A question for you: Some one born in Hyderabad, working in Delhi with Vijay Mallya’s KingFisher airlines, idolizes Sachin Tendulkar, ardent fan of Shahrukh Khan’s movies, has reasons to support Deccan Chargers, Delhi Dare Devils, Royal Challengers, Mumbai Indians and Kolkatta Knight Riders. Which IPL team will he support?
Well, most people do support the team based on state loyalties only. That brings up another question. India’s most populous states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar do not have any IPL teams to represent now. Which team will these people support? Will they go for the adjacent states? Then which team will a Keralaite support? Will he support Chennai Super Kings or Bangalore Royal Challengers? Will a Gujarathi support Mumbai Indians or Rajasthan Royals?
For many Indian cricket fans that would love to watch the whole tournament, even if they have their state team to support, in most of the 59 matches home team won’t play. Which team will they support in other matches? Or which team will they love to see exit the tournament first?
8 teams for 28 states, add that with the star power of Shahrukh, Preity zinta, Sachin, Dhoni, Mallya, there are more choices for cricket fans to decide on the IPL team to support this season. So branding assumes more important here. Despite the Indian Premier League spending crores on ads, I didn’t see an extra-ordinary IPL ad that appeals to fans outside the home state for support.
Well, in sports, actions do matter more than ads. Let the Kings and Devils now fight with the bat and ball to boost their brand power. Let us wait and see which team gains more popularity and wins more fans outside their respective states.
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Aah.. a question I tried to answer too. You can read up on my formula for selecting a team on my blog. My vote was for Kings Eleven but Dhoni is taking over it with each match.