During every IPL, brands go crazy. Ad rates shoot through the roof. Companies blow their marketing budget in 2 months on a campaign trying to get noticed.
It’s a feeding frenzy.
Crypto exchanges screaming about returns. Food delivery apps with celebrity endorsements. E-commerce platforms pushing discounts.
Everyone’s fighting for the same thing: your attention, your app download, your purchase.
Then IPL 2025 starts. You’re watching a match on Jio Hotstar.
An ad comes on. But it’s… different.
Instead of some actor telling you to download an app, you see a real founder talking about their startup. Then another founder. Then another.
35 different ads. 35 different startups. Zero product pitches.
Wait, who’s paying for these ads?
The tiny logo at the end says: Razorpay.
Let’s break this down from scratch…
The Basic Facts About The Campaign
So what exactly happened here?
What Razorpay did: They bought expensive ad slots during IPL matches. But instead of making ads about Razorpay, they made ads about 35 different startups.
Where they did it: IPL matches on Jio Hotstar (India’s biggest digital cricket platform)
Timeline: IPL 2025 season, running until May 25th
The format: 35 different 15-second video ads spread across 20 matches
Here’s them introducing their campaign:
Think about this for a second. This is IPL we’re talking about. The biggest advertising battlefield in India.
Who Got Featured
Real startups that use Razorpay’s services:
- House of Masaba
- MamaEarth
- Pixxel
- 1mg
- Ixigo
- Purplle
- 29 others
Each got their 15-second ad talking about their company and vision.
What This Campaign Actually Looks Like
Here’s the thing that makes this so weird.
Every other brand during IPL: “Download our app! Use code IPL25 for 50% off! India’s #1 trusted platform!”
What Razorpay’s ads look like: “Meet Ghazal from House of Masaba. She’s revolutionizing Indian fashion by blending traditional crafts with modern design…”
Next ad break: “This is Varun from MamaEarth. He started this company because he wanted safer products for his baby…”
Another one: “Awais from Pixxel is building satellites to monitor climate change from space…”
Zero mention of payments. Zero mention of “fastest checkout.” Zero discount codes.
Just real founders talking about real problems they’re solving.
This is what is called as “Culture-first marketing” (It’s basically understanding and using the culture, values, and trends of your audience to connect with them better and build trust. Instead of just promoting your products)
Why This Campaign Is Insane
Let’s get real about what happened here.
Razorpay spent crores buying IPL ad slots. These are literally the most expensive 15 seconds you can buy in Indian advertising.
Then they handed over those expensive seconds to let other companies talk about themselves.
Companies that are already paying Razorpay for services.
It’s like renting a billboard on Times Square and letting your customers put their ads on it. For free.
Who even does that???
So What Does Razorpay Actually Get?
Good question. Because on the surface, this looks like expensive charity.
The Immediate Payoff
Insane customer loyalty: If you just spent crores putting our startup on national TV during IPL, we’re not switching to your competitor. Ever.
Standing out: While every fintech screams about “seamless payments” and “instant settlements,” Razorpay is the one celebrating entrepreneurs.
Free PR: Marketing blogs, business news, social media – everyone’s talking about this campaign because it’s so unusual.
The Long Game
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Growing with customers: These 35 startups are small-to-medium today. But startups grow. When they become bigger companies needing enterprise payment solutions, who do you think they’ll call?
Talent magnet: Top entrepreneurs and employees see this and think “Razorpay actually gets the startup ecosystem.” Makes recruiting easier.
Market positioning: In the crowded fintech space, Razorpay just carved out a unique position as “the payment company that champions entrepreneurs.”
The Actual Strategy Behind This Campaign (It’s Not Charity)
Look, this isn’t some feel-good corporate social responsibility thing.
This is business chess.
1: Take your biggest marketing budget
2: Instead of spending it to acquire new customers, spend it to make existing customers feel incredible
3: Create customer relationships so strong that competitors can’t break them
4: Watch those happy customers grow, need more services, and bring their friends
It’s customer success disguised as marketing.
Why This Might Work in India
Context matters. And in India, this campaign has some serious advantages.
Cricket is a religion: IPL gets 400+ million viewers. Being featured during IPL doesn’t just give you visibility – it gives you credibility. Social proof on steroids.
The entrepreneur worship: Young Indians don’t just want to work for companies anymore. They want to build them. Showing real founders instead of Bollywood actors hits different.
B2B brand in B2C space: Most people watching IPL have never heard of Razorpay. But now they know Razorpay as “that company that supports cool startups.” Brand awareness without the hard sell.
It’s perfectly calibrated for the Indian market.
But Here’s the Massive Risk
As smart as this ad is, it also comes with a few risks…
Crores of money spent with zero direct sales message. No “download our app.” No “sign up today.” Nothing.
What if those 35 startups fail? Startups have high failure rates. If half of them shut down in 2 years, that’s expensive PR for dead companies.
What if they switch providers? Business is business. If a competitor offers better rates or features, gratitude only goes so far.
What if people forget? Campaigns have short shelf lives. If this becomes just another forgotten IPL ad in 6 months, it’s an expensive goodwill gesture.
The entire bet is on long-term relationships paying off more than short-term sales would have. We’ll have to wait and see which way this goes…
What Makes This Campaign Smart (If It Works)
Here’s the thing about payments – it’s basically a commodity now.
Customer acquisition is expensive: Getting a new business to switch payment providers costs serious money and time.
Customer retention is cheaper: Keeping existing customers happy costs less than finding new ones.
Network effects matter: Happy customers refer other startups. Word of mouth in the startup ecosystem is powerful.
Differentiation is everything: In a crowded market where everyone offers similar features, brand matters more than product.
Razorpay essentially turned their customer acquisition budget into a customer retention and referral program.
If it works, it’s brilliant. If it doesn’t, it’s an expensive lesson.
The Bottom Line
So what actually happened here?
Razorpay took their IPL marketing budget and completely flipped the script.
Instead of talking about their product, they’re celebrating their customers.
Will this campaign work?
Nobody knows yet. We’ll know in 2 years when we see:
- How many of those 35 startups are still with Razorpay
- How many new customers this campaign brought in
- Whether this becomes a case study in business school or a cautionary tale
Is it smart?
If you’re confident in your product and believe your customers will grow, spending money to make them feel special might be smarter than spending money to find new customers.
Want to read more about marketing campaigns and ads? Read about Vishal Mega Mart’s Meme Trend Here!
