Companies invest in the promotion tied up to mega-events like the Cricket World Cup. Mega-events are exceptionally good in terms of reach and impact. Cricket World Cup reaches 75-80 per cent of all TV households. There is considerable out-of-home viewership. One can reach the entire nation at one go. Mega-events receive pre-event publicity in the media. There are several hundred promos prior to the event. These events generate a great amount of saliency. The brand also gets the benefit of the positive rub off of the event. It all depends on how the campaign is handled. Some brands use the event as a platform to their existing creative. Events have been used to promote brands whose ads are restricted by law. Events generate a lot of awareness for the brand. Events also have pre- and post-event programming capsules.

It requires a very high budget for the brand to be promoted visibly during an event, running into several crores. It is also very difficult to overcome the clutter of several hundred ads during an event. Investment is risky in the sense that the event has to deliver to pay off. Imagine what happens if the match is rain-washed, or a beauty contest faces hostile opposition of several groups. Besides, events generate one-time impact, whereas serials are present round-the-year. Some marketers create their own events, e.g. Lakme India Fashion week.