India’s sports calendar is no longer limited to cricket. With the growing popularity of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), brands now have new, high-impact arenas to connect with engaged regional and national audiences. These properties offer a compelling mix of reach, emotional loyalty, and cost-effective advertising opportunities. Whether through on-ground activations, jersey sponsorships, or CTV video ads, brands are increasingly using these platforms to stay visible beyond cricket. In 2024, two such campaigns from Freemens and Digidartup demonstrated how even niche sporting leagues can deliver strong awareness and targeted engagement.
Case Study 1: Freemans – Pro Kabaddi League Phase 3, 2024
Freemans, a well-known measuring tape brand, activated a high-impact on-ground campaign during Phase 3 of the Pro Kabaddi League 2024 to complement its jersey sponsorship of the Tamil Thalaivas team. The brand aimed to drive awareness and boost visibility among a male-dominated audience aged 25 and above from NCCS A, B, and C segments across India.
The campaign was executed through in-stadium branding and live match activations in Pune, ensuring direct audience interaction during match moments. By embedding its messaging within the live kabaddi experience, Freemens successfully captured attention at a hyper-local level while reinforcing its national presence through the Tamil Thalaivas association. The strategic combination of on-ground engagement and team partnership led to a measurable lift in brand recall among kabaddi fans, making the brand synonymous with real, reliable tools in a sport built on precision and strength.
Case Study 2: Hockey India League via PKL Midrolls, 2024
Digidartup launched a Connected TV campaign to build pan-India brand awareness during the Hockey India League 2024, cleverly timing the media with popular PKL match slots on Disney+ Hotstar between December 24 and 27, 2024.
With a budget of ₹5 lakhs, the campaign executed 16 mid-roll video ad spots across 6 key kabaddi matches, using 10-second creatives designed for quick, high-recall impact. The campaign delivered over 8.3 lakh impressions and reached more than 3.1 lakh unique viewers, achieving 100 percent delivery against the planned inventory. By riding the wave of PKL’s growing digital audience and associating with live sports moments, Digidartup effectively extended its visibility across both regional and national audiences, all within a focused, cost-efficient media window.
Conclusion
As viewer interest expands beyond cricket, leagues like PKL is opening up powerful, underutilized spaces for brand storytelling. Freemans’ activation showed how on-ground presence during kabaddi matches can build meaningful, face-to-face engagement, while Digidartup’s midroll strategy proved how CTV campaigns during non-cricket sports can still deliver scale and sharp targeting. These campaigns confirm that India’s evolving sports ecosystem offers fresh ground for brands ready to move fast, go regional, and stand out where few others are playing.
Let The Media Ant help you plan your next campaign across India’s rising sports leagues. We’ll help you capture attention, engage smarter, and show up where it counts. Reach out to us at Ad@themediaant.com.
