Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to the 23rd weekly edition of Broken Marketing by Anvara, where we discuss marketing that breaks.

For those of you who are new here, we’re Nick and Andrei, the co-founders of Anvara. We’ve included you here because one way or another, we’re connected. We’re happy to have you as a part of the Anvara family.

Apollo Tyres just paid $69 million to put their logo on India's cricket jerseys. Canva offered $66 million. A cement company bid $57 million. Here's why brands that have nothing to do with cricket are fighting billion-dollar battles for a sport most Americans don't understand.

India's cricket team needed a new jersey sponsor after Dream11 got kicked out due to gambling regulations. What happened next reveals everything about modern sports marketing that American brands are missing.

Apollo Tyres - a company that makes car tires - just outbid Canva (yes, the design app) and JK Cement to put their logo on cricket jerseys for $69 million over 2.5 years. That's 62% more than the previous deal, and 28% above the minimum asking price.

While American brands obsess over Super Bowl ads and NBA partnerships, Indian companies are playing a completely different game. Cricket isn't just India's most popular sport - it's a cultural religion with 1.4 billion devoted followers. Apollo Tyres bought a direct line into the daily conversations of more people than live in North America and Europe combined.

Think about the strategy here. Canva, a design software company, was willing to spend $66 million on cricket jerseys. What does graphic design have to do with cricket? Nothing. What does it have to do with reaching India's exploding middle class of entrepreneurs and small business owners? Everything.

JK Cement offered $57 million because construction is booming across India, and cricket jerseys are the most trusted billboard in the country. When Virat Kohli hits a six, 200 million people see your brand at the exact moment they're experiencing pure joy.

The numbers prove the strategy works. This deal covers 121 bilateral matches and 21 ICC tournament games over the next 2.5 years. That's roughly $480,000 per match for guaranteed global exposure to cricket's massive audience. Compare that to a single 30-second Super Bowl ad at $7 million.

Apollo chose cricket over Formula 1, tennis, or football because cricket matches last 8 hours. Your logo isn't visible for 30 seconds between plays - it's front and center for an entire day of programming. Indian families gather around TVs for cricket the way Americans watch Sunday football, except the audience is 20 times larger.

Little Caesars CMO Greg Hamilton just revealed the most important prerequisite for sports marketing: know what business problem you are trying to solve.

After four years as an NFL sponsor, Hamilton explained their breakthrough moment on the Ad Age podcast. Their most substantial goal wasn't driving immediate sales or brand awareness - it was "reintroducing Little Caesars to people who haven't tried us for a long time."

That's brilliant repositioning. Instead of competing with Domino's and Pizza Hut for new customers, Little Caesars used NFL sponsorship to win back lapsed customers who already knew the brand but had written it off. Hamilton said the NFL partnership "helped people view Little Caesars in a different light as the official pizza of the NFL and gave them a reason to check us out again."

Their sports marketing agency Genesco Sports taught them to "own a moment" - leading to their "Pizza, pizza pregame" campaign. Rather than trying to own the entire game experience like other sponsors, Little Caesars claimed the specific window right before kickoff when fans are settling in and thinking about food.

Hamilton emphasized they "decided very early on to lean into the idea of trumpeting the fact that we are the official pizza of the NFL, putting it absolutely everywhere." While other brands buy NFL rights and barely mention them, Little Caesars made their official status the centerpiece of every campaign.

The strategy worked because it solved a specific business problem. Little Caesars wasn't trying to merely blast their brand to the masses - they were using NFL credibility to convince people their pizza was worth trying again. And they curated the language and nature of their partnerships to match that business goal. The "intensity of passion" around NFL fandom translated into "real tangible results" because passionate fans are more likely to give brands second chances.

Hamilton's advice for new NFL sponsors reveals the deeper insight: "leverage all of the assets that come with the partnership in the right way." Most brands "own the right to the shield" but don't "decide to lean into it." They treat NFL sponsorship like expensive advertising instead of relationship capital and a 1-1 connection with your audience.

The Little Caesars approach proves that smart sponsorship strategy starts with understanding what business problem you're actually trying to solve. They weren't buying reach or awareness - they were buying redemption.

🏌️ Pure Insurance doubles down on golf's most exclusive tournament: Pure extended their Pebble Beach title sponsorship through 2029, betting on Tiger Woods' 50th birthday buzz. The tournament uniquely pairs PGA pros with junior golfers, creating content that traditional golf can't match.

🏃‍♀️ Tylenol discovers women's soccer goldmine: Tylenol became the official pain reliever of NWSL and title sponsor of Gotham FC. "Greatness hurts, and we want to support great athletes," says their US head of pain. Smart brands are realizing women's sports offer unduplicated reach to younger consumers.

🏓 Pickleball hits the big leagues: DoorDash signed MLP's largest naming deal ever for "MLP presented by DoorDash." Sponsor revenue jumped 56% to $25 million in 2024, projected to hit $35 million this year. Three teams are now owned outright by brands including Anheuser-Busch's Atlanta Bouncers. Here’s a cool Pickleball sponsorship if you’re interested).