| Andrew Walker - CMO, WTA |
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| Profile of the week |
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Tuesday, 13 December 2011 10:33
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How important of a figure is Larry Scott in your career?
Anyone who has worked for Larry Scott knows how special he is. He is incredibly inspiring, the epitome of the type of person you would want not only as your boss, but as a friend. Larry has incredible vision, unmatched business acumen and a style that is incredibly humane while at the same time being the toughest salesman and negotiator when has needs to be. I would not be where I am today in business or in my personal life if not for Larry.
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Tennis truly is a global sport, with around 50-odd tournaments across 30 or so countries. So how do remain on top of your responsibilities with such a busy schedule?
It’s not easy, especially when you start to think about work life balanced with a family! The key is prioritization and appropriate delegation. I am working everyday on the work-life balance!
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With a large number of players using social media, how important is the medium to sustain the popularity of the sport?
We are now at 26 million social media fans for the WTA and our players, a number that has quadrupled in the past 18 months. As a marketer, I think the medium is perfectly suited for tennis, our athletes and tournaments. It allows us to reach to a new and growing audience. It is incredibly cost efficient as a media platform and it allows us to truly engage with consumers. It’s a medium that we have successfully utilized to support our sponsors, tournaments and players businesses.
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Does the fact that there is no one real dominant woman tennis players at the moment make it more of a challenge to market?
Women’s tennis on the court is incredibly healthy from a marketing perspective, with a great mix of established champions and rising next generation stars. We have not only global marquee names like Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki and the William sisters, but also fantastic national heroes like Li Na and Sam Stosur. 116 million people in China alone watched Li Na’s Rolland Garros victory in 2011. We’ve got great stars to market and that’s why the WTA business is as strong as ever.
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In the modern game, a lot of women tennis players are emerging from Eastern Europe, why is that? And what can other countries do to replicate the success of the somewhat smaller nations?
What is for sure is that the game has become much more global. Gone are the days when a handful of countries would dominate the sport for decades on en. Historically, stars have emerged in cycles from different nations and there is plenty to debate on the reasons why. What I do know is having great competition and players as role models who have achieved success does seem to breed further success, which is why you often see a number of players emerging at the same time from a particular country.
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You helped in the effort to ensure equal prize money. With the men attracting the crowds, playing more sets at a higher standard of play, is equal pay in the sport still justified?
Absolutely! From a business and marketing perspective, if you look at television, live audiences at events and sponsorship, the women’s game justifies equal pay. The argument regarding more sets is a funny one. Do you pay more to watch a 3-hour movie than a 2-hour movie? It’s about entertainment value and the women are just as entertaining.
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In the men’s game, a number of players have complained about the busy schedule and the possibility of a strike has been mentioned. In your opinion, what is the best way to deal with this situation?
On the WTA side, we reformed our circuit structure to lengthen to lengthen the off season, provide more in season breaks and reduce the number of events that players have to play, while directing them to play our top events. Our ‘Roadmap’ Plan has resulted in healthier players (18 percent decrease in injuries and withdrawals), fans being able to watch their favourite players more often (top players are playing our top events 24 percent more) and a 36 percent increase in prize money.
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What do you think of the iSportconnect concept?
I like it! Where do I invest?!
Andrew Walker's
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