Pepsi IPL Season 6 takes over the media and Facebook becomes top brand

Great PR 
 

Hindi commentary, IPL marketing drives Pepsi IPL Season 6  
 

The overwhelming PR machine for Pepsi IPL Season 6 seems to have shown measurable results. The sound and fury around this IPL has been deafening, what with Tweet20 cricket games on Twitter as well as the Pepsi marketing blitz. Since IPL 6 kicked off, it has made it to the top ten Twitter trends every day, further fuelled by Chris Gayle’s amazing knock for Royal Challenger Bangalore.

But has this translated into actual viewership – something which has been a concern in the last few IPL seasons. According to this story in the Times of India as per the latest TSP, the first 16 IPL games drew a viewership of 140 million ahead of viewership for the Saas Bahu soaps and up from 117 million last year. While the story attributes one of the main reasons for this to including Hindi commentary, the PR machine around IPL has kept the buzz more than alive.

Facebook and IPL
 

As per this comprehensive analysis on Limelight Insights, all  the IPL teams have racked up a fan base of nearly ten million fans out of which Mumbai Indians tops the list with more than 30 per cent of the fans on Facebook (three million+ fans) followed by CSK and KKR with around 19 per cent each.

Facebook Media impact value tops brand lists
 

According to a study released in late April by General Sentiment, Facebook is 'Brand No 1' in terms of ad equivalent value (isn’t this measurement value for PR increasingly on its way out, after the adoption of the Barcelona Principles?).

In the first quarter of 2013, Facebook generated $730 million of "impact media value", according to the report. General Sentiment pointed to the roll out of its redesigned home page and news feed as driving factors behind the social network's placement in the number one slot.

Google grabbed second place, with $545 million in "impact media value", the report said. Google's general dominance of the ad market, combined with the media buzz caused by the introduction of Google Glass and the discontinuation of Google Reader, made the company a strong contender.

Number three in the first quarter was Amazon, producing $519 million in "impact media value", General Sentiment said, which attributed its Amazon pick to the online retailer's purchase of Goodreads and a deal with CBS. Last year, Amazon entered the B2B e-commerce market by launching a dedicated e-commerce site aimed at businesses.

For Apple fan boys there is sad news, Apple is at fifth in terms of media impact, after topping the list in 2012. And automotive brands Volkswagen and Honda have entered the top ten.

Have you seen any great or even bad PR?
 

Contact Paarul Chand by emailing paarul@prmoment.in or tweet @PaarulC or @PRmomentIndia throughout the week and we’ll happily credit you for your trouble.