This is the first time that Dabur has become a sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) on television, said Rajiv Dubey, Head of Media, Dabur, while asserting that such pan-India sports events fetch mass audiences for a brand and a new set of consumers but it comes at a huge cost. Below are the excerpts from the interaction:

How is this season of IPL going for a brand like Dabur, which is of such a significant stature?

It's going very well. We started slightly late in April because the first few matches were in the last financial year. It's been good because IPL opened up pretty well, with a rating of 7.7, which is like never before.

The ratings have been higher in number in terms of the first 18 matches. They have given an average of 13% higher numbers than last year at the all-India level. There has been consistent growth in terms of viewership, especially on TV.

Even in the digital ecosystem, there has been a significant increase because it's available for free. So, overall, as a sport, it does very well for a brand like Dabur.

We have to recruit new consumers, for which digital is a very good medium to be in because otherwise, we keep exposing our advertising to the same set of consumers. What IPL does is it gives us a different set of consumers altogether.

What are your expectations in terms of visibility and brand awareness during this season of IPL?

The only expectation and primary objective for a company like ours is to generate more sales and generate more business for our brands. Ultimately, reaching out to new audiences and something which has a pan-India appeal, this kind of event would generate potentially more business.

For all our summer brands, which are active in these months, the likes of Real Juice and Cool King hair oil, it matters a lot to be in this kind of event (IPL). So, it works very well for us.

Since you have advertised with both, TV and digital, can you elaborate on the kind of viewership you are looking at?

We had a slow start in digital, which will pick up in the coming weeks. But we are there in both. Digital is for sharper targeting and focuses on a kind of city and an audience set.

TV is pan-India. We have done different versions of our advertising for different regions. For example, in the South we have Vatika and in the North, we have Red Toothpaste or Real Juice. 

What distinct advantage do you think IPL brings to CPG brands?

IPL is a pan-India event. Cricket is the only thing that gives you pan-India reach and a huge audience. Last time, it reached almost 50 crore people. This year, it's expected to go even further. We have seen some positive signs like a huge increase in numbers in the initial 18 matches which was almost 13% up. Cumulatively, I would guess that it would add to the number of viewers over last year. The expectation is to get a fresh set of eyes that one can target. That's what our CPG advertisers would look at. 

Could you share your ad spends on IPL?

I'm not sure if we are at liberty to share this information. However, we are one of the sponsors in the IPL and this is the first time Dabur has taken a sponsorship on IPL on TV which is a significant amount of money. IPL doesn't come cheap, that one should know.

TV spends is much higher. We have to reach out to the top of the funnel and Pan India because of this, our spends is more on TV this year. However, last year we were not on TV at all.  

What kind of products are you advertising on TV and digital?

For TV we have regional-focused brands, like Real Juice, which sells mostly in the northern part of the country. For southern feeds, we have brands that are popular there, like Vatika, Meswak (toothpaste), etc. So, that's one set of brands for TV.

As far as digital is concerned, it is more regional-focused; there are different sets of brands for different mediums and markets.

Apart from IPL, are there any other properties that you are exploring in the near future?

Our focus is to be continuously present on TV, to maintain continuity for our power brands for the rest of the year. Potential properties will be vetted in terms of pricing, availability, etc. If it's too expensive, one would not like to go for it unless there is a good ROI.

Our business is such that, we have to reach out to the masses. To reach out to the masses, you have to go to TV. To sell the same product to the same consumer again and again; you have to be continuously present there since an event like this would give you a one-time high in terms of ratings.

Are you looking to advertise more in sports events or cricket properties this year or will consider properties like reality shows as well?  

I wouldn't say all cricketing properties, but, the significant ones we should like to look at. Again, provided that we get a good deal, it gives an ROI.

We have been there on some reality shows like Bigg Boss in Hindi and Telugu markets. Not in all the markets, but because these two Bigg Boss shows give a certain set of audiences. But we have overexposed ourselves in these in the recent past, especially in the last five to eight years. So we'll see when we go closer to that period. I'm not averse to looking at these properties. However, it will all depend on what is the situation then. There are a lot of other external factors which are going to guide our business in the coming months.

Because of the war, there could be inflationary pressure which might come on us. The oil prices are already hitting $100 a barrel. So, if there's inflationary pressure, I wouldn't say that we can buy very expensive properties in the coming months. Only continuity will serve us well. However, if things are okay for us and there are no such pressures, we could look at such properties.

So, sports give you a different set of audiences. We have seen some success with that. So, we would like to experiment and go to them once again. That's why after the World Cup, we've been on IPL. Again, I would like to experiment with more such marquee events.

The Lok Sabha elections are around the corner now and IPL is already going on. What is your marketing strategy?

We are analysing elections and news genres. Between the last election and this one, there has been a slight difference in the way the audience consumes the media. Tele-share was about 11% in the last election, which is at about 6% right now. It is moving up slowly, and I hope that by the time we reach the election, we'll probably have a greater number of people moving to TV news.

Another shift is that almost 30% of audiences that consume news today are in the digital ecosystem and are consuming both. So, we would like to experiment with this ecosystem as well. 

We would invest in elections on the poll day and counting days, which give much higher viewership. As a company, we’ll chase the viewers rather than be stuck on a certain genre or platform or property.