How to be successful in sponsoring Wimbledon

Sports sponsorship is nothing new and trademarks or brands have been using this channel of communication for ages, however, there is a new development gradually emerging in the sports market. More and more brands try to stay as invisible as possible in relations of declaring itself as a sponsor of the significant tennis tournament in London and showing off with logo. Instead, they try to supply Wimbledon and drive in the sporting background in the most natural way.

One of the popular brands that supported this year’s Wimbledon edition was Pimm’s Cup- the famous Wimbledon energizing cocktail made from lemonade, mint, cucumber, and fruit. Without being a sponsor, Pimm’s managed to grab a lot of attention and to come to be the brand most associated with the tournament on digital media.

David Barker SVP and managing director of EMEA Advertising Solutions at Amobee claims the cause of these phenomena is a flawless affinity of the product with the occasion. “The popular drink is a vast part of the Wimbledon culture. It is in the hearts and minds of British people, and Amobee Brand Intelligence noticed this high association all over the tournament, across the Web, mobile and social.” Pimm’s full of the fun slogan was “Pimm’s o’clock” and the big part of the buzz brand credit to Jude Murray that tweeted criticism about the amount of the perfect in her Pimm. The brand responded advising to all the bartenders how to make the cocktail properly.

Another brand that has been noted during Wimbledon and singled out amongst the others is Lanson – the official champagne of the tournament. ARC London directed a research among sponsors and non-sponsors to classify the brand with the closest image association and Lanson turned out to fit the icon of the event in the best way. Champaign is associated with “inspiration”, “posh” and “uniqueness” and those are the links with the features of Wimbledon as well.

Additionally, the brands come within reach of consumers by providing some extra activities linked with the event like Robinsons or Stella Artois successfully did. For example, Robinsons created an online treasure hunt allowing children and parents to play along and Stella developed a virtual reality app using recent Cannes Mobile Grand Prix winning Google Cardboard.

The ideas how to stand out from the crowd go far from beyond the usual sponsorship fare. The key to doing well in Wimbledon is not to be noticeable everywhere and attack the consumer with the brand logo but to do it in a considered way.

Brands want to adapt themselves to the event’s background logically and be aware that the tournament is continuing true to its traditions in terms of accurate selection of brands involved and brands affinity to the event. Tennis court paving means making tennis court flooring perfect for playing tennis which should be and must be the best. For this purpose, there are much more options but the best choice with regard to cost and performance is asphalt. This product is also a popular choice throughout the world.