We’re cautiously optimistic about marketing allocations: Vikrant Mudaliar, Dream11

In October 2023, when the Indian government announced a 20 per cent GST on Real-Money Gaming (RMG) retrospectively, and issued tax demand notices worth Rs 45,000 crore to a dozen gaming startups, the move was believed to be the biggest setback for the country's burgeoning gaming sector, which had been at the forefront of advertising and sponsoring sports tournaments. 

However, the industry, especially the larger players, has emerged stronger by absorbing the tax hikes and cutting the cost. Dream11 is back with its sponsorship deals with the Indian Premier League (IPL) as Co-Presenting Sponsors on Star Sports as well as Jio Cinema. Although it lost the title of the fantasy sports partner of the tournament to its rival My11Circle, it has extended sponsorship to eight out of 10 IPL franchises. 

Besides, it continues to hold the Team India jersey lead sponsorship rights till 2027. 

In an exclusive interaction with exchange4media, Dream11's Chief Marketing Officer, Vikrant Mudaliar, delved into the brand's IPL marketing strategies. 

Emphasizing Dream11's continued Co-Presenting Sponsorship on IPL broadcasts, Mudaliar highlighted plans for seamless integration during telecasts, bolstering ties with cricket. Strengthening partnerships with 8 IPL teams, including 3 front-of-shirt sponsorships and a returning partnership with KKR, underscores Dream11's commitment. 

Excerpts:  

How has IPL been so far in terms of ROI? What are your expectations for this year?

Every year, marquee tournaments like the Indian T20 league is where Dream11 adds a large percentage of new users on the platform. Last year, we expanded our user base to over 200 million, reached a peak concurrency of 11.52 million during the tournament, and notably, drew in 75% of users from Tier 3 and 4 cities. 

As we continue to attract audiences beyond core cricket fans, our brand stories will naturally be more inclusive and leverage the popularity of endorsers beyond the world of cricket. This approach not only broadens our geographic reach but also attracts new audiences, building on our success from 2023 and fuelling our growth for 2024.

You have added 55 million new users in 2023 and the growth was driven by women gamers, co-founder Harsh Jain said at Meta Gaming Summit. What are your targets for this season? 

Our focus with our campaigns every year is to increase customer engagement through various touchpoints and provide a richer experience to both new and our existing user base of over 200 million. If our viewers are encouraged to watch more cricket due to our campaigns, it will lead them to transition from passive sports fans to active ones, ultimately improving engagement with the sport.  

Last year, we onboarded 55 million new users and also witnessed almost an 80% year-on-year growth of female fantasy sports players. Our objective this year is to further catalyse this narrowing gender gap in sports fandom and fantasy sports while ensuring a rewarding and entertaining experience for fans across the country. 

What are your marketing plans around this IPL? What would be your media mix?

IPL continues to be a significant season for us as a business and we continue to invest accordingly each year, this year will be no different. We continue to be Co-Presenting Sponsors on the LIVE broadcast of IPL on Star Sports as well as Jio Cinema. Apart from a healthy share of voice across advertisers, it will also entail brand integrations during the telecast and given how we’re tied to the hip with cricket, these will naturally be extremely organic to the context of the match. 

Additionally, we have consolidated our partnerships with 8 IPL teams, upgrading our partnerships with 3 of the franchises to Front of Shirt Sponsorships and welcoming KKR as a returning partner of Dream11 as their Front of Shirt Sponsor. 

Besides all the actions above the line, we will continue with our digital marketing engine, acquiring users by engaging them with branded content and targeted, custom advertising, which we are confident will help us achieve our targets.

How has the WPL been in terms of ROI for you so far? What are the marketing takeaways of the tournament?

There is no denying that women who consume sports and actively engage with the game beyond viewing it LIVE are on the rise with the inaugural season of Women's Premier League receiving over 50 million views in its first week, accelerating the growth of women's cricket.

Our decision to become the official partner of WPL from 2023 was aimed at furthering the growth of women’s participation in sports in India. Our success is reflected in the significant influx of female sports enthusiasts on our platform, contributing to the 55 million new users we acquired last year. 

The platform has also seen a remarkable 80% year-on-year growth of female users. The WPL tournament has provided valuable marketing takeaways, emphasizing the impact of strategic alliances in boosting brand recognition and fostering inclusivity within the sports community. 

We at Dream Sports (Dream11’s parent company) also aim to support female athletes and catalyze the growth of inclusive sports in India which continues to grow in viewership and patronage. Through our philanthropy arm Dream Sports Foundation, we support 7000+ beneficiaries and our athletes have won over 250 medals for India including Sreeja Akula, two-time Indian National Champion and Arjuna Award winner, Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Indian Compound Archer and Nethra Kumanan, India’s first Woman Olympian sailor. 

Walk us through your new IPL campaign - "Team Se Bada Kuchh Nahi" in which you packed cricketers, film actors, TV stars, and influencers among others. What was the idea behind it, which agency executed it, and how will it help Dream11 to grow further? 

Each season, we take up the challenge to stand out amongst the advertising brands, not just within our category. As a brand that prides itself on entertaining cricket fans during a match, we figured it would be fitting to dramatize the most classic sporting trope - Rivalry. To lift it beyond the seen, we not only co-opted the biggest stars of Indian cricket, we also brought team owners, musicians and digital influencers, aligned to opposing teams. 

Team Se Bada Kuch Nahi is our way of celebrating the spirit of healthy competition and sportsmanship around the game of cricket, something that each one of us can relate to. The season marks the shift from collective solidarity during the Bilateral cricket season to individual team loyalties during the upcoming T20 league. It's all about bringing home the trophy for their team, similar to how the best team wins on Dream11.

The campaign features 11 cricketers and a diverse lineup of 10 celebrities in a series of films filled with witty banter and ‘nok jhok’. Joining our ambassadors Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and more are cricketing legends Mohinder Amarnath and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, and celebrated actors Suniel Shetty, Preity Zinta, Samantha Prabhu, and Supriya Pathak. Making their debut in a Dream11 campaign are ambassadors KL Rahul and  Sanju Samson. The films have been directed by Nitesh Tiwari and conceptualized by our long-term partner, Tilt Brand Solutions. 

How many more ad films are lined up for the tournament?

We launched this year's campaign with a set-up film paving the way for eight shorter ads scheduled to run through the tournament. These ads will air on Star Sports, JioCinema and other digital platforms including Dream11’s YouTube channel.

As your IPL campaigns get bigger with more celebrities, do you plan to up your marketing spends in 2024? 

Given the current dynamics of the industry, we’re being cautiously optimistic about our marketing allocations. We do not plan to significantly increase spending compared to last year. Instead, we will adopt a careful and measured approach by allocating budgets on a campaign-by-campaign basis. We will closely monitor user growth and retention metrics, using this data to make informed decisions about future spending in upcoming quarters.