Why IPL 7's UAE move is perfect for Pepsi

In my 20 odd years of existence if there is one thing I am sure about it is this: that we Indians are extremely opinionated people, dispensing advice at the drop of a hat to anyone and everyone comes very naturally to us. Like everything in life here to exists a hierarchy – elections and cricket makes us particularly “jasbati”. Barely four months into 2014 and there has already been so much chatter – India’s tour of New Zealand, ICC T20 World Cup and the coinciding of the general elections and IPL7. The fact that these elections have the power to shift paradigms is a no brainer. The fact that BCCI would ensure that the IPL would go on as per schedule was also a no brainer (the only relevant question that one had to ask was where). While most people assumed the IPL would go back on an African Safari, the team at BCCI decided to halt mid-way and stay at UAE instead. And yes, we all disused the pros and cons of this move extensively with everyone presenting their own conspiracy theory for why UAE was chosen over South Africa. A few days into the tournament and UAE as a foster home for this year’s IPL seems like a good move for all stakeholders. The cricket starved Indian diaspora is turning up in large numbers to support the tournament. Jam-packed stadiums do wonders for the moral of players and simultaneously enhance the TV viewing experience for the millions back home. [caption id=“attachment_1495173” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Getty Images.[/caption] In fact when the camera zooms in to the spectators one can easily be excused for mistaking the IPL to be taking place in an Indian city. With the UAE being just 1.5 hours behind India “the feel” of the 4pm and 8pm games remains unchanged. The proximity of venues is an added bonus for all teams, after all taking 3-hour flights every second day for 45 days is nobody’s idea of fun. In the world of modern sports all these stakeholders become equally important and need to be attended too but in the world of commercialized modern sport where extravagance is directly in proportion to the money being pumped in the sponsors become the most important stakeholders you need to attend to. More so when your title sponsor pays you Rs 396.8 crore for five years! Pleasing Pepsi was paramount for BCCI. PepsiCo is most well known for its aerated drinks business. Aerated drinks fall under the “impulse buy” product category. Yes, unfortunately there are a few of us who are addicted to colored sugary carbonated water (god bless their waistlines) but for most of us we usually once in a while get a sudden urge and desire to make drops of our favorite beverage dance on our tongue. Overcome by desire our rational brain is stifled to be replaced with an irrational moment of self gratification. And it is this irrational moment that brands such as Pepsi need to keep activated to ensure a constant string of consumers are perpetually demanding their products. Several decades back PepsiCo realized that the only way it could take on Coca Cola was by focusing on the youth market. The idea as marketer Jamie Turner says “was to spend their time, money and energy appealing to a younger market who, eventually, would replace the more mature Coke drinkers.” In India, through Cricket and Bollywood, Pepsi ensured that its brand imagery become more deeply-rooted as a trendy, hip, young and rebellious product. India become one of Pepsi’s greatest success stories, and remains one of the countries where Pepsi continues to outsell Coke (15% market share compared to Coke’s 8.8%, according to Euromonitor International 2012). If PepsiCo’s ground breaking marketing campaigns ensured we have become primed to always crave a Pepsi, their phenomenal distribution network ensured that Pepsi was always within a few meters of every Indian. Now if the IPL would have moved to South Africa, PepsiCo wouldn’t have been most thrilled about it. In 1997, Pepsi liquidated its operations in South Africa and exited Africa’s largest economy. While it did return in 2006, Pepsi failed to catch up with Coca-Cola and as a result Coca-Cola by 2012 accounted for over 50% of soft drinks in South Africa. With an extremely low market penetration and distribution network additional IPL activation expenses would have certainly hit PepsiCo’s bottomline. Therefore, when it became certain that the IPL will be shifted out of India, PepsiCo would have pushed for a region where it has a stronghold. With over 70% market share UAE may not have seemed like such a bad option. And now, it seems like the perfect choice.