Early June saw the United States Tennis Association (USTA) roll out a new summer campaign focusing on the next generation of tennis talent running under the tagline ‘Spectacular Awaits’.
Developed in harness with agency Dentsu Creative, the campaign promotes the upcoming US Open with a focus on the next generation of players and is narrated by musician and Tik Tok star Cookiee Kawaii who acts as an influential young voice of a new generation.
For US audiences, tennis faces a gaping hole in terms of star player power – with the retirement of super star Serena Williams – so this campaign sees USTA marketers and its agency team champion the next generation of young tennis stars to engage tennis fans and bring the US Grand Slam to a new, young fan demographic.
The campaign, which debuted on national television on 3 June and was then amplified across the USTA’s own online tournament sites, as well as across paid digital and social platforms, rolled out in in advance of US Open tickets going on sale to the general public on 5 June via Ticketmaster and USOpen.org.
The ad burst, set to New jersey native Kawaii’s hit single ‘Violin’, kicked off on 5 June with a 30-second spot featuring emerging stars led by Coco Gauff.
Kawaii will continue to collaborate with the US Open throughout a summer marketing programme to drive buzz, engagement and to support ticket sales.
“We wanted to embody the young and vibrant new energy of the US Open,” said USTA Managing Director of Pro Tennis Marketing and Entertainment Nicole Kankam. “Cookiee is a unique talent with a distinctive voice that we think can further connect with new fans as the future of tennis shines bright under the spotlight of the US Open.”
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The youth-focused, ticket sales led phase of the campaign rolled out well ahead of the USTA’s showpiece 2023 US Open – the tournament is scheduled to run from 28 August to 10 September). Nevertheless, it did leverage spiking tennis interest around the 2023 French Open at Roland Garros.
The campaign also rolls out at a time when tennis participation in North America America is booming: growth spearheaded by significant growth amongst diverse populations. A recent Physical Activity Council Study on ‘Sports and Physical Activity’ revealed earlier in 2023 that people of colour now represent 38% of the tennis-playing population in the US – up from 32.5% in 2019. Overall, 4.2m players aged 6 and over tried tennis for the first time in 2022 and beginners accounted for 18% of the total playing public.
Thus New Jersey born Kawaii, who rose to fame when her song ‘Vibe’ went viral on TikTok in 2020 (after which she signed to Empire and released a debut studio album, called ‘Vanice’ in 2021) seems an appropriate choice of ambassador for the USTA to work with.
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