The Indian Premier League (IPL) is India's most powerful advertising platform. But if you don’t have a reliable IPL advertising strategy for your brand, you’ll miss out on the impact that you can make.
Every year, it reaches millions across TV, OTT, mobile, and on-ground channels. Many believe IPL advertising is only for deep-pocketed giants. But data shows another story.
Over 145 brands advertised during IPL 2024-2025, with dozens being first-time advertisers. The category spanned across FMCG, regional businesses, and digital-first startups.
At Excellent Publicity, we help brands build the most successful IPL Advertising Strategy. We build IPL campaigns that match your industry, audience, and objectives to the right formats.
This guide breaks down IPL Advertising Strategy 2026 with real trends and tactical insights to help you navigate the IPL campaigns.
Basics of IPL Advertising Strategy
The most important principle in the IPL advertising guide is define your marketing objectives. Everything from format, creative, and budget will be based on what your brand wants to achieve.
Different objectives require fundamentally different IPL advertising strategies. A simplified approach here would look like the following:
To build brand awareness and reach
You need high-visibility, high-frequency formats to put your brand in front of millions. Here, brands can consider TV spot buys, OTT video ads with broad targeting, and team associations that create sustained visibility across the tournament.
To incentivize sales
You need people to engage with your brand beyond the ad platform. Here, brands can use the deliverables they get from the IPL team sponsorship to motivate sales. For example, getting a signed bat from a team player to a lucky winner, a special edition with players on the packaging, etc.
To establish category leadership
This requires deep association strategies. IPL Sponsorships position you as integral to the IPL experience. Here, jersey partnerships create mental availability and consistent presence across multiple matches that build brand authority over time.
To dominate regional markets
Brands need to leverage the tournament's penetration into language-based audiences. With regional-language feeds, brands can get lower competition and higher relevance. You can opt for geo-targeted digital buys that concentrate spend in your priority markets and local event activations.
The IPL advertising deliverables remain constant. But it’s your IPL advertising strategy that helps you achieve your objectives. A D2C brand chasing app installs needs a completely different plan than an enterprise FMCG brand building an emotional connection. Here, Excellent Publicity understands your brand objective to curate, execute, and manage your entire IPL advertising campaign.
IPL Advertising Strategy by Brand Type
For D2C Brands
A strong IPL advertising strategy for D2C brands focuses on OTT and Connected TV placements, cricket app integrations, and real-time content marketing.
OTT ads allow you to target demographics, devices, and match timing. While in-app display ads and video panels can drive high-intent engagement and app installs.
The winning formula blends sustained OTT visibility with agile, match-moment creative that can drive social conversations. Brands can scale with entry-level budgets that deliver both national awareness and strong lower-funnel results.
For B2B Brands
An effective IPL advertising strategy for B2B brands focuses on purposeful visibility. This can include dealer incentive programs built around match experiences.
Purpose-driven storytelling that features real founders or partner ecosystems helps in elevates brand positioning into thought leadership. Selective high-impact TV or OTT placements during key match moments ensure visibility among premium business audiences.
During IPL 2025, Razorpay ran a strong B2B campaign by creating 37 custom ads featuring real startup founders. The campaign showed how business-focused brands can use the IPL advertisements not just for views, but for meaningful, purpose-driven storytelling.
For Regional Brands
A smart IPL advertising strategy for regional brands focuses on cultural relevance rather than broad national reach.
Advertising on regional-language TV and OTT feeds reduces clutter, lowers competition, and improves recall through culturally adapted creatives. Geo-targeted digital buys further enhance efficiency by concentrating spend in priority states.
With targeted digital and outdoor IPL advertising strategy, regional brands can dominate their core markets instead of competing broadly and inefficiently nationwide.
For Small Businesses
An effective IPL advertising strategy for Small Businesses focuses on concentrated digital investments rather than tournament-long visibility.
OTT and CTV ads work best when targeted to specific demographics and limited to high-impact matches. Cricket app placements provide cost-efficient access to engaged fans, especially when paired with strong calls to action.
Instead of spreading budgets thin, small brands should focus on sharp targeting and creatives to generate impact, traffic, and conversions.
For Enterprise Brands
An effective IPL advertising strategy for Enterprise Brands focuses on sustained visibility, multi-platform integration, and industry dominance.
Jersey sponsorships and team partnerships embed brands directly into the tournament ecosystem. Enterprises also combine TV, OTT, cricket apps, outdoor media, and on-ground activations into one cohesive campaign.
The goal is an unmissable presence across touchpoints, reinforcing brand salience and mental availability. IPL becomes a flagship annual campaign designed to strengthen brand health, perception, and long-term market leadership.
Your Strategic Path Forward
The differentiator isn't budget size. It's your strategic clarity. Knowing what you're trying to achieve, choosing the right formats, developing impactful creatives, and managing campaigns is key here.
Excellent Publicity is a leading IPL advertising agency that works with your brand at every stage of the process. From identifying the right formats, negotiating optimal media buys, and crafting narratives, we partner with you to meet your objectives.
Ready to build an IPL advertising strategy that delivers against your specific objectives in 2026? Let's talk strategy today.