The world’s four largest tennis tournaments – the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open – have been attracting players, sponsors, viewers and media for years. The mix of history, prestige and emotion linked to a professional event management, an outstanding media coverage as well as tremendous business opportunities may explain this current situation.
The US Open Lead
Contrary to some major Masters Series tournaments, the Grand Slams are still an attractive platform for generating interest. That said, some of them succeed better than others. Take the case of the US Open. They have been implementing strategic actions. In order to improve visibility and unify Series Events and US Open, courts are now blue surrounded by green. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the US Open do not forget to attract players. Indeed, US Open Series winners play for double prize money at the US Open. The idea is interesting but not really fair. Why not double prize money for those who win back-to-back?
Last year the “Court of Champions” which is a ceremony honoring the greatest champions was launched with Steffi Graf and John Mc Enroe. Ivan Lendl and Maureen Connolly were inducted into the 2005 Court of Champions right before the Men’s Final. With Arthur Ashe world’s biggest tennis stadium – with a capacity of 25,000 – the tournament reached a 2004 final attendance of 631,870 which is the highest of the four Slams. As a comparison, attendance reached a record 543,873 at the 2005 Australian Open (100 years anniversary). Wimbledon and Roland Garros are lagging behind in attendance with respectively 451,208 (2004 rainy year)) and 424,876 (highest ever recorded). The question is how the US Open with three stadiums and a capacity of 39,000 does more than the Aussie Open which owns about the same capacity – 37,000 seats spread out in five arenas? The successful combination of day and night sessions is probably part of the answer. The USTA also has implemented a countrywide promotional campaign for tennis fans. This contributes to a real American show with a festive atmosphere in the stadium.
Facing the Tennis Future and Media Evolutions
In some aspects, the Australian Open has shown anticipation abilities. Thanks to its two stadiums with retractable roof it is today the only Grand Slam where the show is guaranteed whatever the weather. This is an undeniable advantage when you think a rain delay or rainy day makes you lose significant ticketing revenues. Wimbledon knows about it as well as Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows in certain extent. That is why all these three tournaments have been working on retractable roof projects.
In order to develop attendance and TV revenues the Grand Slam Committee, which gathers the four Tournament Directors, recently found an agreement on the Sunday Start. The official start will be on Sunday instead of Monday. This would have two deep impacts: First, draw a larger TV audience and, secondly earn one more day in terms of viewership and ticketing revenues.
Marketing and Communication Strategies
With a prize money ranging from $16m to $19m the Slams distribute about the same to the players whatever the tournament, $1m for the men’s and women’s winner. Regarding the sponsorships its number has been downsized in order to improve visibility. For instance the French Open limited the number of brands to 10 as follows: the major sponsor BNP Paribas and 9 official sponsors including IBM, Afflelou, Peugeot, Perrier. Same thing at the Aussie Open where only the biggest sponsors are highlighted such Kia Motors, major sponsor, Garnier, associate sponsor, and five other official sponsors.
Contrary to the three other tournaments Wimbledon’s marketing strategy is quite original. While it does not allow sponsorships around the court (e.g. back-court tarps) only 14 official suppliers share the event sponsorship. Anyway, the Grand Slams are usually ranked most valuable sports sponsorship opportunities but the number of sponsors needs to be restricted in order to maintain sponsorship efficiency as well as keeping the event’s prestige.
In terms of Public Relations the US Open’s Arthur Ashe king-size stadium seems to be especially dedicated to hospitality. Courtside boxes, loge boxes and luxury suite represent an important part of the 23,000 spectators. In comparison Roland Garros may have fewer hospitality clients but meet very high standards of quality.
Regarding the Internet strategy, IBM is managing the four Grand Slam’s websites. Information and interactivity are the two keywords. The website deals with news, articles, photos, videos, live scoring, Point Tracker, etc. and allows the management to keep in touch with tennis fans and vice versa.
Roland Garros’s Huge Growth Potential
Wimbledon’s merchandising and licensing has been showing by far the most impressive results of the quartet: 24 licensees in 7 countries, Wimbledon’s licensed products are composed of two lines: one is dedicated to tennis and casual wear, the other to luxury products (towels, sunglasses, etc.). The distribution channel not only includes on-site shops, Harrod’s, duty free outlets but also Wimbledon shops in 42 countries. Whereas the Lawn Tennis Club’s total merchandising revenues amounted £45m (2002) Roland Garros’ reached €9m. This is a huge difference. But with shops only in France and Belgium the French Open brand has really not started its internationalization yet. Licenses and shops will probably open in Spain, Germany, Russia, Japan and the USA. The brand can count on the country-of-origin image – as France is well-known for its luxury products – to develop its awareness.
Since countries such as Germany or Italy are less interested in the French Open, it faces one big challenge, the decrease of TV rights. In order to offset that decrease new revenues sources are recommended. Roland Garros has the smallest seating capacity and the worst attendance of the four Grand Slams. This year was the best though. Why so? The Roland Garros Stadium is actually saturated. Then an extension project – including a retractable roof for Court Philippe Chatrier – is a prerequisite to open up new horizons for the tournament. This project should foster a 30 per cent increase in attendance from roughly 400,000 to 600,000 spectators.
In this article we often stressed the success of the US Open. But, in a sense, all is not a bed of roses. According to the USTA Strategic Plan 2004-06 the US Open “may be approaching the upper limits of its revenues potential”. On the other hand, the French Open has got a huge development potential in the marketing and merchandising area. Let’s go back to work!
J.H.
Sources : australianopen.org, rolandgarros.com, wimbledon.org, usopen.org, latribune.fr, les echos.fr, bandt.com, usta.com
Credit: usopen.org
A l’occasion de la finale de la Fed Cup qui s’est déroulée les 17 et 18 septembre derniers à Roland Garros, j’ai apprécié à leur juste valeur les bâches bleues déployées sur le Stade Philippe Chatrier.
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