The magic of sporting events is not only in who wins this or that match, but there is a commercial window behind it that allows a much more lucrative impact for sponsors and business partners. The Guadalajara WTA Finals They comply with both labels, since being the most important women’s tennis tournament of the year, its exposure is measured in close to 200 million people from the five continents and opens up an unprecedented opportunity that, above all, local brands are exploiting.
“Beyond the cost (for being a sponsor of WTA Finals), this is a bet for what it can give us in the future, it goes beyond a transaction, we are talking about an event with more than 60,000 attendees and we seek to be above more than 3% of a conversion level and this speaks of hundreds of thousands of pesos (…) If that small percentage adopts us as a brand, for us it is a win-win, conserve and retain ”, explains to this newspaper, Manuel Murillo, commercial director of the fashion brand, Tucané, from Jalisco and one of the sponsors of the event.
Tucané was born 12 years ago in Guadalajara as a proposal for a youth casual dress and has found in sport an ally for its exposure, as has been the Club Atlas (football), Astros de Jalisco (basketball), the Mexican Polo Federation and, in tennis, the Zapopan WTA 250 Open and now the Finals, which represent an exhibition platform aligned with its goals of transcending borders.
“It was a surprise invitation, in September we had a meeting with the general director of the event, Gustavo Santoscoy, and the possibility arises. The relationship with him has always been to bet on Mexican brands and Guadalajara that are protagonists (…) Today, loyalty to brands is less and less and this is a great opportunity to transfer experience and vision, we know the importance of the event to Global level and as a local brand it is very important to be in the top of mind of the consumer. Our 2024 plan is to be leaders in the casual fashion proposal in Mexico and begin to expand in other territories such as USA, Europe and South America“, Adds the director of Tucané.
Next to Akron (lubricants and fuels) and But (soft drink), are the strongest Jalisco companies within the WTA Finals 2021, whose transmission will be to more than 160 countries during a week and with options to increase the time interval before and after. TucanéFor example, it launched its special clothing line for the event a month before with more than 3,000 garments including polo shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets and caps, in addition to providing kits to logistics operators, to children who pass the balls the tennis players and even the judges.
“When there are these types of activations it is a very good thing, because building your own return on investment is one of the most difficult objectives, many of the mistakes that are made is spending your total budget in hiring or associating with the tournament and In the end, there is no money left to activate, but if these two things can be done it will always be good to give it a couple of months so that people can associate more with the brand and activate it by releasing specific products that can extend the duration of the event ” , analyzes Armando Escamilla, expert in sports sponsorships and managing partner of Patroria.
Although the Finals they came to Mexico with a load of sponsorships that already have year-long agreements, such as Porsche O Amstel Ultra, was not an impediment for the regional brands of Jalisco will get involved. For the specialist in sports marketingThis has two purposes that are highly profitable.
“First is the sponsorship of the blockade, the one that is focused on strengthening the regional issue, seeking to make Guadalajara its strength and protect it in different sectors. On the other hand, local brands are going to give this type of sponsorship a much longer validity, they show their ability to provide such large events and one of the objectives is to generate trust in future customer prospects, they are sponsorships that will be part of its bookingThey want to show local and national consumers their ability to be suppliers and sponsors ”.
The presence of the brands and the event itself has a positive effect on the economy in terms of reactivating tourism, a priority task after almost two years in a pandemic, says Armando Escamilla: “In an international reading, this gives certainty and pays to say that there is a stable strategy of the economy in Mexico, which is capable of betting on world-class events. This attracts tourism and generates another type of income, which WTA trust the health protocols that are carried out in the stadium, that the tennis players themselves feel confident of the situation in Mexico, everything permeates internationally for tourists who are still undecided to travel here “.
The specialist puts the Guadalajara WTA Finals at the height of a Mundial sub 17 of soccer for capturing global interest although not yet at the height of a higher category World Cup, a match of NFL or a race of Formula 1. He also mentions that the closeness between the tennis event and the Grand Prix of Mexico City (three days away) did not pay to fully exploit marketing and advertising.
Still, brands like Tucané are aware of the unique opportunity presented to them to transcend the perimeter of Jalisco: “We want to always be one step ahead, to be the leading brand in the casual market not only in Mexico, but that from this type of event allows us to be in the mind of the consumer. It is a great opportunity that from these participations in sport they adopt us as a brand with a different proposal and tomorrow we will be part of their day to day ”, Manuel Murillo concludes.
The WTA Finals will conclude on November 17 after eight days with at least two games each, among which players such as Aryna Sabalenka and Barbora Krejcikova, current number 2 and 3 of the world ranking.
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Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx