The All England Tennis Club’s own activation around Wimbledon 2015 includes an enhanced focuses on its digital platforms to offer fans ‘the next best thing to being here’.
Whilst the tournament’s broadcast audience is going up in age, Wimbledon’s rich digital offering – from Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, to a new IBM-designed website, mobile apps and even iBeacons and hackathons – is seen as its gateway to the younger generation.
‘Whether someone’s first experience of Wimbledon is because that friend Whatsapped them a photo or they saw a picture we posted on Snapchat or they happened to get sent a video we put on YouTube or on Facebook, we want them to have an experience that really reflects Wimbledon,’ says Wimbledon’s head of digital and content Alexandra Willis.
‘Most importantly, we want them to come back for more, have visions of going to Wimbledon one day, potentially watching it on TV and start to become an advocate of Wimbledon.’
Two stand-out official sponsor activation trends around Wimbledon 2015 were a fresh and inventive focus on value-added video (examples of this approach include IBM’s revamped official Wimbledon website and beer/cider sponsor Stella Artois’ ‘Perfect Flight’ campaign) and innovative ways of showcasing fan emotion (such as Jaguar’s real-time #FeelWimbledon initiative and Evian’s #WimbledonWatch).
Another inventive official partner campaign in 2015 was the Tim Henman-fronted Robsinson’s ‘Great Wimbledon Ball Hunt‘, while the best of the ambush activity included the rebellious, Nick Kyrgios led Beats By Dre ‘Play Your Own Rules’ campaign and Below The Belt’s ‘Djockitch?’ billboards.
Click to read our full analysis of property owner The AELTC’s Wimbledon 2015 activation…
