When thinking about professional tennis, one of the first images that comes to mind is Wimbledon. It’s the oldest tennis tournament in the world and has provided some of the greatest moments in tennis history since its inception in the late 1800’s.
Wimbledon was home to the Mahut-Isner match that lasted over 11 hours, the classic McEnroe-Borg battle of 1980, and some of the best Federer-Nadal matches of their rivalry.
You can see some interesting things around the All England Club during the tournament, including members of the Royal family and piles of strawberries and cream, but one thing you won’t see is sponsorship. Of course, Wimbledon has sponsors, but you’d never know by watching on TV or going to a match. However, there is one major exception – Rolex.
Rolex and Wimbledon have been teamed up since 1978. The high-quality watch company is widely known as the Official Timekeeper of the Wimbledon Championships.
The Rolex is known as a luxury watch, so its relationship with Wimbledon makes sense. The tournament and the sport are suited for an affluent crowd that targets the same audience. The brand has even targeted notable tennis stars like seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki, who was the top-rated female tennis player in the world for over a year.
But what makes Rolex so special? Why will Wimbledon promote its partnership with this brand but not with some of its many other suppliers? It could be the effort Rolex puts into promoting the tournament.
Rolex launched a multimedia dashboard on its website completely dedicated to the tournament. One of the features the is live-radio broadcasting of the matches on Centre Court. There’s also an interactive scoreboard that links to player profiles and scores that are updated in real-time. It also has an interview with Federer where he talks about his victories at the tournament and it even links to Wimbledon’s official YouTube channel that gives the audience a behind-the-scenes look that isn’t available anywhere else.
The relationship between Rolex and Wimbledon is clearly a strategic one. This has definitely helped to make Rolex and Wimbledon the epitome of high-end sports marketing over the last 30+ years. It’s important to note that Rolex has been more than an ordinary sponsor for Wimbledon. Rolex has set the bar very high for other brands who are looking to sponsor other global sports events. It’s this type of innovative approach that will keep this relationship fresh and healthy for many years to come.
(Photo Courtesy of Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Europe)