It was a disappointing season for Northern teams in the second year of the new 100-ball cricket format The Hundred, but sponsors may be celebrating according to the latest analysis from online search expert MediaVision.
The final day of the 2023 men’s competition in early September saw the Manchester Originals pipped to the title by Trent Rockets in the very last over, while Leeds-based Northern Superchargers only managed an inauspicious sixth place. Things were no better in the women’s game, where the Superchargers placed fifth and Manchester one place below them.
For headwear sponsors New Era, on the other hand, MediaVision’s analysis showed a 91 per cent increase in online searches linked to their involvement with the competition. There was similar success for the competition’s official wellness partner, insurance company Vitality, who registered a 46 per cent uptick.
Search volumes for principal sponsor Cazoo were up 34 per cent, and Welsh Fire shirt sponsors Hula Hoops 24 per cent. Combining all The Hundred’s key brand partners and sponsors, online search volumes were up by a third 33 per cent on last season.
MediaVision carried out the analysis using its proprietary Digital Demand Tracker tool, which it says analyses UK search data from AdWords and Google Trends four times faster than any other platform.
The findings coincide with The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)’s own research, which said that more than 500,000 people attended games during The Hundred’s second season, with 22 per cent of tickets going to children and 28 per cent bought by women, both up around 20 per cent on the debut season. It also noted that 271,000 people attended the women’s tournament, which the ECB said was a global record for a women’s cricket competition.
Louis Venter, CEO at MediaVision, said: “The Hundred is a bold new step by the ECB to create a family-friendly short-form cricket format, and the data suggests that its brand partners and sponsors will be pleased with how things are looking. The surge in online searches for the brands involved are a positive sign for the future of The Hundred. It will be fascinating to see if it can continue to grow – and the audience growth for the women’s game in particular is a highly promising sign.”
