Summer’s the season when Australians relax both themselves and their grip on the purse strings.
Purchases that probably wouldn’t be contemplated over the rest of the year are made on a whim with little or no justification during the pre and post-Christmas splurge. For switched on advertisers, this liberal approach to spending leads to an environment that is ripe with opportunity.
One of those opportunities - indeed, one of the things we most associate with summer Down Under - s cricket. The Boxing Day Test is as intrinsic to Australia as leftover ham and fruit mince pies. Likewise, for many Aussies, the sight of the opening batsmen striding out onto the Sydney Cricket Ground for the New Year Test says ‘new year’ in a way that no fireworks display ever could. For Australians, cricket is summer and summer means spending.
Last August, listed advertising group APN Outdoor asked Australians about their summer spending and holidaying habits. The study found that 70 per cent of the audience is more active in the warmer months with a majority of respondents saying they spent more time catching up with friends and 66 per cent saying they are happier in summer than they are in winter.
The APN Outdoor results echoed those from a 2014 survey by word of mouth marketing agency, Social Soup that found 94 per cent of people see more family and friends during the summer period. Importantly, the research discovered that people are much more conducive to brand messaging in summer with 80 per cent of conversations referencing brands in one way or another. The top subjects of conversation? Christmas shopping and sport came up trumps with many respondents pointing to the interconnectedness between the two.
It’s fair to say that the upcoming International summer of cricket season with its calendar full of Tests, One Day Internationals and T20 matches, represents the one time all year when the entire nation marches to the same sporting beat. And that’s good news for brands.
Cricket is far and away the most viewed summer sport with Nine’s coverage reaching 70 per cent of Australians last summer. That’s a staggering 16.3 million people. But as impressive as that eyeball count is, what is arguably more interesting for brand owners is the positive consumer sentiment towards the sport, and cricket’s place in the popular culture. Here we have a sport that Aussies love, recall fondly, and associate with summer - a time when they spend more freely than they otherwise would.
Michael Stephenson, Nine Entertainment Co.’s director of sales sums it succinctly: “cricket is summer and summer is cricket.”
“The instantly recognisable voices of our commentary team, the Wide World of Sports opening sequence, and the best cricketers in the world arriving on our shores have always heralded the beginning of summer.
“Cricket is the only major sport on free-to-air TV where the entire country is supporting one team. It allows the entire country to unite.”
“And the advantage of our Summer of Cricket is that it lasts for three months.”
The Media Store’s head of sponsorship & integration, Sandra Wiles, says international cricket, due to the sheer volume of coverage and variety of formats, caters to a wide range of advertisers. What’s more, Nine’s Summer of Cricket offers advertisers something few other broadcast opportunities do.
“Live sport is really the last remaining genre that hasn’t fallen victim to time-shifted viewing,” says Wiles, “so you know the audiences will be there at scale.”
Nine’s content is also available on the Cricket Australia app as well as on the governing body’s website, so people needing to catch up with the action at the beach will be able to do so. According to Wiles, there are “increasing numbers of fans live streaming matches” on their tablets and smart phones.
With that being the case, “an overall screen strategy, as distinct from a broadcast strategy, is critical.”
“The joint partnership Nine have with Cricket Australia for the digital rights means Nine is in the enviable position of being able to deliver cross-platform strategies for brands.”
For NEC’s Sport sales director, Sam Brennan, there are a number of reasons Australians will be even more excited than usual about the upcoming summer of cricket.
History will be made with the very first ‘pink ball’ Test played under lights in Adelaide. This will bring the traditional version of the game to a post-6pm news, prime time slot for the first time ever, a development Brennan considers a juicy prospect for advertisers. The fact we’re up against the resurgent Kiwis who just never say die makes it even more compelling.
Tests against the entertaining West Indies never fail to get the fans excited, especially with star batsman Chris Gayle locked in. Add to that the One Day International and T20 series against the formidable Indians and there’s plenty to look forward to.
But what many Australians will be tuning in to see is the new Australian line-up.
“This summer heralds a new era in Australian cricket,” says Brennan. “We’ve got a young team named under freshly anointed captain Steve Smith who is hoping to atone for the team’s poor Ashes showing in winter.”
“I’m really excited to see this transitional period in Australian cricket,” says Brennan.
With Nine’s cricket coverage reaching 16.3 million Aussies last summer, it’s fair to say Brennan isn’t the only one who’s excited.
AdNews, in partnership with NEC, has compiled the Summer Planning Guide. Pick up your copy of the guide, inside the latest print issue of AdNews, out now. You can subscribe here,or get it immediately on iPad. You can also contact our subscriptions team here.
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