Wimbledon Serves Up India Strategy: Targeting Cricket Fans for Growth

Wimbledon is setting its sights on expanding its global footprint, with India emerging as a key target market. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), organizers of the prestigious tournament, are exploring innovative strategies to resonate with the cricket-loving Indian audience.

The presence of prominent Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar at Wimbledon underscores this strategic initiative. Rohit Sharma's Wimbledon photo on Instagram garnered a record-breaking 4.5 million likes, highlighting the potential for engagement.

According to AELTC Chief Executive Sally Bolton, both India and the US are crucial markets for expanding the historic brand. Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, explained to TimesofIndia.com the approach of collaboration rather than competition with cricket.

"Cricket is much loved and certainly king for Indian audiences. So rather than trying to compete with that, I think it's about trying to find interesting ways to collaborate. Both sports are rich in heritage. England and India Test matches are happening now. So I think there's interesting ways to be able to bring that to life for audiences, so that they might want to come and watch it as well," Dinen stated.

Wimbledon is exploring collaborations with Indian social media influencers, offering them a unique experience encompassing both a Test match at Lord's and an afternoon at the Championships. Furthermore, Star Sports, Wimbledon's broadcast partner, has created a tennis-cricket crossover trailer that aired during the IPL, further amplifying the cross-promotional efforts.

Despite its global renown, Wimbledon recognizes the potential for further growth. With 60-70 million engagements last year, the tournament aims to tap into the vast Indian market, which holds immense "headroom" for expansion, particularly among its young population.

Dinen emphasized the importance of appealing to younger audiences through targeted content strategies on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. "Younger audiences and audiences of the future are crucial to us. It's clear in the activity that we focus on and our content strategy, whether that's for Instagram, YouTube and the sort of content we create," Dinen clarified.

While holding events in India is challenging due to the monsoon season, the AELTC is partnering with PVR INOX to showcase the finals in theaters. Inviting Indian cricket icons to the Royal Box remains a potential strategy to leverage their massive social media presence.

Wimbledon embraces technological advancements while upholding its traditions. The tournament is integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) through its app and website, in collaboration with IBM. The 'Match Chat' assistant provides real-time answers and match analysis to fans during live matches, enhancing engagement and providing immediate information.

"We continue to embrace technology, and it sits at the heart of the balance between heritage and innovation. And in terms of things like Virtual Reality, we work on areas such as gaming. We've brought experiences to life in places like Roblox. So we absolutely want to make sure we bring the brand and the Championships to life in new and interesting ways," stated Dinen.