LONDON — The ICC has appointed an integrated team of agencies for its marketing and PR campaign around the 2019 Cricket World Cup, including Ogilvy and Threepipe.

Appointed after competitive pitches, Ogilvy London will be handling PR for the campaign, while Threepipe – which recently acquired sports marketing agency Earnie, whose clients include the England & Wales Cricket Board – has been hired to carry out media buying and activation. The other partners include Matta (creative), Ear to the Ground and Red Sky at Night (Activation) and Goat (influencer marketing).

The “Are you in?” campaign launches this week with the opening of the public ballot for tickets to the World Cup, which runs from 30 May to 14 July 2019 in 10 cities across England and Wales. The launch film stars former English international cricketer Freddie Flintoff, inviting the public to join “sport's greatest carnival” and celebrating the 10 nations competing in the tournament.

Ogilvy has been tasked with driving engagement and awareness of the tournament with a new, non-cricket audience. The PR campaign launches with a content series featuring comedian Chabuddy G, who will demystify the one-day game along with cricket personalities. Ogilvy will also activate around milestones in the lead-up to the start of the Cricket World Cup.

Michael Frohlich, CEO, Ogilvy London said: “We couldn’t be more delighted to work with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 team on the flagship event in the international cricket calendar and the most exciting sporting event to hit our shores since London 2012. From the very first meeting we connected about the opportunity to change perceptions of the sport, apply an innovative, creative approach to sports PR, and the chance to take ‘sports greatest carnival’ to a whole new audience.”

Threepipe will be activating the online and offline media strategy for the campaign across the UK. Co-founder Farhad Koodoruth said: “This is one of the biggest and highest profile agency wins to date and we are excited to be part of it all. This really builds on our successful work in supporting domestic and international cricket in the UK, which has given us great insight into forming the right media strategy for this coming world cup.”

ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 marcomms and ticketing director Adrian Wells added: “Threepipe’s experience in working with other sports governing bodies to promote tournaments and their in-depth knowledge of the cricketing audience stood them apart. They will be an integral part of the team as we ramp up the marketing campaign over the rest of 2018 and into the tournament year.”