Weekend Fun: Wimbledon Finals

Watch the trailer created by RedBeeMedia

The tournament has seen upsets such as ace Spaniard Rafael Nadal being defeated by unseeded Lukas Rosol, Venus Williams dropping out in the first round to Elena Vesnina, and Maria Sharapova being knocked out by Sabine Lisicki, so far.

The men’s tournament has reached its semi final stage, where Roger Federer meets Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray faces Jo-Wilfred Tsonga later today. The finals will be played on Sunday, 8 July, and beamed into homes on ESPN and Star Sports.

The women’s singles final will be held on Saturday, 7 July, where Serena Williams will face Agnieska Radwanska. 

Interestingly, in a day and age when organisers look to rope in as many sponsors as possible, this Grand Slam sees a unique trend of non-branding at the event. The All England Club (organiser) does not allow sponsor hoardings within the grounds of Wimbledon, with the aim of protecting the ‘Wimbledon’ brand.

There is, however, some corporate branding, such as the Slazenger  tennis balls and the Rolex clock.

Other sponsors include HSBC , Slazenger, Sony, Evian, Rolex.

Rolex ad - 

Sony UK  has gone a step ahead, by pioneering the first ever live 3D screening of the Wimbledon finals, distributing it to 3D capable cinemas across the world.

This year, the All England Club, working with integrated marketing agency Space, has created a Wimbledon Village, in the golf course next to where people queue to watch the tennis championships.

The Village has seen brand activity from a number of sponsors including HSBC, Robinsons  and Evian, which will serve its water in its branded area.

The All England Club is also introducing a number of new initiatives, including an overhaul of its website by IBM,   enhancing the streaming of action from the tournament. IBM also provides the official match score on the courtsides.

The organisers, apart from the official merchandise store, also have an exclusive eyewear brand called ‘Wimbledon Eyewear’, which bears the official Wimbledon logo on the products.

The event though, sees its share of ambush marketing, with a sizeable amount of commercial advertisement material distributed to the ticketholders, and tying up with players,  in a hope to have their brand captured on camera.  The most recent incident being Andy Murray being asked to remove the label of his drinking water, as it was  of a rival company (of the official sponsor). 

Make sure you don’t miss the action-packed finale to the only grass court Grad Slam while you enjoy your weekend.

With inputs from John Reynolds (Brand Republic).