Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered), the iconic phrase immortalised by Julius Caesar after his victory at the Battle of Zela around 47 BC, perfectly reflects the sway of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises over Indian consumers. Cricket gained tremendous traction in India, particularly after the Indian team, led by the legendary Kapil Dev, won the one-day format World Cup in 1983. Sachin Tendulkar’s aura and Sourav Ganguly’s aggression further cemented cricket’s position as the most loved sport in India. However, it was the IPL which leveraged the love for cricket, monetised it, and took it to unprecedented heights of popularity and passion.
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The IPL revolutionised cricket, not just in India but across the world, by combining it with entertainment. The journey started in 2007 with the unveiling of IPL teams in a club format playing 20-over cricket matches (T20). The inaugural season was held during April to June 2008 and comprised eight teams, each led by an iconic player. The auction money generated for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was a whopping US$723.59 million, significantly higher than the combined reserve price of US$400 million. The eight franchises collectively spent approximately US$47.16 million to acquire 75 players for the first IPL.
As the IPL mania unfolded over the years, it moved from being just a cricket tournament to becoming a platform for crafting brands. The IPL has proved to be a disruptive innovation that has comprehensively and significantly altered the product category trajectory by offering a product that satisfies latent unmet needs of Indian consumers. Consequently, even the IPL franchises have diffused into the social system. They are no longer merely IPL franchises but brands unto themselves, brands that Indian consumers identify with, bond with, and remain loyal to.
Fast forward to 2026. On a Saturday evening in Lucknow, a teenager walks into one of the famous kebab eateries wearing a Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) IPL 2025 Fan Edition jersey, orders a “Supergiants Special” Sprite, shares a reel on social media tagged #LSGFamily, checks fantasy league options while counselling a friend on the phone to “thand rakh” (keep your cool). To top it all, this individual could be any one of LSG’s 5.1 million followers on social media across the country.
Cricket may still be a game, but IPL franchises are formidable lifestyle brands, similar to Harley-Davidson, Jeep, Nike, or Red Bull. They are not just after viewership but are building communities and identities through integrated marketing asset creation, robust storytelling, and scalable fan acquisition. This is propelling IPL franchises towards becoming lifestyle brands.
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A lifestyle brand is a brand that embodies the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, and opinions of a set of consumers¹. As a result, consumers do not just use a lifestyle brand, they strongly associate themselves with it in terms of who they are, what they believe in, and the kind of life they aspire to live. It offers consumers a shared identity, for example through LSG-exclusive merchandise, and community-driven engagement, such as LSG Family fan clubs and always-on digital storytelling, fostering a strong sense of belonging. This creates deep relational value and ultimately translates into enduring psycho-social loyalty. An IPL franchise like LSG is not just a cricket team that fans support, it is a lifestyle brand that fans wear, share, live, and love.
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This strategic shift from being a seasonal sporting spectacle to enabling everyday engagement with fans is powered by a brand-building approach similar to that adopted by D2C consumer brands. IPL franchises are now prioritising the creation of a lifestyle identity that engages with consumers 365 days a year through a combination of community- and content-driven approaches.
For example, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) connects with fans through a strategic blend of memes, behind-the-scenes content, and influencer collaborations. The fan chant “Ee Sala Cup Namde” (this time the cup is ours) not only galvanised the team but also turned out to be prophetic at the end of IPL 2025. RCB’s reference to its fans as the “12th man” made them feel part of a shared goal and contributed to the community vibe. The “RCB Insider Show” not only offered sneak peeks but also strengthened the connection by showcasing the humane side of the players.
The Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise facilitates virtual fan experiential engagement through its “Metaverse Stadium”, where fans, known as the “MI Paltan” (fan army), can create avatars and interact with fellow supporters.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) heavily leverage culture and community in their content to build a robust fan connect. They evoke Tamil pride through consistent use of the Tamil language in their social media content, most notably in the primary tagline “Whistle Podu” (blow the whistle).
Tapping into pop culture, CSK refers to its most iconic player, MS Dhoni, as “Thala”, aligning him with other dominant cultural icons such as “Thalaivar” and “Thalapathy”, film superstars Rajinikanth and Vijay, respectively. This intentional use of vernacular language enhances brand relatability and reinforces authenticity among fans.
Similarly, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) deepen fan engagement through “KKR Unfiltered” by sharing exclusive behind-the-scenes content and candid insights that drive emotionally rich digital storytelling.
IPL franchises are institutionalising their shift into lifestyle D2C brands by building content studios, merchandise ecosystems, fan clubs, loyalty programmes, gaming partnerships, and curated offline experiences.
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Why is this metamorphosis of IPL franchises into lifestyle brands working? The answer lies deep within consumer socio-psychology. Social exchange theory, one of the predominant theories in socio-psychology, posits that any social relationship between entities is governed by the value derived from interdependence, reciprocity, and equity between partners². The relationship between IPL franchises, as lifestyle brands, and fans, as consumers, is driven by three forms of value attainment.
First is aspirational alignment between brand identity and self-identity. You are what you identify with. An LSG fan, therefore, is not just an ordinary individual but a cool, composed person, as positioned through the tagline “thand rakh”.
Second is the sense of camaraderie with fellow fans, or the brand community. Peer-to-peer engagement through platforms such as LSG Family bestows a sense of pride.
Finally, immersive interactions with peers and players, or customer experience, through physical as well as real-time virtual platforms such as LSG’s always-on digital storytelling, enrich fans with cherished memories and make them feel like an integral part of the team’s ecosystem.
Collectively, identity, community, and experience reinforce an IPL franchise’s status as a premier lifestyle brand. The most valuable asset for an IPL franchise is not just how many times it has won the coveted trophy but how robust and engaged its fan ecosystem is.
Therefore, the winning aspiration for an IPL franchise seeking to attain and sustain its status as a lifestyle brand should be to engage fans through ICE, Identity, Community, and Experience.
