The International Cricket Council (ICC) has begun the selection process for marketing and PR services agency appointments in advance of next year’s ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup.
The sport’s governing body has said, in an invitation to tender (ITT) unveiled on Friday (September 22), that it intends to appoint a marketing and PR agency “to develop and deliver a compelling integrated marketing and communications campaign and associated PR opportunities.”
The ICC said it wants to receive responses from companies with significant experience in providing similar services for a comparable global event, with “proven capability to operate across the USA and Caribbean and key markets internationally.”
The ITT has a closing date of October 22, with a shortlist of agencies to then be drawn up by the first week of November, following which presentations from those firms will take place.
Companies should present a seven-month marketing strategy for next year’s 20-team T20 World Cup between June 4 and 30, 2024, with the contract expected to start in December this year (once the ICC’s Men’s Cricket World Cup in India finishes).
Questions about the tender should be addressed to marketingitt@icc-cricket.com and also to marketing@cricketwestindies.org, before October 2. Those addresses should also be used to submit completed tender documents.
The ICC has said the main objectives of the various PR and marketing campaigns that the chosen agency will put in place will be to: reach and engage an audience aged 15-30 across the West Indies and the USA, to build awareness; promote cricket in these regions and expand the global reach of the T20 World Cup; and to drive ticket sales at both tournament matches and other related events.
Friday also saw the ICC confirm the Caribbean venues that will host tournament matches - Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, and St Vincent & The Grenadines.
This came after the three US tournament host locations - Grand Prairie in Dallas, Broward County in Florida, and Nassau County in New York - were announced earlier in the week.
The 2024 T20 World Cup will mark the first time a major ICC tournament is co-hosted by the US.
Geoff Allardice, chief executive at the ICC, said: “We’re delighted to announce the seven Caribbean venues that will host the biggest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever staged, with 20 teams competing for the trophy. They’re all popular venues with players and fans alike that will provide a wonderful backdrop to the event.
“This will be the third ICC senior men’s event hosted by the West Indies, and the matches will again give cricket fans the unique experience of enjoying cricket in the Caribbean. I’d like to thank Cricket West Indies and the seven host governments for their continued commitment and support of our sport.”
The co-hosts for the World Cup were unveiled, alongside the hosts for the other ICC tournaments across the 2024-31 cycle, in November 2021.
In relation to this year's Cricket World Cup in India - starting in early October - last week the ICC said it would provide an additional vertical video feed that will “revolutionize” the viewing experience for fans.
The governing body has also recently issued an ITT for its next cycle of major event media rights, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market.
