Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

Coke lovers sad so far due to their cold shoulder to the ever popular sport of cricket for nearly a decade - now decides to be the on-air associate sponsor of IPL.

“We
have seen that the test and one-day formats have seen a downfall in
partnership over the past. However, the 20:20 format has grown very
big,” said Venkatesh Kini, Marketing-Head, Coca Cola India.

This grants Coca Cola category-wide exclusivity through out the live broadcast of the 44 day event beginning April 18.

Being
one of the four associate sponsors, Coke will pay between Rs 16-20
crore for the series which is at a much lower rate than other
individual slot payers.

Main
sponsors, Vodafone and Hyundai, are paying between Rs 22-26 crore each.
So, while the sponsors could be buying slots at around Rs 1.75 lakh per
slot, individual advertisers will be paying rates as high as Rs 3.25
lakh per slot.

Coke’s
rival Pepsi will not be able to secure any commercial time during the
IPL matches since Coke is the exclusive beverage partner.

According
to experts, Coca Cola could develop a campaign solely dedicated to the
IPL bigger than what Pepsi did in the Blue Billion campaign. It will
also go big on merchandising.

Also since the game will be played out during the peak summer season, Coke will give each of its brands more screen space - NDTV- Profit adds.