Turning Cricket Into a Window to Melbourne
The Brief
Melbourne Tourism approached us with a clear objective: help increase consideration for Melbourne as a tourism destination among Indian travellers.
The challenge was to communicate everything Melbourne represents — its culture, food, landscapes, experiences and energy — in a way that would immediately resonate with an Indian audience.
Rather than simply showcasing the destination, we needed to create a moment that people would stop for, talk about and remember.
Our answer was Melbourne Moments — a destination brand activation built around one of the strongest cultural connections between India and Australia: cricket.
The Idea
Cricket became the anchor, but Melbourne remained the story.
At the centre of the campaign was a specially created anamorphic art installation, constructed using approximately 200 destination images from across Melbourne.
The artwork was designed around movement and perspective.
Viewed from one side, the installation appeared as a batsman. As the viewer walked from left to right, the image gradually transformed until it became a bowler.
The transition created a striking visual metaphor: multiple Melbourne experiences coming together to create something instantly familiar to an Indian audience.
It was designed not simply to be viewed, but to be experienced through movement.
The Experience
Pegasus Events managed the activation end-to-end, from concept execution and production through to venue, hospitality and on-ground management.
For the venue, we selected Jio World Drive, Mumbai, giving the campaign a premium, high-footfall environment that allowed the installation to continue engaging audiences beyond the launch event itself.
The activation was divided into two distinct experiences.
1. The Press Reveal
The campaign opened with the official unveiling of the Melbourne Moments installation.
Indian cricket star Rishabh Pant joined Brendon McClements, CEO of Melbourne Tourism, for the reveal, bringing the campaign’s cricket connection to life and creating a strong media moment around the destination.
The anamorphic installation formed the centrepiece of the event, giving guests and media a visual representation of the campaign idea while providing a highly distinctive backdrop for photography and content.
2. An Invite-Only Melbourne Lunch
Following the reveal, guests were hosted at an exclusive sit-down lunch catered by MasterChef Australia contestant Sarah Todd.
The lunch extended the destination story beyond the visual installation and into food and hospitality, allowing invited guests to experience another aspect of Australia’s culture in a more intimate setting.
This created two very different layers to the same activation: a high-impact public reveal followed by a curated premium experience.
Extending the Campaign Beyond Launch Day
Melbourne Moments was designed to live beyond a single event.
Following the press launch, the anamorphic installation remained at Jio World Drive for seven days, allowing thousands of visitors to encounter the activation as part of their everyday experience at the mall.
Instead of relying solely on event attendees or media coverage, the installation itself became an ongoing destination touchpoint.
Visitors could walk around it, discover the batsman-to-bowler transformation and explore the hundreds of Melbourne images embedded within the artwork.
What We Delivered
Pegasus Events handled the complete execution of Melbourne Moments, including:
- Venue identification and management at Jio World Drive
- Production and installation of the anamorphic artwork
- Event planning and on-ground execution
- Press reveal management
- Celebrity and stakeholder event coordination
- Guest experience management
- Invite-only sit-down lunch
- Catering coordination
- Technical and production management
- Seven-day public display of the installation
The Result
Melbourne Moments transformed destination marketing into a physical experience.
Instead of asking Indian audiences to imagine Melbourne through conventional tourism communication, the campaign used cricket, movement, art, food and live experience to create an immediate connection with the city.
The anamorphic installation gave the campaign a powerful visual hook, while Rishabh Pant’s involvement strengthened its relevance to Indian audiences. The Sarah Todd lunch added another layer of Australian culture, and the seven-day installation extended the activation well beyond its launch audience.
For Melbourne Tourism, the result was more than a destination showcase.
It was a Melbourne moment — created in Mumbai.
Check out the video here