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Williams' Grand Slam Quest Bringing In New U.S. Open Advertisers For ESPN
The U.S. Open, which starts today, has become a "must-buy for advertisers looking to reach one of the most affluent audiences outside of golf," but "in an interesting twist, host network ESPN this year has begun what may be characterized as a democratization of the U.S. Open's marketing mix," according to Anthony Crupi of AD AGE. The presence of Serena Williams and her ongoing calendar-year Grand Slam quest "guarantees a significant number of minority viewers." For example, when she defeated Victoria Azarenka in the '13 final, African-Americans "accounted for 28% of CBS' overall deliveries." ESPN "is capitalizing on the Open's fluid demographics by signing on a number of advertisers that had never before bought time in the tournament." In addition to official U.S. Open sponsors JPMorgan Chase, IBM, American Express, Citizen and Mercedes-Benz, "newcomers like Dick's Sporting Goods are buying inventory within the live matches and opting in for other opportunities in and around the Open." Dick's "will serve as a presenting sponsor of ESPN's daytime coverage, and will back 'Serving Youth,' a custom feature designed to encourage kids to pick up a racket." Beats Audio "is buying time in the live simulcasts streaming on the WatchESPN app." Beats "is a familiar brand to fans of the NFL, NBA and their respective collegiate counterparts, but has not attached itself to the Open before." However, ESPN on Friday confirmed that Geico "would sit out the final fortnight of the USTA season." While the net did not comment further on the matter, ESPN Exec VP/Global Multimedia Sales Eric Johnson said ESPN had "exceeded all expectations" on the ad sales front. iSpot.tv estimates show that Geico "was the fourth biggest investor in the 2014 Open," spending some $2.1M over the course of the tourney. Another first-time backer of ESPN's Open coverage, N.Y.-based Voya Financial, "will sponsor the network's freeD replay technology" ( <a href="http://adage.com/article/media/ad-dollars-chase-serena-williams-us-open-espn/300132/" target="_blank">ADAGE.com, 8/28</a> ).
