Last fall, cricket legends Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar brought a group of elite former cricket players from around the globe to the United States for a Cricket All-Stars tour. They played in three massive baseball stadia (CitiField, Minute Maid Park and Dodgers Stadium) largely to crowds made up of passionate followers of the game from Asia, Australia, the UK and The Caribbean, but the tour raised the eyebrows and the attention of American press as well, who were exposed to the quicker, easier to explain form of Twenty20 Cricket for the first time. Is there a future for Cricket in the United States? Very tough to say as so many factors, the biggest of which are few stadia which can fit a field, play against it, but as a touring sport and a good will mission, there is a growing audience, especially as the new immigrant to the United States looks more and more for ties of the sporting nature to the traditions he or she grew up with. Soccer is solid, rugby is growing, and cricket has intrigued.
In another part of the world where the game is a time-honored tradition, Australia, the game has undergone a renaissance with the continued growth of the Aussie version of the quicker, more fan friendly version of the game that has thrived in India and elsewhere. It is the KFC Big Bash League established in 2011 by Cricket Australia and featuring eight city-based franchises playing to record crowds, and enthused audience, new sponsor engagement and a fast growing broadcast and digital platform.
Leading the charge with the BBL is Anthony Everard, who has helped take the vision created for the BBL and make it into not just a reality, but a sports business platform being looked at for innovation the world over. We caught up with Anthony as the BBL wrapped up to talk brand disruption, baseball and what’s next.
What has been the biggest surprise you have had in implementing the BBL?
The speed of growth, year on year. In the first couple of seasons our match attendance was growing around 10% year on year. In BBL|04 attendances grew by 18% and we were wondering how we would maintain the trend so to experience another step change of 22% this season has been phenomenal. The most encouraging element is that the key to driving these numbers has been families and kids who have been our target audience since the league was launched five years ago.
Baseball has had its issues with length of games as well, are there elements here that that sport could use?
We have remained very conscious on considering any innovations from the fan perspective. There are no shortage of ideas and opportunities that could be introduced to enhance the game itself (such as introducing technology to increase umpire decision making), however we are adamant that we need to keep the game moving and not slow things down. T20 is all about fast, fun action so this needs to be the filter through which we consider any new ideas.
How do you think this format can help grow the sport outside of traditional places where cricket is played?
In simple terms, we provide three hours of great value entertainment for families and kids. Whilst cricket is at the heart of what we offer, it doesn’t have broad enough appeal in new markets in its own right, so packaging it up with other complementary elements (music, fireworks, dancing) creates an appeal that extends to new audiences. It is by far the most accessible form of the game that has very low barriers to engagement (price, length of game, time of year) so it is very effective in encouraging trial.
Other than the traditionalists, has there been any other pushback on the format?
Initially there was some resistance from internal stakeholders who perhaps didn’t understand the necessity for the change, however we have worked hard to articulate the strategic role the BBL plays in ensuring that cricket is Australia’s favorite sport, and a sport for all Australians. Once people understand the specific role of BBL as a customer acquisition tool, they are generally supportive and see how it can be complementary to other formats of cricket (Tests and One Day Internationals).
How have brands been able to engage better with BBL than other forms of cricket?
Not necessarily – it’s more a case of BBL presenting a very clear and targeted audience to which brands can engage. We are unapologetic in our focus on families and kids – which in itself is a very appealing demographic to brands. The more focused we are, the more efficient brands can be in their leveraging activities.
Any examples come to mind?
This year we entered into a partnership with Zooper Dooper (your equivalent of Mr Freeze I believe). They are a fun, summertime treat for kids, who happen to have a product that comes in eight flavours….the same colours as the BBL Clubs. We have aligned target markets, similar brand values (fun summertime fun) and then ran a very dynamic campaign, complete with a dancing penguin mascot. Their retail campaign (changing the names of their ice blocks to the names of the BBL Clubs) combined with the dynamic activity at match really added a lot of value to the BBL experience.
What is the next critical step for growth of BBL in 2017 and beyond?
The objective doesn’t change – how can we continue to attract new fans and ensure Cricket is Australia’s favorite sport. The WBBL (new women’s league launched this year to run parallel to the men) provides us with a fantastic opportunity to drive further growth. We have the chance to position cricket as one of the very few sports with a truly national men’s and women’s competition (under the same brands) and translate the fan interest (attendance and viewership) to participation outcomes at junior levels. The response to the WBBL in its inaugural season has been brilliant, and we are excited about the upside available to the sport.
