By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The Delray Beach Open ATP Tour event provides some excellent marketing and promotional ideas for tennis and perhaps other sports events can mimic.
The event has been staged in Delray Beach since 1999 and is owned and operated by the Baron family, father Mark serving as tournament director with his son Ivan, a former top USTA junior player, college star for one season at the University of Georgia and a former ATP player, mainly on the Futures and Challenger Tour. Here’s a look at three great marketing initiatives that they implement. I also discuss this on my podcast platform “15-Love With Randy Walker (Because The World Needs Another Podcast) here: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/22664758
TWO WEEKENDS OF PROGRAMMING
The Delray Beach Open is a full “two weekend” event as it, as it promotes itself, the only ATP tennis tournament that also features a ATP “Champions” event. Prior to main draw matches starting on a Monday, the tournament features three days of “seniors” playing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The format of these matches are “USA vs. The World” with senior players and the competition stretches over three days. Of course, the main event’s qualifying rounds are also held on the Saturday and Sunday, for some added tennis content. Too boot, in 2020, the event is hosting a special women’s exhibition match featuring WTA Star and Delray Beach resident Coco Gauff playing against reigning NCAA singles champion Estela Perez- Somarriba of the University of Miami. (to read my story on the Perez-Somarriba NCAA win, click here: http://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/16848) This Gauff vs. Perez-Somarriba is brilliant on a few fronts. For startsers, the tournament is capitalizing on the massive popularity and buzz of Gauff, the local girl, to add buzz to the event. Also, since the tournament is no doubt paying a high appearance fee for Gauff to play, is making up for it by having her play an amateur player, who can’t accept monetary compensation (for now, pending upcoming changes to NCAA rules about student-athletes receiving money). Also, the fact that Perez-Somarriba is a player with a relative local following, from Miami, which is just an hour down the road from Delray Beach, will draw some extra fans from that market. Also, this is an interesting exhibition match-up! This is kind of like the WTA women’s tennis version of the Duke men’s basketball team playing against the NBA’s Miami Heat. Sometimes, exhibition matches have no excitement, no drama, with nothing on the line and basically fans are just watching a practice match where players practice trick shots, tweeners, have ball kids come out to hit some shots, etc. However, Gauff certainly wants to play well in front of her home fans and Perez-Somarriba certainly is embracing the challenge, wants to win and prove that she can be a WTA-level player. The net here is, the tournament gets three more days of revenue and three more days of promotion and media storylines. How can the tournament you run or attend do something similar?
PRE-PROMOTION OF SPECIFIC PLAYER START TIMES
The Delray Beach Open is very open well in advance of when its star players play. In previous editions of the event, the event has promoted months in advance the start times of Juan Martin del Potro, Nick Kyrgios or the Bryan Brothers. Even just weeks in advance, the tournament plugs in which player commits are playing on which days so you can plan accordingly , depending on the star player you want to see. Check it here: https://yellowtennisball.com/schedule/ I’m actually surprised that more events do this more when they can.
EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Ivan Baron has one of the best email marketing newsletters in tennis. It’s once a week for the entire year and it highlights tournament specific news, player results from past or current Delray Beach Open and other items that are newsworthy or of interest with the tournament. “Wimbledon Draw Contest, Hospitality Pavilion 50% Sold Out, Baghdatis Retires” read the email from June 23, 2019, more than six months advance of the tournament! It’s like that week after week – updates on tournament offerings while informing you of former and current player happenings on the ATP and WTA Tours. Get on the email list by emailing IBaron@yellowtennisball.com
On a side note, the Delray Beach Open was supposed to mark the return to pro tennis for Juan Martin del Potro. However, the 2009 U.S. Open champion from Argentina, who had not played since June due to a second knee cap injury, recently had to have another surgery on his knee and his return to tennis is now unknown. Del Potro’s return at Delray Beach was supposed to be the hook where the new English language book on him called “Juan Martin del Potro: The Gentle Giant” by Argentine tennis writer Sebastian Torok. However, there will be no bells and whistles with the book launch, but it will still launch and fans can buy or download the book via amazon.com here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559920/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_Lb3qEbWGDTCNB The book details the life, career and the comebacks from injuries of del Potro and has several anecdotes of del Potro’s association with the Delray Beach Open and his life in South Florida.
