Warwickshire commercial team bowled over by awards success

WARWICKSHIRE County Cricket Club has claimed so off-the-field success, claiming three honours at the England & Wales Cricket Board Business of Cricket Conference & Awards.

Staged at the home of Warwickshire – Edgbaston Stadium – for the first time, the club commercial team were crowned winners of the County Marketing Award, the Major Match Marketing Award for promotion of NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day and the Community Engagement Award.
 
Gareth Roberts, Commercial Director of Warwickshire CCC, said: “The 2014 season has been a great success on and off the pitch for everyone here at Edgbaston, and it’s great to match the performance of the team by being the top performing county and winning three awards for the first time at BOCCA.
 
“We’ve worked hard to make NatWest T20 Blast games more accessible to spectators by enhancing match day experience, redesigning our marketing campaign and working closer with the local communities.  
 
“With the Bears claiming the title in 2014, more fixtures being played on Friday nights and by continuing to listen to what our supporters are telling us, we have a great platform to grow attendances for NatWest T20 Blast cricket even more in the coming seasons.”
 
In 2014 Warwickshire rebranded its team name to the Birmingham Bears for the NatWest T20 Blast, with its increased marketing and engagement with the local community helping it sell 55% more tickets and increase revenues by 30 per cent for the competition group stages.
 
The Commercial Team also helped deliver a record attendance for NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston in August, which the Birmingham Bears won for the first time after defeating an Andrew Flintoff-inspired Lancashire Lightning by four runs in a thrilling finale.
 
ECB’s Chief Operating Officer, Gordon Hollins, said: “These awards once again demonstrate the outstanding work our First Class counties did off-the-field last season to raise the profile of our domestic game and help attract a record number of spectators to the NatWest T20 Blast competition.
 
“As always, our judging panel were given the unenviable task of picking the winners from an outstanding pool of nominees. We thank them for their efforts and warmly congratulate all our winners whose hard work and creativity helped make 2014 such a memorable season for all concerned.”