Bermuda Takes Centre Court as Exclusive Tourism Partner of the US Open
While the 2020 US Open Tennis Championships kicked off this week in New York City without live spectators onsite, the event is again expected to draw significant television viewership this year.
Bermuda is prominently on display during the Grand Slam® tournament through on-court signage on the main Stadiums and other tournament courts. The event is the cornerstone of a three-year partnership with the United States Tennis Association (USTA). The Bermuda Tourism Authority is the exclusive tourism partner of the US Open from 2019–2021.
Television Exposure
During play at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center last year, Bermuda’s on-court signage garnered more than $2.6 million in media value during tournament television coverage. Bermuda’s brand will be in front of an audience that is perfectly aligned with the island’s visitor targets this year as well.
In New York City and Boston, the Bermuda Tourism Authority is working with Disney Advertising Sales Local for a promotion that will market the island through Bermuda brand and promotional television spots inviting viewers to enter to win one of six trips to the Courts & Shorts Weekend in Bermuda April 16–17, 2021. Promotional and brand spots will air on WABC-TV New York and WCVB-TV Boston, as well as ESPN in those markets. The campaign airs through September. The “Game Set Bermuda” promotion will garner millions of impressions in Bermuda’s two most-important visitor markets through the month of September.
Bermuda was also promoted through multiple 15-second commercials during the US national ESPN telecast of the Western & Southern Open last week.
Digital & Social Engagement
Bermuda’s ties with tennis are being touted via both digital and social channels. Credited by the International Tennis Hall of Fame as the “Mother of American Tennis,” Mary Ewing Outerbridge (born in America to Bermudian parents) first came across the game while visiting her family’s home on the island in 1874, learning tennis from British officers stationed in Bermuda. She later brought tennis equipment back to New York, introducing the sport in her home borough of Staten Island.
The story of Bermuda introducing the sport of tennis to the United States via New York will be featured in digital pre-roll video and display units that are geo-targeted to Bermuda’s top markets, while Bermuda’s proximity to New York City will be on display in a six-part series on US Open’s Instagram feed throughout the tournament. At the conclusion of the US Open, a special guest post will also connect the US Open to the Courts & Shorts Weekend to be held on the island next year.
Courts & Shorts Weekend Rescheduled from April 2020 to April 16–17, 2021
The BTA is working closely with the USTA to develop a multi-faceted event, which includes a ticketed tennis exhibition and a kids’ clinic featuring tennis legends, rising tennis stars and former Bermuda Olympians. The Courts & Shorts Weekend will bring valuable community engagement, important direct spending in the local tourism economy and even more exposure for Bermuda as a destination. In conjunction with the weekend’s activities, Tennis Channel will produce and air a television special as part of its “Destination Tennis” series.
About Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA)
The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) is an award-winning, accredited destination marketing organisation that promotes Bermuda internationally and works to empower our tourism industry stakeholders. Explore Bermuda’s National Tourism Plan.
