In a country with a population of 224 million, of which almost 70% are under 30 and come from an array of diverse ethnicities, cricket acts as a strong unifying force. Cricket creates passion and excitement and represents a significant opportunity for brands to establish an emotional connection with their audiences.

Pioneers of Pakistan’s ad world, such as Javed Jabbar, Numan Nabi Ahmed and the late S.M. Hashmi, among others, saw the opportunity and used sports in their advertising to reach their audiences. In the late eighties, cricket became the passion and obsession of the Pakistani nation. It was the era of ‘heroes,’ when there were numerous stars with a strong fan following in the Pakistani cricket team. Here are a few examples.

• Fazal Mahmood, hero of the 1954 Oval Test and fast bowler and charmer of his times, featured in an ad for Brylcreem.

• In the late seventies, Pakistani hockey skipper Islah Uddin appeared in a Shezan Samarqand TVC along with one of the most famous jingles of that time. “Muqabaly kai baad hai Jeet Ka maza. Sakht ho muqabala tau aur maza hai”.

• World squash champion, Jahangir Khan became a brand ambassador for PIA.

• In the early eighties, Farooq Textile Mills featured fast bowler Dara Bashir with one of their prints in the background.

• Wills (the cigarette brand), was almost synonymous with cricket. They spent heavily on supporting cricket, featuring Asif Iqbal, Javed Miandad, Imran Khan, Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan in a series of TV commercials. Wills was a pioneer in Pakistan in terms of their focus on sports marketing. They also sponsored local-level cricket events.

• In the nineties, the era of Taher A. Khan, the head of Interflow, Pepsi linked cricket and passion. They achieved this so successfully and brought the association between cricket and Pepsi to a new level.

The terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009 had a profoundly adverse impact on Pakistani cricket. No international team was prepared to visit Pakistan, and international matches took place in Dubai. However, whether you agree or not, the credit goes to Najam Sethi for conceiving the idea of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The first PSL took place in 2016 in Dubai. After a couple of years, it shifted to Pakistan and opened the doors for tours by international cricketers. In the last couple of years, except for India, almost every international cricket team has visited Pakistan.

We at Pulse Consultants have been following PSL advertising since 2018 under #PSLBrandsMania, and helping brands invest in sports marketing based on our data and insights.

PSL has opened new avenues for brands. Apart from Ramzan, PSL is the only event that lasts for an entire month. During PSL, the loyalty factor or love affair with any team is fragile and changes from day to day and match to match. We observed that engagement with teams and tournaments increased and decreased, and this is why brands should encourage audiences to look at the matches as a win for Pakistan, no matter which team wins.

There has been considerable investment in PSL, and it provides opportunities to acquire branding properties. In 2019, 88 brands sponsored or advertised during one or more of the PSL matches. In 2024, 149 brands sponsored or advertised during PSL.

HBL took the lead in 2016 and acquired the title of PSL, so that today, PSL advertises under the name HBL PSL. The year 2025, will be the 10th year of PSL. Advertising opportunities include several touch points: boundary line screens, ground mats, ground activations, overlay commercials, clothing, and kits. Another key area of branding is discussion programmes and late-night shows.

There is fierce competition between electronic and digital media to secure advertising. According to several sources (cumulative), in season nine, an estimated Rs ± 2.8 billion was spent on electronic media (almost the same as the previous year), and Rs ± 400 million was spent on digital (Rs ±500 million was reported in 2023). An estimated ±41.92 million unique urban eyeballs watched PSL 9 (In 2023 it was ± 43.3 million) at any time over 30 days, on electronic screens (source: Kantar/ Media Logic). On digital, there were approximately ±37.7 million unique viewers at a national level (source: PSL.walee.pk). There are two to three TV channels versus several digital platforms (such as Tamasha, Tapmad and Myco) that broadcast the event live. Only a few brands advertise across all TV channels and digital platforms; otherwise, according to their budget, brands are selective in their media choices.

OOH advertising is another battleground. OTT platforms like Tamasha, Tapmad and Myco are trying to convince audiences to use their app for digital viewership. However, many brands that do not sponsor PSL can still capitalise on the season’s atmosphere by their cricket-related communication featuring signs or images of players before and after matches.

In HBL PSL 9, in 2024, ±149 brands of ±151 companies were active. A total of ±151 TVCS were aired on TV, and ±49 ads were promoted digitally. The main challenge here is for brands to break the clutter. Another challenge is the increased costs that come with advertising during PSL.

Given fragmented media consumption patterns, sports remain one of the few moments when millions of people simultaneously focus their attention on the same thing. Furthermore, mega sports events like PSL also provide opportunities to think beyond sports, as many people who don’t normally engage in sports follow major tournaments, especially if their local team is performing well.

The objective of ads is to create awareness and generate trials. Some brands focus on frequency, while others concentrate on quality and the messages. Some companies promote all their brands, whereas others focus on a single brand. However, in both cases, their ads often lacked connection to the event and the audience. Sports marketing experts advise that ads should be distinctive; humour may play a vital role) and they should reflect the positive tone of the event and be clear in terms of the display of their brand identities, logos, products, and messaging.

There is also a language and cultural disconnect prevailing at the tournament. Although PSL identifies and develops players hailing from far-flung rural areas in Pakistan, the overall look of the event is very Western. The predominant language of commentary is English, with a very low share (and quality) given to Urdu commentary. In India, a separate TV channel provides commentary only in Hindi. Also, take for example the fact that HBL PSL 9’s official tagline, “#KhulKeKhel,” was written in Roman English, whereas HBL ran a campaign, Palat do khel, written and communicated in Urdu. In spontaneous recall, the HBL tagline was recalled much more than PCB’s official tagline – highlighting the power of communication in one’s mother tongue, which is missing here.

Involvement in HBL PSL depends on the overall performance of the Pakistani cricket team in international events. If they do not perform well initially, the probability of participation in the early phases of the tournament is significantly lower. It is always advisable for brands to avoid associating themselves with a ‘star’ – until or unless he performs like Arshad Nadeem in the Olympics. Otherwise, there may be a backlash for the brand.

Kashif Hafeez Siddiqui is CEO, Pulse Consultant. kashif.hafeez@pulseconsultant.com