Vivo expects to make financial gains after striking massive deal with IPL

When Pepsi decided to discontinue the sponsorship for the Indian Premier League, it shook the cricketing world. People started wondering if IPL is still as lucrative a brand for the sponsors. Then Vivo showed interest in becoming the title sponsor of the biggest Twenty20 league. Vivo was the title sponsor of the IPL for last two seasons. And the company has now won the bid for title sponsorship for the next five-year cycle on Tuesday with a bid worth a whopping Rs 2,199 crore.

Association with IPL has been beneficial for Vivo

In the previous contract Vivo only paid Rs 100 crore per year. The new bid means that  BCCI will approximately earn 440 crores more annually. Vivo CEO Vivek Zhang admitted that association with IPL has been very beneficial for the brand and that it was a no-brainer that they wanted to build on this association.

“The association with the IPL proved to be really beneficial for our brand and it was natural to continue the strong partnership, Cricket is big in India and IPL is only getting better and bigger with each passing year. And not just cricket we believe in promoting other sports too and therefore the association with Kabaddi. We recently got associated with the FIFA World Cup for the next six years,” Vivek was quoted as saying by TOI.

Expansion

In another five-year deal, Vivo has been named as the title sponsor of Pro Kabbadi in May. Apart from showing interest in leagues, the mobile phone manufacturer has also struck a sponsorship deal for FIFA for the next two World Cup editions. These deals will help the company to make their brand more marketable. Vivo has a long way to go if they want to displace other telecom giants from their perch.

To hear that IPL is still a lucrative brand, must be music to ears of the BCCI top brass.