‘Catch a Million’ was a PR campaign that brought together cricket, New Zealand’s favourite summer pastime, and TUI, the nation’s favourite beer in a way that created unparalleled levels of participation, brand recognition and media attention.

Having just signed on to become the official beer sponsor of New Zealand Cricket, TUI needed to leverage the value of the investment through PR and drive brand recognition and also generate widespread crowd participation throughout the entirety of the cricket match and right across the 12 match series.

The idea: Catch a ‘six’* one handed at the cricket match while wearing an official TUI orange T-shirt to win a share of over $1m. Each catch was worth $100,000 (Total pool $1.2m - one catch per match).

A targeted, in-depth pre-seeding strategy ensured top-tier media including broadcast commentators and journalists were fully immersed in the idea.

T-shirts were available for sale in a variety of ways and delivered to key sporting media and influencers.

The campaign was front-page news, featured in NZ’s prime-time current affairs show and ESPN’s ‘Plays of the week’. Media mapped out the best spots to catch. Game attendance rose 75%. Stadiums turned TUI orange with 1 in 5 adults wearing a T-shirt to the game. Sporting commentators around the world started talking more about what was happening in the crowd than the action on the field. Global media coverage delivered 120 impressions.

* A ball hit into the crowd over the boundary line like a ‘home run’.

The campaign ran from 26 December 2013 to 31 January 2014 across the New Zealand summer cricket series of 12 matches between New Zealand, India and the West Indies in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown, Hamilton, Napier and Nelson.

TUI orange T-shirts were delivered to key sporting media and influencers, made available in-store with purchase, sold on premises, at matches and on the TUI website www.TUI.co.nz.

An extensive pre-seeding phase was conducted through one to ones with key journalists, sports commentators and influencers to create knowledge and excitement, with particular focus on SkySports.

We developed a media release and press kit which was delivered to an extensive media list on the announcement date and fed the media with stories, interviews and content throughout the duration of campaign to sustain interest.

In the final match, we decided to pique interest even further by adding a second $100,000 catch to the prize pool.

1 in 4 adults wore the TUI T-shirt at games.

6 million+ impressions on TUI Facebook page during campaign.

10.3 million NZ media impressions. 120 million globally.

Frontpage/Primetime national news + segments/features on best catch spots.

Global coverage including Sky Sports Australia, FOX News, The Daily Mail, ESPN feature 'Plays of the Week' (2nd time NZ sport featured).

Gate numbers +54% after first catch.

TUI eclipsed all other sponsors and became NZ Cricket’s exemplary promotion model.

Drove growth from +5.1% to +12.2% for Dec/Jan campaign period.

Auckland region +30% growth. Auckland City +78%.

TUI sales and volume share best level in 2 years.