Cricket has long captured the hearts of Aussies and there’s no bigger event than The Ashes, a two-month duel between Australia and the old foe, England. In 2013, Commonwealth Bank celebrated 27 years of supporting the national sport with its sponsorship of the Australian Test Team. For the Bank to capitalise on the spike in conversations that research showed takes place during matches, they needed to act in real time. However, without timely access to imagery and competing news sources, they needed to develop a solution that would grab people’s attention to generate positive sentiment and engagement with the brand.

As one of Australia’s oldest institutions, nostalgic content has always worked for Commonwealth Bank. It’s this publishing insight that led the team to an iconic Aussie board game – Test Match. This humble cricket game was transformed into the ultimate story-telling device. A set of intricate scale models, replicating the legendary stadiums hosting the Ashes were built. Then we photographed every possible match moment, capturing the emotion of the players and crowd. A real time publishing model enabled Commonwealth Bank to leverage the live action to spark conversations about Cricket and the brand. The bank was also able to extend their sponsorship of cricket using this story telling device to highlight its products and services. The campaign resulted in the bank’s most successful campaign ever, exceeding all industry benchmarks and delivering a huge spike in awareness and engagement.

A set of intricate scale models, replicating the legendary stadiums hosting the Ashes were built. Then we photographed every possible match moment, capturing the emotion of the players and crowd. A real time publishing model enabled Commonwealth Bank to leverage the live action to spark conversations about cricket and the brand. The bank was also able to extend their sponsorship of cricket using this story telling device to highlight its products and services.

With over 300,000 engagements during the course of the campaign, CommBank’s cricket sponsorship reached every Australian cricket fan on Facebook. Independent Nielsen research showed a spike in favourability towards the brand of up to nine points - a 50% increase. The Commonwealth Bank Facebook page saw a 68% increase in engagement and positive sentiment was at an all time high for CommBank, setting the benchmark for the financial services sector in Australia. This campaign has impacts beyond the bank, with the ‘Test Match’ board game selling out across the country. This fresh approach to a long held sponsorship delivered CommBank’s most successful online activation of cricket in its history.