International netballers star in the new 2015 Netball World Cup Sydney campaign via NATION

Sydney will play host to the 2015 Netball World Cup in August and creative agency NATION has developed a launch campaign to promote the event.

Held every four years since 1963, Netball World Cup is the pinnacle event for international netball. Australia has previously hosted the event on two occasions (Perth in 1967 and Sydney in 1991) and has enjoyed phenomenal success, having won 10 of the 13 titles to date.

Says Marne Fechner, CEO, Netball World Cup: “The Netball World Cup is a celebration of the continued growth and impact of netball globally with this 14th edition of the event set to be the best and biggest the sport has ever seen. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our game, in our country, to the world.”

The campaign features images of international netballers whereby their shadows reveal another side to their individual sporting personalities and the game itself.

Says Geoff Robertson, creative director, NATION: “We wanted to capture both the scale and the excitement of this world event. The larger-than-life characters portrayed in the shadow campaign presents the true face of international Netball.”

The strategy underpinning the campaign is to unleash the excitement and athleticism of Netball. In doing so, the campaign reflects the high energy and commitment of their competitive nature at an elite level.

Says Karen Phelan, head of marketing & communications, Netball Australia: “Netball today is an extremely athletic and competitive sport that rivals any other code. Australia is a leader of Netball and the Australian Diamonds are amongst our nation’s most successful sporting teams.”

Netball is one of the highest participation sports in Australia with hundreds of thousands of people either playing or involved with the game at some level every year. Across the globe, netball is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries worldwide and is most popular in Commonwealth nations.

The event will take place between 7th and 16th August and will include 16 international teams, playing 64 matches over 10 days. All matches will be held at Sydney Olympic Park.

The campaign consists of magazine, press, outdoor, digital and social media.

Client: 2015 Netball World Cup, Sydney.

Retoucher: Darrel Merritt