Smashing Ticket Sales for the Cricket World Cup
As the paid media agency for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Tournament, we were tasked with the following key objectives:
- Reach and engage a primarily non-core cricket audience to drive ticket sales
- Drive higher numbers of female and younger attendees
- Ensure that the initial public ticket ballot was a commercial success to build sales momentum
We developed a multi-layered and highly targeted plan that was ‘audience first’ and offered high flexibility to achieve the ticket sales target. Media spend could be easily moved between channels, depending on the commercial results being delivered.
The plan included:
- A detailed analysis by team, match and location to build propensity to convert models and identify areas where additional support would be needed
- Audience mapping, including attitudinal and demographic data
- Digital & DOOH flexibility to target different UK regions in real time
The ticket sales campaign was delivered across four key phases:
- Targeted lead generation to grow the “cricket family” database ahead of the public ballot; and targeted digital activity to support the eCRM activity
- A public ballot campaign to drive entries across all matches with a key focus on lower tier matches to drive incremental sales
- Tactical and highly localised regional campaigns for “harder to sell” games
- Ensuring all data was then used to support other campaign objectives such as trophy tour attendance, attendance at fan parks and social media engagement
Results:
- 100k more than forecasted applications for tickets, of which more than 40% were new to cricket
- 75% of all tickets sold six months before the tournament start
- By the tournament start, 75% of games had sold out
- 15% more women and 10% more children attended than forecast, making it the youngest and most diverse crowd to attend a UK international cricket tournament
