by Beth Rifkin
Soaring high above Earth, defying gravity, hitting balls with extreme power, precision and passion ~ the world’s best contend around the globe ~ smashing balls into the stratosphere, burning with determination as their racquets break the speed of sound with a scorching acceleration that fans the flames of both victory and defeat. These days, men’s professional tennis truly is “out of this world”.
And it’s a welcome change! Just a short time ago it was hardly unthinkable to believe that the men’s pro Tour may never be in the sports spotlight again. Years of neglect amongst a myriad of other challenges and issues, or as some would say, serious problems, led to significant cracks in the sports’ foundation. But a new marketing plan, an abundance of stars and a change in attitude has set the ATP on the course for success.
“It’s important for fans that are interacting to get an idea of what’s so special about pro tennis,” explains Phil Anderton, Chief Marketing Officer, ATP. Tennis is often compared to a gladiatorial battle where two players are in a grueling fight completely by themselves – no coaches, no teammates – just their own pure heart, strength, passion and determination. In the same respect, I also identify it with the battle of every person out there living their own life, our joys, struggles, triumphs and disasters, for at the end of the day we really only have our own heart, strength, passion and determination to see us through.
But relaying that or any message to fans has been tenuous at best. For years marketing was virtually nonexistent within the ATP and without it they weren’t able to explain the vibrant competitive nature of tennis. It also left fans in the dark on foreign talent, which turned out to be a grave mistake. That pre-Nadal time-span where Sampras retired, Agassi was in his later years and Federer was just starting to come into his own created a canyon for the ATP. Without the ability to generate appeal – or at the very least filler – tennis fell off the sports fan’s radar screen.
Anderton is the ATP’s very first Chief Marketing Officer, hired just a few years ago. Having previously worked in professional football (European) and Rugby and for such notable companies as Coca-Cola and Procter and Gamble, Anderton fully understands the power of communication. “We’re focused on bringing the brand of the ATP Tour to life. There’s a lack of availability on the fundamental level of what tennis is outside of the Slams. For fans to engage in the sport they need to know what’s going on; who’s playing, the terminology, rankings and the consequences of one match leading into the next and that the tournaments are linked together.”
The first order of business was a cutting-edge marketing campaign, “FEEL IT”, fully released during the 2008 season. An adrenaline-charged adventure, “FEEL IT incorporates dynamic visuals that grab your attention while also tell the story of professional tennis. Effects such as flames, waves and wild animals coming off player’s racquets show the power, intensity, passion and emotion that is the ATP Tour.
Anderton also oversaw the development and unveiling of a new marketing strategy for the ATP World Tour in 2009. Further embracing the globalization that makes professional tennis so unique, there’s now a more representative “out of this world” look and feel throughout marketing and branding efforts, including the website, advertising and graphics – everything all the way down to player autographed cards and the net on the court at each tournament.
The strategy appears to be working; ATPWorldTour.com has grown over 50% compared to the same time last year, with more fans coming to the site and staying longer. And Anderton points out that is just a start, the ATP will be re-launching their newly rebuilt website this spring with better quality content and a genuine Spanish and Chinese version.
Additionally, in what is touted as the biggest shake up of the Tour since its inception in 1990, the ATP also rolled-out a new-look calendar for 2009, which makes the concept of the tour a little easier for fans to understand. “The fans didn’t understand Masters and the different names and levels of tournaments.” Anderton explains. The newly named three tiers of tournaments, "1000", "500" and "250", reflect the winners ranking points. The "1000" series replaces the existing Masters Series. And a redesign of the ATP logo, specific for each tournament level, allows for simple identification during each event. “This system is easy to understand. You clearly see the consequences of winning each event and it helps fans incorporate the Grand Slams into the season with the other tournaments.”
The new-look calendar will also bring in a record breaking level of prize money and an investment of more than $800m will be put into new stadiums and to upgrade existing facilities.
Another dimension to the new-look calendar is changes to the Tour’s tournament schedule. A common source of contention, critics assert that the intricate structure of the schedule, which runs through 31 countries and includes 63 tournaments over 11 months, is too complicated for fans to follow outside of the Grand Slams. In a sense, one of the unique and fascinating aspects of tennis, its inherent globalization, became a severe liability.
So with the fans, players – and critics – in mind, changes have been made; without compromising global representation the Tour has been reorganized to include several cohesive swings, with each building to a mini-crescendo along the way. “It is a global sport so the number of tournaments around the world is an opportunity to be present around the world,” says Anderton. “This calendar makes it easier to travel, encouraging commitments from players. We’ve added a genuine swing in China and Japan, an uninterrupted European clay season that includes a new 1000 Masters event in Madrid, amongst others.” The last swing of the season brings the tour back to Europe with stops in the likes of France, Switzerland and Spain, before finishing in London.
“This calendar also helps communicate interest in the “final” player of the year,” says Anderton. Taking place in London’s new O2 Arena in late November is the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, the climax of the men’s professional tennis season. Known as “The Race” as it truly is a race to the finish line – the world’s 8 singles players and doubles teams who have accumulated the most ranking points within the season are allowed to compete for the chance to be the season’s No. 1 player. “Similar to Nascar’s Chase, engaging fans throughout the entire season also helps them appreciate the effort that each player has made throughout the year to be one of the eight elite competing for one of the most prestigious titles in tennis.”
Even the best marketing plan needs quality products to back it up and thanks to the outstanding competition among the top players, the ATP has just that. “Let’s see what happens again next year.” was Roger Federer’s parting words after his devastating loss to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 French Open. Thanks to the Nadal-Federer rivalry, the French Open has become one of the most eagerly anticipated highlights of the season; for the last four years Nadal has stood in the way of Federer completing a career grand slam, and with each passing year as the probability decreases the anticipation intensifies. Nadal and Federer have successfully replaced the electricity of Sampras and Agassi. And a line of threatening players are right at their heels – Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Roddick, Gilles Simon and Fernando Verdasco – each unique in their personalities and style of play but every time they step onto the court, they share one common goal, to become the number one player in the world.
Charged with the task of taking all of this to the next level is former Nike executive, Adam Helfant, the ATP’s new Executive Chairman and President, appointed at the beginning of the 2009 season. An MIT and Harvard Law graduate, it’s believed that Helfant’s extensive background in sports will lend well to downgrading the rest of the ATP’s “serious problems” to maybe just minor irritations.
Challenges do remain, but all in all, these days the ATP is floating on air.
April 29, 2009
