In early January, the Int’l Tennis Federation named ANDREW WALKER its new commercial director, overseeing the organization’s media rights and media production as well as sponsorship. Prior to joining the ITF, Walker spent more than a decade at the WTA before leaving to start his own sports consultancy in ‘13. Walker spoke to SBD Global about the growth of the WTA, the ITF’s recent deal with beIN Sports and equal prize money in tennis.
On starting a sports consultancy ...
Andrew Walker: I wanted to do something more entrepreneurial. I had been working for a governing body -- a very dynamic one -- for many years, but I felt like the time was right. We had achieved a lot as a team at the WTA and I felt like the time was right to see what it felt like to do something on my own and more entrepreneurial. My consultancy really was focused on two types of work. One was strategic, marketing communications counsel. That included supporting both rights holders and brands in terms of marketing communication strategy. Separately, I was doing sponsorship work, both in terms of acting as a third party agency trying to source new partners for properties, as well as sponsorship consulting for sovereign entities that were exploring opportunities in sport.
On the factors contributing to the growth of women’s tennis ...
Walker: One has been the athletes. Women’s tennis has been blessed with some really fantastic marquee stars, a handful of whom really resonate globally and many more who resonate from a marketing perspective and fan perspective in their home market. In any sport, having recognizable, interesting athletes and amazing athletes is critically important to success. Women’s tennis had been blessed with that. On the business side, some of the things that we were able to do I think helped to drive the growth of the sport. It certainly included attracting strong brands who are not only interested in investing financially in the WTA as a property, but more importantly serving as marketing partners who had helped to grow the sport. Sony Ericsson of course was a very significant deal from an investment perspective, but I’d say as importantly, it was a great deal in terms of finding a committed marketing partner who helped to drive the growth of the sport market and promote the sport. While I was [at the WTA], there was a very significant reform of the circuit structure that made the actual calendar easier to follow and more understandable for fans. It became stronger commercially for tournaments and made more sense for the players in terms of protecting their health and ensuring that they play at the top events. That was an important multi-year initiative. We did a lot on the marketing side through investing in strong marketing and promotion of the athletes and events, to kind of grow equity in the brand, our members and the players in the tournament. There was a big investment in digital and social and working very closely with the athletes and supporting athletes to grow their brands. On the broadcast side, there was a real expansion of the footprint, both across the linear channels and well as digital channels and a real strong effort made to produce more compelling content of all forms, certainly the live broadcast, but also through other content across multiple platforms that would serve our consumers and fans well. Those are a bunch of the things that I think contributed to the success on the women’s tennis side.
On plans for the ITF ...
Walker: Along with a host of other properties that the ITF oversees, including the junior circuit and the men’s and women’s circuits that feed in to the WTA and ATP tours along with some developmental programs like wheelchair tennis and coaching programs, there’s actually quite a number of big initiatives and platforms that the ITF oversees. So for me, I see a huge opportunity to grow the Davis Cup and Fed Cup, in terms of building the brand and equity in the brand and driving increased media exposure worldwide. [On Monday] we announced a very significant global media partnership with beIN Sports. That’s a new seven-year deal that we just announced [Monday] that’s going to really expand the footprint of the Fed Cup and the Davis Cup, drive viewership and enhance the production quality across those events. That’s going to be across both traditional linear channels as well as digital. So that’s a big step forward and obviously a partnership we’re going to be focused on. Then on the sponsorship side, we’ve got some great partners like BNP, Paribas, our title sponsor and Rolex and Adecco, big global partners, strong brands and great marketing partners. But I believe there’s a great opportunity to bring some new and additional partners to the sport, to the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup in particular. So that’s going to be a big focus of mine in terms of attracting new brands across a number of different categories to the Davis Cup and Fed Cup that will help us continue to drive growth. A big part of the reason I joined is that there’s a real progressive view in terms of the vision for the future of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup. And that includes significantly more marketing and promotion by the ITF. It includes a bigger focus on the media side and growing our footprint, as I said to this beIN deal. And it includes looking at possible ways to optimize the format of the event to make it as attractive to our fans and partners as possible. I think all of that will lead to an exciting and successful future for these events.
On changes in the sports business industry ...
Walker: There have been a lot of different changes, certainly on the media side. Things are changing so rapidly with the rise of digital and social channels and platforms of how consumers are consuming sport. Every property across the sporting landscape is taking a look at how they’re projecting their sport in a way that is the most relevant and compelling to how consumers are digesting it. That means significant investment in social media platforms and digital channels, and looking at all sorts of different content that can be created across those channels. It’s changed the landscape of how media deals are being structured.
On his proudest accomplishment ...
Walker: The achievement of equal prize money while at the WTA was a very significant milestone for women’s tennis and for women’s sport. Obviously there were many people involved in that achievement, but having the opportunity to play a role in something not only important from a sporting perspective and for the organization and the athletes, but more importantly from a social perspective and the message it sent about the value of women’s sport, I think it was an important milestone for women’s tennis and women’s sport.
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