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ITW Universe spotlights India-Afghanistan T20I series ahead of the festive season
The upcoming India-Afghanistan T20I series offers brands a chance to engage with audiences during the festive season, creating sponsorship opportunities.
As India’s festive season approaches, the upcoming three-match India–Afghanistan T20I series is set to offer brands and media planners a new opportunity to engage with audiences.
Beginning in September, with the first T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, the series will see Afghanistan host reigning T20 World Champions India. India will be the designated away team despite the series being played in India, creating a commercial proposition alongside the on-field appeal of a contest featuring T20 cricket players.
The series is positioned at the start of the festive advertising cycle, a period when brands look to increase visibility and consumer engagement. With an expected combined reach of approximately 100 million viewers across linear television and OTT, the series is expected to deliver an audience cutting across consumer demographics.
As an Afghanistan-hosted series, brands can explore more on-ground sponsorships and broadcast integrations that may be restricted during India's home cricket calendar due to existing sponsorship commitments.
This creates an opportunity for marketers and brands to think more about bespoke activations and customised integrations that are possible. Moreover, from an execution viewpoint, it is a kind of series where activations, campaigns and media integrations are facilitated through a single-window touchpoint, making campaign planning more efficient.
Cricket has been an important platform for brands looking to build momentum. The India-Afghanistan series provides an opportunity for brands to begin that conversation with consumers, using a sporting property to build awareness and visibility before the festive period reaches its peak.
Bhairav Shanth, Co-Founder, ITW Universe, said, "The most valuable opportunities for brands are often those that allow them to enter a conversation before the clutter builds. This series gives marketers a strong moment to start engaging consumers as the festive season approaches, while also thinking beyond conventional advertising. Whether the objective is building awareness, driving consideration or creating meaningful consumer experiences, cricket offers brands a highly relevant cultural platform to build momentum at a time when attention and intent are beginning to rise.”
With the festive season set to drive competition for consumer attention, the India-Afghanistan T20I series presents an opportunity for brands to get ahead of the curve, using cricket as a springboard to build visibility and engagement before the festive marketing rush begins.
For sponsorship and partnership queries, brands can also reach out directly through Discover.itwuniverse.com
Note to the Reader: This article is part of Hindustan Times' promotional consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. Hindustan Times assumes no editorial responsibility for the content.
