Blog|Marketing sportif

One year ago, in January 2005, Sony Ericsson became the worldwide title sponsor of the WTA Tour with a landmark US$88 million, six-year global sponsorship deal. With this partnership offering significant on-court presence for its global branding throughout the season, Sony Ericsson has expected to attract large crowds and TV viewing audiences. “This past year has been an historic year for our sport on and off the court, with incredible rivalries and stars driving new fans to women’s tennis. (…) Our efforts to promote women’s tennis and attract new fans are clearly paying off, and our Web site plays an important role in these endeavors” said Sony Ericsson WTA Tour CEO, Larry Scott.

The partnership includes “opportunities that bring mobile technology, connectivity and content into play on a level never before seen in professional sports.” “Such developments will significantly enhance the entertainment value of women’s tennis for fans and realise new revenue-earning potential for broadcasters, sponsors and organisers” says Dee Dutta, Head of Marketing for Sony Ericsson.

Launching “Tennis on your mobile” meets the people’s demand for mobile applications such as following all the top matches with the latest scores. Other services are also available: statistics of the match, players profile, tournament’s schedule, wallpapers… This whole application works with a WAP interface. Let’s guess all this may be improved with EDGE or 3G mobile networks by offering other services such as pictures, live videos, etc.

Sony Ericsson live scoring technology may also be implemented for WTA tournaments. The scores could be transmitted directly from the umpire chair to the tournament’s Internet website. In short, the same channel will be used for mobile and Internet applications. Welcome to the new world of media convergence.

Sports Marketing Blog / Le blog du marketing sportif

More info : Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Tennis on your mobile

Tags: larry scott, mobile, phone, sony ericsson, Tennis, wta