The Australian cricket governing body builds on its elite women’s cricket #WatchMePlay campaign (see case study) with a new thread called #WatcheMeGrow to promote junior girls cricket.
Timed to coincide with the ‘International Day of the Girl’, ‘Watch Me Grow celebrates girls cricket and focuses on the confidence derived from playing the game and how that confidence can lead to wonderful places.
Like its professional predecessor, the campaign – again developed in tandem with creative agency Blood UNITED – uses the bold #WatchMe rallying call that originally aimed to unite Australians around their women’s national side for the recent Commonwealth Bank Series against regional rivals New Zealand.
But the emphasis in this new wave of work is to highlighting the sheer joy of playing cricket and to demonstrate the confidence and life skills that it helps nurture and nourish.
The campaign is spearheaded by a cinema and television commercial that creatively blends realism and fantasy: exploring the fun of cricket with the future dreams of the girls who play.
The hero spot is also supported by content rolling out across outdoor OOH platforms, plus digital and social channels.
The content pieces also aim to drive interested viewers to find out more details about their local junior cricket team via www.playcricket.com.au.
The campaign was created for Cricket Australia marketing manager Kelly Jensen and national female participation manager Jane Moffat, by a Blood UTD team that included executive creative director David Smith, client partner Grant Oorloff and account executive Jacob de Keijzer.
The creative was produced by The Producers (Victoria Conners and Noelle Jones), while the video was directed by Bill Irving and the photography was by Thom Rigney.
Post-production was handled by Trace House, colour by Crayon and sound by Baxter Sound.
“We are very excited to be rolling out such a positive, exciting, and empowering campaign supporting girls in their junior cricket journey and continuing the momentum of #WATCHME,” said Cricket Australia executive general manager Anthony Everard.
“There has been significant growth in the number of girls playing cricket over the past few years and this campaign showcases some of the reasons why – from the confidence it can produce, to the sense of camaraderie it provides. We hope that girls across the country will see themselves and their dreams reflected in the campaign and give cricket a go this season.”
David Smith, Blood UTD’s ECD added: “Girls who participate in sport are more confident in life. Playing a game like cricket, a game that used to be seen as a boys’ game, allows them to think: If I can do this, what else can I do? It allows them to dream, to compete, to lead, and to realise that there are no limits on their potential.”
Comment:
The original elite professional cricket launch phase of #WatchMe (see case study) rolled out in August and aimed to act as both a bold celebration of Australian women’s cricket, an exploration of how much work and effort it takes to be an elite female cricketers, a rallying cry for Australians to get behind their national team and a ticket sales call to action.
The initiative was initially launched to raise awareness around the Australian Women’s Cricket Team and the Rebel Women’s Big Bash League and was timed to coincide with the start of ticket sales for the upcoming 2018-19 Women’s International Cricket Season and particularly the upcoming Trans-Tasman series against fierce regional rivals New Zealand.
This parallel initiative ensures impressive continuity in terms of both strategy and creative approach.
The new work also follows hot on the heels of Cricket Australia’s recent ‘It’s Your Game’ campaign, launched in early September, that aimed to continue the ‘healing’ process and to reconnect the men’s national team and its fans following last year’s scandal and to celebrate the underlying passion Australians have for cricket, as well as to promote the start of the new 2018/19 season (see case study).
In this case, it seems a smart strategic move to separate the men’s and women’s marketing work.
Cricket Australia and brand partner Woolworth run a nationwide All Girls Cricket League under the Play Cricket programme for 11 to 17-year-olds (https://playcricket.com.au/junior/club-cricket/girls-cricket-league).
Cricket Australia’s own research shows that 24% of all cricket participants in the country are women and girls: a solid number, but one with plenty of room for growth in the coming years – which is an opportunity for both the rights owner and for brands too.
Links:
Cricket Australia
https://twitter.com/CricketAus
https://www.instagram.com/cricketcomau/
https://www.facebook.com/cricketcomau
https://www.youtube.com/user/cricketaustraliatv
Blood UTD
