Apparel Sponsorship History of IPL - The First Ten Years

This post will act as a supplement to the post I made earlier in May 2016. (Read it here!) I have made a better chart this time which you can see below.

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Everything about apparel sponsorships in the first nine seasons was explained in the article I have previously posted and I will be speaking only about the 10th season in this post. There were no major changes to the manufacturers' line up this year for the teams. RCB and MI continued their associations with Zeven and Performax respectively while Tyka reduced the number of teams it sponsored in the last season from 3 to 2 (KXIP and SRH) with GL signing a deal with Sasperil Greenlands (SG). DD also signed a new manufacturer - T10 Sports for making its kits.

Two teams did not have any official apparel sponsor in this season; KKR continued not to have a kitmaker while RPS did not continue with Seven, the brand owned by MS Dhoni.

Captains align behind the IPL-10 trophy and the Bats signed for MCC's Spirit Cricket Pledge at the Opening Ceremony

With a decade of IPL gone, new and exciting things await the fans from the 11th season taking place in 2018. I expect huge changes to take place in the next season with international players in the apparel industry making way once again into the IPL arena. With two suspended teams returning, it would be interesting to see what their brand-strategy would be for their return.

What changes in the branding and apparel would you like to see in the next season of IPL? Drop in your comments below!

The Tenth Year of the RCB's Jersey! (Episode 10 : 2017)

Before my blog gets buried deep in the internet of things, I am officially returning on this and making the fifth post of this year today! This was something that had to be posted during the IPL this year but has been delayed to this point where we are only four months away from the start of the next season. Before getting into the exciting mood of new things that are bound to happen in the eleventh season, let's get back to the tenth anniversary of IPL that happened in 2017.

The team in Home apparel for 2017.

As usual, I tried to predict the jersey design for this year in the blog post I wrote in March of this year before IPL-10 started. (Read it here!) The prediction turned out to be 'almost true' with the retention of Zeven's base design of 2016; Gionee making its way to the belly and an unaltered Kingfisher logo on the back. Though the other sponsors were accurate in the prediction, the placement and colour masks of the logos on the sleeves slightly changed in the real one.

THE HOME JERSEY

THE AWAY JERSEY

As you can notice and I predicted, Gionee acquired the spotlight this year with their logo placed on the prominent front part of the jersey. The IPL 10th anniversary logo was given its mandatory slot on the sleeve and surprisingly, Britannia's very long association saw an end this year. The slot used by Britannia was taken by Duroflex Mattresses in this season.

Virat Kohli and AB DeVilliers in Away jerseys.

LYF+ Smartphone was replaced by Jio Telecom, a flagship brand from the same parent company. Two versions of Jio logo have been used on the jerseys, the one with red background on the Home and Game for Green jersey and the one with blue background on the Away jersey. As stated earlier, Kingfisher and Lloyd continue to enjoy their real estate on the right-chest and the back of the jersey respectively.

The Game for Green jersey remained very similar to the Home attire only with the primary colour changed to a lighter shade of green. Also, the twitter handles of the players which were used on the green jerseys traditionally by RCB were dropped and replaced with actual names similar to other games in this season.

The team in the green apparel for 2017.

Apart from jerseys, there were no changes in the trousers with Zeven and 7UP retaining their slots. The headgear continued to display Himalaya Men logo on one side while a new entrant WROGN, Virat Kohli's own brand made its way to the back of the caps replacing Acer from last year.

The team in the Home jersey for 2017.

This season was hugely disappointing for the ardent fanbase of RCB. I would call it '10 Years of Badluck' and eagerly hope for the next season to be ours! Massive changes are expected to happen for the 2018 season for the team as well as the tournament. I expect lots of changes on the RCB jerseys too, with a huge possibility of change in the apparel sponsor as well.

Stay tuned for more! 

Official Sponsors & Partners of RCB for 2017

The corporate backing of RCB for 2017 has been unveiled on the official website. Have a look below.

The 2017 batch of sponsors and partners for RCB.

Founding Partner: United Spirits Limited
Principal Partners: Gionee Smartphones, Lloyd Air Conditioners, Kingfisher Premium
Associate Partners: Jio Telecom, Karnataka Jungle Lodges & Resorts, Himalaya Men, Duroflex Mattresses, Gatorade, Wrogn, Zeven, Boost, 7UP, Tissot Watchers, Radio Mirchi, DNA Networks

Stands at M Chinnaswamy Stadium have been named after few of these brands and I had previously noted this in this post. I took a further step and predicted the RCB Jerseys for 2017 using the sponsors featured on stadium stands and illustrated it in my last post.

As per this official list updated on the official website, the brands that get their share of real estate on playing jerseys may include the following.

Belly: Gionee
Chest: Lloyd Air Conditioners
Back: Kingfisher
Leading Arm 1: Jio
Leading Arm 2: IPL Logo
Non-Leading Arm 1: Karnataka Jungle Lodges & Resorts
Non-Leading Arm 2: Duroflex Mattresses
Leading Leg: 7UP / Gatorade / Wrogn / Boost
Non-Leading Leg: Zeven
Headgear: Himalaya Men

Prediction on RCB's 2017 Jerseys!

Following my previous post on the new sponsors which were guessed based on the naming of stands at Chinnaswamy stadium, I now present my predictions on the RCB Jerseys for 2017. What's changed and what's retained? Read on.

Zeven is manufacturing the jerseys for the second year and the home-away system would continue. The system is likely to be adopted by the other teams this time. As noted previously, we might have Gionee Smartphones on the belly while Lloyd Air Conditioners would retain the chest area.

As usual, the IPL tournament logo will go on the leading arm. This season's logo is a commemorative logo made to celebrate a decade of IPL.

The 10th Year Anniversary Logo.

The possible new entrants Jio Telecom, Duroflex Mattresses and Karnataka Tourism's Jungle Lodges & Resorts branding might get their slots on arms along with the IPL logo. The back would remain unchanged, featuring the Kingfisher branding.

Check my predictions for home and away jerseys below:

The possible RCB home jersey for 2017.

The possible RCB away jersey for 2017.

A new episode in 'The Royal Attire' series will come up soon once the launch officially takes place before the start of the season. Stay tuned!

Disclaimer: None of these sponsors have been announced officially by the RCB. Please note that the article relies majorly on my guesswork and possibilities exist that would render all the above information false.

Who's in the RCB Brand House for IPL10?

The tickets for RCB's home matches went on sale a couple of days ago and the portal to book the tickets displays the map below. It is noticeable that the stands at Chinnaswamy Stadium have been named after brands which could be nothing but the RCB's sponsors' batch of 2017!

Layout of M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

As you've noticed, we have Gionee, the Chinese smartphone maker in house this time, probably going as a main sponsor on the jersey! The A Stand, P1 Annexe, P1 Stand, P2 Stand are named after Gionee. At this moment, I have no news about Gionee's disassociation with KKR.

We also have Jio, the telecom company that took the whole nation by storm. Jio appears on B Upper, B Lower and M2 Stand. Last year's association with LYF Smartphones+  appears to be replaced with Jio; the same might be making its way on the sleeves of RCB, MI and RPS jerseys.

We can also notice Duroflex Mattresses on M4 Stand and G Upper Stand, which probably might have replaced Britannia slot on the jersey.

Another interesting observation is the naming of G1 Stand Lower, G2 Stand Lower and M1 Stand after Karnataka Jungle Lodges. The Karnataka Tourism Department might be sponsoring RCB for the 2017 season, probably getting featured on the jersey as well. As there is no news on Tata Motors continuing as a sponsor, I pick the slot Tata Bolt and Tata Zest were previously featured on to get replaced with Jungle Lodges & Resorts.

Apart from these newcomers, the past brands that continue their association with RCB include Kingfisher (named on E Executive Lounge, P Corporate, C Upper and C Lower) which goes on the back of the jersey, Lloyd Air Conditioners (named on Pavilion P3, Pavilion Terrace and Fan Terrace N) which would featured on chest and Himalaya Men (named on D Corporate and M3 Stand) which would be seen on the headgear.

Zeven is manufacturing the apparel again as per the two-year contract and would get featured on the trouser on one side while the slot on the other side might be taken up by 7-UP for this year too.

I am expecting all these brands on which the stands have been named after to get their share of real estate on the jersey. Stay tuned for my final prediction and illustration of the jerseys!

Disclaimer: None of these sponsors have been announced officially by the RCB. Please note that the article relies majorly on my guesswork and possibilities exist that would render all the above information false.

Video: The Evolution of RCB Jerseys from 2008 to 2016

Did you know that RCB has used 19 jerseys in the past 9 years? I have been writing about all the jerseys that the RCB has used since its launch. I have made a small video about the same for those who prefer watching to reading and here it is!

If you liked watching this video and if this helped you go nostalgic, subscribe my youtube channel for exclusive updates!

I am participating in the RCB's Bold Crew contest and I request you to help me win it! Only thing you have to do is VOTE! Just create an account and vote me!

Here is the link: https://www.royalchallengers.com/boldarmy/20577

The Apparel Sponsorship History of IPL

The IPL has been a huge hit since its initiation. It has never failed to bring joy on the faces of the investors. The official apparel partners are one such important entities that have been striving to establish an identity and make the team we support look great. This post explains the timeline and association of these kitmakers with the teams of IPL all along. Below is the table which demonstrates the sponsorship history for the kit manufacturers.

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The Indian Premier League was launched in 2008 and it didn’t lag in attracting the giants of the sportswear industry to sponsor its franchises. The first incarnation of the league saw three of the big players in the sports world sponsoring seven IPL teams. Reebok bagged the rights for four teams - RCB, CSK, KKR and RR while Adidas came up to manufacture kits for MI and DD. Adidas sponsored the two teams for which the captains, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were their brand ambassadors. Nike was the kit manufacturer for DC. This was Nike’s first and last relationship with the IPL. Provogue, a not-so-popular fashion brand, made kits for KXIP in 2008.

Captains after signing the MCC-SOC Pledge during the launch of Season 3 of DLF IPL in 2010.

While the sponsorship deals with RCB, CSK, MI, DD and KKR were for five years, the other three teams let go of their respective sponsors the next season. 2009 was the year that welcomed Puma into IPL with its association with RR and DC both, signing a five-year deal. Reebok terminated its RR deal which lasted for one year and replaced it with a new four-year deal with KXIP. The number of teams that Reebok sponsored was still 4 in 2009 including RCB, CSK, KKR and KXIP.

MCC Spirit of Cricket event during the launch of Season 4 of DLF IPL (2011)

Nothing changed for next two seasons. In 2011, two new teams were a part of IPL – PWI and KTK. While Adidas extended its IPL presence by bagging the deal for two years with PWI, Lotto made a deal with KTK. This lasted for a single season as KTK didn’t play further.

Captains during the MCC Spirit of Cricket Pledge at the Opening Ceremony of DLF IPL Season 5 (2012)

The association of Reebok with RCB, CSK and KKR and that of Adidas with MI and DD lasted for 5 years, ending in 2012. Adidas’ PWI 2-year deal also ended in 2012. The Reebok sponsorship was extended by and year for KKR and by two years for RCB and CSK.  Adidas also renewed the deal for two more years to MI and for one year to DD. Puma’s 5-year deal was fulfilled in 2013, however, because DC was defunct in 2013, the replacing team – SRH was awarded the last-year Puma deal. A new player - TK Sports, made its way into IPL by sponsoring KXIP and PWI the same year.

The Opening Ceremony of Season 6 of Pepsi IPL in 2013

The 2014 season of IPL witnessed three out of eight teams to play without an official kitmaker. DD, KKR and RR became sponsor-less for the season while Reebok’s RCB, CSK association and Adidas’ MI association officially ended. TK sports continued to make kits for KXIP, also bagged deal with SRH the same year in place of the defunct PWI.

Captains pose during the Pepsi IPL Season 7 Opening Ceremony in 2014

The next season of 2015 saw as much as three new sponsors for the franchises. Adidas returned to IPL by sponsoring RCB and Spartan jumped into IPL by sponsoring CSK. Both Adidas and Spartan, this time sponsored the teams which had their ambassadors – Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni as captains. The home brand of Reliance – Performax sponsored MI from 2015. Long-time sports goods manufacturer – Shiv-Naresh made a deal with DD. TK Sports launched ‘Tyka’ brand and continued to sponsor KXIP and SRH.

Captains assemble before the 2015 Pepsi IPL (Season 8) Trophy and the Bat for signing the MCC Spirit of Cricket Pledge

Till 2015, at least one international brand existed in the manufacturer line-up for the IPL teams. 2016 is the year that saw the domestic domination. No teams had a deal with any international apparel manufacturer. Two new entrants for this season were Zeven and Seven. Zeven is a new brand launched by Mahesh Bhupathi and Ravi Shastri which sponsors RCB while Seven is Dhoni’s own brand backed by Spartan that sponsors RPS, one of the two new teams. Tyka extended its presence by sponsoring the new team GL.

The captains, Rajiv Shukla (then Chairman of IPL) and Anurag Thakur (then President of BCCI)
assemble before the Vivo IPL Season 9 trophy in 2016

Why are the globally reputed manufacturers backing off from IPL? What is the reason for this domestic dominance in IPL? Is this an evidence that ‘Make in India’ is working here too? Drop in your comments below!