Wimbledon Serves Up Social Success – Rebecca Hopkins

Sport has stormed the social scene over the last few years, evidence of which – should any be needed – is the comparative difference in online activity between the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. Football has clearly cottoned on to social media’s value but, unsurprisingly, it’s not alone.

The story is the same in tennis where people also enjoy online engagement and sharing content, aided by the ever-increasing role of mobile. Yet one Grand Slam tournament, Wimbledon, has taken its digital communications from strength to strength. Details of its and the US Open’s social media activity were revealed this week, with the All England Club acing its US equivalent.

The US Open received 255,000 mentions of its official handle in 2013, compared to 2.8 million mentions of Wimbledon this year. The All England Club drew 11 times more mentions than its US counterpart, despite the tournament footfall being half that of Flushing Meadows – 713,000 flocked to New York in 2013 compared to 491,000 who visited Wimbledon. The London tournament also has a greater international reach with 79% of social conversations originating overseas compared with 63% for the US Open.

Wimbledon’s success follows its vow to make its 2014 tournament the most sociable ever, not least of all evolving its use of a tennis ‘Twitter Mirror’. In 2013 the mirror took behind-the-scenes photos of players and made them accessible to fans, whilst this year the stunt went straight to the supporters, allowing them to take selfies for the chance to win prizes. The US Open also has been active on social media but its success has been limited. The event introduced its own Social Wall in 2013, a screen which displayed real-time internet comments from fans. Whilst the stunt was effective, it lacked the interactivity of Wimbledon’s creation and therefore impact.

The All England Club also has the advantage of a domestic men’s champion, a powerful sports public relations tool currently unavailable to Flushing Meadows. This year’s campaign, titled, ‘Welcome Back Andy’, rewarded fans who tweeted the hashtag, #WelcomeBackAndy, with a digital picture of Murray’s 2013 win. This activity and more, has helped position Wimbledon as the leading Grand Slam competition in the social media space; the other Slams have much catching up to do in 2015.

Rebecca Hopkins is Managing Director of ENS Ltd, a London-based sports agency tasked with promoting and protecting brands in sport. They specialise in sports PR, crisis management and online public relations.

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