As IPL 2025 heads toward the final match, Joy Personal Care wraps up its fourth year of association with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Over the years, it has turned this partnership into more than just a media buy, using it to tell fresh stories about skincare, gender norms, and representation.
This year, Joy Personal Care continued its KKR partnership with a campaign that focused on men’s skincare, a category still finding its feet in India. The ad featured KKR players like Venkatesh Iyer, Manish Pandey, and Harshit Rana, asking a simple question, “Who says” (skincare isn’t for men).
The idea was to break the stereotype around what athletes, and by extension, men, should look like. “This year’s men’s skincare campaign marks a conscious shift,” said Poulomi Roy, CMO, Joy Personal Care. “It’s one rooted in purpose and cultural relevance.”
She added that IPL, as a property, helps brands like Joy reach a large and diverse audience. “It’s a family-viewing event, which helps us talk to men, too. So we can expand our consumer base while staying true to our brand story.”
Investing in a property like IPL is a big-ticket move, but for Joy Personal Care, it's about more than just grabbing eyeballs or chasing quarterly numbers. The brand looks at ROI through a broader and more layered lens.
“Evaluating ROI on a high-impact platform like IPL goes beyond immediate sales figures,” said Poulomi Roy. “While sales growth by quarter-end is certainly measured, the real impact starts much earlier—when the business ecosystem begins to respond and engagement with trade partners and consumers deepens, enabling smoother business operations.”
For the brand, it’s about combining massive visibility, brand recall, and trust with measurable improvements in distribution and trade dynamics, all of which contribute to tangible business growth and long-term brand equity. “It’s never just about pure numbers or quick sales,” Roy added, “but about creating a sustainable, credible, and widely recognised brand in a competitive market.”
IPL’s Media Mix
This IPL season, Joy Personal Care brought a multi-layered digital approach to the table. It kicked off with a rap-style campaign video featuring KKR players, which was a fun, Gen Z-friendly move aimed at making sunscreen feel cool and relevant during peak summer.
But the sunscreen push didn’t stop there. The brand tapped into influencer marketing to highlight summer skincare essentials, while also spotlighting its wider product portfolio, including face washes and body lotions. Joy’s social media remained active through the season.
Tying it all together was the brand’s mainline campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Sanya Malhotra, where everyday skin issues were tackled in a quirky, slice-of-life format. “SRK’s presence adds massive value,” said Roy. “It helps us connect with a wide base while staying authentic to our positioning.”
This digital push was part of a well-balanced media strategy. “This season, our media mix is roughly 60% traditional and 40% digital, though the digital share is steadily rising,” Roy explained. Instead of reallocating existing budgets, the brand is gradually expanding its overall media spends, with platforms like Google and Meta taking up a bigger share. “We follow a disciplined approach, with a modest 8–10% year-on-year increase,” she added.
IPL, in this context, plays more than just a visibility role. It acts as a trade enabler, especially with Joy’s largely male distributor network. “It’s a balanced push-and-pull strategy, using IPL to build consumer trust while equipping our partners to drive sales on the ground,” said Roy. On-ground efforts like dealer meets, trade contests, and activations in Tier II and Tier III cities further strengthened the brand’s visibility at the point of sale.
Going regional
Apart from the big-ticket IPL campaigns, Joy Personal Care made sure its marketing struck a chord with regional audiences, especially in Bengal, one of its strongest markets. With a dedicated Bengali Instagram page, local micro-influencers, and content rooted in pop culture instead of just festival clichés, the brand leaned into storytelling that felt familiar and relevant to the local audience.
“Regional customisation is central to our IPL media strategy,” Roy added. “We deeply localise both our messaging and media planning to ensure cultural relevance and a stronger consumer connect.”
This kind of regional presence isn't just about translation, it's about tuning into what each audience truly values. And instead of hopping from trend to trend, Joy has committed to building a long-term narrative in these markets. “We commit to partnerships for at least 2–3 years, allowing us to build meaningful metrics around awareness, consideration, and distribution,” Roy added.
By being hyper-relevant and consistently present, regional customisation helps Joy break the clutter, drive preference, and expand locally.
“IPL acts as a strong anchor,” Roy said. “But we continue the dialogue throughout the year with region-specific content and creator-led storytelling.”
What’s next?
Now in its fourth consecutive year with KKR, Joy’s IPL strategy has moved beyond just grabbing eyeballs. The brand is using its time in the spotlight to tell more meaningful stories.
“This is not a one-off,” Roy said. “It’s a long-term commitment to the IPL ecosystem and to purpose-led, relatable storytelling.”
Looking ahead, the brand sees IPL partnerships evolving into even deeper integrations. Think sharper audience targeting, content that cuts across TV and digital, and storytelling that builds brand equity across multiple touchpoints.
“We’ll continue building on the scale and engagement IPL offers to drive wider awareness and consumer trust,” Roy said. “For Joy, the aim is to strengthen brand recall and reinforce our identity as an accessible, quality skincare brand for all.”
As IPL 2025 wraps up, Joy Personal Care’s approach reflects a steady shift from seasonal campaigns to long-term planning. With a focus on relevance, consistency, and ground-level impact, the brand is building its presence one season at a time.
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