The Role Marketing has Played in Twenty20 Cricket

In the case of Twenty20, it is clear that marketing has played a vital role in changing the perceptions of the sport. The control process allows performance measures to be included, and indeed, 9% of adults who say they are not otherwise interested in cricket follow Twenty20 (MarketResearchWorld, 2008). This shows that the positioning strategy has been successful, and when evaluated, demonstrates marketing objective is being achieved. This should therefore guarantee the innovation was successful, but despite all its commercial success, the long term future of the game is in doubt. High levels of demand have led to fixture overkill and could lead to the format loosing consumers. The consequence of this is that the positioning strategy could fail as the concept would no longer be seen as exciting, but rather stagnant. There is also an ethical concern as to whether Twenty20 and the way it is marketed are good for cricket. Despite its obvious revitalisation due to marketing, traditional supports question the need for the change all together. The argument is that cricket is one of the most traditional sports in the world, and due to the influence of marketing, is being ridden of its heritage.