The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) has announced a sponsorship pact with the cutting-edge cement manufacturing company, Wonder Cement.
As part of the deal, the brand has been named the official umpire partner of the cash-rich league, replacing Paytm. The brand’s emblem will be included on the umpires’ uniforms as part of this agreement. In addition, the Indian brand’s logo will also be featured on the umpires’ cap, LED parameters and the sight screen, right in front of the wicket. In the IPL, only the title sponsor (TATA Group) and the umpire sponsor receive the rights to the sight screen, the biggest LED asset.
Following the confirmation of the pact, Wonder Cement has become the first cement entity to partner up with the IPL. According to SportsMint sources, the arrangement has been inked for four years and is valued at INR 50 crore per year.
The inclusion of the cement company is the sixth addition to IPL’s sponsorship portfolio apart from the TATA Group, Angel One, My11Circle, RuPay and CEAT.
Wonder Cement will start receiving brand exposure from the IPL 2024 Playoffs itself starting tonight with Qualifier 1 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Wonder Cement laying its hands on such a prominent property will escalate the competition in the cement category. With the real estate market being on the upside in India, cement, steel, TMT bars and pipes manufacturing companies will enter the playground to enhance their market share and grow their business.
A counter-development is likely to be witnessed following the Wonder Cement-IPL pact. When My11Circle outbid Dream11 to be the associate sponsor of the IPL, the latter signed front-of-shirt partnership with four IPL teams (Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans) and also did on-air media buying for the OTT and TV broadcast of the IPL. Similarly, UltraTech and Ambuja Cements, who have been doing on-air media buying of the IPL coverage over the years could make some proactive sports property purchases to counter Wonder Cement’s SOV.
Wonder Cement is an innovative cement production firm with ambitions to become a market leader. The company’s corporate culture is based on the ideals of quality, trust, and transparency, which stem from the tradition of R. K. Marble, a major name in the marble business.