The Vitality Blast is the world’s oldest domestic T20 cricket tournament, running from late May through to its thrilling conclusion in mid-September at the iconic Edgbaston Finals Day. Featuring all 18 First-Class County teams, the competition delivers high-energy, fast-paced cricket in the electrifying 20-over format.
The Challenge
Driving ticket sales and boosting matchday attendance across all fixtures, with a core focus on new customer acquisition and audience growth in support of the domestic cricket tournament.
Core Digital Channels:
- YouTube
- Sky Short Form VOD & Linear
- Meta
- Invibes Programmatic Display
- Social Boosting Amplification (Facebook & Instagram)
Above the line:
- TalkSport Radio
- OOH (Tube car panels and high-impact digital formats)
The Solution
Development of a multi-channel paid media strategy designed to engage both core cricket fans and prospective new audiences. The approach focused on delivering the right messages, across the most effective platform mix, at the most relevant moments.
Key considerations included balancing nationwide reach with hyper-local targeting, ensuring efficiency while accounting for geographic nuances such as population density, stadium capacity, and local infrastructure.
Recognising both the competitive paid media landscape and the tendency for later purchase behaviour, the strategy evolved year on year. Media phasing was consolidated to maximise budget efficiency, delivering higher frequency, stronger impact, and greater recall. This in turn enabled more data-enriched campaigns and helped generate sustained demand for fixtures across a 10–12-week period.
Results
A 41% increase in paid media was attributed to ticket sales year on year.
A 55% increase in paid media attributed revenue year on year.
An overall improvement in campaign engagement of 92% year on year.
A holistic improvement in media efficiency, as the average cost per click decreased by 32%.
