CEAT cricket partnerships show why consistency still builds the strongest recall

For most consumers, tyres rarely sit top of mind. They matter only when a replacement is due or a safety scare hits. In such a low involvement category, standing out takes more than a sharp tagline. It takes years of patient visibility in places people care about. CEAT has spent more than three decades proving that point through a simple yet powerful playbook built around the game many Indians care about the most. At the heart of this story are the long running CEAT cricket partnerships, which have turned the tyre maker into a familiar name within stadiums and on screens.

Lakshmi Narayanan, the company chief marketing officer, describes the category as fundamentally functional. Tyres are judged on grip, durability and safety, but they are rarely discussed at dinner tables. CEAT realised early that salience would make the difference between being considered and being forgotten when the moment of purchase finally arrived. Cricket became the answer.

How did cricket become CEAT most reliable media property

Cricket has been part of CEAT marketing architecture for more than thirty years. Today, the Indian Premier League acts almost like a New Year for the brand. Each calendar year begins with the tournament, and the company first question is how to use the platform fully.

One of its most visible assets is the IPL Strategic Timeout branding, which Narayanan calls one of the biggest out of home moments in the country. Every time the familiar timer appears on screen, CEAT gets a burst of attention that no standard spot can replicate. Over time, viewers have come to link the timeout itself with the brand, turning a functional broadcast break into a distinctive memory cue.

Consistency, Narayanan argues, is what creates such deep associations. Even as rival tyre brands like MRF, Apollo and JK activate different properties, CEAT bet has been to hold on to its key cricket spaces and never dip in and out.

Where does CEAT sit in the broader tyre market

In terms of business, CEAT commands an estimated thirteen to fourteen per cent share of the Indian tyre market. Revenue from operations for the financial year twenty five grew by just over ten per cent to more than thirteen thousand crore rupees, up from close to twelve thousand crore in the previous year.

The competitive landscape remains intense, but the brand focus has been on using salience more than pure price or short term promotions to drive preference. Cricket offers a stage where that visibility feels natural rather than forced.

How do CEAT cricket partnerships support new travel behaviour

Beyond visibility, the brand is tuning its storytelling to match how Indians now use their vehicles. Narayanan points to a clear rise in road travel, driven by better infrastructure, higher aspirations and growing ownership of larger vehicles such as sports utility models.

How does CEAT link tyres to travel dreams

• For family road trips, tyres are positioned as enablers of safety and comfort

• For monsoon journeys, grip and reliability become the hero features

• For motorcycle riders, communication stresses control on unpredictable roads

In recent years, CEAT has crafted campaigns that show cars winding through hills during the rains or bikes navigating wet city streets with confidence, using cricket breaks and other high reach slots to seed these images.

What role do celebrities and influencers play

The brand has worked with a wide mix of public figures, from actors like Aamir Khan and Rana Daggubati to cricketers including Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Harmanpreet Kaur and Shafali Verma. Narayanan says the focus is always on making them characters within relatable stories rather than distant stars.

On digital platforms, CEAT increasingly collaborates with automotive and travel creators, but with a clear rule. Partners are expected to actually use the product and speak honestly about their experience, not simply repeat talking points. Authenticity, he says, is critical in a category where trust can literally be a matter of life on the road.

From memorable IPL timeouts to grip stories set in the monsoon and honest creator reviews, the CEAT cricket partnerships demonstrate how sustained presence in a single cultural arena can keep a functional product visible, relevant and emotionally anchored in the journeys that matter most to Indian consumers.

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