Nature Valley, the official snack bar of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), is bringing back its ‘The Court is Yours’ campaign for the second year running, and has signed up Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith to front the activity alongside last year’s brand ambassador, British no. 1 Johanna Konta.
The campaign, put together by creative marketing agency Space, calls on the British public to pick up a racket and get playing. Designed to encourage people of all ages and abilities to get out and play tennis this summer, it follows last year’s successful campaign which resulted in Nature Valley becoming the No. 1 protein bar brand, and the fastest growing. This year’s campaign will focus on supporting 150,000 people to get out in nature and play tennis, proactively demonstrating how you can play wherever and whenever.
Johanna Konta and Leon Smith will provide inspiration and share their top tennis tips, encouraging people to make their own court wherever they are, with whatever they have at hand, such as using a bench as a net to make a court space between two trees.
The campaign is aiming for a reach of over 500m, tripling last year’s results through an integrated approach across shopper, digital, social and PR.
To bolster its grassroots credentials and get more people playing at tennis venues as well as on improvised courts, for the first time Nature Valley is also supporting the LTA’s Great British Tennis Weekend on July 21-22, a country-wide initiative to help tennis clubs and venues attract people from the local community to come and try their local tennis facilities and have a go at the sport.
In partnership with four clubs in Eastbourne, Birmingham, Nottingham and South West London, the weekend of play aims to make tennis more accessible for families across the country, encouraging them to visit their local courts and have fun with tennis. The clubs will be holding a range of free activities to demonstrate the many ways to get into tennis, from mini tennis for youngsters, opportunities for families to play together, and showcasing fitness sessions such as Cardio Tennis. The Nature Valley activity at the London club will also welcome Johanna to the event, where she will play with members of the public and share her top tips.
To further support tennis in British, tennis fans will be able to keep their energy levels up by trying a variety of Nature Valley bars with more than 50,000 bars given away during the summer.
Arjoon Bose, Marketing Head UK & Northern Europe for Häagen-Dazs, Nature Valley and Fibre One, says: “Our ambition is for everyone in Britain to include a Nature Valley bar in their tennis kit bag. We are excited about continuing our journey with British Tennis by working with both our ambassadors and helping make tennis more accessible to people across the country. We want to demonstrate the power of sport to connect with our audience and show that tennis can be enjoyed by everyone, anywhere.”
Last year’s campaign (which won Gold in the Most Effective Sponsorship category at the IPM Awards 2018 last week) saw total brand sales grow +19% on the previous year, and generated the brand’s highest ever penetration at 15.2% – contributing 70% of total segment growth in the category. It generated a 76% lift in sales for Nature Valley’s protein line, resulting in record share and penetration.
This year’s campaign will also include bespoke initiatives with Tesco and Sainsbury’s, giving shoppers the chance to win equipment and skills such as a coaching session, tennis kit signed by Johanna Konta and professional Babolat rackets and balls. The British no. 1 will also appear in person at supermarkets in Birmingham, Eastbourne and Nottingham.
David Atkinson, Managing Partner at Space, adds: “The Court is Yours is an inspirational campaign with a true purpose. It’s a long-term and powerful platform designed to create real change for good that we can evolve year on year to align with Nature Valley’s ambitions to encourage more people to get involved with the sport by providing inspiration and practical support.”
Newly-signed brand ambassador Leon Smith has been the Great Britain Davis Cup captain since 2010, leading the team to Davis Cup victory in 2015. He coached Andy Murray during his early years and has been devoted to developing and growing the new generation of British tennis talent in his Davis Cup capacity.
Nature Valley is owned by international food group General Mills. In the UK, Nature Valley is the #1 cereal bar brand and is a major partner of British Tennis as title sponsor of the prestigious ATP and WTA grass-court tournaments of the LTA at the Nature Valley Open (Nottingham), the Nature Valley Classic (Birmingham) and the Nature Valley International (Eastbourne) with British #1 Johanna Konta as its brand ambassador. Nature Valley is also an official global partner of the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals at London O2.
The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the National Governing Body for tennis in Great Britain, responsible for developing and promoting the sport, with a mission to get more people playing tennis more often. The LTA runs and supports a network of 11,500 approved tournaments for players of all ages, the corner-stones of which are the premier grass court events leading up to Wimbledon: the Nature Valley Open at Nottingham, the Nature Valley Classic at Birmingham, the Fever-Tree Championships at Queens Club and the Nature Valley International Eastbourne.
Space is an award-winning integrated marketing agency which works across social, mobile, outdoor, in store, on-pack, in print, live or virtually. Clients include Heineken, Arla Foods, William Grant & Sons, General Mills, Eurostar, Sky, Coral, Bundesliga, UEFA, NBA and AELTC.
