2025 Grand Prix

Agency: House 337

Client: England and Wales Cricket Board

Entry Name: Building A Billion Pound Brand

Executive Summary

Britain’s newest billion-pound brand isn’t a tech start-up or fashion label. It’s cricket. reborn as fast, joyful and culturally magnetic. Launched in 2021 by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), in response to declining cricket attendance, The Hundred had a bold mission: to "throw cricket's doors open to everybody.”

Strategy

The Hundred’s strategy was rooted in a single audience truth. Consciously or not, the audience had rejected cricket, seeing it as complex, long and not a sport for them. Research showed that the audience had a healthy appetite for entertainment; they just didn't automatically think of cricket.

Rather than leading with cricket that promised to be entertaining, the team flipped the script, positioning The Hundred as an exciting but familiar entertainment brand that happened to be cricket. This shift informed every decision: shorter games in evening slots, equal billing for men’s and women’s matches, bold new team identities, and a design language that borrowed cues from the audience’s favourite entertainment properties - from gaming to festivals.

By 2025 it was time to deliver scale, commercial proof and long-term cultural traction.

Creativity

At the core sat the line: ‘Every. Ball. Counts.’ A truth about the format (100 balls, counting down) and an enduring brand idea that ran across everything. It carried urgency, added jeopardy and created momentum. It simplified the game into moments of excitement where anything could happen and anyone could understand.

Creative spanned two TV ads, radio, OOH, PR and social media; fast paced, bold and packed with distinctive assets to grab attention and aid recall. The work used standout green and pink, countdown graphics, team identities and a sticky theme song by DJ Jax Jones.

To align with strategic priorities, each season evolved the creative. For example, 2024 focused on belonging: profiling returner fans, embedding player narratives, prioritising emotional depth. By 2025, The Hundred cemented its place in the sports calendar and wider culture. The brand evolution was powered by data. CRM, ticketing, content and demographic tracking shaped the strategy.

Results

Over five seasons, The Hundred has built a brand that reshaped audiences, shifted perceptions and positioned cricket as mainstream entertainment. By 2025, it was valued at £975m, securing its place as one of Britain’s most valuable, culturally relevant sports brands.

In 2025, four venues posted their highest-ever attendance, and the women’s competition broke global attendance benchmarks. In-stadium profiles were unmatched in UK sport: 41% families, 30% female buyers and 23% juniors.

Brand tracking showed significant increases in awareness, improved perceptions of The Hundred as ‘inclusive’ and ‘a spectacular experience’, and a retention rate of nearly 50%, showing those who had experienced the brand kept coming back.