| The
Challenge
At a time in which the general public was growing weary of
conventional tennis tournaments, ITMS Sports was presented
with the chance to design, produce, promote, and implement
a completely new and unique tournament concept. ITMS Sports’
objective was to showcase a creative event format and promote
it in a way that would capture a large audience. Securing
corporate sponsors and promotional partnerships were also
a critical component of assuring the success of the event.
The Solution
ITMS Sports realized that in order to stage a memorable
tournament they had to creatively combine a series of activities
that would appeal to different target groups. ITMS Sports
produced the ultimate fantasy sports experience by organizing
an event with former tennis greats: Bjorn Borg, Ilie Nastase,
Henri Leconte, and Mansour Bahrami. The event included a champions
tournament followed by a chance for corporate guests to meet,
compete, and mingle with the tennis greats. Non-corporate
guests also had a chance to interact with the pros through
a fantasy event in which 24 amateurs could win the right to
compete with the tennis greats. In addition to organizing
the tournament, ITMS Sports initiated a national PR and marketing
campaign to promote the nostalgia tennis event, obtaining
the support of several major advertisers including Coca-Cola,
Tretorn, Prince, and Madison Sportswear in the process. A
branding solution was consistently implemented through ads,
posters, tickets, credentials, and program materials, making
the event a recognizable entity in the media.
The comprehensive campaign also included the launch of the
official Sauerland Champions website, fully designed and developed
by ITMS’s design division. The site provided easy navigation
and presented useful information on the inaugural Champions
tournament, allowing users to purchase tickets, reserve a
limited Pro-Am spot, and book a Fantasy weekend package.
The Results
The media and general consensus of the Sauerland Champions
was that overall it was an exciting, distinctive, and successful
event. According to national television reports, fans gave
the Sauerland Champions better marks than long-established
professional tournaments such as the ATP events in Hamburg
and Halle. Even the generally reserved five-time Wimbledon
champion Bjorn Borg was quoted in Germany’s ‘Handelsblatt’
as saying, “it was an excellent event.” The consistent
branding of the event assured that the event image would leave
a lasting impression with the public.
Back
|
