The Legends Graphic
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We made a key strategic move by asking a powerful tennis association of 80,000 members to
participate as a sponsor of the event. Many of their members had begun playing tennis
because of Chris Evert and they welcomed this opportunity.
Celebrity Doubles with Hank Aaron
(He can play.)
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We needed to communicate the event to our target
audience of tennis players and the association became our primary communication device. In
lieu of traditional advertising, the association conducted several “phone
campaigns” where captains of each team would call each team member and pass on dates,
times, and, in the process, create a buzz of excitement. We also used print communication
via the association’s newsletters and magazines. This was highly preferable to a lot
of mainstream advertising as it was directed to our target audience at a far lower cost.
Chris, Martina and the original painting
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We had a prominent sports artist create the
commemorative image (shown at right) and printed the image on all our promotional
materials and on thousands of posters. The posters became collectors’ items, and even
Chris and Martina wanted several for friends and family.
The Legends was a major success and was certainly one of our more enjoyable campaigns.
Chris told us that in her 20 years of playing special events, The Legends event was the
best. We felt doubly rewarded when six months later we were asked to work with the WTA
(Women’s Professional Tennis Tour) on the World Doubles Championships.
We presented this baby stroller to Chris. The photo
appeared in Tennis Magazine.
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Footnote:
Within months of our campaign, the entire
tour began referring to Chris and Martina as “Leges” a sort of “cool
speak” for Legend.
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