Davis Cup campaign launches

The Lawn Tennis Association today launches a campaign and brand to promote the Davis Cup.

The campaign, created by branding group 300million, is hoped to ‘rally support for the British team’ when it plays against Croatia in the 2007 Davis Cup final in September, as well as generate a wider interest in the sport.

The event, which takes place from 21-23 September, will be the fourth time that a tie has been played at Wimbledon in the past 30 years.

The campaign comes at a time when the LTA’s blueprint for British tennis, outlining its vision and investment for the future of the sport, is focusing on nurturing the next generation of professional players.

According to the blueprint, there are currently ten players, aged between 12 and 18, who are on track to become top 100 players.

‘Wimbledon is a fantastic opportunity for us to promote the beginning of a new era for British tennis and start a groundswell of support for Team GB in the Davis Cup later in the year,’ says Tom Harlow, head of internal communications at the LTA.

300million was appointed to the project in May, without a formal pitch, having made connections through a ‘business network’.

Dom Bailey, creative director at 300million, explains that the brief was to create a brand that would generate excitement around the Davis Cup, a lesser-known event than the Wimbledon Championships.

‘What we tried to do is create a collective consciousness, a national sense of pride if you like, around the British tennis team. By showing at Wimbledon, the campaign is trying to reach out to the people who do not naturally gravitate towards the lesser-known events that have a more dedicated fan base,’ he says.

Playing on the ‘is’ contained within ‘Davis’, the branding uses flexible straplines such as ‘winning is everything’ and ‘the time is now’, which can be adapted to different audiences.

The branding will be applied across the Wimbledon venue, including an existing retail concession, a children’s play zone and existing exhibition space.

The Davis Cup branding will be rolled out across regional championship events at Birmingham, Eastbourne and Newcastle, which are scheduled to take place over the summer.