Wimbledon: game, set and experiential marketing

By August 6, 2017General

Wimbledon and experiential marketing? Believe it or not, we’re talking about a match made in heaven. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s pretty difficult to make an impression at one of the biggest annual sporting events in the world, but brands do it all the time.

When you stop and think about it, it makes sense to target such an occasion. For starters, over the course of two weeks, SW19 has a huge amount of footfall every year. Guaranteed. So, if a company can get creative, they can make a huge impression on a big audience, all in pretty quick time.

Just think. It’s not easy to get tickets for Wimbledon. Anyone who goes to the tennis will be incredibly excited, motivated and influential. They’ll probably be talking about their day for years.

So, what an amazing opportunity for companies to contribute to that day and create a long-lasting impression. And guess what? Sometimes, depending on the application of such an experiential marketing strategy, this can also be done cheaply.

But let’s rewind for a moment. Why experiential marketing in the first place? At the root of the issue is a change of focus for the consumer: people now prioritise experiences over materials.

At this stage it’s important to point out that executing an experiential marketing campaign at Wimbledon is a little tricky, since the All England Club are very strict on what businesses can or cannot do. Bear this in mind should you ever come across any hurdles with your own strategies.

What happened with experiential marketing at Wimbledon 2017?

KFC created a tennis-themed restaurant in the centre of Wimbledon, plus they also served Britvic in all KFC branches after partnering with the long-term Wimbledon partner.

Paddy Power, masters of the PR stunt, drew a tennis racquet in Andy Murray’s honour on the Cerne Abbas Giant tourist attraction in Dorset.

Drinks brand Pimms also became an official partner at Wimbledon this year and created a number of ‘perfect partner’ campaigns to advertise that fact.

It just goes to show that experiential marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, nor do brands require special contacts or relations in order to thrive.

Hotcow is a non-traditional creative agency that specialises in experiential marketing that goes viral. Our campaigns generate buzz through crowd participation, PR and content sharing. Contact us on 0207 5030442 or email us on info@hotcow.co.uk.