The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is rolling out a fresh take on its ongoing ‘In Pursuit Of Greatness’ campaign: Wimbledon’s flagship, multi-platform excitement and engagement campaign that links modernity with tradition..
Launched on 16 June, the initial phase of new work primarily runs across its digital and social platforms (from Snapchat to mobile apps) as it aims to appeal to a younger and wider audience and the creative evokes a modern image of the sport and tournament.
This year’s work began with a series of social teasers leveraging the end of the clay court season,
The clay court season was splendid…but now it's time for grass#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/vFIKQi2sDU
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 12, 2017
countdown executions,
Twenty days to go. Time to wash those tennis whites…#Wimbledon @andy_murray pic.twitter.com/FEJSNT7v3e
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 13, 2017
#Wimbledon is 19 days away.
That number ring any bells, @anthonyfjoshua? pic.twitter.com/6CfhIyBb0r
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 14, 2017
and even an updated ‘save the date’ card in the form of tweets promoting mobile phone screen savers.
It’s time to put a date in your diary…
Download a new #Wimbledon-themed lock screen for your phone pic.twitter.com/1LK2ZI24xL
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 13, 2017
These were followed by the introduction of a key theme of the 2017 pre-tournament campaign: one focusing on the fact that it takes almost an entire calendar year after the last tournament to get ready for next one.
This is a video-led strand spearheaded by a flagship new spot called ‘A Year In The Making’ that comes in 60-second
and 30-second versions.
This spot, set to a track called ‘Wait For Me’ by Luca D’Alberto, is promoted across the rights holder’s YouTube channel, as well as Twitter,
It's almost time.
The Championships 2017. A Year in the Making…#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/XrHt4iYW49
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 16, 2017
Instagram,
and Facebook.
The theme continues with other supporting online films – such as those shining the spotlight on tradition like ‘The Living Surface’,
‘140 Years Of White’,
‘Grace Under Pressure’,
and ‘The Perfect Strawberry’,
and more modern, contemporary topics like the data-led ‘Under The Skin’.
The campaign is also hubbed around the tournament’s core digital platform at http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/about/in_pursuit_of_greatness.html which, as well as news, interviews, photos and info (and live scores and radio coverage once the tennis starts), also hosts an older set of preparation videos which expand on the ‘Year In The Making Theme’ with spots such as ‘The List’,
‘The Ball Boy’,
‘The Groundsman’,
and ‘The English Garden’.
With a message (echoing Guinness’ ad strategy) that good things take time, the work links the outward-looking, modern aspects of the tournament with its traditions and heritage.
“Our research shows that while Wimbledon’s English garden positioning works for people visiting the event and the UK audience, we need to explain the tournament’s unique personality in Asia. There is an element of humility in this campaign,” says AELTC head of commercial and marketing James Ralley.
Activative Comment:
It’s a mid June tradition: the sun starts shining, strawberries come into season, the French Open finishes and so thoughts turn towards Wimbledon.
But generating pre-tournament buzz isn’t only about tradition.
While some things (like all-white sportswear, pristine grass courts and Pimms) don’t change, others clearly do as the rights holder’s marketers continue to excel at projecting a balance of tradition, as well as a modern face.
Wimbledon’s old school charms continue to resonate powerful, particularly with adult Brits and SW19 tennis fans, but this is an international business relying on global fan perception and it is vital to engage new, younger fans across the world.
There is no doubt that it is a major challenge to marry a modern grand slam marketing campaign with the tournament traditions based on a bygone era.
But successfully meeting this challenge is what makes Wimbledon so special.
This early phases of the 2017 campaign follows in the footsteps of last year’s version of ‘In Pursuit Of Greatness’ (see case study), while this year’s Wimbledon Championships runs from 3 July – 16 July.
In this same 24 hour slot, official host country broadcaster the BBC also began teasing its Wimbledon campaign too.
90 years of broadcasting! @BBC has MORE live action at this year's #Wimbledon Championships
Details➡ https://t.co/crorJv1yni #bbctennis pic.twitter.com/agly9zSYHT
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 14, 2017
Links:
AELTC/Wimbledon
http://www.wimbledon.com/inpursuitofg…
http://www.youtube.com/wimbledon
https://www.facebook.com/Wimbledon
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon
https://www.instagram.com/wimbledon/
Snapchat: add Wimbledon
https://plus.google.com/+Wimbledon
http://www.wimbledon.com/
McCann Erickson London
http://www.mccannlondon.co.uk/
