MUMBAI: It’s not just sixes and wickets grabbing attention this IPL season brands are battling it out on screen too. But as the latest findings from the eDART-IPL25 study reveal, when it comes to scoring with audiences, it’s the messaging not just the media buy that makes all the difference.

Now in its third week, the ongoing research initiative by CrispInsight and Kadence International has surveyed over 20,000 IPL viewers across 60 plus cities. The insights show a compelling demographic divide in brand recall, indicating that different audience segments are tuning into very different cues even during the same match.

Women viewers, often overlooked in traditional sports marketing strategies, are proving to be strong recall drivers in everyday categories. Seventeen per cent of women respondents remembered food and snack brands, while 6 per cent recalled two-wheeler ads and 3 per cent remembered personal care categories.

By contrast, men gravitated more toward traditionally male-skewed IPL categories, with 21per cent recalling automobile ads, 48 per cent fantasy sports, 16 per cent tyres, and 6 per cent financial services.

Age also played a starring role. Viewers aged 15–19 years were highly responsive to fantasy sports (39 per cent) and beverage brands (23 per cent), whereas those aged 45 plus showed stronger recall for banking (29 per cent), liquor (21 per cent), and e-commerce (18 per cent). The study’s Day-After Recall (DAR) method tracked which ads actually stuck with viewers, and the results reveal a powerful insight: relevance trumps repetition.

This isn’t just about what’s shown during the match, it's about what resonates with the audience on a deeper level. Advertisers often focus on visibility, but what truly drives recall is the alignment between a brand’s message and the values, preferences, and lifestyle of the viewer. Our study shows that when brands engage with women or youth-focused categories, even in traditionally underrepresented sectors, they have the potential to create a lasting connection,” said a spokesperson from CrispInsight. “In this competitive ad space, it’s not just the volume of ads that matters, but how well those ads connect with specific audiences.”

Women are an underleveraged audience in sports marketing,” added Kadence International partner at Aman Makkar. “Brands in categories like snacks, wellness, and mobility should seize this opportunity. A more inclusive approach to IPL advertising could drive meaningful engagement across a broader demographic.”

Even among the same telecast, brand impressions vary drastically across demographics. Categories like fantasy sports and automobiles benefit from sheer visibility. But sectors such as food, mobility, and wellness often punch above their weight when the storytelling clicks particularly with women and Gen Z viewers.

As the league intensifies, the eDART-IPL25 study reminds advertisers that winning hearts isn’t about shouting the loudest, but about speaking the most clearly to the right audience. And in the world’s most-watched cricket carnival, that might just be the winning formula.