Focus on reach, not performance: Birla Estates' RCB-led IPL gambit

Real estate developer Birla Estates, from the house of Aditya Birla Group, has unveiled its latest campaign, #StoriesPerSqFt, for the Indian Premier League (IPL), continuing its strategic four-year partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). 

With a digital-led campaign aimed at the brand's core markets, Birla Estates has chosen to make a splash in the highly competitive IPL advertising space to differentiate itself from competitors. The focus, as per the brand, is to build consumer recall instead of performance. 

"Cricket is a religion, a cultural concept in this country," says Anitha Krishnan, head of marketing at Birla Estates.

The IPL, as a property, has experienced significant growth, providing brands with an opportunity to enhance their awareness and prominence and stand out from the competition, she adds.

"For real estate specifically, our perspective was that this is a great opportunity to break the real estate clutter and raise awareness in a different way."

Founded in 2016, Birla Estates remains a relatively new entrant in India's crowded real estate market, where established regional players have dominated for decades.

"We are relatively new in real estate, probably six or seven years old since we launched our first project. The market is extremely crowded, with tonnes of players who have been there for years. While Birla as a brand is something people are aware of, Birla Estates, which is Birla in real estate, is something people are still becoming familiar with," Krishnan explains.

Why RCB?

The choice of RCB as a partner was strategic rather than coincidental. Krishnan elaborates: "While RCB is a pan-India sensation in terms of following, they are primarily based in Bangalore, Karnataka, and our projects in Bangalore were more in numbers. From a business perspective, that influenced our decision."

Beyond geographical alignment, Krishnan emphasises synergy in brand values: "The passion and the way RCB engages with their fans show similarity in how we engage with our customers. We want to create relationships that aren't just for that season but represent long-term engagement. Home is not a transactional purchase—it's not 'you buy one and you're done with it' kind of relationship."

Working with McCann as their creative agency, Birla Estates has crafted a campaign that aims to integrate its corporate positioning with the cricketing context.

"StoriesPerSqFt is actually a corporate campaign where the whole intent is that we don't sell square feet—we create memories. The home is probably one of the most high-value and emotional purchases a customer makes. For the IPL association, we equated a home with the home of RCB, which is the stadium, and the relationships and cricketing highs there," Krishnan notes.

The media strategy for the campaign is primarily digital-led, targeting in-market audiences for real estate in the brand's key markets: Bangalore, NCR, Mumbai and Pune.

"We're looking at cricket-based channels, YouTube, and Meta. It's a mix of largely digital platforms with select outdoor presence in Bangalore," says Krishnan. The jersey sponsorship provides additional television exposure without requiring separate investments in TV advertising.

Having RCB's star power, particularly Virat Kohli, has enhanced the brand's credibility.

"RCB is Virat Kohli, but Virat Kohli is also RCB. Having Virat helps because television cameras always focus on him due to what he's done for cricket and his loyalty to the team. The trust, credibility, legacy—all these are similarities that work well for us and the association," Krishnan observes.

The outcome so far

The four-year association with RCB has yielded measurable results for Birla Estates.

"Our awareness matrix shows pre- and post-checks. Over the last few years, saliency has increased not just in Bangalore but across markets. We've seen around a 60% rise in saliency, 25% in total awareness, and almost 2x in preference," Krishnan reveals.

While hesitant to attribute these gains solely to the IPL association, Krishnan acknowledges its significant contribution: "It is one of the driving factors which aids the whole. We have the Birla brand name, so trust and credibility come with that, plus our engagements on each project with prospects. This combination helps break that first-level awareness barrier."

Currently, Birla Estates is focusing exclusively on four key markets—Bangalore, NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), and Pune—which contribute approximately 70-75% of the overall real estate market in India.

Consumer trends

The company has also identified significant consumer trends shaping product development. "Post-COVID, the requirement for space and space utilisation has become something people are consciously seeking. Multiple devices have become the norm, hence multiple spaces have become critical," Krishnan explains.

Beyond physical spaces, buyers are increasingly looking for comprehensive ecosystems.

"There is a huge need for people to not just buy into an apartment but into an ecosystem. People want greener spaces, better air quality, and proactive health options. The ecosystem you create around has become a huge driver in terms of choice," she adds.

Customer experience remains paramount in this high-involvement category. Birla Estates has leveraged technology to enhance transparency—a key differentiator in an industry often perceived as opaque.

"One of our missions is to bring transformation in how people perceive real estate as a category. We've used technology to make everything more transparent," says Krishnan.

Initiatives include immersive VR experiences, WhatsApp for business integration, and a unified customer journey.

Post-purchase engagement includes regular construction updates and community-building activities such as masterclasses and the "Birla Estates Premier League" cricket tournament for homebuyers.

"We want to start building a community way before we actually build the community physically in our spaces," Krishnan emphasises.

"The whole essence of a community is how members bond with each other, and we want to enable that from the time they purchase until after handover."