Standard Bank's involvement
Standard Bank’s long-term domestic and international cricket sponsorship created the perfect platform from which to launch a new twenty-over cricket format in 2004 – known as the Standard Bank Pro20 series – in partnership with Cricket South Africa (CSA) and SuperSport.
The three-hour, twenty-over match format delivers action-packed, fast and furious, boundary-bashing, seam-splitting entertainment, and has significantly contributed to revitalizing domestic cricket, reversing declining crowd attendances and generating renewed interest in domestic cricket.
As a strength–versus–strength competition, eighteen matches are played in four weeks, between six professional franchise teams in a round robin format. Play is fast and furious with a feast of tremendous bowling, huge batting sprees and fantastic fielding.
The concept of sportainment was coined by Standard Bank to capture the essence of a cricket format that was played and viewed not only as a sport, but also a form of entertainment. This new phenomenon has set Pro20 cricket apart as a new generation limited–overs tournament.
The excitement and thrills of the cricket are coupled with entertainment elements off the field – both in the stadium and in the broadcast – to complement the overall spectator experience. This combination – sportainment – is what has made Standard Bank Pro20 cricket unique.
In 2005, based on the clear success of the first two seasons of domestic Standard Bank Pro20 series, and the excellent reception by South African fans, Standard Bank announced an additional investment in the international Standard Bank Pro20 cricket game.
Both the domestic and international versions of Standard Bank Pro20 cricket began to set benchmarks globally. Standard Bank and CSA were viewed by the international cricket community as the leading innovators in developing and promoting an iconic property that has rapidly gained momentum world-wide.
When the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 (ICC T20) was awarded to CSA, it was widely accepted that the decision to host this prestigious international event in South Africa was strongly influenced by the successful launch and sustained growth of Standard Bank Pro20 cricket.
As the sole sponsor of the format locally, and with the sustained growth of Pro20 cricket, Standard Bank has fundamentally changed the South African cricket landscape, capturing the imagination of cricket spectators and attracting new fans.
More importantly, Standard Bank has become a key role player in entrenching South Africa’s leadership in all facets of the twenty-over game.
At the 2007 Sunday Times/Business Times Marketing Excellence Awards, Standard Bank was awarded both the Marketing Excellence Gold and Grand Prix awards in Sports Sponsorships in recognition for the exemplary execution, activation and leveraging of Pro20 Cricket.
The 2010 Standard Bank Pro20 series is the seventh edition of South Africa’s premier domestic competition