From the land Down Under

There's something about the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park that inspires me to put digit to keypad, as it were, and hunt-n-peck my way to some sort of resolution. Fitting, then, that it is held in January. In spite of my misgivings about the placement of the season's first Grand Slam on the ATP and WTA calendars, the event never fails to quicken my pulse and give clarity to my thinking.

Perhaps the installation of the Plexicushion surface and the rule changes regarding when the retractable roof over Rod Laver Arena would be closed had an impact, but I was pleasantly surprised to note a reduction in withdrawals, injuries, and retirements due to heat exhaustion or fatigue. Still, I believe the tennis community as a whole — including the pros who compete for this first of the year's major titles — would be better served if the tournament committee would move the Aussie Open out four or five weeks the the last week in February. Holding the AO at that time would have a two-fold positive effect: it would delay the event until early fall, when temperatures wouldn't be so oppressive; and it would open a six- to seven-week window of opportunity for a Pacific Rim or Asia-Pacific Series, taking a page from the highly successful U.S. Open Series notebook.

This latter point should not be so easily dismissed. The U.S. Open Series has clearly generated interest in the hard-court run-ups to the U.S. Open at the end of August. ATP events in Los Angeles, Washington, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati and elsewhere have seen record attendance, as well as commitments from most of the top players. It's not too much of a stretch to say that the record-breaking attendance numbers at the U.S. Open in 2006 and 2007 were a byproduct of the Series and its marketing. USTA past president Arlen Kantarian and current president Jane Brown Grimes thinks so, anyway.

And the Australian Open was at one time played in December; it was the last Grand Slam of the season, not the first that it is today. If you'll recall, that was one of the main reasons that Bjorn Borg stopped making the trek to the land Down Under, having failed time and again to win the U.S. Open, thereby making a calendar-year Grand Slam impossible. So, this blind allegiance to the January schedule is not a long-standing tradition. There is precedent for it to be otherwise.

All this being true, the tournament committee and Tennis Australia's governing body have a few good arguments to support keeping things the way they are. Attendance for this year's Aussie Open exceeded that of all others previous, reaching more than 600,000 for the fortnight and rivaling the U.S. Open numbers. In addition, holding the Aussie open in the summer months when schools are not in session allows more yong fans and families to attend the matches at Melbourne Park. Australia's version of Labor Day even falls on the last weekend of the tournament.

Still, I cannot help but think that pushing the major to late February has overwhelming merit. It would allow Tennis Australia to truly capitalize on the "Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific" slogan and maximize the marketing value of this great event. It would provide a meaningful context for other large-venue Tier 1 and Tier 2 events in Japan, China and throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and give the Australian Open the added import of being a culminating event. I'm quite sure that with what the Aussie Open has going for it — its rich history, its importance as the year's first Slam, the beauty of the venue and region, and the intelligence of its marketing and planning committees, fans will continue to flock there for years to come.

Or, at least until its current contract expires or its major sponsor, Kia Motors, redirects its entertainment dollars.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This material is copyrighted and may not be reprinted or reproduced without the express written or verbal consent of the author. Thank you for your cooperation.

USTA finally gets it (right)!

I've been away too long, I know; it's good to be back. I experienced a natural post-Australian Open malaise, which sapped me of my will to post. And then, starting a new and demanding job in January, in which I spend my day researching, writing and editing, has left me too drained to write during my evening down-time. But something occurred recently that has roused the rumpel in my stiltskin: the USTA has announced its new ad campaign approach and launch strategy for the 2007 U.S. Open Series. You know, the six-week, 10-tournament lead-up to the U.S. Open Championships in New York, also touted as "The Greatest Road Trip in Sports" by the USTA marketing execs.

What's got me fired up is the fact that the USTA marketing geniuses (a term I used derisively in a post a few months ago) have finally got it right. More to the point, they finally "get" it! If you'll recall, last year, the second year of the U.S. Open Series, the "geniuses" strained their brains to come up with an ad campaign (print and TV) that proudly touted the prize the players were competing for as $2 million and change. That's 200-plus athletes competing in 10 events over six weeks for a mere $2 million, according to the geniuses. If you heard or saw it, you probably thought, like me, that you're a lot better off keeping your lousy day job. I mean, doing the math yielded on average about $10,000 to each athlete. Some high stakes, huh?

Didn't the geniuses realize that athletes with names like Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez earn that much per minute on the court and field? It was nothing short of an insult to the players and an affront to fans. What's worse, it was wrong! Yes, it was inaccurate. The geniuses had chosen, for some reason no marketeer worth his salt could ever fathom, to advertise the prize potential of only the Series point leader, should that same individual hoist the singles trophy in New York. But the actual total prize value on the line was something like $31 million. Now that figure might have turned a few heads, and earned the sport a little respect!

So it is with great pleasure (and some pride) that I can tell you that the USTA marketing geniuses have seen the error of their past ways and have redeemed themselves in 2007. Here is a snippet from the 2007 U.S. Open Series Ad Campaign article currently appearing on the USTA website:

"The campaign’s tagline - - 'The Greatest Road Trip in Sports…. 6 Weeks, 10 Tournaments, $30 Million On The Line.' - - communicates the essence of the US Open Series...".

And there you have it ... $30 million ... all is well with the world again. I'd like to think I had a hand in bringing the geniuses around, as I had written them directly in 2006 to admonish them, as well as having posted here under the title, 2006 US Open Series miscalculation. Who knows what forces move the geniuses. Whatever or whoever they are, let's hope the geniuses continue to be moved in a positive direction. Our sport needs a little boost from time to time, and the U.S. Open Series is undoubtedly the most visible (and marketable) "event" in tennis today, eclipsing even the fabled Wimbledon. That makes "The Greatest Road Trip in Sports" the perfect place for tennis to put her best foot forward. No more excuses!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This material is copyrighted and may not be reprinted or reproduced without the express written or verbal consent of the author. Thank you for your cooperation.