Wimbledon Eyes Indian Market with Cricket-Inspired Strategy

New Delhi: Wimbledon is strategically targeting the Indian market, leveraging the popularity of cricket to expand its reach. High-profile Indian cricketers like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, and Sachin Tendulkar have been frequent attendees at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), signaling the tournament's intent.

Rohit Sharma's photograph on Wimbledon's Instagram account garnered a record 4.5 million likes, underscoring the potential of the Indian audience. Sally Bolton, AELTC Chief Executive, has identified India and the US as key markets for brand expansion.

Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, spoke with TimesofIndia.com about the strategy: "Cricket is much loved and certainly king for Indian audiences. So rather than trying to compete with that, I think it's about trying to find interesting ways to collaborate. Both sports are rich in heritage... So I think there's interesting ways to be able to bring that to life for audiences, so that they might want to come and watch it as well."

Collaborations and Outreach

Wimbledon is actively pursuing collaborations to engage Indian audiences:

• Social Media Influencers: Teaming up with Indian social media influencers to provide behind-the-scenes experiences at both a Test match at Lord's and Wimbledon.
• Broadcast Partnerships: Working with Star Sports to create tennis-cricket crossover trailers that aired during the IPL.

Leveraging Technology and AI

Wimbledon acknowledges the importance of younger audiences and is embracing technology to enhance fan engagement. The tournament had significant engagement last year, but sees substantial growth potential in India. Wimbledon is using AI on its app and website, in coordination with IBM, including a 'Match Chat' assistant during live matches that can answer fans' questions with immediate responses and match analysis.