Creative and media get set to bat in Cricket World Cup pitch

EXCLUSIVE: The hunt is on for a media and creative agency to be the brains behind the promotion of the 2015 Cricket World Cup (CWC).

Successful agencies will work together with FutureBrand to promote the event, which the International Cricket Council (ICC) estimates will “engage more than one fifth of the world’s population”.

“Based on the results of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – the most successful ever – CWC 2015 expects to stage the fourth most viewed sports event in the world, behind only the Summer and Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.”

In November, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the ICC called for expressions of interest (EOI) from media and marketing agencies and said a tender process was to follow.

In a statement about both media and marketing applicants, the LOC said: “Critical to success will be the application of bespoke research, market segmentation and the latest digital and direct marketing techniques.”

“Agencies will need to demonstrate considerable experience and insights into major events and the cricket culture in Australia and New Zealand.”

Successful applicants will be invited to take part in the tender process with the victorious companies to work closely with the LOC offices in Melbourne and Wellington.

The key objective of the campaign will be to drive ticket sales and maximise attendance of the 49-plus matches with the campaign activity to kick off in 2013.

The deadline for expressions of interest for ad agencies closed on November 23 and the closing date for media agencies was December 7.

The LOC had not returned B&T’s request for comment at the time of publication.

The committee said its vision for the 2015 Cricket World Cup is to “inspire passion and participation in a celebration of cricket that will bring lasting benefits to the game locally and internationally”.

As a result, the successful media agency is expected to deliver a “comprehensive media plan and engagement strategy to generate excitement and anticipation”, the media buying EOI document revealed.

While broadcast was highlighted as an area of focus, the LOC said direct marketing was of “particular importance”, along with the ability to localise the campaign and to identify the best use “constantly evolving digital channels”.

To be considered media agencies need to have experience with a comparable event or activity, prove their ability to operate across Australia and New Zealand as well as some the key international markets, including the UK, India and South Africa.

The LOC is also looking for a company to provide a ticketing solution for the tournament. The successful company will need to manage customer data collection and database marketing among other tasks. The deadline for response to the ticketing EOI closed in mid November.

In April last year FutureBrand unveiled the logo of the 2015 World Cup (pictured) along with a promotional video which pitched Australia and New Zealand as the world’s “toughest backyard”.

FutureBrand Australia was appointed by the council in 2010 following a competitive international pitch process.

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