IPL marketingideas for local business

In our experience, the buyer is often one person ordering for a group, so the offer should work for a group. Match days and the evening hours bring a rush. The playoffs and the final bring a bigger one.

Not everyone follows cricket. Keep your normal offers visible too, and never make non-fans feel left out.

The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 is an Act of Parliament, No. 32 of 2025. Section 6 bars anyone from making, causing, aiding or inducing any advertisement, in any media, that directly or indirectly promotes or induces anyone to play an online money game. Section 9(2) sets the punishment. It may be up to two years in prison, or a fine of up to fifty lakh rupees, or both.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) says in its AdLaw Compendium of March 2026 that all advertisements of an online money game are prohibited. That includes truthful ones. Its half-yearly report for April to September 2025 says it flagged over 4,575 offshore or illegal betting ads.

• Do not post tips, odds, "predict and win" money games or links to such games.
• Do not hire an influencer who also promotes such games to promote your shop in the same post.
• Be careful with prediction contests. Contests where people pay to enter, or win cash, can fall under gambling, lottery or prize competition laws. The ASCI compendium lists the Public Gambling Act, 1867 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998. Ask a lawyer before you run one.
• Alcohol, tobacco and similar products have their own advertising limits. Do not use the season to push them through a side door.

Do not use team or player marks

Team names, logos, colours that imitate them, player names, faces and slogans belong to their owners. The ASCI Code, as the compendium summarises it, says an ad must not make unjustifiable use of another firm's name or initials. It must not take unfair advantage of the goodwill attached to another firm's trademark, symbol or advertising campaign. The official IPL site carries a copyright notice and links to image use terms. We did not read those terms.

• Do not use a team name, logo, jersey look, player name or photo, or an official-looking badge.
• Do not say or hint that you are an official partner, sponsor or supplier.
• Do not sell or advertise copies of team goods. Ask a lawyer about genuine goods and licences.
• Use plain words such as "match night", "the big game" and "cricket season" for your own offers. Ask a lawyer before you use the league's name in an ad.
• The ASCI texts we read do not use the term ambush marketing. The risk is the same in plain words: do not trade on someone else's brand.

Celebrities and influencers

ASCI's Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising, dated 13 July 2023, name two tests. A celebrity is a famous person paid Rs 40 lakh or more a year for ads, or one with 500,000 or more followers on one social handle. They say a celebrity should do due diligence to make sure claims in an ad can be proven. The compendium adds that the Department of Consumer Affairs asks celebrities and influencers to disclose any material connection with the advertiser, such as payment, free products, gifts or trips.

• Do not use a cricketer or any famous person in your ad, or suggest that one uses your product, unless you have a written agreement and have checked the claims.
• If you use a local creator, ask them to disclose that the post is paid or that they got free products.
• Do not copy a famous person's face, voice or style into your creative.

If you show matches to customers in your shop, check whether your broadcast subscription allows it. We read no rule on this, so ask your provider or a lawyer.

• Match-night snack boxes for two, four or six, with a clear price and a cut-off time to order.
• A simple loyalty card: collect stamps on match days.
• A "big game" dinner combo with a clear pack size.

Grocers and snack sellers

• Snack-and-drink bundles priced by group size.
• WhatsApp pre-orders with delivery slots before the evening.
• A match-night shelf at the shop front.

Electronics and home entertainment

• TV, sound bar and set-top offers with the reason stated, such as an exchange or season clearance.
• Clear installation and delivery dates.
• A free check of a customer's setup before the season, if you can serve it.

Sports goods shops and coaching academies

• Bats, balls, pads and kits for beginners, with a simple guide to choosing.
• Summer cricket coaching camps for children. Take parents' permission before you use any child's photo.
• Equipment servicing, such as repairs and re-gripping.

Salons, gyms, printers and other services

• Pre-match grooming slots.
• Custom T-shirts and banners with your customer's own design, not a team's.
• Short-term fitness packages for the summer.

Business-to-business and offices

• Snack boxes for office teams on match days.
• Team-building events built on a friendly quiz or a game with no money involved.
• Greetings to customers with no team references.

• Weeks 8 to 6 before the opener: Choose your one or two offers. Check the rules with a lawyer. Plan stock, packs and staff. Brief your designer to use no team or player marks.
• Weeks 6 to 4 before: Build WhatsApp lists with permission. Update your Google Business Profile. Take photos. Print boards that do not carry match dates.
• Weeks 4 to 1 before: Test one offer on a small group. Fix delivery slots. Train staff for the evening rush.
• Opening week: Launch your match-night offers. Link them to the official schedule once it is out. Review daily.
• Each week in season: Look at the fixture list. Push offers for the busiest days. Review orders, stock and complaints on one fixed day.
• Playoffs and final: Plan extra stock and staff. Keep your claims honest and your greetings plain.
• After the season: Thank buyers. Clear leftover stock honestly. Record the numbers and what you will change for next time.

Over nine weeks it spends ₹20,000 on boards, box labels, photos, small local ads and WhatsApp reminders. It sells 400 boxes. Each box leaves ₹90 after costs, so the margin is ₹36,000. Cost per box is ₹20,000 divided by 400, which is ₹50. The return is (₹36,000 minus ₹20,000) divided by ₹20,000, which is 80 percent.

It notes that most orders came from WhatsApp reminders sent before the evening. It also notes that the six-person box sold out on the busiest days, so it will prepare more next time.