Results and Effectiveness

The campaign reached 2.1 million Australians, including every Australian cricket fan on Facebook. It drove over 300,000 direct engagements, pushing Commonwealth Bank’s overall engagement rate to more than double the banking category. Favourability towards Commonwealth Bank skyrocketed. A Nielsen Brand Effects Study showed the campaign smashed industry benchmarks with a 4-point lift, which jumped to 9-points amongst 18-24 year olds. Positive sentiment hit record highs, smashing not only the Bank’s Facebook benchmark, but also wider social standards. Fans could not get enough of Commonwealth Bank’s Test match coverage, snapping up their own copy of the iconic game, which sold out.

Creative Execution

The campaign used the iconic Crown and Andrew’s Test Match cricket game to create a series of figurines – representing the English and Australian players. In addition, a model replica of a stadium was built. Every possible match moment, from the emotion of the players to the reaction of the crowd, was photographed. A real-time publishing model, coupled with a targeted paid media strategy, enabled Commonwealth Bank to leverage the live action to spark conversations about cricket and the brand. Commonwealth Bank was also able to extend their sponsorship of cricket using this story-telling device to highlight its products and services.

Insights, Strategy and the Idea

Cricket has long captured the hearts of Aussies and there’s no bigger event than The Ashes, a two-month duel between Australia and the old foe, England. In 2013, Commonwealth Bank celebrated 27 years of supporting the national sport with its sponsorship of the Australian Test Team. For the Bank to capitalise on the spike in conversations that research showed takes place during matches, they needed to act in real time. However, without timely access to imagery and competing news sources, they needed to develop a solution that would grab people’s attention in the newsfeed to generate positive sentiment and engagement with the brand. As one of Australia’s oldest institutions, nostalgic content has always worked for Commonwealth Bank. It’s this publishing insight that led the team to an iconic Aussie board game – Test Match. This humble cricket game was transformed into the ultimate storytelling device.