Branding Case Study: Wimbledon Tennis Tournament
A company’s branding is usually the first encounter that they have with a potential customer, and, as they say, first impressions count. This is why visual branding is so important: it needs to convey your brand’s message in one go.
There are an infinite number of different ways to get your message exposed. Marketers are forever coming up with new strategies and merchandise but ultimately, the most important thing is raising awareness of your business.
Wimbledon is more than just a tournament, it is an institution. It’s a tennis club which functions all year round, but the brand ‘Wimbledon’ is almost entirely associated with the annual summer tennis tournament. The branding is so strong that we don’t even need to read the words; the colours used and the image of the two tennis rackets inside a circle instantly brings images of strawberries and cream and ball boys running to and fro.
Although the tennis tournament is just once a year, the club, museum and shop are always open, meaning Wimbledon merchandise is available at all times. This can range from t-shirts, to tennis kits, balls to key rings, you name it. As well as being a wonderful souvenir for people who have visited the tennis club, the merchandise also acts as great marketing for the club.
The benefits of having a branded bag are enormous. As well as the obvious exposure that it generates on the day, making a quality bag that your customers can reuse will allow that exposure to be repeated and maximised. This is not only a brilliant marketing opportunity for a company, but also great for the environment. There are also people who, believe it or not, buy something just so that they can have a branded bag!
Another great aspect to the ‘Wimbledon;’ brand is that it is flexible enough to be mixed with others, for example, annual sponsors such as Robinsons juice drinks. This partnership means that the Wimbledon brand logo appears on every bottle of Robinsons squash around the Wimbledon tournament period. By incorporating branding such as this, Wimbledon can maximise their outreach to their target audience, whilst retaining control over the brand image and identity.
Events such as the Wimbledon tournament often give away things for free to those who attend. Programmes, orders of play, stickers (all branded) can all be put into a handy Wimbledon plastic bag which can then be taken home on the train and then reused. All of this added together creates a great brand awareness and sends a lasting message to customers, building the foundations of a strong brand.
(Image from tenisranking.com)
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