ICC World Cup 2023: Global brands likely to spend ₹3 lakh/second on ads to tap into Indian consumers

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: The ICC World Cup which will be hosted by India, is seeing global companies spending millions of dollars on advertisements to tap into Indian consumers.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 India-The Host

The ICC World Cup which begins today 5th October and runs through mid-November, guarantees sponsors more than a billion viewers across the world from Europe to Oceania. Bloomberg quoted the chief economist at Bank of Baroda Madan Sabnavis said that it's the consumers in the world's most populous nation who are the biggest prize, particularly for foreign brands.

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ICC World Cup 2023: Advertisement Spending

A partner in Deloitte India Jehil Thakkar told Bloomberg that brands are likely to spend about ₹ 2,000 crore ($240 million) in advertisement spots on streaming platforms during the tournament. He further added that a 10-second advertising slot during matches costs up to ₹ 30 lakh, a 40% increase compared to the last World Cup in 2019.

The brands that are spending for airtime during the World Cup includes, Coca-Cola Co., Google Pay and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. Meanwhile, ICC's list of official partners includes Saudi Aramco, Emirates and Nissan Motor Co.

Thakkar also told Bloomberg that education technology and online betting companies that were once major sponsors has cut back on spending amid debt and regulatory concerns. The trend has now shifted back to more traditional sectors such as consumer goods, automobiles and phones.

Cricket Sponsorship in India

Jefferies in a report mentioned that Cricket which is by far the favourite sport in India attracts more than $1.5 billion in sponsorship and media spend a year. Cricket represents 85% of all such sports-related spending.

"Cricket has less fanfare globally as compared to other sports like soccer," Sabnavis told Bloomberg, "but the kind of frenzy you witness in India around cricket is not present elsewhere."

India is also growing as a favourite consumer market for global firms that are looking for growth amid an economic slowdown in China and its geopolitical tensions with Western economies. As per some estimates, India is expected to drive a fifth of world economic expansion in the next decade and become a $10 trillion economy by 2035.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Boost to Indian economy

A Jefferies analyst Prateek Kumar told Bloomberg that the Indian economy will also be getting a major boost in household spending during the World Cup, as fans travel for matches, watch them in venues like restaurants and bars or order takeout at home. Hotel fares have increased by 150% on average on days India is scheduled to play.

India's festive season has also instilled hope in the brands looking to capture the sub-continent's market. This, as the World Cup is coinciding with India's festive season, which runs from September to January.

"The Cricket World Cup is the biggest sporting event of the year for fans across the country," Yannick Colaco, co-founder of FanCode, the International Cricket Council's official retail partner in India for the event told Bloomberg.

"No other sports tournament captures the hearts and minds of Indian fans like a World Cup. That's why you see brands and companies making a beeline to be associated with the tournament."