Go Cheese picks TV over digital; spends 8% of its budget on '23 IPL

For Akshali Shah, executive director at Parag Milk Foods, the IPL has surpassed all expectations.

Go Cheese, from the house of India’s leading dairy player Parag Milk Foods, has been trying to create a buzz around the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) for the first time. The brand, a key television advertiser, has spent around 8% of its total marketing budget on the IPL.

With the tournament’s viewership split across two networks, JioCinema and Star Sports, the brand is betting on the latter.

Akshali Shah, executive director, Parag Milk Foods, says that the IPL on TV, offers a scale for businesses that’s unrivalled.

“Our brand has received a lot of attention this season, thanks to our TV presence. Coincidentally, this year has seen the all-time TV viewership record, break. It’s the perfect opportunity to be present on the platform.”

“We’ve spent a good chunk of our marketing budget, on the IPL. Thanks to IPL’s reach and distribution, it’s been a flawless journey for us, so far.”

As a part of its IPL association, the brand has also launched a tagline, ‘Har four mein Go Cheese’.

Talking about the brand’s IPL strategy, Shah shares that it wants to do a lot of content marketing.

“During an IPL match, every time a player hits a four, you will see the Go Cheese brand. We want to be a part of the content, instead of being visible only during the ad breaks, and that’s why we see ourselves doing more of this in the coming years as well.”

“What really made us stand out from other brands in the IPL association, is that we tried to create a moment. We tried to keep it topical and connect it with the game. So, every time a player hits a four, the viewers will see it like a moment of celebration - a moment to have a snack, along with cheese.”

On the benefits that TV brings to the table, Shah states, “When you’re watching a sport - especially the IPL, it becomes your family viewing time. Hence, when it comes to TV, you ae tapping the consumer. But when it comes to digital, people are either in or out. In digital, a consumer is watching it by himself, and not with his family. Our objective is to target young mothers and also the teens/youth, who’re watching the IPL. They’re also the major consumers of cheese.”

“As an advertiser, the IPL has surpassed all our expectations.” Till now, the brand has received more than 3,000 exposures on television.

One of the brand integrations on TV, was during an episode of the popular TV show on Star Plus ‘Anupamaa’. In the show, the lead couple Anupamaa and Anuj Kapadia, and their daughter visited a Go Cheese factory during a trip.