Sky Sports airs five Indian brand adverts during IPL 2018

Sky Media, the advertising arm of Sky, has marked the significant uplift in British-Asian viewers for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament on Sky Sports by broadcasting five Indian brand campaigns during the tournament.

The brands that featured included, luxury property developer Lodha, starring Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, in Hindi. Other campaigns during the tournament included travel agent Star Tours, mobile provider Lycamobile and Indian channel streaming service Lyca TV. The campaigns are the first for all brands to feature on mainstream TV.

A campaign by Eros Now went live during the final match on Friday (25th May) whilst the others ran every day until the games end.

Compared to last year’s tournament, the proportion of British-Asian viewers watching IPL games increased from 29% last year to 41% this year as more fans tune in to see teams across the India battle it out to crown this year’s victors.

The latest census figures find that 14% of the UK population identify as an ethnic minority (increasing to 28% of all 16-34s – a key audience for advertisers). However research by the IPA found that British-Asians feel under-represented in media plans with 77% claiming mainstream advertising has no relevance to them. Many mainstream brands are missing out on effectively reaching this affluent and important audience by not including multi-cultural channels in their TV laydown.

The move by Sky Media to introduce relevant brands to this audience on a mainstream channel is a significant milestone in improving the ad targeting for a largely untapped audience.

Debarshi Pandit, Head of Multicultural Business at Sky said, “British-Asians are watching more mainstream channels than ever and this year even more are watching the much anticipated IPL cricket matches.

“The IPL ad breaks this year mark a milestone for ethnic brands. Many brands are missing out on lucrative opportunities by not considering mainstream TV advertising, which provides brand-safety and cost effective targeting to reach the right audiences at the right time.”

Sky Media currently has the largest portfolio of multicultural channels, with more than 25 channels consumed by 4 million.