Corona Extra's ATP World Tour Finals O2 'Beach Bar'

Most of the arena’ event landscape may be an icy cool Barclays’ brand blue to leverage the title sponsor’s rights, but ATP World Tour Premier Partner Corona Extra is offering tennis fans at The O2 for the World Tour Finals a warm sunny alternative at its beach bar experience.

The beer partner’s pop-up space is a welcome contrast to the British weather with its sandy sunny beach-themed Fan Zone experience – which even comes with lazily swinging hammocks.

The only thing cold about the sponsor’s branded at-event space it the Corona Extra.

Lucky gusts of the sponsor are offered the chance to watch the action whilst relaxing within the branded O2 space, whilst sipping beer and enjoying Mexican cuisine from Corona partner and Mexican restaurant brand Tortilla.

The pop up also has a range of Corona experiences within the bar area, including the ‘Ace Face’ tennis-themed photo booth, a ticket competition based around a ‘spot the ball’ game, plus a barber service offering classic hair cuts in the styles of legendary tennis champion of yesteryear (plus tennis star guest appearances).

The Corona beach experience runs through the finals tournament and runs an open door policy.

The beer partner also ran a set of promotional media partnerships (such as with The Sun) offering readers the chance to win a pair of VIP tickets to the 2013 Barclays ATP World Tour via a simple multiple choice tennis question mechanic.

The campaign is further supporting by traditional and digital advertising.

‘Corona Extra is proud of its association with such a respected global sport and hopes to leave fans happy and refreshed after a great week’s tennis,’ says Corona Extra UK marketing and promotions manager Andrew Milford. ‘We are delighted with the experience that BD has created and look forward to the event.’

Comment

The ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 is a beautifully delivered tennis experience: it is a far cry from the sedate traditions of Wimbledon and comes with laser lighting, screens and pounding music.

Again, unlike the UK’s other major tennis tournament at Wimbledon, the O2 event swims in both on and off court sponsor branding; from neon courtside perimeter sponsor ads for backers including Barclays, Ricoh and FedEx, while every single ace hit during the tournament is sponsored by Mercedes.

If you must ‘over brand’ a sporting arena, then this is as good a template to follow as any.

The Corona Extra Beach Bar itself has been developed by creative agency BD Network and its objective is to leverage its ATP sponsorship by bringing to life Corona Extra’s umbrella global ‘The Place To Be’ campaign.

This global campaign spans multiple platforms – from a central online hub to global TV work.