It remains the only major sporting event that brands can point to every year, at the same time, in the same location in New York. And when it starts the main draw next Monday (free qualifying goes on this week for those who can’t afford or locate a ticket) the US Open will again begin the brand activation bonanza that takes place in and around New York every year as summer moves towards fall.
No. the large platforms that are unveiled around the US Open every year are certainly not new. As a matter of fact in the last few years the economy has probably taken a bit of a bite out some of the larger scale promotions that took place in spots like Grand Central Station and Rockefeller Plaza, replacing them with more concentrated and viral efforts that can be more cost effective and target specific audiences.
Still, for a stand-alone annual event in one city, there is still nothing that can rival the US Open for promotion. Whether it is a rooftop clinic and exhibition, charity events featuring the best food, fashion events where brands and designers unveil the latest outfits, products being displayed or new technological innovations, the Open and its partners have it all. For three weeks wrapped around Labor Day, back to school and even Fashion Week, brands have a window of opportunity to engage a very affluent and diverse audience, whether it is in person at the event (which draws in excess of 400,000 people) online or in any one of a series of offsite grassroots events. This year there will even be an opportunity to engage fans of the event from around the world in real time, as Polo Ralph Lauren will conduct a virtual tennis clinic with Venus Williams on the Thursday before the event, a very unique way for a global brand to engage fans and identify with the event not just locally but from every corner of the globe.
Other partners, ranging from new car partner Mercedes Benz to longtime sponsors like Chase and IBM will also use the event to engage consumers and customers with experiential campaigns and promotions that usually cannot be as effectively planned out with other events like the World cup or even the Super Bowl, because those events are constantly in motion year after year with venue changes. The same holds true for U.S. Open golf. The US Open tennis championship gives brands stability of venue and the ability to continuous plan out successful and consistent promotions throughout the life of the sponsorship. There has to be a fresh idea every year, but there does not have to be a constant hunt for location to figure out what the best ways are to engage with consumers. Once a brand is involved with the USTA, the ability assess success is much easier than in most other elite events.
Are there challenges in negotiating the waters in New York at the end of summe.? Of course. The challenges with the economy still exist as well, but the US Ope.s opportunity for consistency with brand and for location continue to give the event a big edge in attracting and activating large brands that most events would die for.
Let the tennis branding games begin.
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