The guys are in New Haven as we speak and are currently playing the final stop on the 2008 Olympus US Open Series to be capped off next week at the start of the 2008 US Open. The summer series has provided tennis fans with some of the best mens tennis I have had the opportunity to witness. Whether you look at Gilles Simon taking home the crown in Indy and defeating Roger Federer in Canada or Nadal climbing to the top to become the world #1 or watching Juan Martin Del Potro capture the countrywide classic in LA and following it up with the title in Washington at the Legg Mason Classic. Mens professional tennis has experienced incredible growth this summer it was broadcast on ESPN2 at every tournament stop. The USTA continues to promote the game of tennis at a grassroots level and will continue to be a driving force for the succeess of tennis within the states. We look forward to growing our partnership with the USTA through a number of tennis related activities most notably this fall at the Healthy Active Lifestyles convocation at a TBD location in Indiana.

                         TENNIS   .    COMMUNITY   .    CHARITY

Here are your Beijing Day 7 Results

    Women's Tennis Singles
 Safina (RUS) def. Jankovic (SRB) 6-2 5-7 6-3
 
    Men's Tennis Singles
 Nadal (ESP) def. Djokovic (SRB) 6-4 1-6 6-4
 Gonzalez (CHI) def. Blake (USA) 4-6 7-5 11-9

 
     A great week of tennis is set to conclude this weekend in Beijing with both the men's and women's gold medal matches. As is true for both the ATP and WTA tours, the Olympics has seen the most consistent and disciplined players advance through the event. 
     Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina serve as prime examples of this this. While both are highly emotional and energetic players, they're also extrmemely consistent in their approach to each and every match. Neither player gives much, if anything, away to their opponents. Rafael is playing the best tennis of his young career and is the posterboy for proper fitness and mental toughness. Safina is quickly positioning herself for a run at #1 in the WTA rankings with her unique blend of athleticism and mental savvy. 
 
     It was sad, at least for us here at The Juice, to see Roger Federer lose in his bid for his maiden olympic Medal. However, his loss paved the way for the most pleasant of suprises, that being James Blake's journey into the medal round. Blake fell in three sets to Fernando Gonzalez today in semifinal action, but his Beijing performance just might be the perfect boost of confidence that James needs to turn his season around.  

 Unfortunately, the Olympics wouldn't be the Olympics without a little controversy. For Blake, such controversy appeared in the form of a ball that was called out, but apparently knicked Gonzalez' racquet first.

From nbcolympics.com:

 "The incident that upset Blake occurred with Gonzalez serving at 8-9 in the final set. On the first point, Blake hit a backhand passing shot long but contended the ball ticked Gonzalez's racket before landing, as TV replays confirmed.

 Blake appealed in vain to the chair umpire, and said Gonzalez should have conceded the point. Blake went on to lose the game to make it 9-all.

 "Playing in the Olympics, in what's supposed to be considered a gentleman's sport, that's a time to call it on yourself," Blake said. "Fernando looked me square in the eye and didn't call it."

 Gonzalez said he was uncertain whether the ball hit his racket.
 
 "I didn't feel anything," Gonzalez said. "I mean, it's just one point. There is an umpire. If I'm 100 percent sure about it, I mean, I will give it. But I'm not sure."

     It's an unfortunate end to a great run for James, although he had failed to capitalize on three match point chances at the time of the botched call. However..I'm dissapointed by Gonzalez' statement that "..it's just one point". For Blake, that one point was match point. 
     
    Funny how the weight of a single point is so skewed depending on which side of the net you're standing.
     
    Anyway, I can't wait to see how James fares at the US Open. I've seen James do some pretty amazing things on a tennis court (Ed. note: see 2006 final vs. Roddick in Indianapolis. One of the best professional tennis matches I've ever seen). He's an amazing athlete. Hopefully, he can leave this incident behind him in Beijing.

Featured sponsor of the day: Exact Target! 

Back for the second year, Exact Target made headlines again at the 2008 tournament as the exclusive sponsor of the stadium court radar gun readout.

Exact Target continues to provide the best in e-mail marketing software for marketing campaigns and best of all, they are based right here in the heart of the circle city - Indianapolis, Indiana.

Exact Target is also the official email marketing partner of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Newsletter, to sign up click here.

Ticket scalpers must really be getting sophisticated in the 21st Century as scalpers storm the streets of Beijing. While managing the box office for a Men’s Professional Tennis tournament I have come across numerous ticket scalpers. None of which that I've run into (thrown off our site) have ever struck me as being very bright. Ticket Scalpers normally remind me of a bum begging for their last meal. In order to be a scalper in Beijing would you have to deal with the following: how do these scalpers communicate with the fans from various countries...? Are there translators for scalpers? Do the Scalpers except traveling checks or Yen only? How about Visa, it is the only card excepted at the Olympics? Please let me know your thoughts on ticket scalping at the Olympics and which event you would pay the most to watch?

A side note: James Blake a quarter-finalist at Indy and Gilles Simon the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis championships Presented by Lilly Champion have both made it to the 3rd Round at the Beijing Olympics. The two will be competing against each other for a shot at a gold medal. Good luck Guys!

    Today marks the beginning of the main draw in Washington D.C., home of The Legg Mason Classic. Considering the impact that the Olympics has had on summer player commitments in men's tennis,  The Legg Mason event boasts a fantastic player field. Andy Roddick enters the event as the #1 seed, but will have his hands full thanks to the likes of Marat Safin, Feliciano Lopez,Tommy Haas, and Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro defeated Roddick yesterday to take the title of the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles. I noticed he cut his hair. Maybe that had something to do with it.

I smell a rematch....but both sides of the draw are filled with plenty of challenges along the way.

As my friend at From The Other Side of The Net mentioned today, this week marks the return of Taylor Dent, who has been absent from the tour for two years. Taylor was as high as #30 in the men's rankings in 2005 and was a finalist in Indianapolis that same year.

Mardy Fish also continues his road to recovery from an injury-plagued 2007 as the #5 seed. It's good to see Mardy playing well again. He brings charisma and a good energy to every event he plays.

We're going to attempt two posts on The Juice today, so stay tuned.

Also, best wishes for a great week to Jeff, Dan, Keith, Keely, Victoria, and the rest of the team in D.C.!

Impressions...Today I want to take a quick look at how impressions impact sponsorships. Impression can be defined as the exposure one receives to a sponsorship or media vehicle that communicates a specific brand message; anytime a consumer is affected by a targeted corporate message. Naturally if one were to look at the stadium court of the Indy pro tennis tournament you would see  a number of sponsor logos: Lilly, US Open Series, National City Private Client Group, American Airlines and many more. These logos combined with various on-site activation methods provide the sponsor with those highly coveted impressions. All of these brands have chosen to align with the top tennis tournament in the Midwest: Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly.
If we link this directly to sponsorship we can really begin to think of ways to capitalize on a corporate sponsorship spend or find compelling reasons to make that sponsorship spend. What is your organization doing to make a lasting impression on your target consumer?

Up next: Experiential Marketing.

So with the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly now in the tennis bag - what do we do?

Well, we begin assessing what went well in 2008, what needs to be tweaked or fixed, our dream list (those things that we hope to get through the budget review process) and of course paying all of the bills from tournament week.

Our potential tweaks for 2009 include:
1) providing some type of cooled location for fans to eat.  The food was great this year but the tent was warm

2)  One session each day of the event (Monday through Friday).  The session would potentially begin at 4pm and continue throughout the evening.  We believe this might be better for the fans (cooler, easier to attend, concentrated tennis) and the players.  We are currently researching this option.  Let me know if you have an opinion!

3) Tennis is the show.  We will continue to concentrate our efforts in insuring that the product on stadium court is both entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

4) More interactive vendors.  We will continue to seek sponsors and vendors who want to activiate on site. We believe this enhances the overall experience for the fans - you can shop, try out the latest in technology or test your fitness level.

Any other suggestions????

If you were to google digital cameras right now, how many results do you think you would pull up? If you guessed 83,500,000 then you were exactly right. I am sure you are curious as to why this has anything to do with a world class mens professional tennis tournament and I plan to explain that one to you.

Lets start with Olympus first of all, Olympus has started their first year as the title sponsor of the US Open Series and they have kicked this partnership off with a bang! Touring the US with a mobile marketing campaign and a 60' bus that folds out into an interactive tennis court and photo opportunity to demostrate their product. This is how you activate a sponsorship.

My question is this: What are you doing to keep your brand in front of your consumers, even when the economy is on a downturn? You must stay in front of your consumers year round. The opportunity to physically put your product in the hands of your consumers and create an intimate experience is a highly valuable goal of many companies.

Many organizations are often confused during tight economical times and begin to pull the reigns back, this is precisely the opposite of what they should be doing when things get turbulent. When everyone else is pulling back their spend, why not keep yours the same or step it up 5-10%? Your impact and reach are that much greater due to the lack of products and promotions in the marketplace. Align with a world class product: i.e. mens professional tennis? the USTA? the Olympus US Open Series? or heck why not event the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presetned by Lilly?

Ok, so your demographic isn't exactly that of a pro tennis tournament in the midwest, that is fine, we understand that we cannot be all things to all people but I would argue that you can find an event, property, team or athlete that will help you stay relavent and most importantly, provide you with memorable experiences and lasting impressions on your consumers!

Impacting one fan at a time...

After working our tournament, I felt it was time to watch a little tennis from some of the world’s best tennis players, so I went to the Western & Southern Financial Men's Tournament in Cincinnati. My goal was to actually watch tennis and not work, but to no surprise I couldn’t keep myself from working as soon as I arrived on-site. I started in the press box working on the player vignets for the videoboards on stadium court for Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray. The vignets are part of the new “Feel It” campaign from the ATP and feature awesome graphics and player highlights. 

On a side note, you can only imagine what the press box was like as everyone was about to witness “the changing of the guard” as one of my friends said, Nadal was soon to be #1 in the world!! In case you need to be caught up, this is how it works:

The timing of Nadal’s rise to No. 1 depended on his results in Cincinnati:

-If Nadal won the title, he would have become No.1 this Monday
-If Nadal lost in the final, he would have become No.1 on August 11

Since Nadal lost in the semifinals, he will become No.1 on August 18

It was truly amazing to be part of the excitement Saturday, watching Djokovic and Nadal battle it out. I might say I was a bit disappointed in the match, but I can feel for Nadal, as he had a tough run to get to the semi’s and the pressure to be No.1 isn’t the easiest position to be in! It will be interesting to see what happens at the US Open…any predictions??? Stay tuned!

TOURNAMENT PLAY STARTS TODAY!
GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE 2008 INDIANAPOLIS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS PRESENTED BY LILLY.

As the Special Events and Hospitality Manager, I wanted to be sure to fill you in on all the exciting events taking place at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly! Be sure to come check them out!


KIDS DAY, July 14: The morning session takes place from 8:30am–10:30am for youth ages 6–12. The afternoon session takes place from 3:00–4:30pm for youth ages 13–18. Tickets start at $8 and participants need to bring their own racquet.

INDY HUB NIGHT, July 15: Join Indy Hub for an entertaining evening of hospitality, networking and socializing. The pre-match Happy Hour will be in the Outdoor Hospitality Tent from 5:30-7:00pm. Call 632.4100 ext. 116 for details.

USTA MEMBER APPRECIATION DAY, July 15: USTA members mark your calendars to attend USTA Member Appreciation Day from 11:00am-2:00pm in the Indoor Hospitality Pavilion. Free with the purchase of a afternoon session ticket.
   
VALSPAR PAINT PERFORMANCE CHALLENGE, July 16: The 2nd Annual Valspar Paint Performance Challenge will be held from 1:00pm-5:00pm and will encourage fans to test their accuracy skills for a chance to win a trip to Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the US Open. Visit valspartennis.com for detailed information, a complete schedule and to play the online version of the Performance Challenge game.

RACQUET DAY, July 16th
Individuals donating a new or gently used racquet at the tournament entrance will receive a free ticket to the afternoon matches that day.  The racquets will go to the National Junior Tennis League of Indianapolis which serves more than 1,500 children in Marion County every year by offering low-cost tennis and life skills instruction at more than 20 locations.

COLLEGE NIGHT, July 17: Unwind in the International Plaza for a night of live entertainment and drink specials. Try a game of Cornhole or relax with your friends before enjoying a night of world class tennis. Free with purchase of evening session ticket (food & beverage not included).

LADIES DAY, July 18: Get your body moving by starting the day with instructional clinics and cardio tennis led by local USPTA tennis pros or kick-off the morning by participating in a round-robin tournament on the courts of the Indianapolis Tennis Center. Tickets are $50 and include a ticket for the Friday afternoon tennis session, a commemorative t-shirt, gift bag, and name recognition in the daily program. 

14 days and counting...

We are only 14 days away from the 2008 Indianapolis Tennis Championships Presented by Lilly. We are very excited to get this event underway and showcase the brand new on-site look and feel. All tennis fans old and new will be engaged in the tournament site.

Our sponsors are activating this year like never before and you will all be a witness to new and improved tournament grounds.

Unfortunately the majority of our 2008 player field has finished their run at Wimbledon with the exception of Andy Murray who continues to roll on grass! We are very excited to have Andy competing for the title here in Indy and are confident he is going to be coming in to town playing excellent tennis.

If you do not have your tickets for the 2008 event you need to contact the tournament office and get your tickets for the tennis event in the Midwest!

Also if you see the Olympus US Open Series Bus around town they will be promoting the Indianapolis tennis event and our role in kicking off the summer hard court tennis season.

14 days and counting...