Would "IPL" Merchandise Sell ?

Yesterday, I had a discussion on sales of IPL (Indian Premiere League) merchandise with my peers. The issue of contention was, "Would IPL merchandise sell" ? 

Before moving on with IPL, lets look at EPL (English Premiere League), that earns revenues from sales of tickets, sponsors, etc., but maximum revenue is through sales of merchandise that includes T-shirts, accessories of various clubs. IPL may earn money by sales of tickets, sponsors, TVCs, but do you think it is possible to generate revenues out of sales of IPL merchandise?

Well, IPL is quite a new name in Indian sports scene fabricated around India's common religion named Cricket. IPL consists of eight teams representing various regions of the country and each team has its own merchandise.

The issue is when people are following IPL like a religion, why wouldn't the merchandise sell? 

Well, the answer lies in inadequate marketing mix. It is not only about product, but price, promotion and place also.

IPL merchandise is meant for the youth, who go frenzy about the game. Now, if we look at India's economic scenario, size of middle class overrides the magnitude of upper class. As such, the product, that is, IPL merchandise is meant for middle class who connect to the game as religious conviction. Now, if you look at the prices of IPL merchandise, you will be flabbergasted to see mismatch between the affordability of target segment and prices of IPL merchandise. Click here to see some of the prices. Also, the owners of IPL have tie-ups with premium brands like Reebok, Adidas. The question is when the product is meant for the mass consumers of middle segment, how would they buy it from the house of premium brands. 

Also, the channel of distribution has to be such which makes the product within the reach of target audience. They must have various channels like online channels, mass segment retail outlets like Westside, Shoppers Stop, etc. Middle class is reluctant to go to Nike or Adidas.

As such, not only product, but place and price are also important to sell IPL merchandise.

Last, IPL owners must realize that they have to follow a Push strategy to sell the respective stuffs, as consumers still aren't as crazy about the game, they have economic constraints and they want easy accessibility of products.

What an Idea !!!

IPL fever is on its peak and so is marketing war among competing brands. I am talking about the new ad campaign of Idea. 

In the recent days, Vodafone's Zoozoo characters have been the hottest stars in the nation. Vodafone has launched a unique commercial campaign to communicate its services and schemes. The characters are particularly popular among IPL audience.

Well, competitors of Vodafone havn't been sleeping when Zoozoo was making people laugh by its raillery. Here comes Idea with a new campaign which stars Mumbai Indians. The players of Mumbai Indians display their Idea Numbers on screen and ask people to call them and become a celebrity.

Well, the idea sounds great. After all, it is all about sustaining in the market, by creating and maintaining awareness and inserting brands in consumers' evoked set. People are not going to buy Vodafone because of Zoozoos' banter or Idea's "a call away" Sachin or Harbajan. It is just a way to be on consumers' top of mind. This implies that being a part of consumers' evoked set, consumers would consider buying these brands. Ultimately, it is the product attribute that will govern the sales.