In the West Indies, cricket is more than a sport. It is a reason for nine island nations to come together under one banner. For decades, the “Windies” dominated on the world stage and the islands all stood together to cheer them on. Recent years have seen a drop in the team’s success, and with it, the pride and unity between West Indian islands.
With the West Indies hosting this year’s T20 Cricket World Cup, CG Insurance wanted to reunite the fandom around the West Indies, become a conduit of cricket culture, and inspire an impossible run for glory.
In the Caribbean, insurance is a misunderstood and even disliked topic. People don’t understand it and don’t want to think about it often. Cricket, on the other hand, is always top of mind. It’s not just a topic of conversation – it’s a culture that unifies the West Indies. As the Caribbean prepared to host the 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup, CG Insurance saw an opportunity to capitalize on their West Indies Cricket sponsorship to drive brand awareness with a less traditional and more spirited approach. We wanted to insert CG Insurance into the conversation by going beyond sponsorship. Our strategy was simple: get island residents to love CG like they love CWI by relating CG Insurance to cricket culture. And we knew we were working with a range of fandom – from superfans who live and breathe West Indies Cricket to casual fans who are there for the vibes. Our work needed to resonate with all fans, so we needed to find a uniting truth across the islands. That truth? A love of music. Music is part of daily life in the Caribbean, even more so than in the US, and we believed using multifaceted rhythm and beats that were native to the Caribbean – and a famous cricketer-turned-music-icon – could reignite in the region. By leveraging CG’s relationship with CWI, we could show that there’s strength in numbers when we rally the nations together.
After their 2016 World Cup win, team captain-turned-music-icon Dwayne Bravo dropped “Champion”, an anthem that celebrated the team and became an international hit. This year, we tapped Bravo to write and record a new rallying cry called ”West Indies Deyah” (essentially meaning ‘We Out Here’) to reignite energy around the team. Shot by director to stars like DJ Khaled, Pitbull, and Nicki Minaj and featuring a surprise cameo by CG spokeswoman Aunt Angie, the “West Indies Deyah” music video made waves across the internet, sparking a dance trend, radio airtime, and even making it to the in-stadium speakers during a Windies match.
Beginning on social and echoing out across the islands across every island “West Indies Deyah” and the reignited Windies fandom inspired the team to a surprise Super 8 run and reuniting the islands in a way only music can.
