American Express is a new sponsor of Wimbledon, adding a third tennis Grand Slam to its list of sports relationships.
Wimbledon, though, is a different breed than any sports entity the payment-card giant has affiliated with before. Wimbledon allows almost no on-court signs and is famous for its effort to limit commercialism.
As a result, American Express, which declined to comment, would almost certainly want to launch a major promotional program around Wimbledon, akin perhaps to its billboard campaign in New York surrounding the U.S. Open that features tennis endorsers.
| U.S. SPONSORS OF WIMBLEDON |
| Company | Category |
| American Express | Card |
| Coca-Cola | Carbonated soft drink |
| Hertz | Car |
| IBM | Information technology |
| |
| Source: All England Club |
“From what I have seen of the way American Express activates around the U.S. Open, they can definitely do that in London and the United Kingdom,” said Bob Basche, chief executive of sports marketing firm Millsport and a consultant to NBC on its Wimbledon broadcast. “They really have to activate on their own and use being the official card of the All England Club as a focal point.”
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club owns and stages the event.
In New York during the Open, American Express wraps buses and subways with ads featuring tennis players, each with a catchy phrase. Last year, the company also sponsored a large TV viewing area in midtown Manhattan at Rockefeller Center.
Previously, Halifax Bank of Scotland was the All England Club’s official payments company, which included the bank issuing an affinity card. The Club referred questions to a spokesman, who could not respond to queries by deadline.However, American Express is already listed on the Wimbledon.org Web site as a sponsor of the tournament.
The Club calls its 15 sponsors “official suppliers.” The only way for suppliers to get their brand onto court is to have their product actually used, like the Rolex clock or Slazenger tennis balls. So American Express is almost certainly not getting brand exposure except through TV ads.
Because of the limited opportunity for commercial exploitation, Wimbledon deals are not as expensive as most sponsorships. Tickets are hard to come by in these packages, though American Express is sure to want some to offer as rewards to premium card holders. The company will also surely have hospitality on site.
American Express’ deal, sources said, is a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract. Basche wondered if the card company would also get exclusive rights to the grounds of the All England Club, or if competitors such as Visa would also be accepted on site and for tickets.
The deal was negotiated for the All England Club by IMG co-chief executive Bob Kain and senior vice president Tony Godsick, who declined to comment. Deceased IMG founder Mark McCormack had long been the commercial negotiator for the Club, and the AmEx deal represents one of Wimbledon’s first significant deals since his death last year.
American Express was represented by Momentum, the events and sponsorship unit of advertising agency McCann-Erickson North America. The card company also sponsors tennis’s Australian Open.
Wimbledon this year occurs June 21 through July 4.
