Brands jump on Murray bandwagon

Warc, 10 July 2013

LONDON: Following the success of Andy Murray, the first Briton to win the men's Wimbledon tennis title in 77 years, sports brands have sprung into action with a raft of tactical marketing campaigns.

Head, which supplies Murray's racquets, is already running Facebook ads, YouTube virals and Twitter promotions at the same time as it is working with retail partners, including TennisNuts.com and Sports Direct, to provide promotional content around its products.

Andy Catchpole, category manager for racquet sports at Head, told Marketing Week that Murray's win could help the brand overtake its main rivals in tennis equipment, Wilson and Babolat.

He noted that Murray had featured in three of the past four Grand Slam finals. "As a brand that's massive because we've already got the exposure there," he said.

"We're hoping that tennis clubs are ready for the increased interest and that they will push on and filter down to the brand in terms of racket sales," he added.

Health and fitness chains, including the Nuffield Tennis Academy, David Lloyd and Virgin Active, are offering free tennis sessions to attract new customers.

"We always plan promotions during Wimbledon because we know there's going to be an increase in interest in tennis," said Jenny Loughton, tennis manager for the Nuffield Tennis Academy.

"With Murray winning it allows us to reach out to a broader group of people and get parents more involved," she added.

One of the few brands that Murray has a deal with is Adidas and the Guardian noted how the sportswear giant had capitalised on his ease with social media and arranged for him to knock up with 100 Twitter users on public courts the day after his victory.

Murray also has deals with non-sporting brands including the Royal Bank of Scotland, carmaker Jaguar and watchmaker Rado. Marcus Jon, the global head of sport at marketing advertising agency Media.com, suggested to the Independent that brands such as Coca-Cola and Visa could be possible partners in future.

Other observers thought Murray would not be rushing to exploit his success, noting that he had already turned down lucrative offers in order to focus on his tennis.

One thing he will be doing, however, is taking part in a tennis version of cricket's Indian Premier League, which will raise his profile further and attract even more attention from brands.

Data sourced from Marketing Week, Guardian, Independent; additional content by Warc staff