New Balance leverages the start of the UK summer cricket season and its England & Wales Cricket Board partnership with a launch campaign for its 2018/19 England kit urging cricketers to ‘be a legend in your own neighbourhood’.
Far removed from the traditional green ovals and rural settings so often typically associated with the sport – especially in England – this ‘New Balance x England Cricket Kit 18/19’ campaign is distinctly gritty and urban and combines all ages and genders and both the England men’s and the women’s teams.
Shot in the inner city and centring around a real game of street cricket, the mid May kit launch campaign is spearheaded by a hero spot
promoting a game of street cricket with several England stars in Copeland Park, Peckham, London.
Who’s up for a game of cricket with our players including @root66, @jbairstow21, @MAWood33 & @NewBalanceUK at Copeland Park tomorrow 6pm?
We'll be celebrating the launch of the season with a game of street cricket & everyone is welcome.
Come #MakeYourMark on the game! pic.twitter.com/FTu5uQFC4i— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 16, 2018
Supporting content pieces all carry the brand’s umbrella #makeyourmark hashtag are amplified by New Balance and its cricket endorsers including Johnny Bairstow, Mark Wood and athlete ambassador and England captain Joe Root.
Who’s up for a game of cricket with yours truly, @ECB_cricket and @NewBalanceUK at Copeland Park tomorrow 6pm.
We'll be celebrating the launch of the season with a game of street #cricket and everyone is welcome. Come #MakeYourMark on the game! pic.twitter.com/428bFzbpIj
— Joe Root (@root66) May 16, 2018
and a further ECB activation sees the brand focus on participation and offering fans a chance to play with some of the England stars.
Fancy a game of cricket with members of @englandcricket?
Join us in Manchester for the chance to play with some of the best and win prizes! #MakeYourMark
Saturday 30th June
1pm-4pm
Market Street, #Manchester pic.twitter.com/DtlDSZu80p— New Balance Cricket (@NBCricket) June 29, 2018
Comment:
If cricket is to grow beyond its traditional fan base (which in the UK is becoming increasingly middle class and middle aged), then it needs to engage with younger, urban audiences.
This is clearly an attempt to do just that.
New Balance signed a five year deal as the official ECB kit supplier back in April 2017 – replacing previous incumbent Adidas which had held the role since 2008.
Root also fronted New Balance’s 2017 ‘My Future Self’ ECB kit campaign (see case study), while the brand’s other notable cricket work includes its ongoing activation leveraging its official partnership with the South African Cricket Board (see case study).
New Balance, which launched a new global brand platform in February 2018 (see case study), is an established major player in the cricket and the running spaces (see our case study of its ‘Everybody’s Race/reasons For Running’ London Marathon work), but plays the role of a challenger, rebel brand in the football space – as illustrated by its recent FIFA World Cup ambush campaign (see case study) and its work with Liverpool FC (see case study).
Links:
New Balance UK
https://www.newbalance.co.uk/sports/featured/england-cricket/
https://www.youtube.com/user/NewBalanceUK
https://www.facebook.com/NewBalanceUK/
https://twitter.com/NewBalanceUK
ECB
https://www.youtube.com/user/ecbcricket
https://www.facebook.com/englandcricket
https://twitter.com/ecb_cricket
