Tecnifibre is the new official partner of the ATP World Tour and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the annual end of season event that’s held at London’s O2 Arena.
Representing the brand’s biggest single marketing investment, the aim of the five-year deal is to further enhance Tecnifibre’s reputation among the world’s emerging tennis players.
Communication
The ‘communication and product license’ partnership means that Tecnifibre is now the official string, racquet, bag, grip, product and stringing machine of the ATP.
“Tecnifibre and the ATP are joining hands to inspire the new generation of players and motivate them to become better tennis players,” says Tom Haddley, commercial director at Smash Sports, Tecnifibre’s exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the past eight years.
“This new contract between Tecnifibre and the ATP will allow fans to connect to the new generation of professional tennis players and give them the opportunity to play with an exceptional range of products.”
This will be driven by a campaign managed by both Tecnifibre and the ATP, promoted as ‘On The Road To the ATP World Tour’.
As well as high profile branding on the ATP site, Tecnifibre has also negotiated a page dedicated to the ‘On The Road’ programme featuring exclusive editorial content, videos and product information. The campaign will be headed up by top-10 ranked sponsored player Janko Tipsarevic. Janko will be acting as a mentor to four of the world’s top junior players in 2013, with four videos being released over the year, which are to be featured on the ATP website.
Tecnifibre will be tapping into the ATP’s thriving digital following. Latest stats show that www.atpworldtour.com has 231 million visitors annually – including 10 million from the UK and Ireland – and one million ‘likes’ on its ATP World Tour Facebook page.
Tecnifibre’s new website is at the heart of its communication, with a strategy focused strongly on social networking, harnessing the power of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to spread its message.
On top of its online activity, Tecnifibre’s T.Fight range of pre-strung performance racquets and premium Razor Code string, bags, grips and accessories will carry ATP official partner co-branding. In addition, an innovative QR Code feature on the handle of the racquets, product header cards and grip/accessory packaging will enable players to connect instantly to the ‘On The Road’ online presence using a smartphone.
To get its product in the hands of tennis’ rising stars, Tecnifibre has also pledged to offer a contract comprising free product for players in the top 200 and a nominal charge for product for players ranked 201-450.
Benefit
“The biggest benefit to the brand and its retail partners is that Tecnifibre will be promoted on a truly global basis,” says Smash Sports director James Fenton. “Great discounts will be offered to retailers, subject to orders placed, and a range of point of sale material will be available free of charge to promote the partnership, as well as adding to the brand image in store to help create a demand for the product.”
Smash Sports in the UK is already helping specialist outlets with product and brand presentation on their own ecommence websites and retailers will be promoted on stockist pages of both www.tecnifibre.com and www.smashsports.co.uk.
Says Smash Sports director Harry Gershfield: “Smash Sports will contract local coaches to each retailer, arrange demo days at local clubs and look at club and tournament sponsorship in order to create a local awareness and demand to support the global campaign.”
Presence
Not surprisingly, Tecnifibre will have a substantial presence at many of the 62 ATP tournaments, including the World Tour Finals. 30-second ‘On The Road’ videos will be played at ATP tournaments on big screens during player changeovers and Tecnifibre will have interactive exhibition stands in Fan Zone areas where visitors can broadcast their own ‘On The Road’ stories.
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals tournament features the top eight ATP ranked singles players. The biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world, last year’s event set a new attendance record, as well as attracting record audiences on television and online.
263,000 fans visited the O2 during the eight-day event, while an estimated global audience of 100.7 million viewers tuned in to see Novak Djokovic crowned ATP World Tour Finals winner for the second time.
“The ATP has the world’s largest tennis audience via its tournaments and website, where Tecnifibre will have a clear visibility through the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 London and the On The Road programme,” says Tom Haddley. “The branding and imagery will create an emotional attachment to Tecnifibre and will boost demand for the company’s products, which will help retailers see a growth in sales.”
