This year’s inaugural Betway SA20 Catch 2 Million challenge has whipped cricket fans into a frenzy, driving them in droves back to stadiums this summer for their chance to catch a clean, one-handed six to win their share of R2 million.

Mscsports is the impact marketing and sponsorship agency responsible for bringing the idea alive again – fans will recall the famous Ram Slam T20 Catch a Million sponsorship, which was created and facilitated by Mscsports. Neil Jankelowitz, CEO at Mscsports, says that creative and innovative ideas like these are key to returning South Africa’s sporting industry to its former pre-pandemic glory.

“Enjoying live sport together has always united South Africans and encouraged a sense of camaraderie amongst us all. There’s simply nothing like that in-stadium ‘vibe’,” he says. “Covid did a number on the South African sport and entertainment industry, but we’re thrilled to be able to bring that electricity back for the fans in a way that’s fun and rewarding for them, as well as impactful and measurable for Betway.”

The campaign was re-branded to the ‘Betway Catch R2 Million’ competition for the 2023 tournament after Betway decided to double the pot, drumming up even more excitement among fans over the age of 18 who are looking forward to catching a six from one of the world-class batters playing in any of the televised Betway SA20 matches.

In addition, existing Betway clients who had signed up prior to the match who made a clean one-handed catch during the tournament, had their prize money doubled by Betway,

Betway Head of Marketing, Mark Rowles, adds: “All the excitement around the Betway Catch 2 Million campaign has shown how sport can bring South Africans together. It’s also a massive win for our sporting landscape in general, as fans fill up our stadiums once again,” he says.

Rowles says Betway has seen an increased interest in its betting markets since the Betway SA20 tournament began, along with an increase in engaged followers across its social media pages, illustrating the effectiveness of sponsorship as a tool in the marketing mix.

“Betway is a long-standing, trusted name among South African sports betters, which aligns the brand perfectly with South Africans’ love for cricket. Using sponsorship as a form of marketing has proven to be a successful and impactful way to increase the brand’s reach and drive awareness and sign ups – all metrics that the brand has been able to monitor the campaign’s overall performance,” says Jankelowitz.

By the end of the tournament, there were nine sixes successfully caught by the Betway SA20 crowd, with R222,222.00 handed over to each winner. Three of the winners were existing Betway customers and had their winnings doubles to R444,444.00. The winners were congratulated at the final, which took place on Sunday 12 February, after rain delayed paly on the 11th February