Wimbledon: Balancing Tradition With Innovation
Cutting Edge Curators LiveWire Sport discover how Wimbledon brought the tournament to life through digital…
Wimbledon served up some memorable thrills, spills, upsets and glory in 2015 – and the action on the court was matched by their innovative digital coverage, which has received widespread praise in the industry.
But how does the prestigious Grand Slam continue to provide an engaging experience for its expanding fan base, while increasing the value of its historic brand?
Alexandra Willis, Wimbledon’s head of digital and content, has led their pioneering coverage. She gave us an insight into the keys to Wimbledon’s success.
Here are seven essential steps to tackling the digital challenges for a tournament founded 138 years ago.
Innovation
Willis says their biggest challenge has been balancing the need to improve the on-site connected experience for fans, with the role of digital and social as providing the next best thing to being there for fans following around the world.
Ahead of the tournament, Wimbledon granted access to its followers online with a guided tour of the grounds, led by Roger Federer on Periscope, and used the live video streaming app throughout the tournament, including the moment Novak Djokovic’s name was marked on the honours board for a third time: making for a direct portal to one of the most exclusive clubs in sport.
LIVE NOW on @periscopeco, @rogerfederer gives us a guided tour of #Wimbledon: https://t.co/csJqKEeUJa
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 26, 2015
Building on its introduction last year, Wimbledon has used the unique atmosphere of the grounds to drive social votes: pitting the verdict of those on #TheHill against fans following the tournament away from SW19 using #TheWorld.
It’s you vs #TheHill time! Who has the more beautiful backhand? Vote using #TheWorld AND #Gasquet OR #Dimitrov pic.twitter.com/IITaSfGPSC
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2015
Wimbledon has also tested the nascent iBeacons technology at this year’s tournament, positioned at Southfields and Wimbledon tube stations, designed to improve the experience of people arriving at the grounds.
This year it had the simple purpose of welcoming spectators to Wimbledon, with the potential to develop into providing directions and advice on things such as where to queue.
Although in its infancy, this focus shows the importance of improving the connected experience for fans at the ground while innovative uses of Periscope, Snapchat, Tunepics and social voting provide an emotional entry point for millions of fans around the world.
Tradition
Willis says tennis’s oldest tournament is “founded on the rock of blending tradition with innovation”.
Any new digital developments must add value to both the Wimbledon brand and its fans.
“Social and digital media have perhaps been even more important to us than to the other Slams,” she adds. “Because they’ve allowed us to re-position what Wimbledon is. Yes, it is tradition. But it is not stuffy. It is eccentric and quirky and brilliant because of that.”
Consistency
A tone and style that is “unmistakably Wimbledon” across all content is imperative, says Willis, especially as there become more and more platforms to serve.
But the differences also provide ample opportunity for fun and varied content. So while Twitter is used primarily for real-time content, Instagram is perfect for celebrating the distinctive beauty of Wimbledon.
Willis adds: “Snapchat, which might seem antithetical to Wimbledon, has been a fascinating insight into what people enjoy about being at Wimbledon, what moments they want to share.”
Wimbledon’s Vine account added just over 21.3m of its total 39m loops during the fortnight of this year’s tournament.
A sequence of #14VinesForWimbledon captured a different element of the tournament each day in a six-second loop, alongside classic moments and a behind-the-scenes peek at some of the game’s stars from the practice courts.
Collaboration
Wimbledon has partnered with technology provider IBM since 1990. The key consideration, Willis says, is collaboration.
“IBM are aware of trends in the industry and what is possible in the realms of digital development, and we know our brand and our fans,” she says.
The main focus remains live scores and match data, with Wimbledon digital platforms presenting exclusive point-by-point scores and statistics on web and mobile.
Since last year’s tournament IBM has also provided Wimbledon’s digital team with the data and tools to monitor social buzz around the event and see what topics and influencers have got fans talking.
‘Real-time’ video
Wimbledon uses video software Grabyo to capture footage from their broadcast feed and post to Twitter and Facebook as close to real-time as possible.
Willis says this has dramatically improved their offering.
“We want to position Wimbledon’s digital channels as THE place to be to follow Wimbledon, so if we can be first with these moments, but also provide a global, Wimbledon outlook on them, which is where perhaps we differ from some of the broadcasters, and in our tone of voice, then we are cementing our purpose in that way,” she says.
Ahead of this year’s tournament, Wimbledon also signed a Twitter Amplify deal with official beer partner Stella Artois to promote video content on the social network, launched with a #ThrowbackThursday and culminating in the presentation of trophies on Centre Court.
WATCH – After 11 hrs 5 mins, the battle between @JohnIsner & Nicolas Mahut reached its climax… #ThrowbackThursday https://t.co/n00anrRoEz
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 25, 2015
Add value
2015 is the first year in which Wimbledon has experimented with promoted content on social media, with a plan to rise above the noise around the event and serve users with timely and engaging content.
It has also incorporated content from partners with long-term associations with Wimbledon alongside its own editorial coverage. Willis explains that the key to doing this successfully is to “encourage our partners to work on a particular theme”, so that “the content adds value to the rest of our coverage.”
Jaguar, new on board this year as the Official Car of The Championships, captured the excitement levels of the tournament with its #FeelWimbledon campaign, tracking the biometric data of members of the crowd against the action on court. And Evian, holding a long-term association with SW19 as Official Water Supplier, sought to celebrate the off-court fun with its #WimbleWatch series.
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Follow Novak Djokovic’s road to the title, plus one of the greatest #Wimbledon finals of all time – all through the eyes of #wimblewatch.
Posted by Wimbledon on Monday, 13 July 2015
A look back at all Sunday’s emotions, as they happened… http://t.co/AeYcAnoxdU #FeelWimbledon https://t.co/7cx4qOwNrF
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2015
Responding to the audience
Wimbledon.com remains the hub of the tournament’s coverage. A redesign this year had the guiding principle “to keep that unmistakable Wimbledon experience – to bring to life what the grounds look like, feel like, sound like.”
Willis explains the changes: “It is adaptive and responsive, so we are giving our fans all the features and functions of desktop, but in a design that is mobile first. It responds according to your screen size – so for the user on a larger screen, they benefitted from a live scores and live blog panel that was permanently present.”
The launch of an official Snapchat account was a “leap of faith” for the Wimbledon team, but the reaction from fans proved a memorable time in their social coverage; getting to know exactly what elements of the Wimbledon experience resonate and supply those shareable moments.
These developments continue what Willis calls a “personalisation approach”. So that “no matter if you are here or not here, you can tailor the content to what you are most interested in. Using peoples’ devices as the screen to interact with, rather than screens around the grounds.”
And on Twitter, bespoke emojis created by Wimbledon and launched by Serena Williams aimed to capture those different aspects of SW19; the symbol for #Wimbledon refreshing after each round to give fans further incentive to join the conversation.
Sneakers ✔️ Racket ✔️ Playlist ✔️ New Twitter Emojis ✔️ #Wimbledon #SeeYouOnTheCourt pic.twitter.com/emt4XwbeeY
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 26, 2015
