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Vi was ‘buzziest’ brand in IPL ’21 phase 1, Dream 11 in phase 2: Wavemaker report
Mumbai: Popularity and excitement around IPL in India continue to grow year on year. This time, social chatter around the tournament grew by 33 per cent over last year and crossed 80+ million mentions this season, according to an IPL 2021 report presented by Wavemaker India. The report which captures the social conversations around this season’s IPL, for both first and second phase, found that the first phase which was played in India garnered more mentions (42 million) than the second phase (38 million) which was played in UAE recently.
The study has been done by Wavemaker Mesh – the real-time data Intelligence solution that reads real-time environmental signals. The first Phase refers to matches played in India from 9 April to 2 May and the second phase refers to matches played in UAE from 19 September to 16 October.
Telecom brand Vi was the ‘buzziest’ brand in the first phase of the event, even as it continued to engage fans with ‘Fan of the Match’ activity during IPL hours, said the report. After Vi, it was Vivo, Unacademy, Cred, and Dream11 that created buzz on the advertiser leaderboard.
In the second phase of the IPL this year, Dream 11 emerged as the ‘buzziest’ advertiser, even as Vivo, Unacademy, and Dream11 maintained their leader spot in the top five. Paytm and Ceat were the new advertisers in the top 5 buzziest advertisers, as per the findings of the report.
Cred’s popular ad featuring Rahul Dravid as ‘Indranagar Ka Gunda’ was the most viral advertisement this IPL season. According to Intuition Intelligence, the agency’s partner on creative analytics solutions, the ad received a Virality Grade (VG) of eight which is amongst the most viral ad in the ecosystem. After Cred, the ‘This Is How We Roar’ ad by Myntra featuring MSD, Jadeja, and Bravo was second on the leaderboard with a VG score of 57.
In the second phase, the Cadbury Dairy Milk cricket stadium ad #GoodLuckGirls with the nostalgic and gender-empowering take on their 90’s ad emerged as the most viral ad.
Tellingly, amongst the top 10 viral ads on IPL in the second phase, five ads were by fantasy sports platform, Dream 11.
Fourth-time IPL winner Chennai Super Kings, led by skipper MS Dhoni was the most buzz-generating team in IPL 2021 and drove maximum chatter around the event & the matches, with a clear spike seen in matches where CSK is playing any other team.
Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma have been adjudged the most popular players this season, as per the report.
With IPL over on 15 October, the study also shifts gears to the ongoing ICC WC 2021. Since the end of IPL, there are already 1.2 million mentions around the T20 World Cup, with nearly 50 per cent mentions being on the much-touted Ind Vs Pak match played on 24 October, says the report.
The analysis, based on multiple data points, was collated to create meaningful and actionable insights by Wavemaker India. The report has data sources from multiple consumer touchpoints across the digital ecosystem ranging from social listening, Video analytics in partnership with intuitive intelligence, interaction data points collected from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, stated the agency.
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Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
