IPL answers lesser-known brands' distress calls

Vidhi Choudhary, writing for Mint, explains how the absence of marquee names in the IPL has paved the way for lesser-known brands to step in.

The franchise has attracted new brands like Prayag Bath Fittings and Tripfactory as official team sponsors; Arise India, ACC Ltd, Kingfisher and TK Sport have stayed on from the last season. "The election year too has weighed in heavy on the annual sporting league, diverting advertiser funds to associate with election-related programming," said Sathyamurthy Namakkal, president of DDB MudraMax Media, the media buying wing of advertising agency DDB Mudra. This has led to IPL re-working its strategy to get more brands in to play, albeit at lower price points.