With interest in women’s sport booming, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is focusing not just on ticket sales, but on creating a brand that draws fans into the excitement of the game ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Women’s sport is enjoying unprecedented attention. Stadiums are selling out, TV audiences are growing, and landmark victories—such as national football and rugby triumphs—are capturing new fans. For the ECB, the challenge is turning this surge of interest into lasting engagement.
“We’ve seen huge growth in interest over the past decade,” says Jen Vile, the ECB’s marketing director. “The next step is deepening that passion among those who already care. That’s where the real opportunity lies.”
This perspective underpins the ECB’s major campaign for the Women’s T20 World Cup. The goal is not just ticket sales—it’s about building a brand.
“To deliver big attendances, we need to do brand work,” Vile explains. “It’s about creating real connections with audiences, which is the key mission for women’s cricket.”
Selling the Game, Not the Gender
The ECB recently updated its audience segmentation to understand existing fans and identify potential new supporters. “We discovered a passionate core of fans already engaged with women’s cricket, plus a large group who are open to it but haven’t yet been fully drawn in,” Vile says.
The insight from the research is clear: cricket fans want to watch top-quality sport. To grow women’s cricket, Vile says, “We need to showcase the skill, drama, and competition—make people see it, feel it, and connect with it.”
The ECB partnered with agency House337 to create the T20 World Cup campaign. Vile was impressed by the agency’s approach, which encouraged them to “stop selling the progress of women’s sport and start selling the sport itself.”
The resulting campaign, ‘Catch the Spirit,’ captures the contagious excitement of a World Cup on home soil. Ads show playful, everyday moments transformed by cricket—such as a father using sunscreen to create stumps on his daughter’s face, a man knitting cricket pads into his legs, and a couple playfully batting apples and baguettes in a market. “House337 has made it smart, fun, and joyful,” Vile says.
The campaign runs in two phases: the first from now until the end of the year, and the second leading up to the tournament. With brand awareness a primary goal, the media plan emphasizes mass-reach channels including broadcast and streaming TV, premium digital placements, and targeted segments informed by audience research.
The Power of Collective Success
Recent victories in women’s sport, such as national football triumphs, continue to lift the profile of all women’s competitions. “Every major success moves the whole category,” Vile explains.
Women’s cricket has grown steadily since a sold-out T20 World Cup final at a major stadium in 2017, with record-breaking crowds in 2020. Vile emphasizes that these figures are not just about attendance—they signal a real appetite for women’s sport.
Marketers across different sports maintain a collaborative approach. “There’s a collegiate spirit in women’s sport,” Vile says. “We all understand that a rising tide lifts all boats.”
While each sport is promoted differently to highlight its unique appeal, there is a shared commitment to boosting visibility, growing audiences, and driving structural progress in women’s sport. “It’s about the collective effort to raise the profile and impact of women’s competitions,” Vile concludes.
