As the Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to dominate sports entertainment in India, there’s a massive tech engine running behind the scenes. Ad tech companies are the silent enablers of billion-rupee campaigns, powering real-time engagement, personalization, and precision at scale. With IPL 2025 expected to surpass all previous records, this is the story of how digital infrastructure is fueling cricket’s biggest marketing moment.
The numbers speak for themselves—India’s sports advertising market hit ₹16,633 crore in 2024, with cricket accounting for a whopping 85%. IPL, unsurprisingly, commands the lion’s share. “IPL-related campaigns contribute a significant portion, around 40%, of our annual business. The tournament creates an advertising frenzy where brands are willing to spend aggressively on high-impact campaigns, influencer marketing, and performance-driven digital advertising,” said Ovez Khan, Group CEO and founder of Trivium Media Group.
Brands are not just spending—they’re spending big. Digital-first activations, agile marketing, and integrated media planning are becoming the new norm. “Some of the leading brands that we work with are spending upwards of ₹10 crore each day for the services – digital, ATL, BTL, among others,” said Chandrashekhar Naik, Senior Vice President at Valueleaf.
At Gupshup, the shift is toward real-time, AI-powered interactivity. “The most significant investment shift we see is toward real-time interactive experiences. Brands allocate substantial resources to creating dynamic conversational flows that respond to match events as they unfold,” said Vartika Verma, Senior Director – Global Marketing at Gupshup. She added, “The investment pattern typically follows a ‘tournament curve’ – starting with foundational implementations before the first match, scaling up during group stages, and reaching peak investment during knockout rounds when audience engagement reaches its peak.”
IPL campaigns aren’t just about reach—they demand technical muscle to handle millions of interactions per second. Every wicket, every over, creates an engagement surge that needs instant delivery. “We further scale our systems to handle the massive surge in message volume. The real challenge isn’t just managing the overall increase in volume but handling extreme spikes during crucial moments, such as final overs or key wickets, when message throughput can suddenly surge 15-20 times within seconds,” said Verma.
Agility is everything. “We dedicate specific resources and closely monitor campaigns, especially those with heavy budgets, at least five times a day. We’ve set up war rooms, implemented real-time dashboards, and ensured 24×7 monitoring to keep our operations agile,” said Naik. “On the infrastructure side, we anticipate increased spending on biddable media.”
For Trivium, preparation starts early. “Scaling media buying operations, deploying AI-based targeting, enhancing the content production pipeline, and strengthening influencer-brand partnerships are some of the things that are tweaked,” said Khan.
Beyond infrastructure, success lies in intelligent targeting. Ad tech firms are using deep analytics to fine-tune everything from regional campaigns to time-slot optimization. “To help brands maximise their investments, we focus on analysing time slots carefully. By examining engagement patterns, viewer behaviour, and historical data, we identify the most effective windows for ad placements. This enables advertisers to optimise their media strategies effectively,” said Dhiraj Gupta, co-founder and CTO of mFilterIt. He added, “IPL is not just about scaling infrastructure; it is about scaling intelligence – helping brands make agile, data-backed decisions that go beyond surface-level impressions and clicks.”
Targeting IPL audiences now requires hyper-personalized, multilingual, and second-screen strategies. “Brands looking to connect with local audiences need insights beyond national trends, such as multi-language engagement patterns and regional ad impact measurement,” said Gupta.
From another front, Prrincey Roy, CEO and co-founder of Huella, explained how brands are shifting gears: “Everything moves faster—briefs arrive late, timelines shrink, and teams shift into full execution mode. Wherever possible, we prepare in advance, especially on the Newsroom AI side.”
Even platforms like Blinkit are becoming ad touchpoints. “One trend that really stands out is the growing interest in our Blinkit rider tracking page. It’s a surprisingly high-engagement real estate, and brands love the opportunity to engage users at that exact moment—while they’re waiting for something to arrive,” said Roy.
IPL isn’t just a marketing platform—it’s a revenue accelerator for ad tech companies. “Our revenues increase by almost 1.5 times during these two months. This season contributes approximately 15-20% of our total yearly revenue,” said Naik.
“15-18% of their annual business is driven by IPL,” said Roy, adding, “As brands move away from plain vanilla ads and start looking for formats that actually engage, that’s where we come in.”
With fans glued to second screens, IPL creates perfect conditions for conversational AI engagement. “The tournament’s concentrated period of high fan engagement creates an ideal environment for brands looking to connect with consumers through AI-powered messaging platforms,” said Verma. Unlike passive viewership, IPL fans interact continuously—making every moment a potential conversion. “Unlike traditional sports broadcasts where viewers might passively consume content, IPL fans actively engage with second-screen experiences during matches, creating natural insertion points for conversational AI,” added Verma.
According to Qoruz, influencer marketing investments during IPL 2025 are expected to cross ₹550 crore. And companies like Huella are leading that experimental edge. “For us, IPL isn’t about big-ticket spends—at least not yet. Instead, we see brands coming to us when they want to experiment with something new. It could be their first time running an interactive CTV format or using Newsroom AI for quick creative turnarounds in multiple languages,” said Roy.
Behind every viral campaign and massive engagement spike is a complex digital machine—ad tech firms that scale, adapt, and innovate in real time. Whether it’s OTT integrations, AI chatbots, or location-based activations, these players are redefining what’s possible in sports marketing. From infrastructure to intelligence, IPL is no longer just a cricket tournament. It’s the ultimate testbed for what’s next in digital marketing.
Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
