Episode 20 is about Twenty20 cricket. T20 to most fans these days.

But this episode isn't about cricket.

About 20 years ago the English cricket authorities identified a problem. Falling attendances, reducing relevance and people moving away from cricket.

This week's guest, Stuart Robertson, was the marketing manager at the time. Luckily, he knew his marketing onions and used researched, insight and a deep understanding of the problem to 'invent' T20 cricket.

This isn't a podcast about cricket, although we do chat a lot about it. It's a podcast about marketing and you'll find a whole host of information about how to solve problems through a marketing lens from this show.

And finally, we've got a T.O.P.T.I.P from Jane Roper, from Behind The Ad. If UTM tracking is lost on you, this is for you.

In the episode we discuss:

**How T20 cricket came to be born – the marketing version

o The rationale for the new competition

o The research behind the product development

o Stakeholder engagement

o Launching the product

o How it landed better than anyone expected

o Globalisation of the game

**The Hundred – cricket’s newest format from the ECB

o Is the strategy correct

o Is it close enough to cricket to be successful

**Starting a career with a graduate training programme at the Milk Marketing Board

**A career in sport marketing

**Moving to agency world

Stuart Robertson

Stuart Robertson is the Commercial and Strategy Director at The Canopy, a fast growing creative agency in Winchester.

An experienced Commercial Director with a successful career in rights-holder sports administration, he has held senior commercial positions at both governing body and club level.

Recognised as the 'creator' of Twenty20 Cricket whilst in his role as the ECB’s Marketing Manager, Stuart changed the whole cricketing world and, perhaps, the entire sporting landscape around the globe.

Find Stuart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-robertson-7407291a/

And The Canopy Studio are here: https://thecanopy.studio/

Or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-canopy-studio/

Stuart’s Book Recommendations

Ottolenghi SIMPLE by Yotam Ottolenghi

Blah! Blah! Blah!: Memoirs and advice from one of British advertising's mavericks by Dave Buonaguidi

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

TOPTIP with Jane Roper

Owner of Behind the Ad, a newly formed marketing consultancy in Northern Ireland that focuses on educating small business owners on what marketing is in order to make informed marketing decisions for their business.

Jane has worked across several industries from financial services to eCommerce, to not for profits and would consider herself a 'marketing geek' who feels most comfortable 'behind the ad', analysing data to make informed decisions.

When asked what she loves most about marketing, her reply is, 'marketing at the core is about opening business up to new possibilities and customers to new experiences and we as marketers get to be part of that journey..."

https://www.facebook.com/behindtheadmarketing/

https://www.behindthe-ad.com/

Andi Jarvis

Find me on Twitter or LinkedIn

Podcast 74: Juice Overload, Rapping Genius, and rude Keith Lemon!