Scoring Safe: How E-Commerce Platforms Leverage IPL to Promote Condom Usage Across India

Scoring Safe: How E-Commerce Platforms Leverage IPL to Promote Condom Usage Across India

New Delhi [India], May 5: In a vast and diverse country like India, where the reach of condoms is limited, e-commerce wellness companies are using immensely popular sporting events like the IPL to reach millions of otherwise unreachable people and encourage the adoption and consistent usage of condoms and sexual wellness products.

For instance, CondomBazaar.com, a popular e-commerce retail store specialising in condoms and sexual wellness products, promotes IPL-themed product bundles. According to the Condom Bazaar team, “The Indian Premier League (IPL) is more than just a cricket tournament; it’s a cultural phenomenon that captivates millions nationwide. We recognise its vast reach and strategically align our marketing efforts with the IPL season to promote condom usage.”

With targeted interventions like these, e-commerce retailers aim to normalise conversations around sexual wellness and encourage condom usage.

Decoding the Market

Despite advancements, condom usage in India remains relatively low. The NFHS-5 survey indicates that around 10% of men in India reported using condoms. So, there is a significant gap in awareness and adoption of condoms as a viable contraceptive method. Furthermore, the prevalence of condom usage is not uniform across India; it varies according to numerous demographic factors. For instance, only 7.6% of men in rural areas use condoms, as opposed to 13.6% of men in urban areas. Similarly, condom usage varies according to the state.

So, it makes reaching a wider audience and promoting condom usage with ads relevant to the local contexts extremely challenging. There is a clear need to find a common theme to reach diverse sections of society without facing these hurdles. This is where IPL comes in.

IPL: The Key to Mass Engagement

According to Star Sports statistics, the 2024 IPL season had a cumulative viewership of more than 40 crores for the live broadcast of 18 matches. The IPL’s extensive viewership cuts across urban and rural demographics, making it an ideal theme to connect with audiences that cannot be reached by any other means. It offers an excellent opportunity to engage with people nationwide in a context that is both entertaining and relevant.

Take the story of Rajesh Yadav, a farmer in the village of Bhogpur, Uttar Pradesh. Rajesh is a 28-year-old ardent cricket fan with two children. His wife, Anjali, had often requested him to get condoms for contraception, as the couple had reached the limit as to the number of children they could afford to have. “He used to tell me to either get sterilised at the district government hospital or walk the path God has chosen for us. But I never liked the idea of permanent contraception”, says Anjali.

“My friends in the village always made fun of those using condoms. As a result, I believed using them is shameful”, Says Rajesh. That changed suddenly when Rajesh encountered an IPL-themed condom advertisement on his smartphone. He was initially interested only in the IPL theme. “I asked myself how cricket and condoms could be connected. I was amused but curious. I followed the link and saw so many varieties of condoms listed on that site. I never knew about them before. Seeing condoms in fruit flavours made me want to try them”, says Rajesh.

The initial hesitation turned into inspiration. Rajesh not only started experimenting with different types of condoms but also started encouraging his friends in the village to try them. Anjali is also happy with the change. “Now that we use condoms regularly, we do not have disagreements on contraception usage. We have managed to find unity and intimacy by simply choosing a contraceptive that we both like. It all happened because of Rajesh’s interest in IPL”, says Anjali.

E-Commerce Initiatives Promote Sexual Wellness During the IPL Season

Sexual wellness is more than just condoms and contraception. From intimate hygiene products to lubes and lingerie, there are numerous wellness products available online. E-commerce wellness stores like Condom Bazaar are packaging all these products together and promoting them during the IPL season.

According to the Condom Bazaar team, “By bundling condoms, a functional contraception method, with other interesting sexual wellness products, we aim to make condoms more appealing to purchase for even the otherwise uninterested people. These bundles offer a great value for money and appeal to those who want to experiment.”

Condom Bazaar is leveraging the power of IPL to reach the audience through marketing efforts that resonate with cricket enthusiasts like the young couple Priya and Arjun from Delhi. “Watching IPL together and supporting the same team brought us together into a relationship! So, we believe every match is a celebration and an opportunity to strengthen our bond”, says Priya. They both felt the idea of using condoms at a time of celebration to be unexciting.

One evening, they came across a social media advertisement from Condom Bazaar promoting an IPL-themed intimacy bundle. “We both found the contents of that bundle interesting. Having products that promote intimacy and experimentation seemed like a perfect way to celebrate great sporting moments”, Says Arjun.

The couple initially treated condoms that came with the package as added extras. “We soon realised every product in the bundle, including the condom pack, is carefully curated. They all complemented each other so well that we started liking the condoms in the end. We use them regularly now!”, says Priya. These intimacy bundles introduced condoms to a couple who never intended to use them and added a whole new dimension to their relationship.

IPL and E-commerce Marketing: The Perfect Duo for Promoting Sexual Wellness Products

By promoting condoms with IPL-themed initiatives, e-commerce platforms are reaching diverse audiences, including those in rural areas and younger demographics. These initiatives are not only boosting sales but also playing a crucial role in normalising the conversation around sexual wellness and intimacy. As these campaigns continue to evolve, they hold the potential to significantly increase condom adoption and usage across India, contributing to better public health outcomes.

For more information, visit www.CondomBazaar.com.

VJIM Hyderabad launches T10 format Cricket Tournament: 64 teams, 900 students to participate

VJIM Hyderabad launches T10 format Cricket Tournament: 64 teams, 900 students to participate

The cricket fever is back in Hyderabad with a loud bang, as the Hyderabad based premiere management institute, Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management, (VJIM) as it completes 30 years in offering quality education, in association with The Hindu Future India Club (FIC) launches the T10 cricket tournament in three regions of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana from Feb 17th 2023.

According to Dr. Ch. S Durga Prasad, Director of VJIM, “The T10 tournament has been organized for undergraduate students and young cricketers to demonstrate their skills in the field. Something like this is being organised for the first time post pandemic as an opportunity for the students community to once again participate in big tournaments and compete on a larger scale. This will also help us in identifying a cricketing talent pool which can be nurtured for the future by providing better facilities and support, both in sports and studies. Colleges from Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam participated in large numbers and we already have over 900 students from 64 teams, 32 from Hyderabad, 16 each from Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, each consisting of 15 players. Who knows at the end of the tournament we might see a few budding cricketers coming up!”

The action packed tournament will witness four matches played every day over a period of one week. All matches are of the “knockout” format and there will be 10 overs per innings. Students from colleges in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam will participate in the tournament, with the venue being Pallavi Model Schools at Hyderabad, Alwar Das grounds (M.V.P. Colony) in Visakhapatnam and V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College at Kanuru Vijayawada.

The winning teams from Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada will play for AP Finalists and the tournament grand finale, scheduled on February 26, will be played between the Hyderabad finalist and AP finalist in Hyderabad.

Alongwith Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management (VJIM), two more institutes contributing are – Pallavi Model Schools, Hyderabad and V.R. Siddahartha Engineering College at Vijayawada as the venue partners.

VJIM, one of the oldest and most popular Business Schools of Hyderabad offers a 2 year full time PGDM Program in Business Analytics, Human Resource management (HRM), Finance, Marketing, Operations Programme. Applications now open. The placements for 2021-23 batch of management students was completed successfully where more than 100 recruiters visited campus and 95% students were placed  till Jan 2023. Top recruiters for the batch 2023 had been Adani Wilmar, Amul, EGON Life, Big Basket, Berger, City Union Bank, Deloitte, ICICI Prudential, Godrej, ICICI Bank among others.

This T10 tournament was conceptualized keeping in mind the IPL 2023 & WPL 2023. IPL 2023 will commence from Mar 31st, 2023 where a total of 10 teams shall fight it out in 2 groups of  5 each to be played in 10 different stadiums across the country. This year’s IPL matches will be played in Ahmedabad, Mohali, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai, Guwahati and Dharamsala.