Organizers of Washington’s annual professional tennis tournament are taking advantage of the capital’s political landscape to promote the event to an int’l audience. Citi Open organizers have taken the unique approach of engaging the city’s foreign embassies to reach int’l residents and visitors. “We have the embassies … and they help promote their players who are coming to the event,” Tournament Dir Jeff Newman said. In return, embassies receive a promotional code for a ticket discount across all sessions of the nine-day tournament.
“When we get our initial player fields, we go down the list and we see how many players we have from a particular country,” Newman said.
“Let’s say we have four Australian players in the field. We go to the Australian embassy. We let them know who is coming.
A Side Of Rice
In '03, English player Tim Henman turned down a tour of the White House, but there was someone in the Bush administration he wanted to meet. "We had a party down at the British Embassy and we asked him, 'Would you like to go to the White House?'" Tournament co-Founder & Chair Donald Dell recalled. "And out of the blue, he said, 'No, but I'd love to meet Condoleezza Rice.' Boom, so the next day we had him meeting her for lunch." A year later, Rice came back to the tournament and asked to see Henman. "It's funny how that works out," Dell said. "Occassionally you get lucky."
We ask them to help promote the event. We, in turn, invite the ambassador out. Then, when we know the schedule, we are able to provide a promotional offer for their constituents in order to be able to see the players from their particular countries.” Organizers said their relationships with the foreign embassies have been very helpful, in particular on social media, in attracting int’l fans that live in the city. The Italian, Australian and British embassies all promoted participating players in this year’s tournament, the 48th edition on the men’s side and the fifth for women. The 2016 Citi Open, which took place from July 16-24, drew a total attendance of 69,503. Organizers said they had no information on the percentage of int'l spectators.
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Jeff Newman
Photo: Anna Hrushka
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HISTORIC APPEAL: D.C.’s history and int’l atmosphere is also beneficial in attracting big names such as former World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki. “Being in the nation’s capital is definitely a selling point for the players,” Newman said. Players are offered White House tours or visits to other monuments in a city full of them. Organizers were able to assemble a quality field for this year's tournament, considering the challenges of an Olympic summer. Wozniacki and 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martín del Potro, who both withdrew from the event due to injuries, were chosen to front the tournament’s advertising campaign. Their faces were visible on billboards and Metro stations across the city. The decision on which players to use in its promotion is twofold, Newman explained. In terms of advertising, the tournament looks at who are the most marketable players in the field. At the same time, he said, organizers recognize that D.C. has a great deal of int’l communities. “We try to tailor and make sure that it’s not all about one nationality,” he said. “The tournament is global in terms of attracting global athletes, and we like to present ourselves that way.”
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Dermot Boden (right) with French player Édouard Roger-Vasselin.
Photo: Anna Hrushka
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GLOBAL REACH: Sponsors of the tournament include a number of large global brands such as Emirates airlines, Lacoste, FedEx and title sponsor Citi. Tournament co-Founder & Chair Donald Dell, an SBJ Champions honoree in ’13, told SBD Global the event’s global reach is highly appealing to multinational corporations. Tennis is one of the most popular sports in most countries, Dell said, but in the U.S. it is not even in the top 10. This year’s tournament was broadcast in 182 countries, Dell added. Citi, which has been the event’s title sponsor since ’12, confirmed that the sport’s global aspect is a reason for its involvement. “There’s a globality to tennis which we find particularly intriguing,” Citi Chief Brand Officer Dermot Boden said. “One of our major objectives is to enable Americans to compete in a global environment.” Organizers did not disclose financial details about their sponsorship deal. The tournament is also one of only four in the U.S. that features both ATP and WTA players at the same time, which is “no question” a benefit in the hunt for partners. “Citi wants a women’s tournament because, as they say, 51 percent of their customers are women,” Dell said. Citi, which is also gearing up for the Olympic and Paralympic Games as a Team USA partner, said the fact that men and women compete in the Citi Open “is absolutely critical."
