Pepsi adds fizz to IPL; makes its biggest investment in cricket, yet

With a winning bid of Rs 396.8 crore, PepsiCo India has bagged title sponsorship rights for the Indian Premier League for a period of five years. According to the Pepsico India, this is the largest investment the company has made in cricket.

Commenting on the development, Manu Anand, chairman, PepsiCo India region, said, “I am delighted that we have succeeded in rebranding the tournament as Pepsi-IPL, thus cementing a five-year partnership between two brands which enjoy an iconic status not only in India but globally. With our continuing sponsorship of the ICC World Cup, we are the now biggest supporters of the game of cricket. We have reaffirmed our passion and commitment to cricket and this investment reiterates the importance of India business in the PepsiCo global system.”

Gautham Mukkavilli, CEO, Beverages, PepsiCo India, added, "The partnership will add to the stature of both the brands; cricket is a religion in India and IPL is now its most revered temple where the faithful flock to. Given its historic association with the game, brand Pepsi will add new lustre to the tournament."

On the rationale behind the bid, Deepika Warrier, vice president - beverage marketing, PepsiCo India, said, “No scale association with cricket is possible in India without a sizeable IPL presence.  IPL - the biggest cricket event in the subcontinent - has now become the new face of Indian cricket which combines the best of cricket with entertainment, regional club passion and international glamour. Brand Pepsi is an iconic youth brand and one of the most recalled and trusted brands across categories in the country. Now with this association we hope to catapult brand Pepsi to an even higher orbit as the most universal, popular, trend setting youth brand.”

Talking about the next IPL campaign, Warrier added, “Pepsi has given some of the most recalled brand campaigns such as Yehi Hai Right Choice Baby, Nothing Official About it, Ye Dil Maange More and Change the Game. We are working on innovative and exciting campaigns around IPL and we will ‘Change the Game’ once again.”

On what the deal meant for brand IPL and brand Pepsi, cricket journalist Ayaz Memon told Campaign India, “The deal is a real affirmation for the IPL and the BCCI that the property still sells. It's twice the amount DLF paid for the IPL title sponsorship five years ago and this goes to show that it's still up there. Pepsi, who look to connect to the youth, have got a racy and young property to reach their target audience. Pepsi will now have to advertise and market their products for the IPL in a way that makes people get rid of the whole 'DLF IPL' tag they have seen for the past five years."

DLF had paid Rs 200 crore to become title sponsor for the first five years of the IPL. Among those in the running for the next five was Airtel. Pepsi now has title rights for the BCCI-owned property until the 2017 season.