The Wimbledon Championships have strong roots in tradition, which means they forgo conventional sponsorship and advertising models in favor of genuine brand partnerships that add value to the event, and for consumers. Official sponsors must be genuinely consumer-centric, use a spot of creativity, and get into the spirit of the tournament in order to win marketing moments at the event.
Wimbledon, which kicks off on June 29 this year, has never been an event for high-profile or invasive advertising campaigns. Despite several decades now of global television coverage and broadcasting, which has seen other tournaments embrace lucrative sponsorship deals and revenues, throughout, Wimbledon has remained staunchly traditionalist.
Players, for example, are required to dress in the traditional all-white colors of the tournament, meaning sportswear branding is low key, and sponsors of the tournament have limited advertising visibility compared with other sporting events; around the court advertising billboards are non-existent, for example.
However, that’s not to say that the tournament doesn’t deliver for its official sponsors. Last year the tournament commanded an impressive $65 million in revenue for sponsors, lower than that of the U.S. Open and French Open, but surprisingly strong in the overall total considering the overall lack of advertising around the event.
Less Is More For Wimbledon Sponsors
The effectiveness of Wimbledon’s Sponsorship strategy lies in its ability to foster brand partnerships that feel natural and add value to the event.
Rolex, the tournament’s “Official Timekeeper” since 1978, has managed to nurture a strong brand presence at the event by embracing traditional values and not overtly pushing its own brand messaging, while also providing a useful service at the event.
In fact, the only place you’ll see Rolex logos at Wimbledon is on clocks around the venue, and on the official scoreboards.
This branding, however subtle, is enough for the watchmaker to have built strong top-of-mind awareness, and a powerful connection with the event. Tim Henman voiced this sentiment when he said of a visit to Wimbledon as a youngster “whenever I see the Rolex Crown on my watch it takes me straight back to Centre Court in 1981.”
Similarly, IBM, the Official Technology partner of the tournament, goes about its sponsorship strategy not by paying for advertising space and billboards at the tournament, but by providing for the sport’s many technological requirements.
The technology company has designed a brand new website in preparation for this year’s tournament, which premiers a number of new digital tools to complement spectators’ experiences.
For example, Slamtracker provides a complete view of the scores and statistics of matches being played. In addition, Slamtracker checks current game data against that of previous competitions, such as other Grand Slams, to provide live insights about match-ups or game situations.
This year, IBM will add a human element to their Wimbledon sponsorship activities: “For the first time [they] are helping [Wimbledon staff] by notifying anything of interest, such as the fastest ball ever served.” The technology relies on a newly compiled database of over a million pages worth of records since 1877 – the year the championship was born.
Equity Through Added Value
For IBM and Rolex, the value of their sponsorship is tied to serving the tournaments technological needs as best they can, and enhancing spectator experiences of the event as a result. Both sponsors have served the tournament for several decades continuously.
It’s a similar story for the tournament’s other official sponsors: Robinsons celebrates their 80th year as one of the tournament’s official drink sponsors. For many, the UK-based beverage brand is recognized as being synonymous with the championships, which is a remarkable feat when you consider that Wimbledon is not interrupted by advertisement breaks, and as a result the brand commands one of the most subtle instances of branding, with their logo only featuring on the umpire’s chair.
In fact, all of the Wimbledon sponsors add value to the event; From their oldest sponsor, Slazenger, which provides the crucial match balls, to the newest, Jaguar/Land Rover, which will partner the tournament for the first time this year providing the official cars to support the tournament. Other brands that make a contribution include Lanson, which provide the winner’s champagne, and Ralph Lauren, which provides uniforms and attire for the officials.
Stella Artois #herestoperfection
The fact that advertising is highly regulated at the tournament means advertisers have to come up with creative ways to create and join conversations around the tournament. This year, the best example of this is from Stella Artois, the tournament official beer partner.
Instead of creating an advertising campaign around their own brand, Stella has picked out two stories from the tournament that exhibit the theme of “perfection” – tying into their #herestoperfection tagline, which is the tagline for a wider campaign by the Dutch beer manufacturer.
The first is an artistic documentary of Rufus, the Harris Hawk who provides the environmentally friendly, non-lethal bird control for the tournament:
The second tells the story of Roman Zoltowski, Wimbledon’s official trophy engraver, who has traveled to the tournament from Poland by car since 1979:
These stories share the success of some of the tournaments unsung heroes, which is a great way for brands to create a conversation around the event while tying it to their own campaigns.
Long-Term Partnerships, Long-Term Wins
For many sporting events, often it’s a case of selling sponsorship and advertising equity to the highest bidder. However, the Wimbledon organizers have adopted a slightly different strategy in developing long-term partnerships with brands that add value to the event in a mutually beneficial way.
And in the minds of consumers, this provides a powerful assurance about the value that the brand can add to their lives too. As Michael Mass, vice-president for IBM said in an interview: “servicing sports is an excellent way to showcase what we can do as there is [a need for] serious technology behind each event.”
It makes for a excellent tournament experience for spectators, and sets the bar high for brands that sponsor events.
Whether it’s providing technology, charging points, Wi-Fi, refreshments, or telling a story of untold heroes at an event, brands that add value for consumers, enhancing their experiences, can hope to enjoy longer-term wins for their brand.