4 - FIFA/CIES International University Network

SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR
meDia
EMBRACING
THE DIGITAL
OPPORTUNITY
Sports rights holders have taken a lot of wrong turns and gone down many dead ends in pursuit
of a workable digital strategy. But the WTA’s approach to new media demonstrates a very effective
grasp of how to engage with audiences via emerging platforms.
THIS IS EVIDENT in a number of ways.
Firstly, there is the sophisticated editorial
offering available at the WTA’s website www.
sonyericssonwtatour.com. Next, there is the
Tour’s progressive approach to social media.
And finally there is a realisation that brands
have a key part to play in helping harness the
power of digital media.
Andrew Walker, the WTA’s senior VP in
marketing and communications, says there
are both promotional and revenue-generating
opportunities in the digital space. Looking first
at the promotional side of the WTA’s activities,
he says: “We’ve shifted our marketing spend
almost entirely into the digital space over the
last two years. It’s gone from something like
85 per cent investment in traditional media to
around 85 per cent in digital media.”
He cites a couple of key reasons for this:
“I think digital platforms are better suited to
our global structure than broadcast media -
because it is easier for us to keep up a day-today
relationship with fans. At the same time,
we’ve noted that we reach a much younger
demographic via digital. Around 75 per cent of
our fans online are aged 13 to 24 whereas TV
delivers us an older audience. There’s a seismic
shift in media consumption patterns that’s very
attractive to our brand partners.”
A large part of the WTA’s energy goes into
making sure they have a presence on landmark
sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube:
“Facebook has been a very powerful medium for
the WTA’s players,” says Walker. “All told, the top
players have in excess of five million Facebook
fans who are equally interested in their off-court
lifestyle as their play on the court.”
This kind of fanbase has positive
implications for the WTA’s commercial strategy,
adds Walker: “Audience engagement and
accurate targeting is attractive to sponsors -
and can be used as part of our ticketing and
licensing strategy.
“The kind of activity we engage in on
Facebook is also valuable for our TV rights
holders, because it means we can drive
audiences to their services from the internet.”
As for YouTube, “we have a partnership
based around an ad revenue model,” Walker
says. “They sell the advertising space around our
content and we collect a share of it.”
SuperFans meet online
One of the WTA’s most interesting social
networking innovations has been the creation of
SuperFans, a one-stop hub showcasing the top
stars (www.WTASuperFans.com). In a nutshell,
SuperFans is designed to become the key
destination for women’s tennis fans to get close
to their favourite players. The initiative, which
is the first time a major sports franchise has
endorsed, promoted and aggregated the social
media channels of its athletes, brings together
all of the conversations and content produced
by its players into one place - which is a pretty
heavyweight proposition when you look at the
number of online fans collected by Venus and
Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.
According to Walker, the SuperFans
platform is then made available through Twitter
and Facebook, while videos and images attached
by the players are visible via YouTube and
(photo-sharing platform) Flickr. Players will also
have the opportunity to interact with each other
and tag one other in photos while promotion of
the initiative will be supported through a series
of online viral videos.
Of course, the industry trend towards digital
content partnerships hasn’t negated the need
for a strong WTA-branded web presence which
can act as an anchor for the WTA’s advanced
media strategy. Working in partnership with
digital solutions provider Perform Group, the
WTA has constructed a rich media website
which offers fans a mix of news, statistics,
event data, video and retail. In video, there’s
a combination of live pay options and free
archive and highlights. There’s also an off-court
section which reinforces the link between
player lifestyle and fan aspirations.
The website is run as a complementary
medium, supporting rather than competing with
the WTA’s TV rights partners, says Walker: “The
real purpose of a service like this is two-fold.
“Firstly to provide fans with video content
they can’t get elsewhere - for example WTA fans
in countries where there isn’t broadcast coverage
of a live event. Secondly, to provide a platform
which allows the most enthusiastic fans to
immerse themselves in the life of the Tour.”
With the latter point in mind, the WTA
website is constantly upgraded to make sure
it meets fan expectations. Earlier this year,
for example, the WTA unveiled a new mobile
website and a Spanish-language version of
its main site, adding to existing versions in
English and Chinese. For WTA chairman
and CEO Stacey Allaster, both were obvious
enhancements which mean “fans can stay
connected to the sport and its stars anytime,
anywhere in multiple languages.
“With billions of mobile users worldwide,
it is a natural extension for the WTA to create
a deeper level of engagement and interaction
with our fans and literally place the sport in the
palms of their hands.”
In terms of content, the Spanish-language
version of the site will feature most of
the elements available on the English version -
such as weekly rankings updates, player
profiles and statistics, latest news, live match
scores, player blogs and video highlights. In
many ways, it is a no-brainer when you consider
the size of the global Spanish-speaking market
(330 million) and the fact the Tour has events in
destinations such as Colombia and Mexico. When
you also factor in the WTA’s close links with
Hispanic HQ Florida, then the Spanish version is
a timely development which will provide a richer
and more personalised experience for the current
fanbase while offering new fans engagement and
interaction in their native language.
54 SportBusiness International • No. 160 • 09.10