IPL on TV helps us reach all consumer segments in one go: Mayank Shah, Parle

Parle’s strategic approach to IPL advertising is balancing short-term sales boosts with long-term brand building, and leveraging the tournament’s diverse audience mix to drive holistic growth.

The brand, which owns Parle-G, 20-20, Melody, Mango Bite, Poppins and more, emerged as a major player and leading advertiser for 38 matches, featuring among the top five advertisers and accounting for 10% of ad share in IPL 2024, according to report by TAM Sports. The brand leverages IPL primarily via TV and digital, in about 60:40 media mix ratio respectively. 

“We don’t invest in outdoor, radio, or print during IPL. The combination of TV and digital gives us the best of both worlds of mass reach and precise targeting,” mentioned Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products. Interestingly, during the 55 matches, over 100 brands ran advertisements on regional and national channels, with Parle Products once again at the top of the list, as per TAM Sports.

When talking specifically about the ROI on digital and TV, it is measured by Parle by way of multiple metrics. If you’re considering performance marketing, the ROI is purely financial i.e., how many leads you generate, how many conversions happen, how sales and profits grow. But there's another dimension: brand equity, as per Shah.

He said, “If the campaign aims to build brand equity, we assess metrics like top-of-mind awareness, spontaneous recall, favorable brand scores, and overall brand perception. For instance, last year, we ran a corporate campaign to showcase Parle’s extensive product range. People know individual brands like Parle-G, Krackjack, Hide & Seek, Milano, and Melody, but not everyone connects them all to Parle. Our campaign aimed to bridge that gap and build a unified brand identity.”

According to media reports, Parle Products invested around Rs 80 crore in their ‘Naam Toh Suna Hoga’ campaign last year. The ads aired on IPL platforms JioCinema and Star Sports, marking a return to the brand’s Branded House strategy, first spotlighted during the 2017 IPL.

Watch the ad here:

IPL isn’t just another media property you add to your marketing mix once a while. The consistency helps in long-term brand building and recall. 

On this, Shah is of the opinion that it’s a unique platform that demands tailor-made campaigns. What IPL offers is unparalleled reach and impact across multiple languages and regions, all within a single property, with minimal duplication, he mentioned. The scale and buzz IPL generates are unmatched. So, if you’re running a corporate campaign, relaunching a brand, or doing performance marketing like Swiggy or Zomato, where sales directly correlate with ad spends, IPL becomes a strategic choice.

The best part is IPL’s audience is diverse. Unlike regular cricket, which skews towards urban males aged 15+, IPL appeals to a broader demographic of men, women, and various age groups. So, it helps Parle reach a wide spectrum of consumers. 

“For example, if we want to target women, we might choose GECs, but IPL gives us access to both male and female audiences simultaneously, making it a powerful tool for brand building,” Shah added.

“It helps us reach all consumer segments in one go. So, whether we’re launching a new product, reinforcing brand equity, or driving short-term sales, IPL serves as a high-impact vehicle that amplifies our marketing efforts,” he said.

Coming IPL 2025, viewers can expect fresh campaigns and possibly new product launches as the brand plans to continue their IPL association. “Though I can't reveal the details just yet but rest assured, Parle will be making the most of IPL’s massive platform,” he concluded.