Launched on 7 December, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and agency The&Partnership kicked off a new campaign and competition aiming to encourage people to be active and head to the courts this winter
‘Weather The Court’ rolled out to celebrate the reopening of the country’s courts and the return of tennis after the UK’s second lockdown period and to encourage players to stay active and get outside and to #WeathertheCourt.
The idea is to refute the long-held myth that tennis is strictly a summer sport and the work seeks to challenge this perception by encouraging players to embrace chilly, wintry conditions and safely Play Your Way on court, in the park or garden.
#WeatherTheCourt aims to continue the start of the tennis revival in the UK as rising number of players were seen across Britain through 2020. Following the end of the first national lockdown in May, the LTA saw a +567% increase in bookings made on the LTA booking service compared to the same period in 2019 as tennis participation spiked.
Led by a hero spot, the creative positions tennis is a good full-body workout: one which offers a range of physical and mental benefits for everyone regardless of age, or ability, or even the weather.
It encourages people to put on a jacket, woolly hat or gloves, grab a racket and a partner and #WeathertheCourt.
The content also aims to drive viewers to find out further information about winter play online at https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2020/december/what-is-weather-the-court/, or by following @the_LTA on Twitter and @theLTA1 on Facebook.
Bring it on winter!
Our Weather The Court Challenge is here. For a chance to win some serious prizes, snap a photo or video of you on court, with your location and #WeatherTheCourt – the worse the weather looks, the better the prize.
For T&Cs: https://t.co/vCfNpphMHQ pic.twitter.com/nSVYqvlct9
— LTA (@the_LTA) December 7, 2020
The initiative incentivises winter play by offering tennis players returning to their local courts and parks a chance of scooping some incredible prizes.
Simply by sharing a picture or video on social media, tagging the location and adding the hashtag #WeathertheCourt, players can win Decathlon vouchers (£20, £50 and £100 e-vouchers), or tennis kit freebies, as well as various other great prizes.
“Winter weather presents a different opportunity to play, so with the launch of #WeatherTheCourt, we want to give tennis players old and new a boost this winter and incentivise them to get outdoors, get out on the court and reap the physical and mental benefits of keeping active,” said LTA Marketing And Commercial Director Richard Daish. “This is a continuation of Play Your Way – our ambition to make tennis more accessible and appealing for wider audiences, as we look to build on the growing number of players we have seen around the country this year. We can’t wait to see the creative ways in which fans and players from all areas of the Britain get involved in the challenge, sharing their images or videos on social and winning the exciting prizes on offer.”
Comment:
The first week of December has been a surprisingly busy week for tennis marketing (considering it is the off-season) as it also saw the launch of the WTA’s new rebrand (see case study).
The LTA, which was founded in 1888 as the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, launched this campaign as a follow-on phase to its June ‘Play Your Way’ initiative.
Also created by The & Partnership, this campaign also sought to encourage people from all walks of life and all abilities to pick up a racket this summer. Launched on 22 June, the objective of this drive is to increase tennis participation after the coronavirus lockdown and it acts as a commitment to opening tennis up to the nation and address misconceptions about the sport.
Links:
LTA
The&Partnership
https://theandpartnership.com/
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