More brands bet on influencer marketing this IPL; projected spends at ₹550 crore

Swipe through Instagram during IPL season, and you will spot creators in team jerseys, shooting match-day skits or dropping brand collab content. While the action unfolds on the pitch, another battle is playing out on our feeds, powered by creators, meme pages and digital storytellers.

Influencer marketing has become one of the most widely used tools for fan engagement, and during IPL, it goes into beast mode. It’s not just brands tapping into creator buzz. IPL franchises themselves have built loyal squads of influencers who rally fans online. From match-day memes to behind-the-scenes banter, every team now has a content army beyond their playing eleven.

Take Royal Challengers Bengaluru, for example. Creator Danish Sait, known for his Mr. Nags persona, has been the consistent face of their content year after year. His banter with RCB players, like this video, is as much a part of the IPL experience as the matches themselves. Over time, other creators have become integral to their teams' digital presence, helping turn fans into fandoms.

And this playbook is only expanding. With brands projected to spend ₹550 crore on influencer marketing this IPL season, creators have become central to the media mix.

Why this significant shift?

Aman Narula, COO, Mad Influence, explained, “Beyond just reach and engagement, brands are increasingly recognising the unique value of authenticity and relatability that influencers provide. Influencers can craft stories in a manner that builds trust and fosters genuine community connections, qualities that traditional advertising struggles to replicate. Narrative-driven content resonates more deeply with target audiences.”

Supporting this, a survey by iCubesWire reveals the tangible impact of IPL influencer marketing, with 65% recall, 59% engagement, and 14% direct conversions. According to the report, brands investing in long-term influencer partnerships are seeing a higher ROI compared to traditional ads. 

So, what’s really going on behind the ring lights and reels?

Everyone wants a piece of the pie

IPL has long been a magnet for consumer brands, but this year, the net is wider than ever. What was once dominated by FMCG giants and sports brands is now attracting players from a host of industries. 

Brands like Tata Play and Cricbuzz have emerged as big players this season, with Tata Play leveraging influencers to highlight their IPL package deals through meme-style content that resonates with younger audiences. Meanwhile, Cricbuzz has integrated real-time fan engagement by creating reaction videos with influencers right after key match moments.

In 2023, JioCinema set a new benchmark with 75 million reach across 77 influencers. Close behind, Dream11 leveraged influencer campaigns to achieve 41 million reach from 15 influencers, driving visibility. 

“IPL is a high-budget play, and because influencer marketing is a great tool of engagement, considerable amounts of budgets are shared for such campaigns,” said Ramya Ramachandran, Founder of Whoppl. “A diverse range of industries is participating such as sports fantasy, fintech, and edutech. Additionally, there is an influx of new brands, including B2B companies, SaaS providers, luxury retail, and D2C brands, all eager to engage with the sports ecosystem through various innovative strategies.”

And the numbers reflect the growing momentum. The influencer marketing budgets are being led by sectors that thrive on high-volume visibility and consumer engagement.

“The top spenders include Entertainment & Streaming Platforms (30%), FMCG (25%), Consumer Electronics (15%), E-commerce & D2C brands (15%), the Automobile Industry (10%), and Others (5%),” explained Rachit Sharma, Head of Brand Partnerships at Qoruz.

The rise of the micro and the regional influencers

There’s a clear shift away from one-size-fits-all celebrity influencers toward a more strategic mix. Micro-influencers and regional content creators are emerging as the most valuable players in brands’ IPL campaigns this season.

According to a Qoruz report, micro-influencers dominated IPL 2024’s creator landscape, contributing 56.27% of all influencer content. This reflects a conscious pivot toward creators with tighter-knit, high-trust communities, especially in non-metro markets.

Platforms like Dream11 and My11Circle, both players in the fantasy sports segment, exemplify this approach. Dream11 reportedly saw a 20% increase in app downloads during last year’s IPL season, largely attributed to influencer-driven regional campaigns. My11Circle has adopted a similar playbook, tapping into Tier II and Tier III fandoms with creators who understand the cultural codes and speak the local language.

As IPL viewership grows beyond metro cities, brands are focusing on content that connects with different languages and cultures. It's less about mass reach and more about meaningful, local connections.

The approach isn’t just driven by cost-efficiency, as micro and regional creators are typically more affordable than celebrities, but also by ROI and performance metrics. An influencer marketing report by Collabstr, highlights that micro-influencers often generate 60% higher engagement rates than macro creators due to their closer audience relationships.

“Micro-influencers continue to dominate IPL influencer content,” said Ramachandran. “Their growing presence is attributed to their ability to connect with niche audiences effectively. Regional influencers are also tapped as they can use jargon and create content in their own language and tonality giving it an added push.”

For brands, this shift isn’t just about budget. “The shift towards micro-influencers is influenced by several factors: cost efficiency, higher engagement rates, and audience trust,” Sharma noted.

For brands like The Sleep Company, it's about striking a balance. “We use a mix of micro, macro, and celebrities depending on campaign objectives,” said Ripal Chopda, the brand’s CMO. “Micro-influencers bring strong community trust, macro influencers give us scale, and celebrities add aspirational value.”

This strategy is aligned with consumption trends. According to a report by Qoruz, last year, sports-related content had the highest share of voice at 47.46%, followed by arts & entertainment (23.60%) and meme content (7.27%). This trend is expected to continue in IPL 2025.

“This indicates a strong demand for cricket-specific influencers, as well as those in the lifestyle and humour domains, to create engaging and relatable content for diverse audience segments,” said Sharma.

As IPL campaigns become increasingly multi-layered, the real MVPs may not be the ones with the biggest follower count but those with the most trusted voice and local relevance.

Creative freedom within briefs

So what do brand briefs look like this season? In 2025, brands aren’t just dictating scripts; they’re building frameworks that invite creators to co-create.

“Brands are increasingly developing regionally tailored briefs,” said Narula. “They set clear, structured guidelines around key messages, tone, and regional nuances such as incorporating local language, cultural references, and consumer insights.”

But there’s creative room too. “Simultaneously, they allow influencers the creative freedom to infuse their unique storytelling style and adapt the messaging to their local audiences,” he added.

Content creator Paayal Jain, working with multiple IPL-related brands this season, noted that collaborations are becoming more immersive, with influencers not only promoting brands but also helping to raise awareness about IPL match schedules. She also highlighted how broadcasters like Star Sports are increasingly involving influencers, offering opportunities for content creation with cricket stars.

She observed that while briefs are still centred around building buzz, creators are now getting more room to shape narratives.

“Even though the briefs that we are receiving are typically the same — to create content around the buzz of IPL. With time we have been given more creative freedom. Brands are also noticing that if we give a little more creative freedom, the content would do better.”

On the contrary, when asked about the kinds of brands reaching out to the content creator Shivam Arora this IPL season, the response was a bit subdued. He said, “The influencer market around IPL seems quieter this time, and it's not being talked about as much, especially in terms of brand collaborations.”

He shared that while there has been a slight shift in strategy from brands, the categories seem largely unchanged. Most brands seen are from familiar sectors like channel partners, OTT platforms, and those with sponsorship or membership promotions. 

“However, there hasn’t been much innovative content created around moment marketing, and there’s been little out-of-the-box thinking from brands. The creator community, too, seems relatively less active this season, with only a few attending matches, which is pretty standard. 

Personally, he felt his experience might differ since he doesn’t actively create sports content, but he also noticed a similar pattern among fellow creators who are typically very involved in IPL-related content.

Also, it’s not just about what is being posted, but how it’s being presented.

“Brands are looking for innovative formats and recurring themes that resonate with fans,” said Ramachandran. “Emerging trends include Meme collaborations, Live engagements, Community building, Branded content, Hijacking trends and On-ground live content.”

Narula mirrored this shift towards participative formats. He said, “Brands are seeking dynamic and interactive content such as live match-day updates, behind-the-scenes footage, quick reaction videos, and real-time fan engagement activities like polls and Q&As.”

The final over

As IPL 2025 continues to raise the stakes both on and off the field, influencer marketing has clearly secured its spot in the big leagues. No longer a sideshow to prime-time ads, it’s now a powerful storytelling engine that runs parallel to the tournament’s pulse.

From micro-creators in small towns to high-energy meme pages and cricket-specific content hubs, the game is being played on multiple screens and multiple levels. What sets winning strategies apart is not just scale but substance: local relevance, creator-led narratives, and formats that drive real-time fan interaction.

The takeaway? In the crowded IPL content arena, it’s not about shouting the loudest; it’s about being the most in tune with your audience. And in that playbook, creators aren’t just amplifiers; they’re strategic partners shaping the innings.

News