Why is this work relevant for Integrated?

With Covid restrictions creating a very difficult year to schedule, play and watch live sport, we helped Cricket Australia launch a new brand platform, a new visual look, several campaigns and over 800 individual executions, increasing viewership, selling out events and building brand love for Cricket. The media strategy included a full 360 ecosystem of touchpoints, reaching our target audience outside of traditional environments to encourage new engagement with Cricket. We provided layers to the ‘Made of’ story arc through: Broadcast TV, short & longform video, OOH, Radio, Digital display, social executions. These sat alongside owned channels and earned coverage.

Background

Amongst a backdrop of a once-in-a-lifetime social and cultural upheaval, cricket’s central purpose to ‘unite and inspire communities through cricket’ has never been more relevant. We needed to find a way to express cricket’s brand story, amplify relevance and affirm the sport’s leading place within Australian culture. At the heart of Cricket’s brand positioning is a commitment to empowering others in our community and championing inclusivity, fairness, innovation and belonging. The strategic priorities were to engage those ‘somewhat interested’ in cricket, strengthen player connection and clearly position that everyone can find their place in cricket.

Describe the creative idea

Cricket shows us who we are, as individuals and as a nation. It is an Australian cultural institution. It’s where we reveal our true character: resilience, grit, determination, competitiveness, optimism, spirit, playfulness and joy. It’s where we feel connection and become a part of something bigger. Our creative idea grew from this insight: It’s more than a game... It’s what we’re made of. The ‘Made of’ brand platform provides a springboard to tell true authentic stories about the people who love cricket, from players at all levels, volunteers who make it happen, fans, our employees and the wider cricket family across the nation. Our stories connect people to characteristics we value and create a sense of belonging; individually, within a team and a nation.

Describe the strategy

Our target audience comprised 5 highly researched segments, with a pointed focus on engaging more ‘Fringe Fans’ and ‘Busy Lifestyle’. These 2 groups make up 6M Australians, aiming to increase brand love, viewership and inclusiveness. The approach was to build awareness of the cricket season through emotional storytelling across mass media channels, then leverage owned media and direct media channels to drive conversion to ticket sales 3 weeks from matches. We engaged in rich storytelling to connect with hearts and minds, with stories unfolding across multiple media and many formats, forming a complete ecosystem of cricket touchpoints.

Describe the execution

In an unprecedented season with many complexities, challenges and last minute changes, we formed a strong partnership with the Cricket Australia team to deliver over 800 executions. From brand platform approval in July, we delivered full campaigns by November with a small and nimble team. We created 2 nationally broadcast TVCs, 3 national OOH campaigns, social media assets, display advertising, a landing page, internal assets, ticketing assets, 2 brand guidelines, sonic branding and one iconic music track. Additionally, we shared assets with Cricket’s partners to build a connected ecosystem. From TV broadcast, to in-stadium events, special content for owned CA channels, player channels, key events like Naidoc week, season openings and finals ceremonies, we helped build a consistent and exciting experience for Cricket fans across every touchpoint.

List the results

Our goals were to build love for cricket, increase viewership and highlight inclusivity. As of Jan 22, 2020, Cricket is partway through the season and does not yet have finalised studies on brand impact. We look forward to seeing them, but feel confident we: ✓ GREW FAN BASE Reached 6.2 M across social with 84.9% penetration of target audience 44.1 M digital impressions 13.6 M video plays across social media 1.1M average broadcast audience across first Test +5% increase on same series in 18/19 Sold 274,759 tickets to the Men’s International games ✓ BUILT BRAND LOVE 2M+ social post engagements 91.4% video completion rate on programmatic (benchmark 70%) Highlighted favourite players Consistent visuals, iconic song choice and sonic sign-off ✓ ENCOURAGED INCLUSION 1M cumulative viewers during Naidoc week Authentic depictions of gender and background diversity