ICC Champions Trophy 2025: A Marketing Playground for Global Brands

• A special marketing opportunity for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which has been co-hosted by Pakistan and the UAE, consists of the opposite advertising environment: traditional media hold-swayers in Pakistan and digital-first approaches in the UAE.
• Amid the cash crunches due to IPL 2025 coming around the corner, brands are enhancing their AI-powered digital campaigns, influencer marketing, and targeted advertising to achieve a fine balance between emotionally engaging the Pakistani fan base and premium visibility within the UAE.

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is not just a cricket tournament but also a worldwide marketing extravaganza. Co-hosted by Pakistan and the UAE, this year’s event will combine advertising creativity with pure cricketing passion. With two contrasting markets to entice, brands are unrolling unique campaigns to woo fans and leave an imprint on the international stage.

Two Hosts, Two Marketing Playgrounds

Hosting the event in two countries provides a lively marketing mix. Cricket in Pakistan is not just a sport; it means the world. Streets turn into public viewing venues filled with crazed fans glued to the TVs cheering for their boys for every boundary and every wicket. Brands are playing it safe because of the security challenges and are going the traditional route of advertising via TV or print.

And that’s where the scene changes: the UAE is a home for digital marketers. Here, skyscrapers, luxury malls, and tech-savvy audiences run the show. Dubai—where influencer campaigns, dripping digital ads, and interactive social media content dominate the landscape—and where brands attract sophisticated and cosmopolitan expatriates from cricket-loving countries: India, Pakistan, and England.

A New Normal in the Digital Surge

Changing the entire advertising rulebook is the digital wave, as brands place all their bets on online platforms. There is going to be a movement towards influencer marketing, short-form videos, and engaging social media campaigns. Heavyweights of the digital sky-highs like Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and fantasised sports apps like Dream11 were set to take the ad space by storm.

As noted by Aruni Panda, Senior Vice President of Digital at Carat India: “The highest viewership comes out of India and the global Indian diaspora. Using AI to enhance campaigns and personalise advertising, brands are creating memories for fans.”

Traditional and Still Strong Media

Hardly a chance that traditional media, like in the case of Pakistan, has preferred going alongside digitalisation. Television is still the most popular medium that attracts thousands of audiences around a common screen to cheer up their favourite teams. Another thing is that the UAE media is more diversified than those operating Giant Impact, i.e., airport billboards and luxury mall displays.

This means brands can balance emotional fan engagement in Pakistan with premium exposure in the UAE. In the words of Mazhar Gadiwala, Vice President at Togglehead Sports: “The combination of these markets allows brands to tailor their strategies, balancing emotional fan engagement in Pakistan with premium exposure in the UAE.”

Big Spenders

Ad spending: the familiar outrage of names—this time they are FMCG and technology companies and automobile corporations. Beverage titans Coca-Cola and Pepsi will go into combat during this month’s marketing events with campaigns that attempt to depict the electric atmosphere brought about by awareness of live cricket.

Local memories and economists through tape-ball cricket are what Coca-Cola is to Pakistan to counter Pepsi’s historical linkage with the national team. Meanwhile, in the UAE, fintech companies make waves by tapping into the already fast-growing digital financial market. With an affluent expatriate population, the UAE is the dream destination for financial and luxury brands.

In addition, there are fantasy sports and betting companies throwing money into digital ads for effective second-screen experiences that immerse fans long after the last ball has been bowled.

Heavy Hitters in the Game

Some of the top spenders this season include Emirates, Aramco, and DP World, who all have been sponsoring Premier Partners to improve their visibility. The broadcasters, in turn, were also looking to cash in, as JioStar has nabbed major sponsorship deals with corporate houses like Dream11, Pernod Ricard India, Beam Suntory, Kohler, Vodafone Idea, ICICI Direct, and LIC Housing Finance Limited.

All these brands are banking on the extensive reach and emotional pull of the tournament and have created campaigns that would have possible resonance with cricket fans across borders.

Budget Battles and the IPL Factor

The ongoing advertising war has become fierce this year due to the Champions Trophy coinciding with the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 schedule. Brands are met with budgeting ransoms, trying to balance expenditures on two of the most significant cricket events of the year.

Ad rates have skyrocketed, especially for high-stakes matches like India vs. Pakistan. A 10-second slot was recently sold for a staggering INR 50 lakhs, a whopping three times that of an IPL slot.

“As such, India holding its matches in Dubai due to security issues in Pakistan could be affecting advertising strategies. Brands might shift budgets to the online space and regional campaigns to maximise reach and engagement,” states Rupali Chavan, SVP & Head of Business at Mudramax.

Advertising of Tomorrow: Synthetic Mix of Digital and Traditional

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 would be more about cricket and would turn into one of the largest marketing platforms for brands having independent campaigns. Brands experiment with using AI-driven campaigns, influencers, and 3D social media experiments to engage fans.

The conventional line that separates traditional and digital advertising becomes hazier. The brands that will first master the art of seamlessly merging emotional fan moments through TV and interactivity through data-informed digital campaigns will win—on the pitch and beyond.

The Last Words

The ICC Champions Trophy in 2025 indeed promises to be a stage not just for cricket; it’ll also serve as a battleground for an intense face-off in marketing. That is pretty high stakes for all companies involved, but the rewards-to-risk ratio can get away from it all. Apart from winning in the cricket match itself, marketing ‘winning’ is ever so much more important; it has to deal with winning the hearts of millions around the world.

This tournament proves that cricket will continue to unite cultures, break borders, and give life to memories—not only for spectators but for brands, too.