No startups
These modern businesses are skipping this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) sponsorship due to the lengthy financial winter that exists for startups. Many consumer internet firms and corporations, who have been significant sponsors and marketers of the IPL over the last few years, are reportedly skipping this year’s competition, according to a report in the Economic Times (ET). This occurs at a time when there is a global technology sector reset and a purported financial constraint.
edtech giants Byju’s and Unacademy, online payments business PhonePe, subscription service Amazon Prime, healthcare startup Pristyn Care, rapid commerce provider Zepto, finance Niyo, and music streaming company Spotify are among the well-known brands that are apparently avoiding this IPL 2023.
The report also states that certain renowned digital businesses, like SoftBank portfolio companies Meesho and online used car marketplace Cars24, who in the past sponsored particular teams, have also chosen to forego the IPL this year.
Intriguingly, in a tweet from July 2022, Unacademy cofounder and CEO Gaurav Munjal referred to the IPL as one of the finest platforms for brand growth while also announcing that the firm will skip the next IPL. “The last three IPL seasons were incredible. Our brand reached a new height.
I suggest that all future brands collaborate with the IPL. Our attention has shifted. Therefore, it was decided to skip the IPL in 2013.Another angle on this is that the unrest in the edtech industry actually began last year.
Organizations that have joined
Ather Energy, a manufacturer of electric two-wheelers, is rumoured to keep working with the Gujarat Titans of the IPL. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has accepted just a small number of startups as official IPL partners.
These include Swiggy Instamart, Dream11, Cred, and Upstox. According to the article, which cited sources, several new economy businesses are still negotiating spot advertising contracts with broadcasting and streaming platforms rather than committing to become long-term sponsors.
The article claims that Disney has signed up eleven sponsors and about 60 spot ads. Dream11, Airtel, Asian Paints, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Tata Group, Swiggy, Mondelez, and Vivo are some of the sponsors. Contrarily, Viacom18 reportedly has advertisers like Dream11, Parle Agro, ET Money, TVS, Puma, Mondelez, ITC, PepsiCo, Kamla Pasand, Castrol, and UltraTech Cement on board.