Tata Sierra, Cadbury top Ormax’s most impactful IPL 2026 brand rankings

MUMBAI: In the IPL, every ball grabs attention but only a few brands truly hit it out of the park. A new study by Ormax Media suggests that while cricket delivers unmatched scale, it is smart execution rather than sheer visibility that separates the biggest winners from the rest.

According to Ormax Trac20: Ad & Sponsorship Effectiveness Research for IPL 2026, Tata Sierra, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Tata AIG, Rapido, Google AI Mode and Wonder Cement emerged as the six brands that gained the most from their IPL 2026 associations. The brands recorded the highest Ormax Mpact Scores among 54 brands evaluated in the study.

The proprietary Ormax Mpact framework measures brand lift by tracking statistically significant movement across key consumer metrics, including top-of-mind awareness, spontaneous awareness, total awareness, consideration, and purchase or usage intent.

The findings are based on 15,000 online interviews, comprising 7,500 surveys conducted before the IPL season and 7,500 after its conclusion. Each of the 54 participating brands was evaluated among 300 to 500 consumers during both phases. The research covered urban India across IPL franchise home cities and key commercial markets, including metros, mini-metros and smaller towns.

Each of the top-performing brands followed a distinct strategy. Tata Sierra combined the advantages of title sponsorship with in-stadium branding, commentary mentions, its role as the official trophy car for the final and the ‘Escape Mediocre’ campaign. Cadbury Dairy Milk created buzz through its ‘Khaas Seat’ initiative, reserving a special section at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium for first-time matchgoers.

Tata AIG integrated its ‘Fan Box’ activation into the live broadcast alongside commentary mentions and campaigns across television and streaming platforms. Rapido, an official broadcast sponsor on JioHotstar and Star Sports, amplified visibility through its ‘First Ride Free’ campaign, while Google AI Mode leveraged contextual cricket integrations and commentator references to familiarise audiences with its AI-powered search experience. Wonder Cement combined its Official Umpire Partner status with DRS-linked branding and its ‘Farq Nazar Aayega’ campaign.

Beyond ranking individual brands, the report analyses the effectiveness of different IPL marketing formats, including title sponsorships, tournament partnerships, franchise sponsorships, in-stadium branding, commentary integrations and traditional advertising.

The research concludes that while cricket remains one of India’s biggest advertising platforms, sustained consumer impact depends on combining clear messaging, contextual relevance and consistent visibility across multiple touchpoints rather than relying solely on scale. The full Ormax Trac20: Ad & Sponsorship Effectiveness Research for IPL 2026 report is available through subscription.