ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 1 The
Business of Cricket Awards 2012 Review The Cumberland Hotel
Thursday 18 th October
Slide 2
Introduction With Thursday 18 th October 2012 now feeling like
a long time ago with much of the celebration banished from memory,
I thought it would be useful to provide this short review of the
event and those that won each award to help you prepare your
entries for this years event. Being my first year working on the
BoCAs, I was hugely impressed by the high standard of entries
across the board. You made it an extremely tough job for our judges
with a number of closely fought categories and Im sure that will
continue to be the case this year. With an extremely strict judging
process, it is our intention to provide as much information as
possible behind why the winners of each category were rewarded. I
also hope that this helps you to understand how to give your
entries the best possible chance of success as we want to see as
many of you rewarded for your efforts as possible. I know
first-hand how much hard work goes on at each and every county, but
the judges dont and its the job of your entries to convey that. I
know that this isnt an easy task but if I could give one piece of
advice from what I observed last year, other than making sure you
follow the criteria as closely as possible, it would be to make
sure you provide clear results and detail how these were achieved
and how success was measured. Presentation is important but results
are crucial. Hopefully this deck will help you with your
submissions for this coming year. Ed
Slide 3
A message from Karen Earl, Head Judge I've been asked to judge
a number of award entries and am consistently impressed by the work
that goes into both the campaigns and the entries. There is nothing
better than achieving recognition for a year's hard work and
dedication - celebrating success is uplifting and inspiring for the
whole team. It's disappointing for those teams that have put in a
tremendous amount of effort and energy into their work over the
year, but who miss out on such recognition. For this reason, I
thought it worth providing some guidance on what the judges look
for in those all-important entries - just to make sure that
everyone has an equal opportunity for success Presentation is
all-important. Make your entry clear, concise and easy to read.
Grammar and spelling is paramount. Sloppiness leaves a bad
impression. Don't assume the judges know anything. Set out the
strategic reasons behind the campaign, the objectives, the
activation methodology and, above all, the results. Highlight any
particularly important achievements within the campaign - there's
nothing wrong with showing off your pride in meeting a specific
goal. Small is sometimes beautiful; big budgets don't necessarily
mean bigger success. So don't be afraid to tell the judges you had
a limited budget - it's what you did with it that counts. Judges
are impressed with a clever concept, however large or small, which
is well conceived and executed. Results, results, results - tell
the judges what was achieved against the stated objectives Good
luck this year and keep the entries coming in - we love reading
them! Karen
Slide 4
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 4 Best
Friends Life t20 Campaign This award recognises excellence in the
marketing and promotion of Friends Life t20. The winning county has
displayed highly effective ways to attract new fans and retaining
existing ones. Creativity, initiative and the results achieved were
all important in deciding this award. The Winner Essex To lay the
foundations of their campaign, Essex set out to gain a better
understanding of their customers and what makes them purchase
tickets. This allowed them to target new ticket buyers and lapsed
purchasers. Posters and flyers proved to be an instrumental
backbone in the campaign. The use of QR codes assisted in driving
traffic to the ticket pages of the website. Voicemail messages sent
to new and lapsed buyers from Ravi Bopara increased ticket sales
and formed a major part of their integrated approach. Essex enjoyed
two sell-out games with 40% of the audience being new customers
through the philosophy of if you cant measure it, you cant manage
it. In meeting the award criteria, four key things stood out for
Essex: the scale of the campaign relative to the budget their
response to customer insights their use of players to appeal to
segmented audiences evidence of results achieved against clear
measurement
Slide 5
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 5 Best
Friends Life t20 Matchday Experience This award recognises specific
attention paid to the t20 matchday experience. Here the judging
panel have looked for particular focus and creativity around the
fan experience at Friends Life t20 matches across the season, and
how this encourages fans to become regular cricket watchers. The
Winner Kent Kent set out to improve overall member and supporter
assessment of their matchday package whilst also increasing
engagement levels. As a key part of the Your County, Your Team
campaign, they created a number of initiatives to improve the fan
experience, including music on arrival, dancers, a mascot
challenge, autograph sessions and distribution of clappit cards.
Customers were rewarded with give-aways and prizes. What made Kents
entry stand out was: the value they place on the matchday package
the importance of creating an experience as added value beyond the
cricket itself their creativity and imaginative use of
resources
Slide 6
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 6 Best
Clydesdale Bank 40 Promotion This award specifically recognises
attention paid to the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition to drive
engagement with the competition and, in particular, attendance to
matches. The winner would have taken into consideration all stages
of the customer journey - either individual or a combination of.
The Winner Kent Kents Your County, Your Team campaign created a
real identity for CB40 matches focusing on their family fixtures.
Despite difficult weather during the first half of the campaign, a
targeted approach saw crowds for the last three games double those
of earlier matches making up three of the highest four attendances
in the last three years. In a closely fought contest, the judges
rewarded Kent for: their overall dedication to the competition the
consistency in their promotions across the season their targeted
approach using customer insight to constantly evolve and improve
what they do their clear attention to return on investment
Slide 7
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 7 Best
Promotion of an International Fixture This award specifically
recognises attention paid to the tactical promotion of an
international fixture to drive engagement and attendance. Similar
to the CB40 award, this rewards consideration to all stages of the
customer journey; it is primarily results- focused with creativity
and initiative also recognised. The Winner Hampshire and the Ageas
Bowl Hampshire executed a fully integrated marketing campaign
capitalising on the Ten Town Plan approach, first implemented in
2011, which profiles and identifies their most likely ticket
buyers. A radio campaign on Heart South Coast and Gold (covering
Hampshire, Dorset and Berkshire) gave a reach of over 663,000.
Personalised and innovative e-marketing communications (including a
personalised Alastair Cook e-shot) were sent out to various
targeted segments of the database. Social media was actively used
to communicate helpful messages in times of bad weather to improve
customer experience. A Caribbean theme was also set, including a
steel band to add to the atmosphere. As a result, the Ageas Bowl
enjoyed maximised ticket sales. In crowning Hampshire and the Ageas
Bowl, the judges recognised: their effective use of restricted
resources their ability to create a wide-ranging campaign,
integrating a variety of channels with limited budget their
strategically targeted approach with a clear message their clear
attention to return on investment with impressive sales
figures
Slide 8
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 8 Best
Sponsorship Activation This award recognises excellence in the
activation of sponsorship to achieve mutual objectives of both the
county and the sponsor. The successful county has shown how closely
they work with their sponsors and the added commercial benefits
this brings to the club. The Winner Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire
have forged a close relationship with key partner PKF through a
shared ambition to make a meaningful difference in Nottinghams most
deprived communities. The PKF Apprenticeship Programme saw the
recruitment of six post- graduate apprentices to serve an
eight-week summer placement funded entirely by PKF. The apprentices
delivered a total of 960 coaching hours in 2012, including
free-to-access sessions for 6-14 year olds at all of their Friends
Life t20 and Clydesdale Bank 40 matches. Additionally, media were
invited to attend the PKF Christmas Mission where players presented
gifts sponsored by the company to every child who was spending
Christmas in a Nottingham hospital. With many strong entries in
this category, Notts particularly impressed the judges by: their
overall attention to working in true partnership with their sponsor
to fulfil both parties objectives the strength of the partnership
built over a number of years the depth of the campaign and the
sentiment behind it
Slide 9
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 9 Best
Membership Campaign or Promotion This award recognises excellence
in the strategic creation and delivery of a specific campaign to
drive membership. Focusing upon retention and growth, the winning
county has displayed how they have engaged with fans to increase
their member base - whether thats a clever tactical promotion or a
wider, integrated campaign. The Winner Somerset Somerset embarked
on an ambitious campaign to increase membership and extend the
membership product range. Creating a strong Somerset identity
throughout, the campaign reinforced members sense of belonging to
Somerset. Digital print was used to personalise each letter and,
with the data segmented, each member received a tailor-made
proposition. Instalment options overcame affordability barriers and
a 30 early bird discount encouraged purchase/renewals by January
31st. Personalised We Are Somerset reminder postcards were also
distributed before the discount deadline cut-off. The judges felt
that every nominee deserved recognition for their work in what was
a very competitive category. However, a winner had to be chosen and
their decision was based upon Somerset displaying: a simple, well
executed campaign which clearly showed year-on-year progression a
campaign which clearly resonates with the target market and
continued to build the relationship with the countys fans clear and
impressive results providing strong foundations for the countys
future
Slide 10
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 10 Best
Community Programme This award recognises distinct efforts around
the engagement of the local community to enhance the perception of
the game within the countys region. This award is particularly
focused upon how FCCs have developed and strengthened relationships
with local County Boards and third parties. The Winner
Nottinghamshire In 2012 Notts introduced a county-wide disability
cricket programme, integrating disability cricket into mainstream
clubs. They successfully established three impairment-specific
disability hub clubs that provide individuals with high quality
cricket. The Duke of Edinburgh, Cerebral Palsy Sport and Sportivate
funding has supported introductory sessions at 19 special schools
reaching over 300 children. The project brought together the
Nottinghamshire Royal Society for the Blind, Nottinghamshire
Cricket Board, PKF staff (sponsors), Club volunteers and V1 players
to complete work that included the installation of improved
lighting, a 40- metre path, high contrast step painting, high
contrast pavilion refurbishment and square renovation. To win this
award Notts clearly displayed: that community is central to what
they do to raise the profile of their Club and cricket within their
region on the whole that what they did last year was an evolution
to their overall long-term community strategy a scheme that is
clearly valued by members of the local community
Slide 11
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 11 Best
Community Programme Special Commendation Lancashire Even though
Nottinghamshire were the judges choice for this award, they would
like to offer a special commendation to Lancashire for the creation
of the Lancashire County Cricket Foundation. Set up earlier this
year, Lancashire has created its own charity to reach out to the
community with a whole range of initiatives to provide
opportunities to local people. In joining forces with celebrities
and other high profile characters, the Lancashire County Cricket
Foundation is making great strides raising the profile of cricket
whilst improving lives, creating and opportunity and getting more
people involved in the sport. Well done to everyone involved in the
scheme.
Slide 12
Best Improvement in Customer Engagement This award recognises
the biggest improvement in how a county interacts with its
customers. Specifically targeted around a countys approach to
customer relationship management and efforts to enhance its
database, it reflects how they apply this as part of a long-term
strategy to improve the relationship with its customers across all
touch points. The Winner Essex Removing the one size fits all
approach, Essex embarked on a long-term, strategically led
innovation and cultural change to how they interact and communicate
with their customers. Listening to what their customers wanted via
surveys, focus groups and one-to-one meetings helped them shape and
target their campaigns with maximum impact. Engagement with the
customer started with thank you emails for purchasing tickets (for
both online and offline bookings) which included information
relating to the match and a post-game survey along with carefully
selected up-sells and saw the database grow from 9.2k to 13k.
Additional to this, an iPhone app was developed and launched in
September to further enhance the customer experience. With a
clever, tactical approach to customer engagement, Essex
demonstrated a clear desire to improve the way in which they
communicate with their customers created a simple and successful
campaign which resulted in high response rates to achieve database
growth clearly know their market and how to appeal not just to
existing fans but lapsed and potential new fans as well.
Slide 13
ECB PowerPoint Presentation Template - 20.12.04 Page 13 The
Innovation Award This award rewards those who display the highest
level of creativity in their thinking and approach to marketing
across all channels. This is all about recognising those who think
outside the box and contribute most to taking the sport forward in
how it promotes to its target markets. The Winner Kent This year
Kent aimed to improve customer experience through relevant and
personalised communications from the Club. Using data management
technologies the Club set up a new operational approach to customer
engagement, which included developing their print at home ticket,
establishing mosaic and location profiles for all customers and
using clean data for new insight led marketing. Through the new
approach the Club are able to see purchasing behaviours and measure
the success of campaigns. Showing a great degree of creativity,
Kent displayed a strategic approach to how they innovate to improve
the way they work and communicate with their fans are evolving what
they do with innovation at the heart of their long-term plans,
constantly looking to improve and raise the bar
Slide 14
Team of the Year This is the ultimate award, recognising
excellence across all levels of how counties perform and operate as
businesses. As a result, this award does not have a shortlist and
all counties are considered based upon a combination of factors
such as the strength of all entries, feedback on overall
performance from the judges, and input and recommendations from
those who have worked with the teams over the course of the year.
The Winner - Essex Essex displayed creativity, initiative and
astute commercial acumen to consistently deliver strong attendances
across all formats of the game, in particular Friends Life t20.
Taking an integrated, targeted and measurable approach to their
marketing, they have delivered a hugely successful campaign for the
20-over game with sell-out matches a regular feature. But what
really stood out was the manner in which they applied themselves.
Never accepting average, they constantly strived for improvement by
measuring absolutely everything they did to ensure that every pound
spent was working hard for them. This was helped in no small part
by their efforts to get to know their fan base better and enhance
their relationship with them. Only a small team, they have worked
with a true team ethic to get things done and are always seen on
match days with their sleeves rolled up, helping across any facet
of the Club in which they are needed. Their ability to apply their
efforts consistently across all areas of the County game stood
testament to this. It was the combination of all these factors that
led to Essex being named 2012s Team of the Year.