Jacob’s Creek 2013 Australian Open campaign builds on the brand’s umbrella ‘Open’ marketing concept by focusing on the players’ raw emotions and presents the tournament as an open stage of individual characters being true to themselves.
Revolving around moments between the tennis itself, the wine brand provides platforms for players to open up about joy, despair, pride and heart-thumping pressure and then shares them with its consumers and with tennis fans.
Jacob’s Creek continues its ambassadorial partnership with one of the game’s greatest recent characters Andre Agassi, a relationship which began back in 2009, and in 2013 the player continues to front the brand’s Open Film Series. Open Film series 2 is a set of short films in which the legendary Las Vegas tennis star shares his personal stories about the moments that defined his life and shaped his career both on and off the court.
This year the films are being broadcast during the Channel 7 coverage of the Australian Open and are also available on the Jacob’s Creek YouTube channel, www.openfilmseries.com
Agassi defines ‘true character’ as always being open and true to yourself – an ideal that aims to reflect the Jacob’s Creek brand’s commitment and approach to wine making.
Another strand of the wine giant’s campaign is a competition that offers fans and consumers the chance to win a trip to meet its global tennis ambassador Agassi. Entry to the ‘Win Dinner With Agassi In The USA’ competition, which aims to build the brand’s contact database as well as build excitement around the tennis sponsorship, is through its central Australian Open campaign website at www.openinvitation.com.au or via its Facebook page.
In addition to its film, web and competition work, the Australian Open also sees ‘Jacob’s Creek Super Sunday’ (which took place on Sunday 20 January) at the Australian Open. This live event gave visitors the chance to meet celebrity chef, My Kitchen Rules judge and Jacob’s Creek Reserve ambassador, Pete Evans who signed copies of his cook book and talked about his approach to food and wine in Jacob’s Creek Open Dining.
A further element of the brand’s activation is the Jacob’s Creek Wine Bar at the Grand Slam Oval itself – which offers spectators to enjoy a chilled glass of Cool Harvest and live entertainment on stage (as well as the tennis).
Another, perhaps even more notable initiative, sees Jacob’s Creek join with fellow Australian Open sponsor Kia Motors to launch a radio frequency identification (RFID) scheme called Courtesy Ride which combines to both prevent alcohol-related incidents and share the tennis experience at the tournament.
Tennis goers register for the scheme upon entry to the Melbourne Park venue and then receive a RFID-enabled lanyard (which can link to a Facebook account on site) which can be used to claim free rides in a Kia car to either Southbank or Southern Cross railway stations.
Users simply tap their lanyards on the Kia/Jacob’s Creek RFID towers in the Grand Slam Oval and Open Dining sections.
This RFID technology also enables spectators to share their Australian Open experiences through social media, engage with brands during the tournament and by tapping other sponsors’ towers they can become eligible for a range of sponsor-related Australian Open promotions.
‘This year’s Australian Open sees the biggest activation of RFID technology in Australia,’ explains Pernod Ricard Australia’s Julien Hermard. ‘Last year, Jacob’s Creek launched The Wine Line, an initiative to help wine drinkers better understand how much alcohol they are consuming. This year we’re thrilled to be partnering with Kia to help get tennis fans who may have had a drink responsibly home safely from the Open.’
Comment
When this campaign was first introduced it certainly gained traction from its innovative and original approach to engaging tennis fans from a fresh perspective. It continues to build on the original approach each year with new elements: such as 2011’s interactive game-led competition
and this year’s RFID Courtesy Ride initiative in tandem with fellow sponsor Kia, show the brand’s activation remains interesting and cutting edge.
Financial details around Jacob’s Creek’s deal as associate sponsor and official wine supplier of the Australian Open have not been officially released, but the partnership is thought to be worth around US$7.5m.
It pairs perhaps the Australian sports event with the highest global profile with the country’s number one wine brand (more than 1.5 million glasses of Jacob’s Creek are drunk around the world every day). But the investment in the Australian Open isn’t just about that one event’s profile and its standing in the brand’s home market – but part of a more comprehensive relationship with the sport.
After all, Jacob’s Creek has depth and breadth to its tennis involvement with associations around the world including Wimbledon, the Shanghai ATP Masters, the Hong Kong Tennis Classic, the Dubai Tennis Championships, the PPT Thailand Open, the Swedish Open and the Stockholm Open.
Links:
Open Invitation Website
Open Films Website:
Campaign Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/jacobscreek/app_124870670999834
Jacobs Creek
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