Licensing and the IPL clubs.

It is interesting to note, that licensing as a means of differentiating the product or service is yet to take off in India. It is doubly interesting to note, that whereas brand ambassadors are paid royal sums by brand owners; club licensing is yet to come of age. Especially since, use of player images are part of the licensing arrangement.
On the "buy side", marketers are yet to see this opportunity. In my contact with over 100 Corporates, I find that the concept is yet to capture their imagination. In the past, brand owners had to take a consious decision to align the brand with cricket. But the truth is that Bollywood and Cricket dominate the brand ambassador arena. Usage of licensing both as a strategic marketing imperative as well as a tactical marketing foil, are opportunities that club licensing present. Moreover, "aligning" with a club and therefore its fans, mitigates the risk of being aligned to a single and sometimes "out of form" player. The brand no longer "swings" according the the performance of the individual.
On the sell side, the clubs appear to be seeking a silver bullet for garnering revenues. Sponsorship is the low hanging fruit that is available and is characterized by a low no of sponsors, each of whom is paying a high value. Licensing on the other hand, is characterized by a large no of licensees paying a relatively low value. Although the latter is yet to happen.
The important point here is, that licensees need to be "marketed to". The limited amount of inventory available for sponsorship may mislead the club into thinking that this will remain a "sellers" market infinitely. But here are some projects on the anvil.
1.The P20 promoted by the English cricket board is due for launch in summer 2010.
2. The South Asia league promoted by Cricket Australia and the South African cricket is due for launch in 2011/12.
3.The US cricket board has just floated an RFP to run a US based global cricket T20 series in 2011.
4.And the Emirates are planning one in Dubai in 2010/11.
5. More immediately, the Champions league promoted by BCCI, Cricket Australia and South Africa launches its inaugural edition in October 2009. This is a 7 nation cup with 3 IPL teams playing, and the rest clubs drawn from England, South Africa, Australia, West Indies, SriLanka and New Zealand.
However brief it may be, these clubs would have a similar exposure as any sponsor might have, and there is a huge inventory of sponsorships coming into the market over the next 3 years. Prices will therefore have to come down and at that stage the clubs who have not built a licensing channel, may find that streams of revenue are no longer as stable as they once were. Food for thought!