1 minute read
FANTASY SPORTS
from Gutshot
DREAM11 : STRIKING A RELATABLE CHORD WITH GULLY CRICKET LOVERS
WORDS BY MRINAL GUJARE
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Fans of the Indian Premier League (IPL) who were waiting for this tournament to kickstart, were more eager than ever for its 2020 edition. While the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to put all good plans under the bus, the IPL 2020 did take place, with Dream11 as its title sponsor.
Along with the tournament itself, what caught the attention of the viewers and industry experts was the ad campaign run by the title sponsor, Dream11. The campaign showed well-known cricketers playing gully cricket with regular folks. Dream11’s tagline ‘Ye Apna Game Hai’ struck a chord instantly with the audiences. A chance to add their beloved cricketers in their respective teams was a proposition too hard to miss. Indian cricketers like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah were part of the campaign.
Gutshot wanted to take a deeper look to understand exactly why it worked. We spoke to Gavril Mankoo, Account Director - Digital, at Action Global Communications about his take on Dream11’s ad campaign. “Fundamentally, an advertisement needs to be relatable to the audience it is trying to capture. Playing on nostalgia has always been one of the best ways to grab attention. The gully cricket angle in the Dream11’s ad campaign ticked all boxes, bringing back memories and intertwining it with something more contemporary like a tech-backed fantasy cricket league,” says Mankoo.
Dream11 also has competitors in the market that they would like to crush. Brands like MPL (Mobile Premiere League), My11Circle, HalaPlay, FanFight have a lot to catch up to if they wish to challenge Dream11’s victorious run. It won’t be easy, as Dream11 has managed to build a loyal fan base among its players and are also providing incentives to get on board. Furthermore, Dream11 becoming a title sponsor for Indian Premiere League (IPL) was a giant leap ahead. So now, the brand’s rivals can take some crucial tips from their growth and expansion strategy to make sure they survive the battle, in a market like India, which is fiercely competitive.
