THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK

FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

Mobile Advertising Best Practices
for the 2024 Cricket Season
Foreword 01

Inside the Minds of Cricket Fans 03

App Innings: Popularity and

Usage During the Cricket Season 09

Perfecting the Delivery 13

The Round-up 16
 1

Foreword
A Moment to Connect Beyond Boundaries

Celebrated by Indians and renowned worldwide, cricket has captivated Indian sport
lovers for decades. In India, the cricket season is a national phenomenon — like the
Super Bowl is the US — connecting Indians with each other and their favorite teams.
Millions throng at stadiums or virtually on the internet and television screens to watch
the matches with friends and family. This makes it an advertiser’s dream season to
connect with their existing audience and potential customers.

The Largest Field of Opportunity: Mobile

When the 2023 edition of India’s biggest cricket tournament became free to view
on OTT and millions tuned in, the digital space – particularly mobile – became
even more lucrative for advertisers.

! 32 million people watched the IPL on the official OTT platform

in 2023, beating the previous record of 25.3 million in 2019*

Even if people watch the match on larger screens, the mobile, being an always-on
device, is the second screen. People constantly turn to it for match updates,
running errands, browsing merchandise, ordering food, or calling friends and
family to share match moments.

And now, with the emergence of smart surfaces, people are beginning to access
instant updates with a single tap on their smartphones. This provides plenty of
avenues for brands to make a mark.

The Catch: Rising Media Costs

The competition is fierce on the field, and we are not talking about cricket. Millions of
advertising players vying for consumers’ attention during the cricket season means
heightened media costs. The challenge is that not all brands can afford to sponsor
games or run ads during matches on air. Furthermore, brands need to be able to
measure success with ease. To make their presence memorable, marketers require
an innovative and cost-effective approach.

*Source:
SportsPro Media, 2023

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 2

The Winner's Strategy for Growth Marketers: Giving Emerging Channels a

Shot to Engage and Acquire Users

Marketers must remember the fundamentals and embrace the future to maximize ROI
during the cricket season. Here is what this looks like:

Leverage the power of AI to drive efficiencies: AI and machine

learning can help generate personalized content at scale, tailor experiences
based on consumer context, and consistently offer more relevant experiences
that lead to better app downloads.

Explore emerging channels to drive seamless app download journeys:

Advertisers must be present on platforms such as smart surfaces, where
millions consume content with a single tap, to allow app downloads without
visiting the Play Store.

Measure the success of your app campaign: Leverage preload attribution to

effectively measure outcomes from installs to conversions and get crucial
insights into the number of users opening your app, the comparative performance
of your pre-install campaigns, and campaigns that drove high-value users.

Decode the incremental impact of your campaigns: Leverage incrementality to

understand the incremental impact of your campaigns and creatives.

In the report, we explore how advertisers can deliver experiences that delight consumers
around the cricket season on emerging channels.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

Inside the Minds
of Cricket Fans

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

CHA PT ER 1 I N S I D E T H E M I N D S O F CR I C KE T FA N S 4

How Mobile Changed the Game

TV is not out, but it has given way to everybody’s beloved on-the-go channel, mobile.
Fans now watch cricket tournaments digitally, with mobile playing two key roles:

1. Being the preferred medium where viewers stream the match.

2. Being the second screen that viewers turn to even when the match is on TV.

Thus, even when people are tuning into the matches on television, they pick their
phones up to read analyses, engage with updates, or call friends and family to share
match moments with them.

73% of IPL viewers tune into the tournament digitally

52% of them watch the matches on both TV and mobile
30% prefer watching the IPL solely on mobile, and only 18% prefer TV
Source: The Hindustan Times, 2023

The New Virtual Stadium for Fans:

The Smart Lock Screen

The lock screen was once a dull space where people

could only check the time and notifications. Since 2019,
Glance has turned this passive lock screen into a smart
lock screen – a smart surface that gives people the latest
updates in the language and interest of their choice, as
soon as they pick up their phones, with a single tap. This
has changed the game for Indian sports enthusiasts,
becoming the destination for instant match updates.

21%1 of the content consumed on the

! Glance smart lock screen is around sports

75 million1 people checked the score per day on average

! during the 2023 cricket season on the smart lock screen

568x more score viewers per day on the smart lock screen than the
! number of people that fit into India’s largest cricket stadium2

Source:
1
Glance Platform Data, 2023
2
The Times of India

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 C HAP TER 1 I N S I D E T H E M I N D S O F CR I C KE T FA N S 5

A Close Look at Cricket Lovers

in the Virtual Stadium
Cricket enthusiasts from every corner of the country visit the smart lock screen for
instant and seamless cricket updates. They consume this content in various languages
on the go with a single tap on their smartphones. During the 2023 cricket season, they
stayed updated with snackable stories or cards that showed up on their smart lock
screen. This behavior is in line with today’s demand for instant and easy experiences.

The Spectators on the Smart Lock Screen

Comprising cricket lovers across ages, genders, and

geographies, the smart lock screen is a truly diverse space.

Distribution of Cricket Viewers Based on Device

Price Range, Gender, and Age

15k-20k 35.3%

10k-15k 31.6% 35%

Female

5k-10k 17.2%
Device price range

65%
20k-25k 9.9% Male

25k-30k 2.8%

30k-40k 2% 70%
Gen Z and
40k-50k 0.6%
millennials
60k-70k 0.5%

50k-60k 0.1%
30%
Aged 45+

Source: Glance Advertising Platform Insights, 2023

Younger audiences mean tech-savvy audiences! Brands across verticals

have the chance to drive app downloads with a single tap by offering
How marketers immersive digital experiences on the first mobile touchpoint.
Interestingly, we also find several viewers on devices in the lower and
can win this game: mid price range, indicating that the mobile is India’s easiest gateway
to the internet.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 CHAP TER 1 I N S I D E T H E M I N D S O F CR I C KE T FA N S 6

With the cricket audience on Glance being from various regions, we also see the content
being consumed in different languages.

Regional and Linguistic Distribution of Cricket Content Engagement

on Glance

Ladakh

Jammu
& Kashmir

Hindi
Himachal 13.4% of content
Pradesh consumption

Punjab
Uttarakhand Delhi Lucknow
11.8% 8.5%
Harayana engaged users* Guwahati
engaged 2.2%
users engaged users
NCR Sikkim Arunachal
Patna Pradesh
10.6%
Jaipur
engaged users
4.3%
engaged users Uttar
Rajasthan Pradesh Assam Nagaland
Bihar
Meghalaya

Manipur

Ahmedabad Jharkhand
Tripura
5.3% West
engaged users Gujarat Madya Pradesh Bengal Mizoram

Chhattisgarh
Indore Kolkata
Odisha 7.4%
1.9%
engaged users engaged users
Bangla
5.6% of content
Maharashtra consumption
Mumbai Bhubaneswar
9.5% 2.1%
engaged users engaged users
Marathi Telangana
2.8% of content
Hyderabad
consumption Pune
7.8%
4.8%
engaged users
engaged users

Goa Andra
Karnataka Telugu
Pradesh 4.7% of content
Kannada
3.5% of content consumption
consumption

Bengaluru Chennai
4.9% 5.3%
engaged users engaged users

Puducherry
Tamil Nadu
Ker

Tamil
al

5.1% of content
a

consumption

Highest Lowest

Increasing level of state-wise engagement

*People spending more than 10 minutes a day

on IPL content on the smart lock screen

City-wise distribution
Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh:
! Most engaged states during the 2023 cricket season 55%

South Indian states: Highest cumulative 29%

! engagement during the 2023 cricket season
16%
35% of cricket content engagement comes
! from vernacular languages

Source: Glance Advertising Platform Insights, 2023

Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3+

Create thoughtful and personalized content experiences that cater to

How marketers linguistically diverse audiences. Leverage the power of local languages,
can win this game: landmarks, and passions to create content that wins hearts and drives
instant app installs.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 CHA PT ER 1 I N S I D E T H E M I N D S O F CR I C KE T FA N S 7

What Wins: Content Consumption

During the Cricket Season on Glance
During India’s favorite sporting season, mobile activity and content consumption is
high. Across the season, activity and interest peak especially when there are major
matches. Significant spikes were witnessed on days when the tournament’s previous
winning teams or popular players battle it out.

Cricket Content Consumption Trends During the IPL

IPL Finals
IPL Playoffs Chennai
Chennai
Mumbai vs vs
Mumbai Gujarat
Mumbai vs Kolkata
Mumbai vs
vs Kolkata
vs Chennai
User Interest

Bangalore
Chennai

March 31, 2023 April 30, 2023 May 31, 2023

Content consumption trend

128 million1 users 30 million1 highly

tuned into IPL 2023 engaged users per day
on Glance on Glance in IPL 2023

= =
Over 1/5th of the 227x more than the
total number of IPL number of in-person
viewers that year attendees at the finals2

Source:
1
Glance Advertising Platform Insights, 2023
2
The Times of India

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

CHA PT ER 1 I N S I D E T H E M I N D S O F CR I C KE T FA N S 8

The Best Time to Score: Activity Across the Day

Although Indians are always on their mobiles, the excitement and engagement increase
when it is game time. There is a distinct surge in activity in the second half of the day,
especially around match hours.

Cricket Content Consumption Across the Day

on Glance During IPL 2023

30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
pm

m
pm

am
m

am
pm

pm
am

0a

0p
p

-6
-2

-6

-8
-8

2
-4
-1

-1
-1

-1
pm

am
m

m
m

m
am

pm
m

m
4p

6p
6a

2p
8a

8p
12

12
10

10

! 2.6x higher engagement on video during the cricket season on the smart lock screen

Source: Glance Advertising Platform Insights, 2023

Let your brand offer quips around cricket or deliver match-related

content while seamlessly integrating your offerings. For example, Jio
How marketers
Cinema offered a glimpse of India’s favorite cricket tournament on
can win this game: over 200 million smart lock screens in India, bringing it to the very
first mobile touchpoint.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

App Innings: Popularity
and Usage During the
Cricket Season

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 C HAP TER 2 A PP I N N I N G S : P O P U LA R I TY A N D U SA GE D U R I N G THE IP L 10

Consumers are highly likely to interact with brands that resonate with them during the
IPL and download their apps. Let us look at how installs, session lengths, and retention
increased during IPL 2023, and which verticals saw the greatest numbers.

During the 2023 IPL Season...

Overall mobile apps witnessed a

E-commerce apps witnessed a
13%
higher installs during IPL
compared to the overall
16%
higher installs during IPL
2023 daily install average
compared to the overall
2023 daily install average

Gaming apps witnessed a

Streaming apps witnessed a

15%
higher installs during IPL
45%
higher installs during IPL
compared to the overall
compared to the overall
2023 daily install average
2023 daily install average

Source:
Adjust Data, 2023

Capitalize on high intent, such as the times when people are looking to order
food on match nights or download a streaming app to watch the game.
How marketers Drive seamless one-tap installs without any distractions – directly on the
can win this game: smart lock screen. Let consumers get your app without having to unlock
the phone or visit the Play Store, where there could be drop-offs.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 CHA PT ER 2 A PP I N N I N G S : P O P U LA R I TY A N D U SA GE D U R I N G THE IP L 11

Surging App Session Lengths

• The average session length on apps during the IPL was 24.04 minutes whereas the
yearly average was 23.52 minutes.
• Streaming naturally saw the longest sessions considering the matches, with the
average session length having increased from 20.24 minutes to 32.48 minutes.

• News apps also had engaged cricket fans. The session lengths on news apps
increased from 8.62 minutes to 9.63 minutes during the IPL.

• It is interesting to note that, although other categories saw a slight dip, people still
spent time on these apps despite having tuned into matches.

Session App Lengths: 2023 Average vs IPL 2023 (India)

35

30
Time in minutes

25

20

15

10

0
All E-commerce Food Delivery Games News Streaming

2023 average IPL 2023 average

Source: Adjust Data, 2023

Switch from traditional display banners to seamless content-first

How marketers experiences. Offer glimpses of your offerings on the smart lock
can win this game: screen. Lead new users to install and explore, and existing users
to rediscover and re-engage.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 CHA PT ER 2 A PP I N N I N G S : P O P U LA R I TY A N D U SA GE D U R I N G THE IP L 12

Rising Retention

• Retention rates rose from the yearly average of 20%, up to 20.5% during the IPL.

• Events that cause a jump in app installs and sessions usually lead to a drop-off in
retention, but news, food delivery, and games saw increased retention. This highlights
the role of the mobile as a second screen in the lives of cricket fans.

• Games saw the most increase, up three percentage points from 21% to 24%.

Day 1 Retention Rates: 2023 Average vs IPL 2023 (India)

35%

30%
Time in minutes

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
All E-commerce Food Delivery Games News Streaming

2023 average IPL 2023

Source: Adjust Data, 2023

Identify the right metrics and pay attention to the performance and impact
of creatives on each platform, even outside of the cricket season. This is a
How marketers lesson we learned from Games2win as they saw tremendous success when
they strategically built a user acquisition model to prepare for growth in
can win this game: game monetization. This dedicated approach to mobile measurement
and attribution increased their average revenue per user by 40%.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

Perfecting the
Delivery

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

C HAP TER 3 P ER FE C T I N G T H E D E L I V E R Y 14

Now that you are equipped with insights into how Indian cricket enthusiasts consume
content and interact with their mobile phones, let us see how you can effectively
connect with them.

There are two elements that go into this:

#1 - Context: Consumers look for different things before, during, and after matches.
They are also in different states of mind at these different times. Therefore, it is
important to consider this when you are reaching them.

#2 - Content: The way you present your brand to cricket fans will determine whether
you will catch their eye. Creatives and communication must be compelling and yet
seamlessly integrate into their cricket season experience.

Now, we dive deeper into these two elements.

Context: Spinning App Download Strategies for Before, During,

and After Matches

1 Pre-match 2 During the match

Build excitement before matches with special Identify trending topics and create real-time
offers or product promotions around the match content as you promote your app while
that are likely to result in an instant install. leveraging the enthusiasm around the event.

3 During timeouts 4 Post-match

Make the most of breaks in the action to Promote your app in a smart way by
promote your app in an immersive way addressing the post-match mindset with a
and encourage participation. reference to match moments or highlights.

This can translate into various fun and fresh ways to become a part of cricket moments
on the first mobile touchpoint.

Content: Ideas to Join

Match Moments on the
Smart Lock Screen

Drive app installs and

engagement on the
smart lock screen
Be where cricket fans are and offer a
native experience that drives effortless
app downloads and opens

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 C HAP TER 3 P ER FE C T I N G T H E D E L I V E R Y 15

Lock screen Lock screen feed

Establish an instant cricket

connect visually to acquire
new users Drive instant app
installs without
Change the game with a consumers needing
to unlock the phone
striking match-related visual
or visit the Play Store
that integrates your product
into the experience

Lock screen Lock screen feed

Offer helpful nudges to

drive seamless app opens
Drive instant app
around match hours
opens without
consumers Help consumers take action
needing to unlock
the phone
instantly with contextual
nudges that fulfill a need

Lock screen Lock screen feed

Leverage cricket moments

with a single tap while
remarketing your product
Utilize content
Connect with the cricket lover consumption
by referring to fun and relatable and product affinity
data to retarget users
match moments and intelligently and encourage
incorporating your product app opens

Bring cricket enthusiasts closer to what they love.

Showcase your brand without disrupting their experience. American Tourister
did this in 2023 with a live score API integration on the smart lock screen
How marketers featuring an interactive unit. As people viewed the score, they could explore
can win this game: its bags in all colors. Featuring India's favorite cricketer and clever cricket
and travel wordplay, the experience led to a 1.34x higher engagement
compared to the industry benchmark.

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

 16

The Round-up
Embracing emerging channels and leveraging match moments are the way
forward for an exciting cricket season for your brand and your audience.
Here are 6 key tips to help you score maximum success:

Enable seamless installs Tap into match moments

on the very first 1 2 to create intuitive
mobile touchpoint experiences and
re-engage consumers

Enable discovery Stay present

3 4
with a single tap and relevant
to let fans get your throughout the
app and their content cricket season
before the unlock

Focus on data-driven Understand the

5 6
decision-making assisting influence
by measuring of various channels
success and observing to drive final
usage trends conversion

THE CRICKET PLAYBOOK FOR GROWTH MARKETERS

About Glance
Founded in 2019, Glance is a consumer technology company that operates disruptive
digital platforms including Glance, Roposo, and Nostra. Glance’s ’smart lock screen’
inspires consumers to make the most of every moment by surfacing relevant
experiences without the need for searching and downloading apps. Glance Lock
Screen is currently available on over 450 million smartphones worldwide. Roposo is
a LIVE platform that is revolutionizing live experiences, through a unique, immersive,
creator-led approach. Nostra is the largest gaming platform in India and Southeast
Asia, offering gamers engaging ways to discover, play, watch, learn and compete.
Headquartered in Singapore, Glance is an unconsolidated subsidiary of InMobi Group
and is funded by Jio Platforms, Google, and Mithril Capital. For more information visit
glance.com, roposo.com and nostra.gg.

About Adjust
Adjust an AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) company, is trusted by marketers around the
world to measure and grow their apps across platforms, from mobile to CTV and
beyond. Adjust works with companies at every stage of the app marketing journey,
from fast-growing digital brands to brick-and-mortar companies launching their
first apps. Adjust’s powerful measurement and analytics solutions provide visibility,
insights and essential tools that drive better results.