NEW DELHI: As the much-anticipated Indian Premier League auction took place in Chennai on Thursday, IPL franchise Delhi Capitals continued with last season’s efforts to involve fans directly, via an array of engagement initiatives.
In the build-up to the auction, community polls were hosted on social media and in-person vox populi was conducted with fans at different locations in the city to get their opinion on preferred picks for the auction. The team’s official fan club, the DC Toli, also shared a customised digital filter to enable fans to send in digital vox populi.
The team’s buys reflected popular fan choice as Steve Smith and Umesh Yadav had emerged as the most wanted batsman and bowler, respectively.
On the day of the auction, the team organised a live, virtual “DC Watch Party” hosted by RJ Rahul Makin from Fever 104 FM. The party gave fans an auction experience, with real-time discussions with fellow fans, welcoming new players, celebrating the team of 2021 as well as technical discussions utilizing stat screens, recent performances, and insightful analyses.
The fans that participated in the live watch party included international fans from countries like Canada and Scotland, budding school and college-level cricketers from the city, influencers like Sam Kachru and Gaurav Sethi, as well as fans from other IPL teams who were invited as special guests for an exchange of views.
There was also a surprise visit from DC spinner Amit Mishra, who answered questions and joined in cheering on the franchise at the auction.
Hosted live across Facebook, Youtube and Delhi Capitals’ website, the Watch Party garnered over 180,000 views.
Another social media initiative was Delhi Capitals’ own version of Dude with The Sign – “DC Fan with A Sign”. Dressed in the team jersey, the fan travelled to various iconic locations across the city and held placards featuring tongue-in-cheek messaging reflecting real-time updates from the auction, be it poking fun at the intense bidding wars or hailing the new additions to the team.
The “DC Reporter” series, which enabled young fans from across the city to create content, also released 5 special episodes covering all aspects of the auction such as fan reviews, welcoming new players and interviewing DC academy players.
