The USTA and U.S. Open sponsors are "aiming their" ads
at a "younger, more diverse audience than tennis has
traditionally attracted," according to Jane Levere of the
N.Y. TIMES. In their campaigns around the event, IBM and
AmEx "feature people of differing races and ages," and the
USTA is "running an irreverent, humorous campaign" that is
"clearly designed to democratize the image of the sport."
The USTA's campaign around the Open, handled by Fallon
McElligott, N.Y., is "budgeted at a record" $2M, and
"observers" say that its strategy is "crucial," as U.S. Open
TV ratings have "plummeted" from a high of 5.8 in '81 to a
low of 2.3 in '97. Univ. of OR's Warsaw Sports Marketing
Center Dir Rick Burton: "The Open is competing with [MLB],
pro football, college football. And it's got image issues.
It's positioning is staid -- it's Pete Sampras and Lindsay
Davenport. ... They're not very exciting to nontennis
aficionados." But Burton called IBM's ad effort, which
features black and white images of youngsters playing tennis
and promotes the Web site www.usopen.org, "brilliant,
because it allows them to marry their E-commerce interests
with a new way of looking at tennis" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/30).
CNN's Nick Charles noted that Davenport "sports a stylish
new hairdo and professional makeup job [and] dominates giant
green billboards all around New York City, advertising the
American Express card" ("Page One," 8/29). United Airlines
runs a full-page ad in USA Today and the Wall Street Journal
touting its U.S. Open sweepstakes. Chase Manhattan runs a
full-page ad in the N.Y. Times supporting its sponsorship of
the women's singles championship (THE DAILY).
OUT OF TIME? The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Langdon
Brockinton reports that CBS and USA Network have "sold
virtually all of their" ad time for the event at "generous
price increases." Thirty-second spots on CBS are 13-15%
"higher" than they were last year, and USA's "jumped" 8-10%.
Many 30-second units on CBS "sold for" $150,000 and up for
this year's men's final (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/30).
LICENSE TO GROW: The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Andy
Bernstein writes that licensing "remains a growth area" for
the USTA, as the organization is "working toward expanding
its retail presence" at both the National Tennis Center in
Flushing, NY, and "away from the festivities." Last year,
U.S. Open merchandise "reached only a smattering of store
shelves," but the USTA "hopes to change" that via an
"expansive licensing deal" with Fila. Bernstein notes that
sales of U.S. Open merchandise were "just over" $20M last
year, with $7M coming from event attendees and $16M coming
"off site" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/30 issue). See (#24).
