Every summer thousands of spectators and
multiple tennis icons gather together in the South West of London to embrace a
time honoured tradition. Wimbledon has a reputation for being one of the finest
sporting tournaments in the world and with that comes a massive opportunity for
lucrative brand partnerships and million pound marketing sponsorships.
For many brands Wimbledon is a safe choice
when deciding to embark on partnership. The tournament boasts a mass celebrity
following and strong connotations of a culture that embraces the best of
British. Grass courts, ball boys and ageing celebrities such as Bruce Forsyth
tucking into strawberries and cream or Cliff Richard leading a sing along with
the crowd, all give the tournament a safe feel. Add this to a healthy bout of competition,
strong camaraderie between players and worldwide brand recognition and it is
clear to see why many feel they can’t go wrong with associating themselves with
the grass court tourney.
Which brands have looked to partner with
Wimbledon in 2013? Lets take a look at the official sponsorship page.
There are 13 big players in the
championships across all types of industries. When you look at the list some
seem to make complete sense, take for instance Slazenger. For 111 years
Slazenger has had the advantage of supplying tennis balls for Wimbledon. There is
a reason why Slazenger has taken out such a long association with Wimbledon and
it probably isn’t rocket science for anyone reading this article. If you are
the official equipment provider that some of the worlds biggest stars will use
in one of the worlds oldest tournaments you are effectively protecting your
market share in a market where commodities are differentiated by branding.
Then there are brands like HSBC. You won’t
find HSBC branding plastered across the tourney boards or the worlds local bank
logo included in the official Wimbledon branding. Taking into consideration the
strong brand guidelines Wimbledon put in place for its sponsors to adhere to
how does a brand like HSBC strategically take advantage of such a partnership?
Well of course you could argue they will benefit from being the exclusive ATM
of the event, a move which should yield some shot term profit and brand
association. However, HSBC are also
smart enough to know that there are other ways to not only capitalize on the
tournament but also link it into their own brand mission.
Bringing the tournament to other Countries
put pure and simple is great brand strategy for HSBC. The brand may not be
operating in the same industry of the game like Slazenger but it has made the
association work for its brand mission of being ‘The World’s Local Bank’.
Then there are brands like Lavazza. As a
strong Italian brand Lavazza have adapted a media strategy centered around digital
and Underground marketing for Wimbledon. And the CEO appears to be happy with
his choice when you reference the below interview.
Salvadori has a clear strategic mission of
increasing brand recognition and sales of Lavazza in the UK. However what worries
me is Salvadori’s reaction to the question of how this will be measured.
“we have been measuring the positive
effects of our presence at Wimbledon by the fact that we have been gaining more
and more consideration in the UK market.”
Consideration
won’t necessarily lead to increased sales for Lavazza. If they have well and
truly looked to establish a long-lasting relationship and lucrative sponsorship
deal with Wimbledon then I hope they have far more advanced ways of measuring
the impact of the deal then consideration. For two brands with such contrasting
brand missions it remains to be seen if such a partnership will yield returns
and if Lavazza can benefit from this investment.
So who wins in
terms of their decision to invest in Wimbledon will emerge as the champion?
Well it might not be any of the partners but in actual fact the Lawn Tennis
Association.
Earlier in the
article we mentioned Wimbledon’s strict brand guidelines. From the offset all
brands that decide to invest know exactly where they stand. If the LTA is to
protect the image of this luxury brand all other partnerships must be subtle.
You want find Rolex plastered all over the players kits or the surface of
Murray mound but you will find it on the official clock on Centre Court. You
won’t find Evian floor graphics painted onto the grass of Court 1 but you will
see players drinking from Evian bottles. All of these tactics are clever
business as it protects the brand reputation, enhances brand value and makes
Wimbledon a viable brand to be moved to different markets like the Far East as
mentioned in the above article.
All in all many
will come, few will remain and only a handful will be crowned champions at
Wimbledon. But this year, and for many more to come when it comes to the final
battle between Wimbledon and its sponsors for brand supremacy there is only one
winner. Wimbledon as a product of the LTA will continue to win hands down GAME,
SET AND MATCH.
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