood at 11.6 and 10.8 respectively. The IPL 3 also enjoyed faster reach build up initially compared to earlier seasons.

As far as brand marketing is concerned, DLF and Vodafone were the top gainers, benefiting from the best recall value, pre and post IPL 3. DLF was Top of Mind while Vodafone was the most recalled brand. Among other brands that were high on recall, Videocon, Aircel, Samsung and LG gained the most. Maxx, Spice, ICICI and Whirlpool catapulted from zero to 22-29% recall.

Samsung, LG, Pepsi and Nokia are the brands that gained a lift in awareness over two IPL seasons. DLF and Vodafone were high on Ground association too. Vodafone had the highest On Air association, followed by Nokia and LG. Brands like Kingfisher, Nokia, Hero Honda and Aircel who were activated On Ground as well as On Air, benefitted the most.

Interestingly, in the cluttered Mobile handset category, three brands, namely, Maxx, Micromax and Karbonn, used IPL as their launch platform, but only Maxx was recalled by consumers.

KKR-Nokia and CSK-Aircel are the strongest Brand-Team associations. Delhi Daredevils-Hero Honda ranked in third while Royal Challengers-Kingfisher placed fourth. Kings XI Punjab-Fly Emirates and Deccan Chargers-Decan Chronicle were the ones to bring up the bottom.

As high as 64 percent consumers recalled brand association between KKR-Nokia while half of the entire population that was reached out to could recall CSK-Aircel association. Expectedly, as in the previous case, DD-Hero Honda made for the third most recalled association.

There was a clear shift in support of the winning teams, pre and post IPL 3. Mumbai Indians gained a massive shift. They were sitting with a figure of 17 percent pre IPL 3 that has risen to 34 percent post IPL 3. Similarly, CSK and RC have also enjoyed a marginal gain in their post IPL 3 ratings.

Favourite player and Home team continue to be reasons to Team support. The winners of IPL 3 are the favourites for IPL 4 with Mumbai enjoying the most support. Sachin Tendulkar's brilliant show in this year's IPL series has made him one of the most valued players. His popularity too has risen dramatically.

A radical shift happened in the popularity of foreign players too. Pre IPL 3, Ponting, Gilchrist and Jayasurya were touted as the most valuable foreign players but post IPL 3, Pollard, Kallis and Shane Warne climbed the popularity ladder comprehensively.

About 87 percent of consumers believe that IPL will get more interesting as the seasons progress and 51 percent think it will be the tough competition between teams that will make it even more enjoyable while 22 percent were of the view that adding more franchises will be a key reason.

With the IPL, theatres took the plunge of beaming the matches on the big screen. But it did not really work out that well. Over 90 percent of consumers watched IPL at home while about 16 percent said they went to a friend's place. Five percent watched the matches in the stadiums while restaurants, pubs, YouTube and movie halls all managed one percent of the share each.

Shubha George, Chief Operating Officer, MEC South Asia says, "We at MEC always expounded that activating the sponsorships right will provide the most efficient results. This has been proven right in research. The top 2 brands in terms of the most efficient recall to investment are Kingfisher and Nokia. Neither of these brands were the top on they ranked # 47 and # 40 in terms of number of spots on TV. But, because of their right mix of team associations, activations to go along with TV advertising, they have come out winners."

George adds, "If I were Vodafone, I will start thinking hard about IPL4. Theirs is a classic case of highest recall, but hitting a plateau. There is a clear need to relook at on-air / on-ground / team mix for such high recall brands as Vodafone. same will prove inefficient in Season 4".