Myntra leverages IPL to expand reach & diversify its brand image

Brands
Oct 13, 2020 /
Dolly Mahayan

Myntra leverages IPL to expand reach & diversify its brand image

The brand is currently looking at a 2X growth this year from previous year’s festive season.

myntra

NEW DELHI: In India, there are two things that people lose their minds over: cricket and festivals. And the IPL is a festival of cricket. Add on the fact that this year, it happens to coincide with the Dussehra-Diwali season – and it's no wonder that brands are pulling out all the stops when it comes to advertising and promotional campaigns to capitalise on miraculous opportunity.

Ahead of its Big Fashion Festival, fashion e-commerce platform Myntra has decided to hop on the IPL bandwagon to maximise its visibility and sales. The brand has also tied up with multiple brand ambassadors tailored to click with different demographics and help the brand double its sales compared to the same period last year. It is also Myntra's debut on the IPL pitch.

‘IPL will help Myntra expand into newer markets’

Myntra has partnered with not one, but three IPL teams – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians, and Chennai Super Kings. The brand is RCB’s official fashion sponsor and will have its logo on the upper right chest of the team’s jersey. CSK and MI will carry the Myntra logo across the teams’ branding and communications.

According to Myntra, VP- marketing Achint Setia, “Myntra is keen to form deep connections with users across India and believes that engaging with prospective customers at all possible and relevant touchpoints is crucial to this vision. We believe that cricket in general, specifically the IPL makes for a key touchpoint and will help Myntra expand into newer markets.”

The company has a bunch of activities planned with its partner teams. It has developed strong user engagement through social media, via the RCB, CSK, MI, and Myntra handle, where customers can win unique daily prizes by participating in interactive contests centred around the cricket tournament. The fan engagement innovation ‘Virtual Wankhede’, developed in association with the Mumbai Indians, is a platform which provides MI’s army of fans to unite virtually and cheer on their favourite team. 

"The way IPL has also come up with innovations by bringing in the virtual crowd noise, virtual meet and greet with top fans, has helped the brand to drive a lot of traffic from digital and social channels,” Setia added.

To leverage the season effectively, the fashion portal has planned several exciting gamification features and content properties which will provide users with entertainment in the coming days.

One such feature that has grabbed users’ attention is the Myntra Fireball, which provides customers the opportunity to bag specific and time-bound deals by catching a moving ball of flame on the Myntra app.

‘Looking to expand in South, tier-2 and tier-3 cities’

The unique overlap of the IPL and the festive season this year was like a lifeline thrown to brands reeling under the Covid2019 crisis and Myntra is trying to make the most of it. Besides a 2X growth in sales from last year, the fashion firm is also expecting sales momentum from tier-2 and tier-3 cities to continue into the festive period. In fact, it is anticipating that over 50 per cent of its sales will come from outside metro and tier-1 cities.

Looking at the team partnerships closely, the e-commerce firm has chosen two teams from south India and one from north, highlighting its push to diversify and expand its reach. Setia also agreed, saying: “We intend to make a big expansion in the south market. RCB and CSK not only have a strong following in the metros such as Bangalore and Chennai but also drive countless conversations in the smaller cities and towns of the south market.”

Mumbai’s importance to retail businesses can hardly be understated and tying up with the city’s most prominent sports team will only further solidify Myntra’s position in a crucial market, he elaborated. Factors such as team popularity and style quotient were also given strong consideration by Myntra executives when opting for team partners this IPL season.

‘Celebrity endorsements to boost audience appeal’

Brand image and new user engagement are two agendas high on the list of Myntra’s marketing strategy for its festive season jamboree. With this goal in mind, it has roped in vlogging sensation Bhuvan Bam as its first digital brand ambassador.

Myntra and Bam will co-ideate and create content that effectively portrays the brand in an innovative and entertaining manner that goes beyond the traditional forms of communication. The e-commerce platform is counting on Bam’s engaging social media presence and high resonance with the people to gain traction with his 1.93 crore-strong loyal fan base.

Similarly, as part of the Big Fashion Festival promotion, Myntra has partnered up with Soha and Saif Ali Khan to bring the sweetness of Durga Puja to the fore.

The brand film aptly re-creates the present scenario, with countless families celebrating the festive season through video calls, thereby striking an emotional chord with the audience, while underscoring the value of the right attire to enhance any festive celebration and make moments special.

The fashion e-tailer recently announced Bollywood actor Disha Patani as its first-ever beauty ambassador to further consolidate its strong position in the massive and rapidly-growing beauty and personal care (BPC) market in India; actor Kiara Advani is the brand’s nationwide celebrity endorser.

In the same month, south cine star Samantha Akkineni signed on with Myntra as the fashion marquee’s face to win over the region’s large and widespread audience.

Myntra’s holistic approach to its marketing campaigns, with Bollywood, Tollywood, and other regional celebrities, along with top IPL teams, is expected to reach 150+ million people across the nation. According to the brand, the mega fashion event is also set to witness a massive uptick in demand, at 4X over its BAU (business as usual).

Speaking about the overall marketing plan for the festive season, Setia explained: “Our key goal is to ensure Myntra has a prominent space in the key touchpoints with potential customers ahead of its blockbuster sale events. This festive season, our marketing efforts will further drive conversations around the brand through the star-studded campaigns with celebrity brand ambassadors, who have a wide audience appeal reaching all corners of the country.”

However, the company did not share the marketing budget allocated for the festive period, and replied, in terms of spends, the investment varied for each partner as the scale and size of the associations are different.

Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival is scheduled to be held between October 16 and 22. The fashion major will offer various lakh styles from the widest collection of 5000+ brands for its customers. As part of the seven-day festive season sale, the platform is expected to cater to over 4 million unique customers.

IPL
RCB
MI
and CSK
Achint Setia
Bhuvan Bam
Disha Patani
Samantha Akkineni
Kiara Advani
Myntra

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