The inside story of our 2021 B&T Award for Diversity
We’re always delighted to be recognised for our work.
At this year’s B&T Awards, we scooped two Finalists and the highly coveted 2021 B&T Award for Diversity with our Cricket Australia campaign, ‘What we’re made of’.
It was a thrill to receive the trophy in person with our Cricket Australia clients. But the story of this inclusive, inspiring, and now award-winning campaign starts long before that.
The game that shows us who we are
When Muruwari woman and Australian cricketer Ash Gardner took the match-winning catch at the Women’s T20 World Cup Final in 2020, she put herself at the centre of a history-making moment. With 86,174 fans at the MCG, this was the largest ever crowd for a women’s sporting event in Australia, and the largest ever crowd for a women’s cricket match globally.
However, cricket is about more than history. The game reflects all Australians, now and in the future. It shows us who we are, as individuals and as a nation. Starting with Ash’s catch, cricket had found its moment to truly inspire us all – and move on from its perceptions as pale, male and stale.
This understanding lit the spark for our creative idea: cricket is more than a game, it’s what we’re made of.
From this platform, we started telling authentic stories about the people who love and live cricket. Enter Dharmini Chauhan, an 18-year-old Wiradjuri woman and aspiring international cricketer.
We cast Dharmini in our national TV campaign, walking out to the crease and stepping up for the country alongside stars like Ash Gardner, Ellyse Perry, Nathan Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne. And it was Dharmini who made the headlines.
“Corrimal woman proud to inspire in new Cricket Australia national campaign”
The Canberra Times
“The girl who inspired Cricket Australia’s new campaign”
Illawarra Mercury
Standing tall on gender equality
When we realised that there are 73 statues of male cricketers in Australia, but none of women, we fuelled an impassioned and important national conversation on gender equality and women’s recognition.
With $0 paid media budget, this alarming insight generated:
- 3.98M earned reach across radio, TV, newspaper and online
- $2.17M in earned media
A massive score for diversity in cricket
“We’re thrilled to have partnered with Cricket Australia on this campaign and to make a real impact with our work,” reflects our Managing Director, Suzy Smiley. “Being acknowledged for diversity in our work means a great deal to us.”
They say the scoreboard never lies, and the results of Cricket Australia’s initiatives prove that when Australians needed inspiration to come together, cricket led the way.
- 85% Australians agree cricket embraces and celebrates diversity (up from 78%)
- 76% Australians agree cricket is progressive (up from 65%)
- 73% Australians agree cricket is an environment where I can be me (up from 60%)
- 72% Australians agree cricket makes me feel a part of something bigger (up from 62%)
- And a record high 25% of Australians consider themselves ‘avid’ cricket fans
So while we’re over the moon to be awarded for our campaign, the real pride comes from those moments where diversity and cricket go hand-in-hand.
Like when an Indigenous superstar steps up on the world stage, gets celebrated with her own billboards and a mini-documentary on what makes her proud to be Australian, and inspires the next Ash Gardner to win the World Cup.
