With the growing British-Asian viewership of the Indian Premier League, five brands have run ads on Sky Sports to reach out to that audience.
This is the first time Sky Sports has featured an Hindi language ad.
A film for real estate brand, Lodha features Akshay Kumar. The voice over for the film (below) is provided by Kumar himself and is entirely in Hindi.
Another film for Eros Now, featuring Bollywood celebs builds on the association with Royal Challengers Bangalore. The film goes live during the tournament's second eliminator (later today).
Other films for Lyca Mobile, Indian channel streaming services Lyca TV and Star Tours are in English but targets the British-Asian viewer.
According to a statement from Sky Media, compared to last year’s tournament, the proportion of British-Asian viewers watching IPL games increased to 41 per cent. The number was at 29 per cent last year.
The latest census figures find that 14 per cent of the UK population identify as an ethnic minority (increasing to 28 per cent of all 16-34s – a key audience for advertisers).
Research by the IPA found that British-Asians feel 'under-represented' in media plans with 77 per cent claiming mainstream advertising has no relevance to them. Many mainstream brands are missing out on effectively reaching this affluent and important audience by not including multi-cultural channels in their TV laydown.
Debarshi Pandit, head, multicultural business at Sky said, “British-Asians are watching more mainstream channels than ever and this year even more are watching the much anticipated IPL cricket matches. The IPL ad breaks this year mark a milestone for ethnic brands. Many brands are missing out on lucrative opportunities by not considering mainstream TV advertising, which provides brand-safety and cost effective targeting to reach the right audiences at the right time.”
