First Fully Integrated National Campaign For Sport Featuring Top Men’s and Women’s Players
New Creative - “Summer’s Hottest Reality Series...200 Players, 10 Tournaments and $2 Million On The Line” - - to Run Nationally on TV, Radio, Print, and Billboards
US Open Series Begins This Week in Indianapolis; Full TV Listings on USOpenSeries.com
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 18, 2005 – The USTA today announced the launch of its new marketing and promotion campaign for the 2005 US Open Series - - the eight-week summer tennis season that links all major ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments in North America to the US Open. The multimedia effort includes national television, radio, print and customized local executions in US Open Series markets, creating the first fully integrated and combined promotion campaign for men’s and women’s pro tennis in the U.S.
The new creative message - - “Summer’s Hottest Reality Series: 200 Players, 10 Tournaments, $2 Million On The Line” - - breaks this week concurrent with the start of the 2005 US Open Series. The campaign highlights the personalities of the sport’s biggest international stars, reflecting the USTA’s continued effort to market the sport of tennis in a unique and different way to sports fans and to drive viewers to US Open Series coverage each weekend, including live back-to-back men’s and women’s finals every Sunday afternoon.
Two 30-second TV ads, shot in Paris prior to the start of Roland Garros, feature the sport’s top stars in an off-court setting discussing the concept of 200 players competing in the North American summer tennis season for more than $2 million in bonus prize money at the US Open. Nicknames that capture player personalities are included for many of the sport’s top athletes - - Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters, Lindsay Davenport, Elena Dementieva, Roger Federer, Tommy Haas, Tim Henman, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Carlos Moya, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Marat Safin, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. The spots, produced by Arnold Worldwide’s New York office, conclude with the tagline, “This is Reality TV - - Live.”
“This new US Open Series campaign and the aggressive media plan are designed to create a meaningful and impactful way to connect fans with the top men’s and women’s stars in tennis,” said Arlen Kantarian, Chief Executive, Professional Tennis, USTA. “For the first time in the U.S., there is a significant, ongoing advertising presence for our sport and its top stars for the entire summer tennis season.”
Spots will air nationally in and outside of tennis programming on CBS, ESPN, NBC, and The Tennis Channel. Print executions will appear throughout the summer in USA Today, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, ESPN The Magazine, and SportsBusiness Journal. An accompanying radio campaign will air in tournament markets around the country. All ads will direct consumers to USOpenSeries.com, the home for the latest information on the US Open Series, including full television listings.
The new US Open Series marketing effort is the latest in a series of recent moves to elevate the profile of professional tennis in the U.S. Earlier this year, the USTA announced double prize money at the US Open for the men’s and women’s winners of the US Open Series, a new “US Open Blue” court color scheme for all US Open Series events and the US Open, the first combined men’s and women’s summer event in New Haven, and the addition of San Diego to the US Open Series.
Click here for the the 2005 US Open Series schedule.
The US Open Series is the eight-week summer tennis season linking 10 major ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments to the US Open. The US Open Series launched in 2004, and resulted in record attendance and TV viewership with over 200 live broadcast hours. Television viewership was up over 50%, with regularly scheduled broadcasts on ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and The Tennis Channel. In total, the US Open Series events - - including the US Open - - generated a record 1.5 million attendees, 126 million TV viewers and over 15 million website visits. Lindsay Davenport and Lleyton Hewitt won the inaugural US Open Series.
The 2005 US Open is expected to attract over 625,000 fans, making it the highest attended annual sporting event in the world. More than 86 million viewers watched the 2004 US Open on CBS Sports and USA Network, and international broadcasts reached 199 countries. New fan enhancements at the 2005 tournament will feature a multi-million dollar upgrade of the USTA National Tennis Center grounds, including the opening of the US Open Court of Champions attraction, a renovated South Plaza, and the introduction of “US Open Blue” courts.
US OPEN SERIES
“SUMMER’S HOTTEST REALITY SERIES”
PLAYER NICKNAMES
Men
Andre Agassi: “The Legend”
Mario Ancic: “Young Gun”
James Blake: “The Harvard Guy”
Bryan Brothers: “Double Feature”
Taylor Dent: “The Bomber”
Roger Federer: “The Boss”
Mardy Fish: “The Bachelor”
Tommy Haas: “The Stud”
Tim Henman: “The Good Guy”
Lleyton Hewitt: “The Rebel”
Nicolas Keifer: “The Gladiator”
Ivan Ljubicic: “The Terminator”
Carlos Moya: “The Hunk”
Rafael Nadal: “Boy Wonder”
David Nalbandian: “The Warrior”
Andy Roddick: “Rocket Man”
Marat Safin: “Mr. Unpredictable”
Paradorn Srichaphan: “The Diplomat”
Women
Elena Bovina: “The Challenger”
Kim Clijsters: “Miss Congeniality”
Lindsay Davenport: “Top Gun”
Elena Dementieva: “The Sweetheart”
Daniela Hantuchova: “The Cover Girl”
Justine Henin-Hardenne:
“The Comeback Kid”
Svetlana Kuznetsova: “The Contender”
Amelie Mauresmo: “The Artiste”
Alicia Molik: “The Girl Next Door”
Anastasia Myskina: “The Trailblazer”
Martina Navratilova: “The Icon”
Mary Pierce: “The Veteran”
Maria Sharapova: “The “It” Girl”
Serena Williams: “The Diva”
Venus Williams: “The Goddess”
Vera Zvonareva: “The Drama Queen”